Ideas for empty Mac Classic case...

[cbmeeks]

It looks like I have am empty Mac Classic case.  The inside frame was corroded beyond repair.  So it's literally the front panel and back case.  

So, other than an aquarium, what do you guys recommend I do with that case?  I never get into the whole emulator or RPi setup but since the case is empty anyway (and I have no spare motherboards), I might think about that one.

What would be cool is if I could find a small VGA display that would fit.

Suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[ArmorAlley]

1. Sell it someone who could really a new case for their poor Classic?

2. Find an LCD screen that fits, put in a Mac Mini and run mini vMac on it?

 

[cbmeeks]

Those are both good ideas.  

Finding an LCD screen would be great because that opens a lot of doors for some cool stuff like an FPGA Mac Classic.  Too bad they never made a 15" widescreen Mac Classic back in the day so that I could use this VGA monitor I have.  But then the Mac would be "T" shaped.  lol

 

[macosten]

Too bad they never made a 15" widescreen Mac Classic back in the day so that I could use this VGA monitor I have.  But then the Mac would be "T" shaped.  lol

That's just called an LC 520/550/575/580.

Beyond what ArmorAlley said, I mean... you can be one of *those* people and make it into an aquarium/terrarium.

You could also do something a bit more interesting and try fitting a full PC in that case; perhaps a (mini/micro)-(ATX/ITX) motherboard would fit in there and leave enough room for hard drives, etc? No idea if it'd actually work; if it's possible I think it'd take a lot of effort. It's probably just a whole lot easier to stick an SBC like a Raspberry Pi 3 in there, but then you'd have so much free space on the inside...

You'd probably be able to jam in the Pi, an LCD Monitor, a USB hub, a couple of hard disks... could be a fun project.

 

[joethezombie]

Ha!  I built a full PC in a Mac Classic case, and it runs OSX.  Even fit a GTX950 in there.  It's a great little machine, now taken over (stolen?) by my son, grrr!  It runs a dual screen, and I'm genuinely surprised how useful the little screen is for displaying notes or a music player while the main workspace is on the external.  The battery had eaten the motherboard, and because it was on its side, it ran to the analog board and destroyed it as well, it was even cracked in half!  The frame also got quite a bit of damage, but soaking it in vinegar removed most of the rust, and I sanded down the rest until it was bare shiny metal.  In the pictures, you can kind of see that the whole right side was corroded, but then sanded clean.  I carefully constructed the hack, so if I ever found replacement boards, I could restore the Mac Classic to its former glory.

https://www.thinkclassic.org/viewtopic.php?id=833

 

[Floofies]

I wonder if one of the modular/pull-out Quadra LB's would fit in a Classic case.