Well I know it's been a long time, but today I finally sat down to tackle this job. While there are many parts, it's really not as difficult as you might think. At least, if you get the right parts.
To remind everyone, here are some photos of the damage - you can see the case around the ports is bent up and the lid is pretty badly misaligned:
I ordered replacement top/bottom cases, new hinges, some specialty tools (which are absolutely necessary) and finally sat down to do the job today.
This is midway through:
Hours later, after nearly completing the job, I discovered the case that I was sent was subtly different than mine (the MD port was on the opposite side of the USB ports and I hadn't noticed), and thus would not work. I was SUPER pissed. But since I use this machine daily for work (and am currently in the middle of a freelance web development project), I decided my only choice was to try to tidy up the old case and put everything back together, so I did.
It's a long way from perfect, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out:
The job is certainly tedious, and requires plenty of space to keep parts organized, but it's far from difficult. If you're at all technically savvy, this shouldn't be a job you shy away from. Just make sure you have the right parts!!
