So I got 80% of all the hard work done in terms of mounting stuff in the box.
I made the cutout for the IO panel in the back using a tiny saw & a Dremel to cut the metal. I have to stop cutting the box, it's starting to lose a little of the rigidity!
I can't beleive it fits perfectly! I'm very happy with it.
Having that done, I had to balance how high/low that would be with how high I could put the panel before I had to cut through the hinges. I would have liked to put it up just a bit more, but it's good.
To mount it, I used machine screws from the outside in, and spaces that I cut from a pen (thanks to a local computer parts guy for that tidbit!). The grommets I cut are only about 1mm thick, but there is fabric & hardboard underneath, so I'm not terribly worried that it may touch. It was a bit of a tight fit, bu after I got it all adjusted properly it slid in perfectly. I put the nuts on & called it a day!
Now I mounted the HDD to the lid. I actually am going to splurge on some mounting rails instead of screwing it right to the lid. Will give a little leeway cause I can't drill precision placed holes, and flexibility in removal & placement. You can see in the picture below the fans are in there as well.
The only thing missing is the Opus, which will go on the lid, next to the HDD.
The pictures below show a couple other aspects, like how the fan is partially blocked (I may cut out the hardboard inbetween the metal rails, I may not. I need the metal though for rigidity).
You can also see a detail of the standoff I used. ( know the screw is long, but it doesn't interfere, and they were available).
Next steps:
-reload OS on another, bigger HDD.
-make a power pigtail. Instead of plugging & unplugging the ATX PSU directly on the mobo, I want to make a pigtail that will plug permanently into the mobo, and can be conencted externally. The goal is to ot stress the mobo so much. I figure it'll be awhile till I get my Opus.
-I got some LEDs & switches, not I have to decide if I want to mount them externally, or inside somewhere.
-Load vital software: winamp, iGuidance.
Then we're on hold till I can get another project finished: tapping my Onstar box for GPS info.
