well black eagle, i can understand the trouble you are going through. the perfect case for watercooling should be very deep (so you got the option to mount a rad+duct in the front bezel under the drives; is the best solution in my eyes) more than it needs to be high. all the cdrom drive bays are a waste of space, who ever uses more than 2 cdroms and 1 digidoc (or something like that). the problem with a 'mono-volume' case is the pump mount. ideally you would like the pump somewhere it can be easily mounted with a res, that makes the floor the best place, only then you would be screwing to un/install pci/agp cards. if your name is turbokeu, anything is possible, but for the less handymen...
you go the way you want to go, but personally i think you will regret the ghetto workaround in the long run (i know i did) the performance is great, the silence too, but in the end, a nicely tucked away cooling system has its benefits too (i'll try dig up a pic of my first case somewhere).
mod nr 5 is what i would really like to do, its not my intention to keep the lock. i've been trying to get some info, polyester or epoxy are a bit dangerous, maybe some sort of non deformable silicone paste might do the trick. so drill the lock out, fill the gap with some sort of gunk, sand out the irregularities; and repaint the whole lot. i will have to kick myself in the nuts not to rush that job, knowing yourself is half the trick i'd say ;-)
btw, if u want all the room and ease of use you would need for all the cooling power, u might consider this case; this guy overdid it, but mighty mod nonetheless.
http://www.casejunkies.com/index.php...1182&page=1605
http://www.casejunkies.com/index.php...1182&page=1690
this was my first H2O project, cooled very good, but it hurt on the eyes.