Macintosh 512k ED

[macman142]

Over the weekend I picked up a Macintosh 512k ED which has been gutted and unfortunately had the handle chopped out as it had previously been converted to be used as a Macquarium!!!

Anyway, I still bought it (read: saved it) for $65 which is obviously a lot of cash for a very dead Mac! The only reason I bought it was that it came with the original mouse, the 128k/512k style keyboard (the one without the numeric keypad) AND an original keyboard cable. Items that very rarely become available here.

Now, should i turn my butchered 512k ED into:

A. a letterbox
B. a plant pot or
C. back into a Macquarium...

[macinbot]

Oh, how very sad.

Any chance of saving the front and maybe marrying it to another bucket in the future?

Pics for the rubber-neckers would be nice.

[macman142]

I suppose it's possible. I wonder how easily the rear sticker could be removed as it has the M0001ED model number on it too...

Here's some pics

[CC_333]

Hi,

This may be a bit extreme, but perhaps you could take a much more common beige Mac Plus, chop it's handle off in approximately the same place, and somehow JB-Weld/chemically bond that into the void left in the 512K ED.

It's a lot of work, and may not look absolutely original, but it's worth a try.

Alternatively, you could leave it as is and install a big fan in there. These machines need all the help with cooling they can get.

Congratulations on your find, though!

c

[trag]

Giant M&M dispenser?

[Juror22]

Macman142,

You were right about the keyboard/mouse - they are nice to have and more often than not, the compact macs seem to no longer be made available with keyboards. I really can't say what to do, out of the three choices that you gave, but the case looked nice otherwise. An aquarium could use more surface area to work well long term, maybe a MacTerrarium - an alternative on the planter idea?

...or gumball dispenser (I like M&M's, but I like gumballs more).

-Juror22

[Bunsen]

Toolbox?
Speakerbox / guitar amp / iPod dock?
TV?

On the other hand, the front panel looks to be in fairly good condition - if it's free from major nicks and blemishes maybe it's worth selling as a spare? Being flat (ish) makes it more feasible to sell internationally than a full shell, postage-wise.

[sirwiggum]

It screams MiniITX / Mac Mini project to me, with a cooling fan on top, or perhaps built in iPod/Phone dock.

vMac installed too of course.