Computer wiring... Need Help

I just put together the computer for my brother's Car PC. It's a VIA M10000 in a Casetronic 2699 case. Anyway, we're building a fiberglass console. As part of the console, we are going to have 2 USB and 1 firewire port in the front and the same in the back.

I was going to take the Firewire/USB adapter that came with the board and mod it into the floppy drive slot. Then have extenstions that come out of the console that would plug into there. Unfortunately, I am unable to find and firewire extension cables (Do they exist, anybody know?). This means that I have 18 wires that I want to run from the inside the case to the outside. Along with that I need to run Power Switch, Reset Switch, Power LED, HD LED, CD-Audio, Power for DVD Drive (it will be in the console) and an IDE cable. I don't want to have to reach in the case and unplug everything each time I need to pull the computer out. I'd like to have just a few plugs on the side where I can plug everything in at once. So I have a few questions...

Could I combine the grounds for the PWS, RSS, PLED and HDLED?

What type of connector could I place on the outside so that I could connect almost all of this at once? Should I do a RJ-45 jack for the LEDs and Switches and then a DB-25 for the firewire?

Also, where could I find either a male to female IDE cable or an IDE coupler?

Can anybody help me?

I also need help designing a few very simple circuits. I know exactly what I want to do, but I'm not sure how to figure out the values on some of the needed components. If anybody is semi-decent with electronics, please email me (click the profile button).

yes you should be able to common all the ground, just make sure it is ground. check with a voltmeter to be 100% sure.

to be continued....got to go..LOL

I would just say to use something like this and paint to match your fiberglass job.
USB 2.0/Firewire 3.5"
I have looked for extensions before but haven't found anything. The main reason is because firewire has a recommended length to not go above. Just like you won't find many 5 foot IDE cables. Best recommendation would be to just use your current faceplate in the back and then daisy-chain up to the one in the front with something like I linked above. Or for total overkill use two of them, one in the front and one in back.
You can find the best deals on cables at Monoprice. They have really nice black 15ft firewire cables for $5.
Good luck, make sure to post pics when your done.

I've got all the indicators and buttons wired up with rj-45 jacks and cat5 patches cables, makes it a breeze to pull apart. I've also made judicious use of spade connectors.