Project Idea: Rehousing Digital Camera

There's a lot of talk lately about finding the perfect camera, and I saw an eoshd article talking about the best features of many current models. I have also seen some people build cameras using the flea cams and micro pc's. I was wondering if anyone has attempted or successfully done something like this. I think it would be really cool to build something like a digital Contax t3 or Olympus mju etc. possibly using the sensor from a 5dc (or something more if it works). Other ideas could be IR converted or one that can handle hd video. I know it won't be easy, especially with a small one, but it is something I would like to try and see if I can make it work.