Can a LC 520 be converted into a 575?

[EvieSigma]

I'm on a quest for a LC 575/Performa 57x but have had zero luck finding one. However, I have found a LC 520 on eBay that's attracting no interest whatsoever that I might be able to score for a good price...my question is, could I convert the 520 to a 57x by installing a 57x motherboard, front bezel, and SCSI CD drive?

 

[novusgordo]

If you do, don't scrap the mobo. Sticking that in a Color Classic will improve it immensely.

 

[EvieSigma]

Well I'd be selling the 520 board and front bezel to recoup costs and help keep some other 68k machine out there alive.

 

[EvilCapitalist]

It's exceedingly rare to see the parts you'd need to convert the 520 to a 575 come up for sale since these machines are getting pretty hard to find full stop.  Personally, I'd just go straight for the 575.  There's one not too terribly far away from me that's reasonably priced and depending on where you are in PA it could be a very easy day trip down 81.  These machines are absolute bears to ship and what normally ends up happening is you end up with a pile of splintered plastic. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222262400976

 

[EvieSigma]

That's...not something I can do, I don't live anywhere near the road you speak of...that and I'm a full time college student.

 

[novusgordo]

I'm possibly going to be picking up a 520 myself today. The difference is, in my case there's no shipping involved.

 

[EvilCapitalist]

That's...not something I can do, I don't live anywhere near the road you speak of...that and I'm a full time college student.

In that case, don't spring for the 520 just yet.  That 575 I mentioned has been price dropped a whole bunch and likely will continue to do so.  Shipping from VA to PA shouldn't be too terrible I would think.

 

[360alaska]

You can swap the logic board and the back plate very easily but you can't swap the front plate and cdrom without either installing a 575 harness or modifying the harness that's in there. The connections for a caddy cdrom vs a tray load are opposite.

Good luck,

Josh

 

[novusgordo]

Interesting... but the drive will work if you're willing to put up with a 2x drive?

 

[360alaska]

yes /\

Found pics to explain:



Why Apple why?

 

[EvieSigma]

This 520 actually has no CD drive! What an oddball.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222280810299

 

[360alaska]

Yeah, you'll need a new front plate, the wiring is still in there.

 

[novusgordo]

Or you could see how good you are with a Dremel and some fine sandpaper? Maybe a drill for an emerg-eject hole?

 

[omidimo]

Every once in a while you will find the innards of a 575 on eBay, usually, they are the remnants of a tragic shipment. I scored two motherboards + drives earlier in the year that way. Just have an eBay Alert for the model and its variants. 

 

[EvieSigma]

Well I've decided to leave that poor 520 alone and not buy it just to gut it and transform it into something it isn't. Especially since I just bought a SE/30.

 

[Cory5412]

The boards on the 520, 550, and 575 all swap in and out with no trouble. I'm with the crowd though, I'd probably just buy the Mac you want up front. It's not like this is 1996 and a used 520 is still less expensive than a used 575.

It's not particularly odd for an LC500 series machine to not have a floppy diskette drive. THe LC500 series were essentially school classroom/lab computers. Performas would be more likely to have a CD drive (not that it wasn't common on LC systems) because a Performa branded computer would have been sold directly to homes.

 

[MinerAl]

If you have a 520 available and easy, go get it.  An external SCSI CD-ROM (although an Ethernet card would be a better $20 investment) and a 575 LoBo will do what you want to do until you can trade up to a full 57x later

 

[jhorvath911]

Alright so which one of you outbid me on the no-cd 520, I needed that for the collection hahaha

 

[techknight]

Probably nobody from this forum, or nobody that would admit.