Well, I mulled over ideas to do my 1st true case mod. I haven't written down any precise plans for it 'cause it's all in my head and you're all invited to come along for my bumpy ride.

Attempt 001

I wanted to keep costs down since I'm learning, so I bought this cheapo case, a Coolmax CV-502 Silver. Oh yeah, me gonna wrex it!


Grabbed my snips and cut the fugly factory blowhole out. U-channel and Modders Mesh do wonders.


Ok, now these look decent, wouldn't you say?


This project is sponsored in part by Bill Owen - Mod God and owner of MNPCTECH.com HAIL the MOD NATION!

I'd say more than decent! Good work

Totally agree with Crunch, they look factory made...well done looks great

Nice work

Nicely done!. Looking forward for more progress

001 UPDATE 08/20/07

Well, I finally had a chance to get back to work a little. Not much, but moving along.........


The factory rear VGA vent looked tired so I chopped it out. It'll look just like the blowholes above.


Went around to the front......fugly grills again........nice knowin' ya.


A much better presentation even though it's on the inside. I initially thought of doing a dual 80mm Turbine Mod, but now I'm considering a 120. However, my final decision rests on what I'll do to the bezel. I'll be into that task later tonight.


I moved on to do some work on my side panel. Here's a simple flame stencil I made from 1/4" foam board. I had my reservations about whether this pattern would look alright, but now I think it'll look pretty tight.


Yeah, we be .


In keeping with the square blowholes in the rear, I decided to do the same for the 80mm on the panel. You can see I've began the cutting for the fan and the VGA vent. Well, I'll end it for now, my son just went down for the night and I have an appointment with the bezel(on to the quiet work). Thanks for stopping by peeps, until next time........

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I burnt some midnight oil............


I took the bezel apart and after eyeballing it and the case for a few minutes I've decided to go with the 120mm fan for the turbine mod. I think it'll look a whole lot better than two 80's, much cleaner and not so busy.


The only useful stuff: Reset switch/ Power LED/ Power switch and the HDD LED's. I've got an idea brewing in my head for the Power and HDD LED's and I'll replace the power switch with a vandal. I just don't know about the reset yet. I didn't give much thought to the USB ports and jacks. I didn't need to......gone!

001 UPDATE 08/21/07

Well, I went back down to the dungeon..........


....and finished cutting the fan hole and VGA vent on the side panel. Looks good I think.


I'll be filling in the holes with some body filler as soon as I remember to get some.


I just may invest in a cheap drill press too. The hole saw ride was just a little bumpy on my jerry rigged bezel. Notice the Coolmax logo upside down?


I have the zip cover in 'cause I'm gonna do something with it and the drive bay cover, in order to help isolate the area I'll be buttering with lots of body filler.


Steady as she goes.

you might want to try using evercoat fiber glass inplace of body filer. due to the fact that it doesnt flex like the fiberglass will.

Ah, yeah. I went back to check out the tutorial. Evercoat brand "Short Hair" Fiberglass Filler(Everglass), yep, gotta get some of that. Thanks for the heads up Ric.

Anytime bra, thats what we are here for ....

I am a very good spokes person for this... i had a project that was 99% done had about 12 pounds of body filler on it (bondo brand gold series ). my neighbor and his son was in the shop and his son pulled it off the bench it hit the ground and shattered like mad crazy......

Right on, I went and got a gallon of the stuff today. And if ANY of you have input, better known as constructive criticism, tell me. I'm a noob at this and am open to suggestion. Anyways, I really didn't have time to work on 001 much today, I just finished preping the right side panel before I bounce to work which is like an hour away. I ran by Hobby Town today and picked up a chrome prop spinner for the 120 fan. Heh, this thing is actually starting to look like something. Well, I gotta split. L8rz all.

001 UPDATE 08/22


I applied the techniques right from the tutorial.

just take it in even coats. thats all i can tell ya .... and read and watch bill videos on his site he has tons of help.

Trust me Ric, I have countless times. Knowledge is POWER!!

001 UPDATE 08/23

I got a lesson in using "Everglass" today and learned some very valuable things.

I. When using this "short hair fiberglass filler", don't make more than a half dollar size puddle and use hardener sparingly, you really don't need much. Just remember that this stuff sets fast or slower depending on the amount of hardener you use. Notice I didn't say slow, it still sets rather quick, 4-6 minutes.

II. I used an industrial mask while applying this and they are INSUFFICIENT! For real, go spend the 20 bucks and save yourself from nausea. I was at the garage door when I began, I was out in the yard when I finished. Mad fumes peeps, get a quality respirator. Pffft, I'm buying mine tonight.

III. As RicM had suggested to me, "just take it in even coats. thats all i can tell ya ....". Yeah, there's no getting around it guys, it's a work in progress and WILL take some time. If anyone can get it done in one shot(app., sand, done!), lemme know. I'll need that tutorial. Hopefully I'll be sanding down those pieces tomorrow to see where I'm at. I hope I'm closer than I think.


Decided to knock out the top of the case.


I got a can of "short hair fiberglass filler" and began the process on the bezel. I want to give the air duct a flat surface before I apply. I'll knock out the panel first thing tomorrow so I'll have the chassis near prepped for paint.

lol i forgot to warn ya about the ventilation that you would need around this stuff ... hope you didn't kill off to many brain cells lol ...