remember this old boring Armor?

 
I have an upgrade project for this "armor"! namely, I want to make a cut out in MB tray for CPU backplate (god, it's such a royal PITA without it!), plus 2-3 more smaller cut outs for some better cable management, mainly for MB power cable, CPU power connections and PCI-E power wires, the rest will go through thin stock cut outs on a side (discovered them quite recently LOL!)
 
SPOILER!
This is a final pic of done case as it turned out to become later:
 
 

Progress:
well, so far the case has been stripped apart as far as screws allow, only rivets left! but first things first, some pics below.
 
Armor stripped of all devices and most things, before cleaning:

 
Armor stripped further and cleaned out, only MB stands left (needed them for reference on the back side)

 
CPU cooler backplate cut out as simulated for different motherboards. in below pic you can see 790 Ultra, P67, Z68, X79 and Z77 all layered upon each other. I needed a cut out which is compatible with most of boards and CPU socket placements. I have skipped the x58 as this one has the cpu socket mounted way at the top of board, not really compatible with anything else - would need to loose at least 1 of MB stands to accommodate for this board compatibility if I wanted to keep the rectangle shape..
 

 
Here is the approximate cut out (smaller than real thing will get) drawn on the back side and drill points marked. dremel cutting will go from outer edges of drill points (3/4'' diameter for nice round corners), so in fact it will be 3/8'' wider than current drawing marks it. I basically found a close match to my cut out area by looking at pre-drilled holes in Tt Armor case. the four I picked were a close match guaranteeing proportional dimensions and easy drilling for corners and then connecting them together:

 
here is a reference pic of the front side of MB tray with approx cpu cut out area marked (other cut outs not marked):

 
Please stay tuned for the actual mods coming in over this weekend ... and wish me luck, because I never used a dremel before and I don't want to spend $200 for a new full tower case ha ha!
 
EDIT:
tools used so far:
-MetroVac Dust Blower
-tiny Black & Decker cordless vacuum leaner
-Windex & paper towels + isoprophyl alcohol (cleaning)
-masking tape
-Sharpie and straight edge
-Cordless 3/8'' drive drill with various drill bits (high speed steel and nitrate carbide coated)
http://www.harborfreight....yless-chuck-67024.html
rotary tool (FAIL!)
http://www.harborfreight....ry-tool-kit-97626.html
-Dremel 3000 series:
http://www.homedepot.com/...y-tool-kit-170152.html
-metal cutting discs (don't bother, stock reinforced Dremel discs are better than that)
http://www.harborfreight....mandrel-set-67224.html
-Step drill bit (1/4'' up to 3/4''):
http://www.harborfreight....-step-drill-44460.html
-Paint used: 3x Rustoleum Flat Black spray ca, 12oz each
 
Project inspiration taken from:
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8024
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2ORogQet3U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAXbo7SY5Tc
 

Gambrinus1

Very cool, cant wait for more pics. 

 
Thank you!
The Saturday will be big one for me, drilling and cutting. If all works out I may even file it and clean it and then paint it flat black the same day if daylight allows. however if I don't make it on time, then painting is reserved for Sunday ... and it will take place outdoors ... so hopefully the weather forecast holds and strong sun will help dry it fast
 
I also plan on spraying the backpanels (removed in pics) and drilling 2 more holes for future tubing to external rad... hopefully the case (and my neighbors) survives Saturday morning

z3r0t0l0rence

Always liked that case.  Though I hated the side.  I'll be watching to see what you do. 

 
yeah, this case even though so old, still has the potential, but lacks lots of comfort solutions introduced with later revisions ... cut outs for easy cable management and cpu maintenance, flat black inside (really helps with lighting to avoid unneeded reflections) and so on.
 
wish me luck bro, if my vision comes true, this project will become FTW (with the lighting upgrades I have in mind for it), however if my skills fail it will become a laughable cave man modding thread  ...

in deed, great work you performed on your case! you modded the whole outside nicely
I am mostly about to mod the internals only, outside is OK. maybe I will add some silver touch here and there, still have some duplicolor touch up paint from my car, so who knows he he.

Good luck. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

some music for inspiration

 

my cheap chinese rotary tool turned out to be unable to efficiently cut the thick and hard metal case ... it's probably enough for cuting soft materials like wood, plastics and thin soft metal, not for this one though.
 
had to upgrade the rotary tool to Dremel 3000
http://www.dremel.com/en-...olDetail.aspx?pid=3000
 
now we are back in the game again!
 
progress!

 
some music that's playing from my Pandora right now

thanks rjohnson11!
 
it's going well here, just finished all cutouts! only the filing left and hopefully I will be able to finish it off with the very same dremel
 
raw cuts (not filed yet):

 
tomorrow will be the painting day

damn very excited to see how this will turn out, i've been juggling the idea of whether or not to mod my junked tt kandalf.

some updates.
 
minor parts laid out for spraying (main case was painted before this):


1st layer minor parts:


black parts:


black case:


for now I left all the minor parts in the "oven" (my car's trunk acts like that at ~100F in direct sunlight)

computer case is the only thing I laready dragged home. as you noticed I haven't painted the reinforcement bar (still masking tape on it). truth is that I needed some kind of hanlde to carry the fresh painted case, but also I wanted to paint it silver. will probably do that tomorrow using a small brush and automotive touch up paint.

man, I'm tired ... since I need to wait 24hrs until the paint completely dries out, I think I will hit the beach tomorrow (on vacation from work now) to recharge my own batteries.

also wondering if I could return the used Dremel to Home Depot, since I won't be using it anymore

I still need to sleeve some wires, namely for the computer case and fans, so the complete re-assembly of whole system will take some time. probably will take place on Wednesday evening.
 
thank you for watching the progress in this thread!

top bezel drilled through for more air exhaust at there, never liked the stock size of those holes
 
Before:

 
After:

^thanks!
 
need to bring other parts from the trunk of my car. should be totally dry by now, it was a very hot day
 
seems, I will be sleeving the wires tomorrow evening, if all goes well and full re-assembly (and MB+CPU upgrade) with water cooling may actually take place on Tuesday evening

hehe, thanks! it turned out to be a hell of a project!
 
yeah, the case IS heavy, which makes me think it's made out of steel, not aluminum. even considering the thickness of tray and sinde metal sheets, it's nowhere near the aluminum weight (and density). I had a hard time cutting the tray, i'm 99% sure it is made of steel or some other hard & dense mixture.
 
Just finished the silverish touch to the reinforcement bar, it was never supposed to be smooth, wanted some kind of brushed "aluminum" look, and I think it does the trick, however the original color was almost matching my car's silver paint LOL!
 
the latest pic:

 
other painted parts are waiting until the 24hrs clock passes, so I am not touching anything until tomorrow evening, then the re-assembly takes place.

decided not to go to beach ... instead I took a long sleep, it helped hah!
 
was able to put more things together, also my digital camera's xd works again in my card reader (better quality pics again):

 
 
... now sleeving case and fan wires ... pretty annoying thing to do ...

hmmm ... i'm still cleaning older fans (re-suing them for blue leds for now). finished sleeving all 4 case wires (3ft long each!) though hehe.
 
I think I will give up on sleeving 2 older fans, wires in them make no sense ... and with molex on ends ... nah, passing on those for now. other fans either have pre-sleeved wires or they are all black, so no problem