Hey guys & gals, this is one of my favorite builds.. the Cosmos Cruizer! Its based off a Cooler Master Cosmos II case, it is hot-rod themed, inspired by the custom cruisers from the 1930’s and 40’s. I have always been a hot-rod enthusiast. I’ve been building/working on muscle cars since high school, learning how to do bodywork and mechanical repairs from my father who was a lead mechanic at United Airlines for 35 years. This build combines my love for hot-rods and computer case modding into one massive case mod. The Cosmos II chassis was the perfect case for this.

The main focus of my hot-rod concept is the open-air engine compartment design where all the computer components are mounted. It was designed with specific hardware in mind so everything fits perfectly. This is the main feature that shows off the hardware and custom water-cooling. I designed a water channel manifold to accommodate two separate cooling loops (one for the CPU/motherboard blocks, and one for the video cards). Four Koolance quick disconnects bring the coolant to and from the manifold through automotive steel-braided hose. Primochill rigid tubing connect the manifold to each EK water block on the motherboard.
The entire case was gutted, and the new fiberglass engine compartment was fused together with the side bezel so it could be mounted back onto the frame.

One of the things I didn’t like on the Cosmos II case was the location of the top aluminum handles. So I re-located them to the center of the top panel to give the case a more streamlined look. The whole top panel was custom fabricated with fiberglass, and incorporates the center-mounted handles, as well as a center mesh panel that allows exhaust for the top 420mm radiator’s fans.

A popular mod on custom hot-rods of the 1930’s and 40’s was to have suicide doors (where they reverse the direction the doors opened, so they opened from the front) so I relocated the hinges of the right side door from the front to the rear. This way the door opens from the front and allows better viewing of the internals. A large window was added to the door as well. I also fabricated some custom side scoops to match the lines of the case.

The whole front of the case was re-designed to accommodate a large chrome grill, as seen on many 30’s and 40’s vehicles. Above the grill, a new bezel was made to house a 7” LCD touchscreen, Lamptron fan controller, USB 3.0 ports, and of course an ignition key switch that powers the computer on.

The original aluminum case feet, or rails, were chopped up and re-welded together to simulate exhaust headers. An extra pair of rails were ordered direct from Cooler Master to make this possible, as I needed four ends for each side.

The power supply was mounted vertically at the back of the case, and the ATX and video card power cables were run through orange tubing to simulate spark plug wires. All other power cables were run through aluminum brake lines, in keeping with the automotive theme. (I will admit I do not enjoy sleeving cables, and will go to great lengths to find alternate methods of hiding my cables!)

A custom backlit SSD module was built to hold the two 256Gb Crucial M4 SSD’s, complete with chrome covers.

Polished ½” stainless steel tubing was employed for connecting all watercooling components on the back side.

I knew I wanted flames incorporated somewhere in the build, but I didn’t want the run-of-the-mill cookie-cutter flame fan grills either. So I devised my own 3D flame grills for the lower radiator and back panel. I first designed the flames in Adobe Illustrator and had Primochill laser-cut them out of 1/8” acrylic, then I painstakingly heat-bent each individual flame lick with a heat-gun, and intertwined them so they weaved in and out of each other, creating the desired three-dimensional look. They came out really nice, but nothing could have prepared me for how they would end up looking after Bob Stewart got done painting them. Insane!

The back panel was totally built from scratch as well, but with acrylic, since I wanted to have another 3D flame grill molded into the panel itself. I made a flip-up fuel door for the fill-port up top that matched the polished aluminum bars coming down from the top panel. The same semi-circular design was mimicked on the bottom PSU fan grill. And since the motherboard IO was nowhere near the rear panel anymore, a new IO panel was made and extension cables were used to connect everything up. Lastly, the PSU’s power plug was relocated to the lower right corner to make it easier to access.

White leather upholstery was used to cover the interior, and my mom helped out by sewing the orange double stitching on the floor and front piece.

And finally, the Razer Deathstalker Ultimate keyboard was modded to match the case by removing the stock wrist pad and adding polished aluminum bars, and of course painting it orange along with the rest of the case.

I’d like to thank my sponsors: EVGA, Crucial, Cooler Master, EK, Lamptron, Koolance, Razer, and especially Primochill for all the laser cutting, rigid acrylic tubing, and awesome fittings. I also want to give a super shout-out to Bob and Rod at BS Mods for the spectacular show-car quality paintjob, which really elevated this case far beyond my wildest dreams.

I’m dedicating this build to my mother and father, who both passed away in 2014. They worked their entire lives raising us three kids, and instilled into me their never-ending devotion and love for our family. My mother was creative, artistic, funny, and always humming a song. My father was mechanically inclined, analytical, stern and responsible. I like to think I inherited some traits from each of them, and I hope I’m making them proud by embracing those traits in each case modding project I do. Love you Mom & Dad!