Project Candy Apple Red (Car Theme)

[DeViL_909]

Ok, I am home for a month and it is time to mod again. This comp is being built for my lovely girlfriend, Jana. She loves cars and drives a candy apple red Miata. She also loves computers. Lucky me :). The case I am starting with is nothing special though. Its an old chieftec case that I bout here off the forums for shipping. It had be modded by the past owner and needed a lot of work to get it to a usable state. Well I will show some pics to show what has been done so far and get some ideas from you all.

http://tinypic.com/555hnb
This is a pic of the top. Looks like the case used to be watercooled with Rad on top. I plan on putting a hoodscoop up there and fiberglassing it to fix the rest of it. More on this later.

http://tinypic.com/555i6b
This is the bottom part of the front. As you can see the grill was cut out before I got to it. I did some bondo work to fix it because the cuts were ugly and had huge scratches.

http://tinypic.com/555icj
This is the door part of the front. I forgot to take a pic of the original, but this is it after lots of bondo work and priming. It has been sanded, but still needs more primer and lots of sanding.

http://tinypic.com/555ik8
This is a full pic of front with door on.

http://tinypic.com/555iqt
This is a full pic of front with no door. You will see more bondo work on the drivebay and buttons.

[DeViL_909]

http://tinypic.com/555izn
Close up of drivebay bondo work. You can see I have a lot of sanding to do and I need to add more bondo to smooth it all out. Just a sample of what is to come. All led holes and buttons were covered.

http://tinypic.com/555j7o
Backside of drivebay. You can see that I put the bondo on top of the drive covers. I will do the same to the back for added strength.

http://tinypic.com/555klx
I am also bondoing the back part of the door to smooth it out. I would hate the back of the door to stay ugly and unmodded.

Thats it for now. I am thinking of putting mesh in the lower part of the front, but I really would rather do a custome design down there. Anyone have some paint skills that could give me an idea of a design that would look custome carish? More will come later. Feel free to comment.

[DeViL_909]

Don't everyone post all at once now. Well on with a quick update. I was messing around with paint for about a minute and did a quick idea of what I was thinking about for the bottom part of the front. See what you all think. I really need some advice on what to make it look like to give it that custom car look.

http://tinypic.com/55koxt

[enduro]

Sweet man :D Keep us updated.

If you have a cute gf you have to put her in your avatar......it's the law didn't you know ;)

[DeViL_909]

Ok, I have done a fair bit of work today. I have been doing a lot of sanding and fiberglass work. I will post some pics here soon when I get a chance. It looks rough right now, but will be silky smooth by the time I finish. It will definatly be a car finish when I am done. I only have about a month to do this, so all the fiberglass work is a little rushed. Should turn out fine in the end. I know chieftec modding has been done many times, but they are great cases to fix up for someone.

[enduro]

Yeah a lot of work like that looks rough in the beginning. Should look awesome at the end though.

[SolidxSnake]

sweet, subscribed... this looks sweet...

If you have a cute gf you have to put her in your avatar......it's the law didn't you know

I thought all overclockers' g/fs were cute??... damn shame if someone has an ugly g/f...

[/sarcasm]

edit:

to make it car themed:...

GET A CPU LOAD TACHOMETER!!

[DeViL_909]

Ok here is the work done today. Does not look like much, but fiberglass and bondo work takes a long time. As you can see there is still a lot of sanding to do and I need to make the sides a little more even. Soon it will be smooth though and ready to cut on for the bottom design.

http://tinypic.com/55mlw8

http://tinypic.com/55mm1j

Enjoy :)

Oh, all overclocker gf's are cute. Here is mine

http://tinypic.com/55mm89

[enduro]

damn shame if someone has an ugly g/f...

Lol dude I mean that you should put a pic of your gf in your avatar.........if she's your gf there is a good chance you think she is cute. I think my gf is gorgeous.

[ju5tin99]

What about wives? I think my wife is kind of cute, can I put her in my avatar?

[enduro]

:santa: Course m8. We're going to start a new group of overclockers. We wont' have a name though cause then we'll be too geeky ( too late anyway ). We should all show off our gf's or wives. BTW, if she see's "kind of cute" you might get busted haha. Might edit that to gorgeous, most beautiful woman in the world, etc for extra brownie points.

[ju5tin99]

:santa: Course m8. We're going to start a new group of overclockers. We wont' have a name though cause then we'll be too geeky ( too late anyway ). We should all show off our gf's or wives. BTW, if she see's "kind of cute" you might get busted haha. Might edit that to gorgeous, most beautiful woman in the world, etc for extra brownie points.

Haha, I would if there was even a remote chance that my wife would ever see this. Since she just sees my computer building habit as annoying, time consuming and a waste of money, I doubt she'll ever find her way here. Gotta love her in spite of all that though. :rolleyes:

[DeViL_909]

Ok lots of work done today. I made my design and began to cut it out. It is basically cut out right now, but needs to be cleaned up and the top part of the triangles have to be sanded out some how (too small for even tiny file). I also got my power switch.

Middle hole drilled then filed down
http://tinypic.com/59vbc9

Side hole being drilled
http://tinypic.com/59vbf6

Filed down
http://tinypic.com/59vbk5

[DeViL_909]

Other side hole done

http://tinypic.com/59vbls

Full shot
http://tinypic.com/59vcxk

Back side has more work to be done.
http://tinypic.com/59vddj

New on switch.
http://tinypic.com/59vdbq

[enduro]

Sweet man :D I'm enjoying this thread.

Lol look at your big toe in the second pic.........looks like you chopped it off.

[ju5tin99]

Nice. I like the ignition with keys to power it up. That will look good.

[ghettocomp]

.......Since she just sees my computer building habit as annoying, time consuming and a waste of money, I doubt she'll ever find her way here. Gotta love her in spite of all that though. :rolleyes:

:rolleyes: I know all about that just so well.. LMAO :D

[enduro]

:D Lol want to know what's sad. My gf has a computer that is twice as nice as mine...........how about that........and she knows how to use it.........normally I'd take an ego hit to admit that but how often you do you find a girl that likes computers.

[ghettocomp]

:D Lol want to know what's sad. My gf has a computer that is twice as nice as mine...........how about that........and she knows how to use it.........normally I'd take an ego hit to admit that but how often you do you find a girl that likes computers.

A Keeper for sure.. :cool:

Edit: Oh Yessss...where were we?
.
.
The project! Any more Pics? Updates yet? From what I have seen that will be a great looking change to that case.

[sicloan]

very interesting concept, and nice work with that bondo! looking great so far!

[enduro]

:D Pics

[DeViL_909]

Ok lots of updates. Well it may not look like alot, but this is about 3 days worth of fiberglassing, sanding, bondo, sanding, puddy, sanding, priming, sanding. Did I forget sanding? :) Everything is starting to take shape now and it is begining to look how I want it. There are still some spots that need work, but you all can see where I am going now.

Full front smoothed down
http://tinypic.com/5d8fgi

Inside door has been smoothed out and primed
http://tinypic.com/5d8flz

Drivebay is getting there lol
http://tinypic.com/5d8fmx

Fiberglassed bridge
http://tinypic.com/5d8fo2

Smoothing behind front grill
http://tinypic.com/5d8ftv


Feel free to tell me what needs work or that I should change.

[Knivez]

lookin good.
I can't stand working with fiberglass, gets stuck in everything and is like needles.

[P4mustangtime]

Very good in doing what you've working toward. As you're into car theme, so do I - still in progress (not finished yet). I'll look forward in seeing your finished project!

[Electron Chaser]

Nice Body work, looks really nice. And the Case Bezel doesn't look bad either. LOL

Seriously nice work on the Bezel. It is going to look awesome once you paint it since paint will hide all the ugly bondo.

[DeViL_909]

This mod is not dead, I have just been really busy and I was gone last week from thursday to tuesday. Now I am back though and I have a little bit of an update for you all. The front door is getting its first shot of color. I have had problem after problem with this case. Due to only having about 2 weeks to finish this and money shortages (Great being a college student...) the candy apply red color is now imposible. They were taking too long to send it, then sent me the wrong color. I had to improvise, and this is the color I decided to use. Hope you all like it.

http://tinypic.com/5lnr4z
This pic was taken before any sanding

http://tinypic.com/5lnreu
This was after the sanding. It has some alcohol on it still from clean up

http://tinypic.com/5lnrif
Another pic of the door. I think it is looking pretty good.

http://tinypic.com/5lnrl3
The front has gotten a pretty big make over. May not look like much, but there has been a lot of filling and sanding and priming going on. That crator you see in there is gone now. Not sure why it looks so big, but it was tiny and sanded out.

http://tinypic.com/5lnrm0
Close up of the bezal part. You can see that it is coming along nicely. Again this is before sanding. I forgot to take a pic of after sanding and I am too tired to get the camera out again.

Well that is it for now. Hope that those of you following this mod are satisfied and not too dissapointed with the later update and color.

[enduro]

:D Lookin good man. That's some awesome work so far.

[flamerail]

You are putting alot of work into this project indeed. Well done sir! Fiberglassing is fun isnt it? :D

[Son1990]

Very good job...Im liking it alot..cant wait to see what the finished project.

~Ken

[Daewood]

WOW incredible work so far my man... I just love that clean and simple look...

and BTW cute GF man! :thumbsup:

[Son1990]

Where you at now?

[Enablingwolf]

May I suggest heavy string or twine is your best friend with bondo and making cuts. It will help you keep a consistent and level surface. The benefit also will be the best cuts you can get. Me being anal about tolerances. I noticed this.

http://img144.echo.cx/img144/9256/5lnrl36vl.jpg

I am not saying bad things about your mod, please don't get me wrong. I am responding to your asking for constructive advice.

Here is how I would make a nice and level cut. First I would make sure of the bottom being with-in what I consider flat(true). I would take my tape measure and then go to the highest point any cut would be made. I would wrap some heavy twine or string around the whole face to get it tight as I could get it. Since the sting would conform to any surface that is the highest point. It would make a awsome guide.
The on then sides I do not plan to molest . I would would use painters tape(be careful it has a life of so many hours before it becomes one with the surface), cello tape would work too. Once I got the string tight. I would then make my markings on how it should look. You could even tie strings at an angle to get your 90°'s. This also applies to running it over your rounded surfaces to get the high/low spots on the bondo.
I really like chalk, since it is semi non-permanent. Once I was happy. Then ink goes down. After that I break out the electrics or air tools. I hope this helps.
I liked what I have seen so far as to comment and post. Keep up this nice concept!!

[Amarkarian]

Good job, nice clean bondo work