68kMLA Classic Interface

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silly pizzabox-type LC's question..
Posted by: chelseayr on 2026-07-22 16:34:16
I couldn't help wonder if the lid&bottom were interchangeable between all LC models in question, like lets say LC II lid and LC475 bottom?
Posted by: Fizzbinn on 2026-07-22 16:57:42
I think so... from the service manual it looks like there was one bottom case for all the models other than the original LC and the Q605. I know the original LC has the model name embossed in the plastic on the bottom, so its possible that's the only difference there.

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Posted by: bibilit on 2026-07-22 16:59:07
Never tried myself, but probably not at a 100% rate.

Probably will work, but the main difference will be the floppy drive, from the original auto insert to the newer manual insert, lid is not the same.
Posted by: chelseayr on 2026-07-23 01:59:00
hm fizzbinn I somehow had not thought of rechecking the service manual pdfs, I did suspected that the quadra was maybe 'a bit different enough' .. but I never thought of the lc itself (and say.. that reminds me of the old scotty where aboard picard's enterprise he was telling the holodock computer "just ncc-1701, no bloody a or b or c!". makes me want to passphrase "just lc and no bloody stuffix!" or something to that effect? hehe) being different enough to have its own sku

and anyway thanks fizzbinn&bibilit, I had to wonder because I was just lightly thinking a bit about maybe tracking down a lc-something for the main purpose of that the disk drive was a lot easier to deal with compared to the one in any ppc performa desktops (and as a side effect the lc only has one single short ribbon to expend whereas the one in performa was a part of a very big wiring harness that would had been a pain to replace due to worn/pinched floppy ribbon) .. I've been reserving a mild heap of suspicious disks aside for the obvious reason of not wanting to have to 'abuse' the performa disk drive like this but mm

regarding above I very likely would had found a single complete unit but I nevertheless had to wonder about bashing two different ones together to get a working one if for some reason it happened that way instead
Posted by: Nixontheknight on 2026-07-23 11:28:00
I couldn't help wonder if the lid&bottom were interchangeable between all LC models in question, like lets say LC II lid and LC475 bottom?
it should work, the lid and bottom may have changed design, but I doubt the mechanisms that keep it closed have changed between versions. You could probably even use the bottom of a Q605
Posted by: bobcat on 2026-07-24 08:15:58
Only difference is that the LC, LC II and LC III cases are much less likely to disintegrate!
Posted by: Nixontheknight on 2026-07-24 09:17:46
Only difference is that the LC, LC II and LC III cases are much less likely to disintegrate!
I'm gonna attest against that. I have an LC III with a case like the original LC, and one of the latches has already snapped off
Posted by: opualuan on 2026-08-19 09:17:44
Many parts of the series are interchangeable. I use LC III chassis for LC475 board (saved from a disintegrating Q605). Topped with original LC cover to make it a sleeper.
Posted by: Nixontheknight on 2026-08-19 10:26:04
Many parts of the series are interchangeable. I use LC III chassis for LC475 board (saved from a disintegrating Q605). Topped with original LC cover to make it a sleeper.
@Byte Knight has something like that
Posted by: Byte Knight on 2026-08-19 16:12:05
@Byte Knight has something like that
Yes - my LC III (IV) has a Quadra 605 w/33 MHz 68040 CPU, which I believe is that fastest you can run with a IIe card. The Quadra board was much cheaper than an accelerator!
Posted by: olePigeon on 2026-08-20 10:25:01
Is there a dual-floppy manual insert lid? That'd be super useful for people who use MO drives in their LCs. It's a bit of a squeeze to get your fingers in there to remove a MO disk.
Posted by: Schmoburger on 2026-08-21 11:32:44
Yes, i can confirm the chassis and top cover of the pizza box models are universally interchangable, however there are distinctly different front bezel designs for the autoinject vs the manual insert models, and therefore the floppy drive must match the upper case. The LCIII is one place where you could trip up here, as there were both auto-inject and later manual-insert versions. I can't remember precisely off the top of my head but there may be some minor variations in the actual internal fittings such as drive sleds and maybe fans, but all are interchangable between chassis.
Posted by: Schmoburger on 2026-08-21 11:40:40
Is there a dual-floppy manual insert lid? That'd be super useful for people who use MO drives in their LCs. It's a bit of a squeeze to get your fingers in there to remove a MO disk.
Nope, the only pizzabox case to technically have made provision for a dual-floppy setup was the original 68020 powered LC. The left hand floppy blank was deleted in the LCII and LCIII, and didnt exist on any manual-insert models.
Posted by: olePigeon on 2026-08-21 14:10:13
Awe, nuts. I'm probably remembering wrong, but I seem to recall there was a prototype LC that had square cutouts for a manual eject design that ultimately got rejected.
Posted by: Unknown_K on 2026-08-21 15:07:01
Only reason to own a LC1 is to have dual floppies and an external HD you can turn on/off as needed (well that's why I got 1 for OS 6 dual floppy mode).

I have a LC3 with 68040/25 board installed. I think I had to file down the custom heatsink so the lid closed.

I do wonder every time I open a 6100/LC I/II/III, 660AV if the tabs will snap.
Posted by: Froggy814 on 2026-08-21 15:28:12
I do wonder every time I open a 6100/LC I/II/III, 660AV if the tabs will snap.
You could do like thisdoesnotcompute and just sand the clips down to nothing, so you still have your lid without worrying about breaking it.
Posted by: Schmoburger on 2026-08-21 15:30:48
Awe, nuts. I'm probably remembering wrong, but I seem to recall there was a prototype LC that had square cutouts for a manual eject design that ultimately got rejected.
I'd be interested to know now if they prototyped the manual-insert drives at some point that early. For what it is worth, the LC, LCII and even early LCIII all carried the autoinjecting drive... officially speaking the first pizzabox to get it was the LCIII. But it isnt inconceivable to think that maybr they were toying with the idea early in the development of the LC pizzabox form factor.

But yes, i basically expect the tabs to break these days... its almost always the right hand one.
Posted by: Fizzbinn on 2026-08-21 17:41:33
You could do like thisdoesnotcompute and just sand the clips down to nothing, so you still have your lid without worrying about breaking it.
This!

Also great if one or more of your tabs does break off, file down the latching plastic and glue it back on. If you don't file it down its really hard for the glue to hold up to opening and closing the case.
Posted by: Joopmac on 2026-08-22 12:53:15
not interchangeable from the first LC to second revision LC. fan/speaker assembly. also the floppy drives have differences in mounting style
Posted by: Joopmac on 2026-08-22 12:54:18
Only reason to own a LC1 is to have dual floppies and an external HD you can turn on/off as needed (well that's why I got 1 for OS 6 dual floppy mode).

I have a LC3 with 68040/25 board installed. I think I had to file down the custom heatsink so the lid closed.

I do wonder every time I open a 6100/LC I/II/III, 660AV if the tabs will snap.
i like to run a 475 board @ 49mhz in a LC case, stealthy.is there someone that could hack a LC475 rom with the classic original LC boot sound? that would be sooo sweet!
i must say i have had about 25 LC's in total the past years, and never had a snapped tab. but, i have received some dodgy ones over ebay, when in shipping the tabs broke due to improper packaging.
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