Icejon Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Hi Guys, I've just started a mod. My objective is to transform a humble $39.99 chassis into a lanbox! I begin with a Cooler Master Elite RC-360. Going to add - Red painted internals - Twin Aluminum Rail Handles - Custom Side window - Something else? - Monitor Mount I just bought the case on Cooler Master Store as a refurbished since it will make no sense to get a new one and strip it down. Worklog follows: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icejon Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 The first thing I had on the agenda is stripping the chassis. While I could paint it all as is, since I am only going to paint some of the insides red, I needed to drill out all the rivets. This task is much harder when the rivet heads get stuck in the drill bit. After drilling the case apart, it comes away in about 10 pieces! It's pretty simple. I then had to sand and scuff up each pieces so that my primer would stick. I ran into a problem with some greases and goos left on by the factory so I decided to give each piece a bath, that is why I have a towel on the floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icejon Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 Once the surfaces were prepped and dry I could paint some primer on them. I put on a thick layer of Duplicolor self-etching primer. This primer was a little green, but it would allow my red to stick on quite nicely to the bare metal. Next I think I needed to sand a little using 360 grit wet sandpaper I bought at an auto parts store! Gotta love Pepboys! I made a homemade block using a 1x1 lumber piece. I think I have to repaint my balcony ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icejon Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 As promised, I found the pictures of the painting on the inside of the chassis and I am uploading them for viewing pleasures. I am using Duplicolor Flame Red SUV and Truck automotive paint. You can see that I have the hard drive trays painted with a single light coat of paint over the primer. This is the back panels before I wetsand them with 600 grit automotive paper. I will get rid of those little dust particles and orange peel. I finished painting about 3 good coats after a few days and now I am riveting the chassis together. The small hard drive tray structures assemble first with a simple hand rivet gun. Now I am working on assembly while trying to protect my finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icejon Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 I had a few problems riveting it together. The first is that a certain order has to be followed as opposed to ripping the chassis apart. I failed the first attempt to install the hard d drive cage to the top of the chassis rather than to the motherboard tray at first. Then while putting it together, the force of the rivet gun can sometimes cause it to scrape against the chassis. I did my best to keep the chassis straight even when I had no clamps or jigs to hold it square. The Elite 360 is a small rectangular cube type box so I was hoping that it would rivet back together and still be aligned. Since most chassis are made with stamped steel, when un-riveted the stamped metal will contract or warp into their original forms. When I assembled it, I made sure to test it with a side panel. The panel slid on, so It looks true. Also, the best size of rivet to use when installing is 3mm 1/8" rivets. I used arrow brand a 100 pack with white paint. I think the contrast helped me see easier. One last picture before I install a side window. The red color is actually a bloody red that matches my carpet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmodding Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Good ! =D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaPang Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Are you going to jam a V-10 into it? I say "jam" because it looks sort of smallish although I have no idea how big it really is. But I think you can do a lot more than planned so that your mod stands out: extreme painting scheme, top window with extraction, front air feed with a spinner, lighted base feet, some 3d effects on the windowless side, strobe maybe? The Elite is a modders canvas because it is so conservative, it begs for all you can throw at it! You still have time to make it smashing. Lots of Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Torchwood Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Loving the fact that you purchased a 'Refurbished' case from the store for this project. There are some items that you just don't buy refurbished but Cases tend to be great solid workhorses NIB or Refurb'd. As I had said in another thread the contest is getting my creative juices flowing & I just wish now that I had decided to do something for it this year. Seeing you use a refurbished case has conjured up many ideas for me now & of course it is a great money saver at the end of the day. Maybe we will see more refurb'd items / cases in contests to come. Dr. T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icejon Posted July 14, 2009 Author Share Posted July 14, 2009 Are you going to jam a V-10 into it? I say "jam" because it looks sort of smallish although I have no idea how big it really is. But I think you can do a lot more than planned so that your mod stands out: extreme painting scheme, top window with extraction, front air feed with a spinner, lighted base feet, some 3d effects on the windowless side, strobe maybe? The Elite is a modders canvas because it is so conservative, it begs for all you can throw at it! You still have time to make it smashing. Lots of Luck. I was thinking about jamming a v10 or something in it, but then I would have to make a new side panel from scratch since the chassis is only 5.5 inches wide about. I am definitely going to change the front panel to make it look fiercer. You're right the chassis is a modder's canvas, I can do anything and if I screw up, I can buy an entire new replacement chassis for the mere cost of a sidepanel for the Cosmos S. Value FTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icejon Posted July 15, 2009 Author Share Posted July 15, 2009 Thanks for the comments guys. BTW I am just modding this chassis for fun, and not for competition since it is my first time. Now that the chassis is painted and ready for other things. I decided to start cutting and actually working in the chassis. My motto framing my whole project is to create as much as I can, using refurbished and scrapped parts from other chassis. I did some shopping on CM Store and bought alot of promising replacement parts from other chassis. When I couldn't find it on the site, I submitted a spare parts request and bought it direct. Below are 3 exiting pieces of kit belonging to three different chassis that I am going to put in my mod - 2 x Hollow Machined Aluminum Handle Bars (ordered as a special order refurb from the front panel of the Centurion 532) - 1 x Side Panel window with security grid pattern (ripped from an HAF 932) - 1 x Scrap of thick, acoustic foam insulation (ordered from a special order refurb from a SIleo 500) One note about the handle pipes. They are hairline treatment finish, solid aluminum and a diameter of about 2cm in diameter and 17.4" long (a little longer than the length of my chassis). If you look inside you can see they have two holes about 5mm apart that are threaded for the standard long chassis type screw (like the one used on radiators to attach a 120mm fan). They are really robust, and served no purpose on the original 532 design by Cooler Master. In my RC-360, I will need to use them to bear the weight of the chassis and create a bracket that will be able to attach to the flat plane of the chassis top. This is compounded because I have no metalworking skills! I was thinking about using 90 degree bent lexan. I would cut a mini lexan book stand riser display in half and use both ends. I need help: - Any suggestions on how to securely mount the top handles to the chassis? - Would Lexan right angles support the weight of the chassis AND be able to be screwed using existing holes 5mm apart? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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