Hacking Import Lights

I've been readying as much as possible everywhere and watching videos as well. Ran into growmau5's video on hacking import lights and found that sort of thing interesting. Been modding flashlights with better LEDs and drivers for a few years. Not a pro and I'll need to brush up on theory and learn the math for COB builds.

That said, I was wondering the viability of hacking something like one of the two below. My main issue is finding a decent pre-made enclosure to start from zero on. Starting with something like one of the two below would save me time since all of the hardware holes are cut, I have no serious metal cutting or forming ability right now. Unless there are pre-made enclosures like this out there and I'm just not seeing them.

Has anyone just bought a cheap import light like the ones below just to hack with your own COBs and drivers ? I really just want the pre-made enclosure with all cuts already made.

The downfall to this is that you don't know what size drivers are in these. It is no problem if you already have them in hand. Just crack them open and see what the driver specs are and match cobs from there. You may find it difficult to match quality cobs to some of these drivers. You are better off building from scratch imo. Drilling and tapping holes is easy enough to learn. Also those premade fixtures confine the light to too small of an area to utilize the potential of quality cobs spread. Also these fixtures are notorious for using low efficiency drivers.

I have no issue gutting a light entirely and just using the enclosure. Just have to get interior measurements and see what will fit in. Something like this already has the power cable cutouts, fan vent cuts, etc and can be reassembled without tooling.

Just trying to decide what would be a better build option right now. I plan on small, 2' x 2' x 4' or 3' x 3' x 4' max. The enclosures above are attractive to me because less components are exposed. Maybe an open build with CPU fans would be better ? Just would need to figure out how to keep everything together somewhat with the limited space. That's kind of why I was leaning towards an enclosure build.

Quality drivers are sealed. Wago connectors work great. Passive cooling is more efficient(in reference to power) than active(and less to go wrong). Glass also filters out usable light. If you already have these lights then yes by all means hack them but if not it will be money better spent building a fixture from scratch with quality components.

Have to agree with Ginger. The only way it makes sense to use a fixture like that is if you owned it already. I think that it would make much more sense to use better components if you're starting from scratch.

My intent is to first grow to seed and get a return on the investment I've made in the seed purchased. Times are not like when I was younger and you could literally get bags full of seed for free in the 80's. Just want to make sure the genetics I'm investing time and money in are available for future grows and will delve into clones when the time comes. I just want to setup the most effective and efficient small grow possible, with the space available and do it right. Which is ever evolving as tech progresses.

Looks like I've got more reading and searching to do.

Can't beat strips (or boards) for a small, short tent! With the heat and light so well spread out, they can be run as close as a few inches.

http://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-build-designs-samsung-bridgelux/
https://atreumlighting.com/collecti...ht-panel-samsung-lm301b?variant=8716332105775
https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/kits/products/135w-led-board-kit
https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/kits/products/135w-led-board-kit