Thinkpad Brain Transplant

[yoncity]

Just speculating. I've got this lovely Thinkpad 380Z (233 PII) that's achingly slow but has a big-boned chassis. I'm wondering if it's possible to gut the thing and drop in a newer engine. Sort of like dropping a big V8 into a 4-banger pickup. Maybe you have to jettison a few bulky things like the wiper motor (floppy) and put the battery in the trunk (AC adapter only), but the thing goes screamingly fast and only smokes a little bit.

 

[kenan921]

even if you could, it would probably cost you twice as buying a new one with a brand new battery and warranty. Unlike cars its a lot harder to squeeze parts that are not designed to be there in any laptop. Though some parts (HD, Floppy, Cd-Rom, etc.) are pretty much standard, notebook motherboards are usually designed with a proprietary standard.

 

[AnyMal]

If you replace the innards, like motherboard, your LCD won't work.

 

[yoncity]

Well darn. I was hoping to borg the thing. Open up the case, pull out unnecessary bulky stuff like battery, floppy and assorted plastic partitions. Find a mobo that can fit, perhaps with some trimming and superglue. Maybe a thinkpad board from a later model of similar dimensions could drive the LCD? The case is 1-1/2" thick so it seems there could be some room for cobbling things in. ITX?