Compact Mac Case Mods

[iMac600]

Any of us here into the case modding scene? I have a Macintosh SE FDHD here that shouldn't be too hard to get working again, looks like the HD is blown but that's all. The case exterior is looking a bit worse for wear unfortunately, being yellowed in a non-uniform manner and there's some severe plastic chips around the seam of the machine. The internal HD carrier is also missing and it's currently strapped in with cable ties.

The only real thing I can think to do for this machine, now that I have a pristine example of a Compact in the 512Ke, is to go all out and build a Macintosh show piece. After all, it won't be winning any points for original condition or best in show the way it's going now.

I have some options, of course.

First option is to use body filler to carefully fill the chips in the seam, sand them back and spray the machine over in a platinum finish to give it the appearance of an original system. Of course it would be difficult to give the machine a 100% original appearance now, factoring in paint availability and the fact it's clearly been repaired as opposed to looking in showroom shape.

Second option, and the most interesting one, is to transfer the internals over to a Macintosh Plus body. I have the spare one just sitting here at this stage, in my opinion it looks a lot better than a Macintosh SE body and it shows some great potential to be an awesome machine. The biggest part of the job is cutting out the back plate from the SE, moulding it into place and sanding it over to give it an OEM finish. This would then need to be sprayed over in primer and auto paint.

Third is to just fix the machine and leave it as-is. It won't be going very far from here now anyway.

Suggestions, opinions?

Also, I know i've been posting a lot recently asking questions with very little action. These plans take time, trial and error if the end project is to be as stunning as intended.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I like the notion of using body filler to fix the SE, but to give it "new look," I'd suggest sanding off ALL the texture and then spraying it, or better yet, powder coating it to give it that ProtoMac factor. I'd suggest black, so you can match it w/WinTel peripherals, or go whole hog and do the ProtoMacLookHack on SE era Mac Peripherals.

While you're at it, try to find an SE/30 MoBo upgrade and look into doing the "poor man's grayscale hack" to your existing CRT.

I've been saving a SCSI Slot-Loader CD Reader for "that perfect CompactMacHack" bit of inspiration to arrive . . .

. . . or just hack the sucker into my IIfx! [}] ]'>

. . . but IIRC, there might already be a side loading CD hack in there now, just waiting for a side panel cutout . . . :

Dunno . . . but you're right to mull it over, patiently considering your options, instead of just jumping in there without a solid plan in place . . . but look who's talking . . . an idiot w/four major case mods in progress, in relays as the fancy strikes me, but with at least two active at any given time! [] ]'> [] ]'> [)] ]'>

 

[bbraun]

Personally, I went with a SCSI->IDE->CF card out the 2nd floppy slot. The "drive" access LED is also kind of useful. I've thought about mounting one in the floppy eject pinhole.

Since a reasonably sized CF card for a 68k system is still small by today's standards, having easy access to it means easy to backup on a modern system using a CF card reader.

Related to case mods, I was thinking about painting a case. I've had good luck with the Krylon Fusion sprays on C64 cases. But I wanted to preserve the case labels, and with the labeling being painted I was wondering if there was a good way of duplicating those in a stock-looking fashion.

 

[LCGuy]

Just a thought....you could paint it black, and use a matching black keyboard and mouse, and maybe go all-out with an OS skin, to make it look something like the TEMPEST SE in the movie "Watchmen"

 

[iMac600]

Just a thought....you could paint it black, and use a matching black keyboard and mouse, and maybe go all-out with an OS skin, to make it look something like the TEMPEST SE in the movie "Watchmen"

This gives me an idea. The black, that is.

I still want to use the Macintosh Plus case, if possible. As I said it's a much better design than the SE case, it's in much better shape than the SE case, and it gives me the kind of look i'd be after in the completed project with that boxy but suave and smooth front bezel. I could save myself a lot of time and just fit the SE rear bucket on to the Plus bezel (after the SE bucket has been repaired that is) but then i'd lose the top vents, which I was pretty keen on having. So I may still have to go the cut, machine, epoxy, fill, sand and paint route.

If I had access to the thermoformer and the perspex sheets, i'd even consider remaking part of the rear bucket in an iMac style, a tinted transparent graphite with portions of the frame chromed, with twin exhaust fans on the back. That would be true hot rod style.

I think a gloss, metallic or matte black finish will be the ideal base for the graphic work to go on to it. I'm not entirely convinced that paint is everything, i've seen some incredible work done with polished aluminium and copper that could really set the project off.

EDIT: I have the SE Analog board and Logic board in the Plus body. I've connected it all to the Plus CRT and it's working as expected. The only issue I can see with running it in this configuration is that the Plus internal frame does not have a hole in it for the SCSI ribbon, so i'll have to swap it over with the frame from the SE. The other issue is that the Plus has its speaker on the analog board, so there's no speaker in this case at the moment, but that couldn't be a simpler issue to resolve.

However there's an upside to using the Plus frame. The drive cage has the floppy drive mounted higher up, with a large gap below it. If I mark out and drill 4 holes in the floppy drive cage, I can mount the hard disk below the drive and still have enough room for some great airflow. It solves the hard disk drive mounting issue that I have with the SE.

That's the first part of my experiments anyway. Good to see I have plenty of options for swapping components as I see fit.

 

[iMac600]

I tried converting everything over and booted the SE up in the Plus case. Amazing how many of these Apple parts are just interchangeable bolt-ons, no modification required.

Unfortunately the rear bucket case from the SE has more of a tilt at the front where it meets the bezel, so there's a 1cm gap between SE rear bucket and the Plus front bezel. The only solution is to cut the entire back out of the SE bucket and mould it into the Plus bucket case, which involves epoxying it into place, body filling it, sanding it back, priming it and then painting it. It's a lot of hassle, there's a lot of precision machining involved and the process is not reversible. Any changes are permanent.

Damn though, that process drew a fair amount of blood.

I'm thinking the solution may be to just sell off the remaining 68k's on MacTalk Australia and "hang up the multimeter" for the very last time. If there wasn't so much fabrication work involved, maybe, but I don't have the motivation to work on these machines considering the amount of work they'd need to be repaired or converted.

 

[Mac128]

Unfortunately the rear bucket case from the SE has more of a tilt at the front where it meets the bezel

Actually it's the Plus that has the tilt back. The SE straightened it out so that the skirt around the base uniformly hid the case joint at crisp 90 degree angles. It wasn't needed in the SE as there is no front connection for the keyboard that needed direct access to the logicboard, which does not make it all the way to the front of the case in the Plus.

I can't think of an easier fix than to cut out the rear connector panel indent on the Plus and replace it with the one from the SE. Just paint that section black to hide the work, since it is indented anyway. Don't worry about reworking the entire case.

Also, you mention wanting the top vent of the Plus. But you also mention running a hard drive. I hope you are not planning to run your SE with a hard drive, but without a fan. If so, you should really consider going with an SD solution as the hard drive will really overheat the ability of the convection cooled Plus case. If not you will obviously have to relocate the SE fan.

 

[iMac600]

Also, you mention wanting the top vent of the Plus. But you also mention running a hard drive. I hope you are not planning to run your SE with a hard drive, but without a fan. If so, you should really consider going with an SD solution as the hard drive will really overheat the ability of the convection cooled Plus case. If not you will obviously have to relocate the SE fan.

The main reason I wanted to replace the entire back plate was to allow for the standard fan port on the back, but also retain the convection vents at the top. I had also planned to cut out another hole in the case directly across from the existing fan port and mount *another* fan there, which would draw up more air out of the case but overall is really just for the purposes of the case mod itself (since it would be only too cool to have a "twin exhaust" on a performance built Macintosh SE).

I'll think about it anyway. Both machines are back in their standard cases right now.

 

[Mac128]

The main reason I wanted to replace the entire back plate was to allow for the standard fan port on the back, but also retain the convection vents at the top.

Aiiiii! Not sure that's a good idea at all. Pulling air from the top could interfere with exhausting air from the inside as well as draw in higher warmer air in the room, and theoretically pulled in from the exhaust fan's output in the back. The Plus already has two vents on the chamfers. Traditionally, fans were installed in the Plus on the chamfer side opposite the analogue board. This has the effect of pulling air from the warmer side to the cooler as well as exhausting it as far away from the warmest side as possible. Having two fans will likely only increase noise and air turbulence. It is almost a guarantee that they will spin at slightly different speeds possibly setting up annoying frequency oscillations. I admit all of this could be negligible impact, especially if all you really want is twin exhaust ports, like a dual mag exhaust on a '67 Chevy Impala.

Frankly, I would stick the whole thing in the Plus, cut out the port panel, and otherwise do as little modification to the case as necessary. If Apple had glued the port panel on in the first place the way the top vents are, the upgrade from the 128K to the Plus would have been a lot less wasteful.

 

[iMac600]

Aiiiii! Not sure that's a good idea at all. Pulling air from the top could interfere with exhausting air from the inside as well as draw in higher warmer air in the room, and theoretically pulled in from the exhaust fan's output in the back.

Never thought of that. Point definitely noted, it leaves me restricted with some of the modifications but I can't really compromise ventilation inside the shell, being tightly packed enough as it is. I'll look into this a little more when I have some free time.

Frankly, I would stick the whole thing in the Plus, cut out the port panel, and otherwise do as little modification to the case as necessary. If Apple had glued the port panel on in the first place the way the top vents are, the upgrade from the 128K to the Plus would have been a lot less wasteful.

Well less is more, so the less I can modify then the better. Hopefully I can still get a killer result though. As I look more and more into what I should and shouldn't do, it starts to look like I won't be able to do much except mod it slightly and then paint it.

I keep looking at my iMac G3 and getting ideas, but I don't have injection moulding gear handy so to speak...

 

[Mars478]

Could you post some piccies of the SE in the Plus body?

 

[Mac128]

I keep looking at my iMac G3 and getting ideas, but I don't have injection moulding gear handy so to speak...

Perhaps the Vacuum molding procedure mentioned on the CC/LCD thread? The minute I saw the YouTube of the process in action, I immediately thought of trying this with compact case parts.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

[] ]'> Yep, it'd be even easier than doing the CRT/bezel interface. Just make a plaster cast of the insides of the Compact and then smooth everything perfectly, no need for judging offsets due to thickness differentials if you use the correct thickness of plexi!

Make all of your parts and then weld them together with MEK as described in another thread! } :lol:

I've been mulling over the notions of a clear PB or Compact for years! [] ]'>

 

[olePigeon]

Make a waterproof, airtight case. Then fill it with liquid helium. Overlock the SE to a few hundred MHz and make it the fastest SE on the planet.

 

[LCGuy]

Actually, its liquid nitrogen you need, and unfortunately the 1 Ghz speedup only works with the Plus, not the SE. [)] ]'>

http://homepage.mac.com/schrier/plus.html

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

8-o Some folks are just downright sick! :O

BTW: that's one of my highest compliments . . . )

 

[iMac600]

Could you post some piccies of the SE in the Plus body?

I didn't take any when I had the internals swapped over, sorry. If I do the swap over again, i'll have a camera on hand. That said, it looks just like a Macintosh Plus from the outside and a Macintosh SE on the inside, nothing really special about it.

For Reference Only...

There are a few things to know when doing the swap as well. This information isn't just when swapping SE internals into a Plus or vice versa, but this may be of use for people who wish to borrow parts from a dead Plus for their SE or from a dead SE for their Plus, and could be of use in determining just what will fit between systems. I've added and bolded a tag before each so you know what parts the information corresponds to.

If you have a complete Plus and a complete SE, you have all the parts you need to do a successful swap. Please though, don't do this if the machines are both working or in good condition, this really is a last ditch attempt for case modders to achieve interesting results.

[CRT] The CRT between the Macintosh Plus and SE is the same, but check the part numbers on the CRT and match them up before you do any kind of swapping or power the machine up. If the CRT part numbers do not match on your particular model, the CRT from the SE fits the Plus bezel perfectly and vice versa. In my case both the tubes were Clinton 630-5144, the same tube used across the 128k, 512k, Plus and apparently the SE.

[internal Frame, Logic Board] You will not be able to easily install the Macintosh SE hardware into the Plus if you retain the original internal frame. The Macintosh Plus internal frame does not have the cutouts for the Processor Direct Slot cards or the SCSI ribbon. Additionally if you have a dual drive SE, you will only have access to one floppy port as the Plus frame blocks the second one. Power and one floppy drive connect up perfectly. The solution is to remove the internal frame from your Macintosh SE and bolt it onto the Plus bezel.

[Drive Cage, Internal Frame, Front Bezel] The floppy drives on these machines are in different places on the front bezel, with the SE drive sitting quite low and the Plus drive sitting higher up. The drive cage from the Macintosh Plus WILL screw directly into the SE frame, but you can not bolt an SE drive into a Plus frame. If you use the SE frame in the Plus case, you must use the Plus drive cage to have the floppy sitting in the right position. If you want to use a Plus frame in an SE case, you will need to either cut out the holes for the two locking tabs, or ignore them completely and only screw it in toward the back, although this may leave the drive feeling somewhat loose.

[Drive Cage, PDS Slot] The Plus floppy drive cage on the SE frame DOES obstruct the PDS slot cutout. If you have no intention of using a PDS slot card, you can leave this as-is. If you do wish to use a PDS slot card, you may need to trim the extra overhanging steel off the Plus drive cage. Cutting that away should have no negative effects on the Plus drive cage or its mounting brackets.

[Drive Cage, Hard Disk, Floppy Drive] If you wish to fit a hard disk into the Plus/SE Hybrid, there is more than enough space below the floppy drive on the Plus drive carrier to slot in a hard disk. You will need to mark out and drill the screw holes in the carrier though. Additionally you could secure it in there any way you see fit, the carrier seems to put a bit of squeeze on the hard disk to secure it from moving left and right, but nothing stops it from moving up and down.

[Drive Cage] If you need a drive cage for your Macintosh SE, you can use one from a Macintosh Plus. However you will need to drill out the screw holes for the floppy drive in the lower position or use the upper drive slot on the front bezel, if your Macintosh SE (FDHD, SE, etc) has one. If you drill the holes lower in the carrier for a floppy drive, you can also mount a hard disk in the upper portion of the carrier. If you place the HD lower, you can mount the floppy higher in line with the upper opening on the front bezel (for FDHD, SE, etc). Use of the Plus drive cage in a Macintosh SE requires you to cut or trim away some steel to clear the PDS slot and any PDS cards you have installed, and the drive will only screw in at 3 points instead of 4. However this is more than enough to support the cage and the drives inside it.

Essentially to build the machine into the Plus body, you need the following parts.

- Macintosh Plus CRT (can use the SE CRT if the part numbers match, just to be safe)

- Macintosh Plus Drive Carrier

- Macintosh SE Internal Frame

- Macintosh SE Floppy Drive (with plastic dust jacket)

- Macintosh SE Logic Board

- Macintosh SE Power Supply

- Macintosh SE Analog Board

- Macintosh SE SCSI Hard Disk (for HD equipped models)

- Macintosh SE & Plus Rear Bucket Case (the port openings need to be cut from the SE and glued/attached into the Plus rear bucket)

- Macintosh Plus Front Bezel

- Macintosh SE Speaker (this needs to be attached somewhere in the Plus case)

End of Reference Material.

Now, what have I done so far? Nothing. The computers are back in their original cases and the SE is working. I'm still contemplating a case mod but I have no intention to even think about starting until I know I have clear access to materials, paints, chemicals, tools and of course time and money. If I were to start now, chances are i'd be stuck half way with two cut up systems and either have to trash them both, or finish the project with an undesired result.

I've been toying with the kind of looks that can be achieved with Black, Clear (Glass or Plexi) and Copper. I've seen some spectacular results that look really nothing short of classy yet edgy without overdoing it with flames, stripes and chrome. Of course the issue with copper is its conductivity, it may not be the best option to have running alongside the CRT and Flyback transformer, but if I get around to it i'm sure I could find a solution that works.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I've been toying with the kind of looks that can be achieved with Black, Clear (Glass or Plexi) and Copper. I've seen some spectacular results that look really nothing short of classy yet edgy without overdoing it with flames, stripes and chrome. Of course the issue with copper is its conductivity, it may not be the best option to have running alongside the CRT and Flyback transformer, but if I get around to it i'm sure I could find a solution that works.

Definitely CLEAR! If you've been toying with all of the above, do a clear Plexi case and gild the inside surface with Variegated Leaf! It's got all the colors you described and will act as RFI shielding if you attach a heavy foil ground strap connection to it before you "back it up" with clear varnish . . . and it'll be semi-see-through to boot! [}] ]'> [] ]'> [)] ]'>

http://www.google.com/cse?cx=partner-pub-2070091971271392%3Aougxymc6y19&ie=UTF-8&q=%22variegated+leaf%22+gold+gilding&sa=Search

[] ]'> [] ]'>

 

[Mac128]

Macintosh SE Speaker (this needs to be attached somewhere in the Plus case) ... Of course the issue with copper is its conductivity, it may not be the best option to have running alongside the CRT and Flyback transformer, but if I get around to it i'm sure I could find a solution that works.

The Plus case actually provides better speaker options than for the original Plus. If only it were stereo you could position each speaker out of the vents on both sides of the top. However, to facilitate bucket removal without a ridiculously long cable, some kind of chassis mount to position it appropriately would be more appropriate than mounting it directly to the case.

Copper would be an interesting steampunk mod. Since the inside of the case is fully conductive it would not be an issue internally. And is unlikely to actually transmit a lethal voltage to the exterior as such voltages would short the system as it exists should they be present. Copper would also act as an interesting heat sink. I would be curious how much more heat it could dissipate over the current insulating plastic enclosure. Considering how pliable copper is, it should be used as a covering only over a more substantial (and non-conductive) framework material, like the plastic case its already in.