AT Case Steel Drive Rails

[Hal9000]

Hi,
I have a 286 clone that I would like to find additional drive rails for so I can add a drive into the bay. Here are images of the rail. Its steel and very skinny. Anyone have a parts source? Thanks

 

[Chuck(G)]

They look like the standard AT case plastic rails. Normally, you'd use plastic rails and then secure the ends with an L-shaped steel bracket. How do the dimensions stack up?

 

[GottaLottaStuff]

How many do you need? I've got 3 sets. Just pm me your address and I'll send them Tuesday.

 

[modem7]

They look like the standard AT case plastic rails. Normally, you'd use plastic rails and then secure the ends with an L-shaped steel bracket. How do the dimensions stack up?

The length-to-height ratio of the ones that HLA9000 has pictured look to me to be very different to the "standard AT case plastic" (IBM AT (5170) ones.
Also, the holes are different. The "standard AT case plastic" ones are 165 mm long, 15 mm high, and 4mm thick.
eBay item 230367269167 shows the "standard AT case plastic" ones.

How many do you need? I've got 3 sets. Just pm me your address and I'll send them Tuesday.

Three of the ones that HLA9000 has pictured, or three "standard AT case plastic" ones?

 

[Chuck(G)]

modem7, I think you're probably right. %$#@ case manufacturers can't seem to settle on a standard.

There have been times when rails have been strange enough that I had to make my own out of plexiglas. <grumble, grumble>

Take HP Vectra minitowers, for example. The P1 Vectras used a metal rail assembly; the P2 Vectras used the same outer case (parts are interchangeable), but did away with the rails--except for the very bottom slot.

 

[GottaLottaStuff]

3 sets (6) of the steel ones in the pictures. I wish I could remember what they came out of, maybe 1/3 height Compaq drive bays? They are about half as wide (tall?) as the plastic ones. (I have quite a few of those, and some odd ones, in a box somewhere.)
I can take a picture if necessary.

 

[Druid6900]

I believe I have a few sets of the ones pictured as well.

I actually preferred them to the AT Plastic rails as the first thing to get lost were the metal L bracket that actually screwed into the case lip and that stupid U shaped one that held in one side of the middle device and one side of the HD.

They saved one hole and insured that, if that one was lost, you were screwed as you couldn't use 2 of the L brackets to replace it.

 

[Chuck(G)]

Give me the lost L- and U-brackets any day. If you lose one, you can bang the L-bracket out in 5 minutes and the U-bracket in perhaps 10 minutes.

I've got an old MAD Systems box that secures the floppies in a cage using rails (slightly wider than an AT rail), but the rails have a notch that engages with a lever mechanism in the floppy cage. Slide your floppies in, push the lever and they're locked in. Pull the lever to release.

There were some really elegant case designs. The PS/2 case could have been a winner had it not used proprietary drives.

 

[Druid6900]

Yeah, HP was big on "lock and load" drive systems too.

Push this tab, swing this lever, rotate the case 30 degrees counter-clockwise, say a few secret incantations and out it came. Installing was the reverse (which was tough when it came to the incantation step).

 

[Hal9000]

They look like the standard AT case plastic rails. Normally, you'd use plastic rails and then secure the ends with an L-shaped steel bracket. How do the dimensions stack up?

Its roughly 7 1/4" long x 5/8" wide x 1/8" Steel. Sorry, all I had was a tape measure..LOL. Thanks for all of the replies, this is an awesome site for the vintage PC hobby!.

 

[GottaLottaStuff]

Here's the rest of what's in the box. The far left is what I'm sending to Hal9000, next is a little shorter with 4 holes, next is a TRU-DIE 113631-00 1 or 2, then TRU-DIE 115162-00 1 OR 2, then steel replacements for the standard plastic (with the L-bracket on the end instead of separate, then some odd plastic ones. PM me with the one's you need, first come first served.

 

[Unknown_K]

They look like some drive rails that came with some NOS cases I got last year (they look like AT clone cases with the red power switch coming out the side).