SoulTaker

[Gh()st]

Ok,

I've been wanting to do this mod for awhile. Finally got all the parts together, and now it's time to start. I've had most of the components, but now that I finally have a decent digi-cam, it's time to document the mod the right way!

So, we'll start off with the basics. You'll need to check my sig for the primary hardware/config. As you'll soon see why, I haven't O/C'ed anything as of yet. The current cramp'ed quarters don't give enough tolerance for anything above stock. ( and at that, I had to add some outside help for better GPU ventillation. )

The mod starts with my case. Unfortunatley, I didn't have this digi-cam unitl after I moved everything over/took this case apart. For those that don't know what a Tt Armor looks like, here's a reference link:

Black Tt Armor case

This is the current housing. It's a bit tight, but it gets the job done for now.

You'll notice the outside 120mm fan. I had to add it to help the GPU. An X1800 XT flashed to PE gets mucho hot when running Day of Defeat:Source. ( 70+C )

We'll start off with the W/C setup. Here's the DD TDX, MAZE4 GPU, Dual 3.5 bay res, and Swifty BGA heatsinks.

BIP2 radiator.

Here's the Noritake VFD, and Sunbeam Fanbus.

As well as the Yate Loon 120mm fans. There's going to be 2 standard D12SL-12 black fans for the radiator, as well as 4 D12SL-12 UV Blue LED fans for the case. (Thanks to PetrasTechShop) The clear 120's in the background will be used as shrouds for the radiator. I'm going to strip the fan out to use the bodies, and thier embedded blue LED's, as the shroud for the 2 black Yate Loons.

Here are some of the case internals about to get a nice coating of paint. I thought about sending them out for chrome plating, but decided that I needed to be reasonable with my expenses on this project.

The guts are getting a coating of this stuff. Once painted, I'll oven bake the parts to help set the paint.

More to come!

 

[Gh()st]

Apologies for the delay. R/L stuff has kept me busy. Good news is that I've been able to complete a few things. Next Friday through the following week I'll be able to add a significant amount/log more work. I'll be working from home during that week, so I'll have plenty of time to devote to the project.

Here are a couple of updates:

Got the pump and PC Ice the other day. Yeah I know. This is my 1st attepmt at W/C. Going to play it safe with the PC Ice for now. Error on the side of caution thingy.

Meanwhile, I've been busy painting. I've finished 90% of the interior parts, and I'm in the process of baking them now. Literally, I have parts in the oven right now. ( see pic 1 below )

I was going to post some concept/inspiration art, but I left most of it on my work comp at the office. When I get in the office on Monday, I'll post some of the art ideas I have fumbling through my head. I have an idea of what I want to do, but maybe you guys can add some needed input....

 

[Stevennoland]

Looks great so far. Nice G35!

Question: where did you purchase the DDC pump with the plexi top?

Steven

 

[Gh()st]

Looks great so far. Nice G35!

Thanks! Best car I've ever owned. She's an '03, with just 33K on it. Black leather interior, which I've been told is rare. Wanted to buy personal plates, but the G/F frowned upon my choices: SPDR8CER ( old high school nick ), and MACH1.

Question: where did you purchase the DDC pump with the plexi top?

Steven

I actually bought the pump online in the forums. It's an older DDC. Not the new rev 2, but 1 gen prior. I've read they're a little quieter than the new rev 2's. I bought the plexi top from performance-pcs.com. I think voyeurmods.com carries them as well now. ( both the top, and the reservoir top. )

New updates coming tomorrow!!!!!

I've finally had a chance to get some more work done. Well, actually I was able to knock-out some things on my "honey-do-list" that has provided me the chance to complete more work.

All interior parts have been painted, and baked. Cut the case top today, as well as the mounting holes for the LEDs in the bottom. Also, cut the top radiator plexi mounting plate, and bottom LED plexi plate. Top hole was cut using a AC Ryan BIP2 Radgrillz. Still need to cut the new front panel, and side window. The entire front is going to be covered in a solid piece of 1/4" acrylic. The 2x120 Yate Loon Blue UV fans will be at the bottom ( and associated vent holes ). In the middle will be a Bulgin vandal resistant power switch that is surrounded by "angel wings" that will flash with HDD activity. ( Angel of Death, get it? ) Above this will be the DVD slot. Next up will be the Noritake VFD display, and on top will be the fanbus.

I'll post some pics tomorrow. Need to sand down all the plexi cuts I made today first.

Here's some of the artwork I'm going to try and employ. Not sure about the 2 graveyard images yet. I wanted to have 1 or both laser etched on a window, but the cost might be too much for my budget.

and

Here are the wings. remove/add the Bulgin switch in the middle.

And then the sickle on top, behind the Radgrillz. Possibly on the front door(s) as well.

Stay tuned!

 

[Luck.exe]

This mod reminds me of Children of Bodom the metal band!


Definately going to watch this one for the reaper...

 

[Gh()st]

Got some more work done this weekend. I'll post pics when I get home tonight. I was able to get the hole cut in the top for the plexi radiator mounitng plate, as well as the holes in the bottom for the 6 blue LEDs. Since that's now completed, I'm going to paint the inside of the tops and bottom pieces to complete the black-out effect. It's not completely neccessary as I'm going to be covering the insides with with acoustic absorbing foam, but this way I can get the little areas around the side panel mounts that will show.

I also got the top plexi, and bottom plexi plates cut. I hand sanded the edges down using 100, and then 400 grit sandpaper to produce a nice frosted (slightly rounded) edge appearance. I think I'm going to take a torch to the edges to complete the polished look, and make the edges clear. We'll see. Never done this before, so I'll need to practice on some scraps first. Here's what I'm thinking the top plate will look like once finished. You can see the 2x120 AC Ryan rad grill towards the front end, and the sickle image towards the rear. I want to paint a black border around the outside, and the middle will be silver. I just need to figure out how to mask the areas off correctly/which color to paint 1st. The paint will be on the bottom, so the 1st color done will be the the one seen from the topside.

Also, I need to cut the side panel to free up a little more viewable side panel area. I'm going to replace the stock plexi window, and I'm trying to decide what ( if any ) artwork will be on this side. I thought about having the replacement laser etched with one of the graveyard images ( #2 most likely ), but I think doing that will hide too much of the interior.

Maybe I'll just put the SOUL TAKER logo along the bottom, and a larger Sickle above on the right hand side. The red square area will be cutout for a 120MM fan, and AC Ryan rad grill.

 

[indokyne]

Wanted to buy personal plates, but the G/F frowned upon my choices: SPDR8CER ( old high school nick ), and MACH1.

i'm sorry, but that would be uber ghey.

 

[marquee]

I see that my baking paint guide is in use already.

 

[Gh()st]

I see that my baking paint guide is in use already.

Yeah, I was debating on doing any interior paint, until I read about baking. Didn't go gloss on mine though. Only black I could find was flat, but that's OK with me.

So here's a couple of quick pics. This is the first group of parts to go under the saw. The red lines on the bottom denote where the LED holes will be drilled, or expanded to fit them.

Next are the plexi pieces cut, and sanded.

And then the top and bottom. LED holes are hard to see, but are just the right size. They fit snuggly on the trial fitting, and will stay put once some epoxy glue is applied.

 

[Gh()st]

Ok, so I've gotten the bottom/top areas painted. Working on some electrical stuff, and may need to some help. I plan on running 6 - 5mm blue LEDS on the bottom. I'm actually using 2, 3 LED, LAZERS lights for the lighting. I'm cutting the LED's free of the housing, and I'm going to wire them into the bottom. Each set of 3 currently has it's own 200ohm resistor.

Should I run each three in seperate loops, keeping the current ( no pun ) resistors, or can I run all six off 1 resistor? It's been 10yrs since I took my electronice engineering classes, so I'm a little fuzzy. (I'm amazed I still rememeber the damn resistor color codes). Should I run them in seperate (parallel) 3 LED, or continous 6 LED (series)? If I remember correclty, parallel makes for least resistance, so 2 resistors would be needed? 1 for each leg, correct?

Meanwhile I turn my attention to the Noritake VFD. Need to wire the little bugger up. I think I've gotten the wiring diagram figured out. ( see 5 posts down:

) I'm assuming the 5+, and GRND leads can all be tied together? ( all 5+ together, and then all wired GRND together )

 

[Gh()st]

Couple of quick weekend pics to add. I've started to rivet the frame back together.

As well as layout the marking for the plexi top's mounting holes.

I haven't mounted the middle cross brace as of yet. I need to cut the 3 holes needed to house the UV LEDs.

And here's a shot of the bottom blue LEDs with the 200ohm resistor I was talking about.

 

[Legion©]

You know, you really shouldn't draw red arrows on your furniture, the women-folk don't like it

You'll have to either run the LEDs in seperate groups of 3, or groups of three running in parallel. Running 6 of them in series won't give you enough juice to drive them. Personally I would have just bought some new LEDs and resistors and done it from scratch. Costs a fraction of the Lazer LEDs, and ends up exactly the same.

It's all looking very nice though! Keep up the good work.

 

[Gh()st]

You know, you really shouldn't draw red arrows on your furniture, the women-folk don't like it

LOL Actually the "woman-folk" made a comment about the formal dinning room furniture being the background scene for the shoot.

You'll have to either run the LEDs in seperate groups of 3, or groups of three running in parallel. Running 6 of them in series won't give you enough juice to drive them. Personally I would have just bought some new LEDs and resistors and done it from scratch. Costs a fraction of the Lazer LEDs, and ends up exactly the same.

It's all looking very nice though! Keep up the good work.

Yeah, that's what I figured. 2 loops of 3 it will be then. ( easiest to mod ) I already had 1 set of 3, and the 2nd was only $2 more addded onto a parts shipment. I was at Fry's the other day, standing in their LED ailse, but had already committed to the 2nd Lazer, so... eh.

Thanks!

So I was toying with the use of a torch to clear polish the edges of the plexi. I've read it's a hassle, but I figured I'd at least try. ( especially considering the 3hrs it took just to hand sand down all the sides of the current pieces to 400 grit. I would still need a 600/800 and then 1000 grit sanding to be close to a really nice polished effect. That's going to be some work, but considering the below outcome of my torch/polishing attempt, it may be worth it.

I can only assume the bubbles were caused by several factors. I didn't completely clean the edge before trying to melt/burn. The adhesive from the tape actually melted down into the area. I held the torch too cloose/too long in 1 spot. Fortunately, this piece is easily sanded/replaced.

Oh, I forgot to mention. I have a crowd watching my progress. OK, well it's 1 cat, but at his size, you'll agree he is definitely crowd sized.

More to come!

 

[Legion©]

Damn that's a big cat!

I've found with flaming the edges of acrylic you still need to sand them down to around 400 grit first. If you start with 80, then 120, 240 and then the 400 grit it shouldn't take very long. Also make sure you use a sanding block as it keeps it flat and is a lot easier.

The masking tape will definately mess things up if you melt it in
Keep your flame moving, and don't get it too close to the acrylic. It should slowly turn glossy at which point you stop. If you keep going it will sag and bubble.

What sort of paint did you use on the chassis? How scratch resistant is it after baking?

 

[Gh()st]

I've found with flaming the edges of acrylic you still need to sand them down to around 400 grit first. If you start with 80, then 120, 240 and then the 400 grit it shouldn't take very long. Also make sure you use a sanding block as it keeps it flat and is a lot easier.

The masking tape will definately mess things up if you melt it in
Keep your flame moving, and don't get it too close to the acrylic. It should slowly turn glossy at which point you stop. If you keep going it will sag and bubble.

Thanks for the tip! I'll give it another try, and go slower/keep the flame a little further away. I'll also take the tape off this time as well.

What sort of paint did you use on the chassis? How scratch resistant is it after baking?

It's Dupli-Color High heat engine spray paint, rated to 1200 degrees. After painting I baked it at 300 for 2 hrs, and then 400 for another hour and a half. ( per the instructions ) It definitely increased it's hardness over not baking. After a week of drying, an unbaked piece is easily scratched with a fingernail, but a baked piece is much harder to damage. Don't get me worng though, as the baked stuff can still be scratched with enough effort/slippage of a tool.

 

[Legion©]

Cheers for the paint info. I saw some similar stuff the other day when I picked up some tools and wondered how it would go on my Sleeper mod. I'd need to sandblast first though
It's that or powdercoating... definately a harder finish from what you've said, but a lot cheaper too.

 

[mentok1982]

Hey Gh()st this is looking good.
For my next PC I am going to use the Black Armor case and eventually want to put Johnny
The Homicidal Maniac art on the right side.

JtHM art example 1
JtHM art example 2 Click on pics for larger scene.

I own a decent scanner and the complete JtHM comic series and I have no drawing or painting
talent. If possible I would like to leave the case black and just add the white. If I need to I will
pay a professional artist (car painter?) about $200-$250 for the work.

If you have any painting tips for me that would be awesome. I will be watching this thread and
paying close attention to your painting process.

EDIT
Is the paint on the side of the Armor textured at all or is it a smooth black paint out of the box?
I will be using watercooling components (mostly from Danger Den) I really want to see how
you mount the radiator and where.

 

[Gh()st]

Hey Gh()st this is looking good.
For my next PC I am going to use the Black Armor case and eventually want to put Johnny
The Homicidal Maniac art on the right side.

JtHM art example 1
JtHM art example 2 Click on pics for larger scene.

I own a decent scanner and the complete JtHM comic series and I have no drawing or painting
talent. If possible I would like to leave the case black and just add the white. If I need to I will
pay a professional artist (car painter?) about $200-$250 for the work.

If you have any painting tips for me that would be awesome. I will be watching this thread and
paying close attention to your painting process.

EDIT
Is the paint on the side of the Armor textured at all or is it a smooth black paint out of the box?
I will be using watercooling components (mostly from Danger Den) I really want to se how
you mount the radiator and where.

Yeah, I've been waffling on how I'm going to get the the artwork completed. My 1st thought was to have Hyperkore laser etch the side window with one of the graphics. Pricing starts at apprx $40 for a 14x14 window. Unfortunatley, the window on a Armor is 18x20 apprx., so there'll be a price increase. But then I decided that would most likely block out a significant amount of area that could be seen inside the case thru the window. Then I've thought about putting the laser etched window on the other side, and leave the primary relatively art free. ( Just the SoulTaker logo, and the sickle ). I need to talk to them (Hyperkore) about pricing. Instead of cutting a window on the back side, I've also thought about having a local airbrush artist/shop paint the image on that side. That may be an option for you as well. Don't know what kind of pricing that would be, though. Need to research it a little/get pricing quotes.

As far as tips go, so far I'd just say stick to the obvious stuff. Make sure the part you are about to paint is thorouly cleaned to maximize paint adhesion. If you're going to use the High heat paint, and bake it, make sure to wash off any over-spray dust that may have accumulated on the part before putting it in the oven. The 1st part I baked I forgot to clean off the excess dust. The house reaked of chemical smell during the 1st couple of hours. ( Much to the unliking by the "woman-folk" ) Cleaning the subsequent parts before baking made a significant difference in odor output while being baked. ( You can't completely get rid of the smell, but it will at least lessen the effect. ) Although I used the same paint on the underside/inside of the top and bottom pieces, I did not bake those. I'm not sure how the factory paint on the outsides of those pieces will take to being baked. And yes, the factory outside paint is textured. Sort of a satin/low gloss black paint, and the texture is very similar to drywall knock-down. (little flat bumps) Since I didn't bake those parts, the black paint on the inside is not nearly as hard, and very easily scratched. I'll be covering the area with sound padding/foam, so the scratches that have occured will covered. No biggie, but just be aware that the paint is soft if unbaked.

When I get home tonight, I'll take some pics of the top, and it's plexi rad mounting plate. I've completed the cuts, and now just need to paint.

 

[mentok1982]

Wow thanks for the lengthy response.

So the sides are textured huh. Damn! Looks like sanding will be required.
The airbrush artist sounds like a good idea. I might be able to provide them with a stencil
they can can just spray white paint onto. There are some really fine areas that a stencil will
not work for so part will have to be done by hand.

I read through your posts again and it looks like you are going to mount the radiator at the top
of the case. That may be a bit to adavanced for me as I have never cut metal and I don't have
the tools. I am hoping I can find a way to easily mount my radiator in the front of the case
because I am going to have only one hard drive and one optical drive installed, and maybe the drawer.

 

[Gh()st]

Wow thanks for the lengthy response.

So the sides are textured huh. Damn! Looks like sanding will be required.
The airbrush artist sounds like a good idea. I might be able to provide them with a stencil
they can can just spray white paint onto. There are some really fine areas that a stencil will
not work for so part will have to be done by hand.

I read through your posts again and it looks like you are going to mount the radiator at the top
of the case. That may be a bit to adavanced for me as I have never cut metal and I don't have
the tools. I am hoping I can find a way to easily mount my radiator in the front of the case
because I am going to have only one hard drive and one optical drive installed, and maybe the drawer.

I've been told you can go to any banner/sign print shop, hand them the artwork you want to make a stencil from, and request a "painter's stencil/mask". They can do all the cutting for you. Kinkos may be able to do the same thing, but I'm not 100% sure.

I've seen people mount rads several ways. Outside on top, and outside on the back are the 2 obvious. I wanted to keep mine internal so those weren't options for me. Internal on the top, internal on the bottom, and internal in the front were the ways I was contemplating. I've got 3 HDD's, 2 DVD drives, a dual 3.5 floppy bay res, the VFD, and fanbus controller. I don't have the room for the rad in front. Seriously thought about the bottom mounting, but I didn't like lack of significant airflow thru the bottom. The case feet aren't very tall, so the distance between the bottom of the case, and the floor isn't as ideal for airflow as I would like. (especially when sitting on a carpeted floor ) I wasn't really fond of the top air venting Tt did on the case. The 92mm fan vent is 85% blocked by the plastic piece. And although the top USB/audio/Firewaire ports are nice, I can always relocate them to the front plexi piece I am making. I'd seen a case mod where a guy used a flat sheet of 1/4" plexi as a mounting plate for his BIP3. Looked great, so I decided to do the same thing for my BIP2. I just cut out the factory mesh area, and extended the cut to the front to make room for the rad. The only hard part was moving the rad mount as close to the front as possible to make room for the PSU at the rear. Tt made the PSU mount sideways at the top left corner in the Armor, which made it a P.I.T.A. to mount anything long in top 5.25 bay area. By cutting out the top, and making my own mounting plate, I'm was able to add a little more distance between the rad and PSU.

I was on Tt website the other day, and noticed they were showing a black Armor (LCS ) that comes with an integrated cooling system. They show what looks like a Innovatek rad with some sort of bracket/brace that mounts it to/inside the front 5.25 bays. (3.5 x 7 HDD bay ) Not sure if that bracket/brace can be purchased seperately, but it looks like it would be great for front mount rads.

Link

 

[mentok1982]

I have seen that case. I have not bought my Armor case yet so I could get that one and sell
all the watercooling components except for the radiator.

I have found it for just under $250.00 including shipping that is just about $100.00 over the
Armor without the watercooling stuff. The radiator is probably worth $40.00 and I could sell
the pump, water block and resevoir for at least $60.00.

 

[Gh()st]

OK, as promised, some more pics about the top, and how it'll look when finished.

Here's the top with all the cuts/holes completed.

It's about 85% done. Just need to polish the edges, and paint. ( more on that at the bottom )
Here you can see that 2x120mm fits perfectly.

And here's the top with the RadGrillz.

Here's what it looks like on the case top.

And lastly, the area outlind in red ( the outer edge of the plexi top ) will be black. ( to hide imperfections underneath. ) The middle area will be silver, and the sickle cutout will be in the red boxed area.

I'm still trying to decide if i want to leave the sickle area clear ( see thru ) or maybe put some silver tint film over it. Silver during the day, but when backlit it'll be see-thru.

Hmmmmmm....


***EDIT*** Almost forgot to add this.

I completed the VFD cabling last night. Took me a little over an hour to complete the soldering/sleeving. Hopefully my soldering skills are still up to snuff. I guess I'll find out as soon as I complete the power cable. heh

Also, 1 other thing I haven't mentioned yet, but will go into much greater detail later is the use of this stuff.

I'm a little disappointed HD doesn't carry it in black ( or smaller ), but it'll do the job just fine. It's amazing what a little patience and a Xacto knife can do. ( think better controlled airflow )