--- title: "Chevy Work Van With Custom Nintendo 64 In-Dash Install Is How You Do Lunch Right" date: "2025-02-10" modified: "2025-02-10" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/chevy-work-van-with-custom-nintendo-64-in-dash-install-is-how-you-do-lunch-right" categories: - "Culture" - "News" - "Video Games" --- # Chevy Work Van With Custom Nintendo 64 In-Dash Install Is How You Do Lunch Right ![Images of an N64 installed in a work van's interior.]() *\Eric via Facebook\* In the days before in-car subscriptions and overcomplicated interfaces, screens were fun. I'm reflecting on that period now as I look at what one tinkerer and retro [gaming]() fan, Eric, did to his work van years ago. That's a Nintendo 64 shoved into the dash of a Chevy 3500 utility van, complete with four controller points, the stock power-on LED, and a cartridge slot arranged in a gleeful four-eyed face; overhead, a flip-down display shows the original *Super Smash Bros.* running. This is what it looks like when screens work for *us*, not the other way around. It's the realization of all the potential that the intersection of cars and technology seemed to promise; your car could still do car things, but you could also throw fists 1v1 on Kongo Jungle over break. It's brilliant. [Eric wrote on Facebook]() that that's exactly what he and his co-worker did during lunch, usually in a grocery store parking lot, because that's where their old jobs took them. I got in touch with Eric because I had to know more about this install. He told me the main challenge was separating the cartridge slot from the motherboard, as they're typically oriented perpendicular to each other on a real N64. "I had to desolder the pin connector from the main board, and reconnect it pin for pin, with jumper wires," Eric said. "This way, the connector could be moved independently from the board." ![]() What you're seeing in the Chevy's dash is effectively the *top* of a real N64 facing outward, with holes for the controller ports drilled out above it. Jumpers were soldered in for the power supply as well, and once Eric had disassembled the console and moved around the components appropriately, the rest of the job was "pretty straightforward." An inverter powered the system. The project was a rewarding one, Eric said, and while he and his coworker Johnny would usually play *Smash Bros.* together, during long road trips, the passenger could swivel the display toward them and play some *Super Mario 64*, *Donkey Kong 64*, and *Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire*, among other N64 classics, on the move. But that wasn't the only system they had at their disposal; below the built-in N64 laid a Nintendo Entertainment System in a cubby near the base of the center stack. ![]() ![]() Ultimately, when Eric was later laid off from that job, he didn't feel like reinstalling the original head unit into the work van, so he left it all there. Who knows what became of the vehicle, though we hope the setup provided his successors with some enjoyment. And if you're ever browsing Facebook Marketplace out west and come across a Chevy 3500 circa 2012 with a built-in N64, you can be sure who put it there. *Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()