Art Deco Zenith 5-s-29 Radio Case Mod

Reservoir Mounts

I originally made reservoir mounts out of acrylic, but didn't like the way they looked. I saw this idea on another case online and borrowed its approach. I took my measuring tape and picked up a piece of 2in schedule 80 PVC coupler. The inside measures 2 3/8in, and the OD of my res is 2 1/4in.

I cut the pieces at a 10 degree angle using a miter saw, drilled countersunk holes, painted them, lined it all up, and mounted them to the air chamber using #4 bolts and nuts. I drilled and tapped holes for the #6-32 x 3/8in set screws to hold the res.

They just have a thread with a small regular screwdriver slot to tighten them. I used some small rubber foam pads between the screws and the res and on the backside between the res and mounts so that the mounts grip the res well and don't scratch it.

Motherboard Mounted

I got the Motherboard from my old system mounted as well as the PSU and wires to power everything. It took me a good bit of time to work out exactly where to put my wiring. I knew with this design that wire management was going to be an issue since I added the radiator air chamber to the case, thereby eliminating that area to hide wiring.

Wiring

The PCI-E wires that come with the PSU are of course too short to route neatly. I ordered PCI-E connectors from Performance-PCS.com. Since the page on their site however didn't mention needing to order pins along with the connectors, I got the connectors in sans any pins. I had to call them to find out which pins I needed and place another order and wait for it to come in with pins.

I became well acquainted with the continuity setting on my multimeter making the PCI-E cables. I just ran the wires where I wanted and used the continuity setting to make sure which wire was which on each end. I used the PCI-E cable that came with the PSU to make sure I got the connections in the correct places on each end. Putting on the PCI-E pins was a pain - a good set of crimpers designed for this would be a big help.

I used almost 60in of 18 gauge black wiring needed just to make the two PCI-E power wires. I squooshed on and soldered the pins. I plan on sleeving them and putting them in place.

I did a lot of work on the wiring to get it as neat and tidied up as possible. The answer as to how to route the wiring neatly was to run all of the wiring through the floor of the case and under it in the space beneath.