I have finally decided to start work on my old Chieftec Dragon case. Currently, I have very little in the way of an overall plan for it, so I'm looking for ideas and inspiration. Here's the old girl Even without a clear idea of what I want to achieve, there's nothing stopping me making a start; so, after ten minutes of rivet drilling, I'm left with this... And this... I will be watercooling, so I do plan on a 360 rad in the roof and a 240 in the lower front panel. I'm currently degreasing and cleaning the parts, and I'm either going to paint them or send them for powder coating. Clearly I won't be doing any of that until I make the required cuts and holes. Anyone know the costs of powder coating, and a good company to use?
Slight change of plan. I have (will have) two 240 rads spare pretty soon, so I'm putting a 240 in the roof, instead of a 360; for now. 30 minutes with a jigsaw and file, plus around an hour's hard graft with an emery pad, and the difference is striking... My arms feel like they're gunna fall off. I am so unfit.
as I was reading the first post I was thinking that's just crying out for a rad in the roof and you done it...Nice start, i love these cases. It's got to have a window in it as well.
When I decided on a 240 for the roof, I was torn between the mounting I've gone for and maybe fitting a couple of fat 240s side by side with vents cut in either door; but doing it that way means dropping the PSU back down on to it's bracket, and I'm planning to use that to mount the pump(s). It'll be getting at least one window, Jeff - anything to reduce the amount of sanding required for those side panels. That reminds me, I need to find some flat u-channel edging; and I have to research the best way to remove acoustic matting.
The old feet are consigned to the skip, they were pretty nasty, and I have a set of casters spare... I have thought about recessing them in the case floor so it sits lower down, but I'll have to measure their swivel circumference, to see if it's worthwhile, or even possible to do without hindering mobo placement. The rad templates are from MNPCTech. Clicky Cheers!
I have much love for these cases, all i am going to say is 'keep it pure to the design' its a classic case which needs love and attention
I know what you mean, and it is a little difficult when throwing ideas around. The idea is that it will remain, and be recognisable as, a Dragon. However, if that means I only give it a lick of paint and throw a bit of fairy dust on there, what's the point? On the other hand, this is my first project log, and skills and budget are not exactly boundless. A perfect example is the front door and fascia panel - that is what identifies the case. So, my problem is how do I make changes to the front without destroying it's identity? I have a lot of thinking to do. Thanks for the comments, guys.
Damn i´m getting old *memories*. Nice idea putting that good old trusting case to a new job. I should revive mine too
My old dragon That was 7 coats of Ford Mexico yellow, each flatten and buffed, the main chassis painted black. I miss the case as it ended up in a skip after uni as I had no room for it However I do have another one shown bellow in my old render farm. With yours I would extend the hole pattern on the side panel into something interesting and back-light it
Nice looking Dragon! Interesting idea about the hole pattern. I'm going for a window, but there's nothing to stop me making a pattern on the other panel. Food for thought, thank you. In other news, I'm praying for the rain to hold off this weekend, so I can make some more progress. I don't have a garage, unfortunately, and the shed is rammed.
I'm still stripping it back to bare metal at the moment, mate. And building up the courage to try removing the acoustic matting.
The project is on hold at the moment, but by no means abandoned. It's mostly stripped back to bare metal and the foam matting is gone, but all the bits are in a box in the shed for now. I have some designs made out for the side panel lighting, but I need access to a pillar drill to do them justice - there may be an old one up for grabs at work, I'm just waiting for a decision from the gaffer. Also, my mate is building a proper spray booth at the bottom of his garage - so I'm hoping to give it a really good paint job.