Case Mod Cosmos Cruizer - Front Grill

[jokkos]

alu welding... fiberglass...
it just keeps getting better. And all so flawlessly executed.

[AnG3L]

Your work always amazes me bro just keep modding!!!

[Nutman]

This is just soo good. Please do keep on entertaining me.

[Waynio]

And me & viewers who might be aspiring modders not commenting yet but will be around checking this out.

Liking how this is shaping up.

[Boddaker]

Thanks for the bump Nutman, and I do plan on getting back to this as soon as I can! It's just that I've got another project that's taking precedence right now. And I can't divulge anything on that until it's done. ;-)

[Boddaker]

Hey guys, I'm back on this project! Got my other obligations out of the way for now, so I can continue on with the Cruizer.

Unfortunately, I don't really have much new progress to show. I'm still working on the form for the side panel and scoops, adding bondo and sanding. So nothing new there. I did get some patching done tho, so I can at least show that...

Due to the bottom rails being transformed into hot-rod style exhaust headers, I only need one of the holes in the trim piece at the bottom. And since I'm relocating the top rails to the center, I won't need either hole up there. So I need to plug them up.

I cut out six oval shaped discs and beveled the edges so they fit into the holes.


Here's one of the holes...


And here it is with the disc.


I marked each one so I knew which hole they went into, since they are all different.


After using plastic epoxy to glue them in, I got out the body filler.




Sanded it down smooth. I started with 80 grit on my orbital sander, then went to 220 grit. I used some glazing putty to fill in any small imperfections.


After a final light sanding, I shot it with primer.


I'll sand this down with 400 grit, then scuff the entire trim piece and shoot one more coat of primer once I get all the other modifications done on it.

Feels good to be back on this, and I'll be posting more regularly now as work continues.

[PcJunkie209]

Nice and clean Brian! Keep it up bro.

[Boddaker]

Originally Posted by PcJunkie209

Nice and clean Brian! Keep it up bro.

Thanks Lee!

[Nutman]

Nice work - keep it up.

[Boddaker]

Ok, so I was hoping to have made more progress on this over the weekend, particularly some fiberglass work, but it just didn't happen. Still sanding and perfecting the surface because it has to be absolutely flawless. Any blemish on the plug will be transferred directly to the finished fiberglass piece. So better to try and eliminate all the issues now, than have to fix it later.

That, and this was the last great weekend weather-wise before the rains come this week, and I spent it with the kids doing Halloween stuff.

But I did promise pics, so here's my progress thus far...

When all is said and done, the side panel trim piece will be integrated with the new fiberglass panel, so it will all be one unit. So more preparation was done to the trim piece. Holes were drilled all along the inside edge to help facilitate the adhesion of the fiberglass to the plastic. Typically, the two materials don't stick to one another, so the holes will allow the resin to flow through the plastic. I'll add the fiberglass cloth to the back side as well to sandwich it together.


I bent a sheet of aluminum to match the curve of the side panel. The bend was very slight, all I had to do was set it over a 4" acrylic tube and apply a small amount of downward force to replicate the curve.


I set the trim piece face down onto the alu sheet. Here's a closeup of the curve.


Using the trim piece as a guide, I placed the plug on the sheet and marked it.


Here's a closeup again showing the curve of the alu sheet. It will serve as a backing for the fiberglass, and support for the plug.


I set the trim piece aside, then removed the plug from the sheet and applied contact cement to both parts, and put them back together. This was to ensure the plug didn't move while I added epoxy putty all around it, shown here.


Here's the plug in its current state. The putty is all smoothed out, and creates a nice curved transition between the alu sheet and plug. It's getting real close to being done! It will start looking a whole lot better once I get some primer on it and it's all one color.


Once I get a few coats of primer on it and sanded smooth, I'll have to polish it and apply a couple coats of mold release wax, so the fiberglass won't stick to it. Only then will I be able to start the layup process!

[Waynio]

Your doing awesome with this bod, sure can be a bit frustrating feeling like you didn't get as far as you wanted to in a session but that's definitely right about fixing things sooner than later.

This is going to turn out awesome because of that.

[B NEGATIVE]

I like the side panel,original and visually attractive if you pull it off as your concept design looks.

Will be dropping in regularly.

[Boddaker]

Just a quick update on the plugs. I got a couple coats of epoxy primer on them a few weeks ago, and have been sanding them down, working my way up to 1000 grit. Not really sure when I will get to lay some fiberglass, as it's now getting colder out, and I will most likely have to step away from this project yet again for another build.

Anyway, here's a few shots...




Back when I can!

[Nutman]

Originally Posted by Boddaker

, and I will most likely have to step away from this project yet again for another build.

I'll still be here when you come back.

[Waynio]

Popular demand & yep what Mads said.

[Boddaker]

Ok, I think it's about time I got back on this project (I can't believe I had to go all the way back to page 7 to find it! )
So after wrapping up the Level 10GTS-M case, I was able to spend some time installing some newly acquired parts from EK.


Yes, they were gracious enough to offer up some very cool products for this build, and I can't thank them enough. Here's a shot of what they sent me:


We got a CPU waterblock, motherboard blocks for the X79, Dominator memory blocks x2, ram module adapters (to fit the dominator blocks on my Crucial memory), a 250mm tube res, a 280 and a 420 radiator, and a dual pump top.

I had been searching for a WC solution for my Crucial Ballistix memory, and there are a few universal blocks out there, but I was very pleased to find out EK offers these adapters to fit the ever popular Corsair Dominator blocks. So the first thing I did was install them onto the Crucial memory.

They come very securely packaged in bubble wrap.


Opening it up we have two sets of adapters, with all the necessary thermal padding and hardware.


Here are the memory sticks with their heat spreaders which will need to be removed.


I had to be extremely careful not to damage the memory in the removal process. I found that pulling both sides off at the same time alleviated any bending of the memory stick.


Crucial uses some really tough adhesive on their thermal pads. It took awhile to get it all off the chips.


All four sticks cleaned off and ready for the adapters.


Applying the new thermal padding. The strips were too short to just lay over all the chips, so I had to cut them up into individual squares, one for each chip. Now for the other side.


Once the thermal pads were all on, it was just a matter of sandwiching the memory stick in between the two adapter plates and screwing them together. Two down, two to go!


All done! I had to install the ram onto the motherboard and add the actual Dominator blocks to see how it looked. Looks very nice along with the Supremacy CPU and motherboard blocks.


I'm super excited to be back on this. I'll be updating more consistently from now on, as this case is top priority!

[Pranja]

Nice.
I was wondering what happened to this one.
Please,continue.

[Nutman]

I've seen people trying to remove the heatspreader on memory modules, but ending up with tearing off one or several memory chips doing so.

You did good, Brian.

[Father-Time]

Originally Posted by Nutman

I've seen people trying to remove the heatspreader on memory modules, but ending up with tearing off one or several memory chips doing so.

You did good, Brian.

/Blushes....

Brilliant work so far Boddaker, fantastic design and luverly hardware

[B NEGATIVE]

Originally Posted by Nutman

I've seen people trying to remove the heatspreader on memory modules, but ending up with tearing off one or several memory chips doing so.

You did good, Brian.

The secret is a heatgun on low,soften up those beauties before ripping their clothes off