Pac-Man Upright Restoration

[Muffindude]

Hello, Just picked up my first two original cabs, a Pac-Man, and a Sinistar, on Craigslist for a bargain of $175 for both. I bought both of them converted, and was planning to make them original again. In the Pac-Man Machine, there was some Japanese Horisontal Shooter called "Heavy Unit". The control Panel is all hacked up, and looking at it, looks like it came from a Galaxian. Some one went ahead and put a WG K7000 in there, so I need a new monitor and mountings. There are some parts of the cabinet that are rotting, like the bottom. The wiring on the bottom is a nightmare. There are so many wires, and they are all tangled up. Just a quick note is that it's serial number is 3064.

This is my first Cabinet Restoration, so I would be very thankful if someone gave some tips of what to do or what not to do.
Some pictures (the Garage is a disaster)
The two cabinets together

Pac-Man's Side

Back Door

It's Original!

Control Panel & Bezel

Control Panel up close

Marquee

Bezel & Monitor

Marquee and Bezel Out of the game

Coin Door

Back of Control Panel

Inside the Cab - I took out the switcher by that time

Pac-Man himself

Thanks,
Steven

[kalars123]

Wish you the best of luck, looking forward to updates, i'm currently wrangling with a guy for a original SF2 cabinet, it's wanting $500, it's not really worth more than $200 in the shape it's in.

[opt2not]

Woah, great price for 2 machines, especially with the amount of money you're going to have to throw at these. This one's going to be a nice and involved resto for sure.

Hahaha, "heavy unit".
Jokes aside, that game reminds me of Abadox for the NES. Is that game Jamma compliant? I might be interested in buying it from you if the price is right, and of course if its still working.

Dont' forget to grab the manuals. It'll help with parts-lists, and diagrams of wiring.

Also, check out Spyridon's Pacman resto, it's super inspiring and has some great information.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=87614.0

Good luck, looks like you'll have your work cut out for you!

[Muffindude]

Thanks everyone for responding.
Just got a few questions,
1. Is the back door key the same for all Pac-Man machines, and if so, where can I get one?
2. What paint should I use for the control Panel, and what is the best way to apply the adhesive? (Or does anyone have a Pac-Man Control Panel For sale?)
3. Anyone got a picture of what the Transformer section of the cab looks like? Mine's a mess.

Woah, great price for 2 machines, especially with the amount of money you're going to have to throw at these. This one's going to be a nice and involved resto for sure.

Yeah, just realized that restoration is a lot of work and money... It's worth it though.

Is that game Jamma compliant? I might be interested in buying it from you if the price is right, and of course if its still working.

Yes, it does use the JAMMA pinout, and the board works and I'll be happy to sell it to you. I'll take pictures of it soon.

Good luck, looks like you'll have your work cut out for you!

Thanks for all the help!

[smalltownguy]

Thanks everyone for responding.
Just got a few questions,
1. Is the back door key the same for all Pac-Man machines, and if so, where can I get one?
2. What paint should I use for the control Panel, and what is the best way to apply the adhesive? (Or does anyone have a Pac-Man Control Panel For sale?)
3. Anyone got a picture of what the Transformer section of the cab looks like? Mine's a mess.

1. They can be different. But ask around - there's probably someone here that can get you a key. It's possible to file down the tumblers in the lock to match or work with they key you get. Better to spend a few bucks and just get a replacement.
2. If you do it right, rattle can black could be used for the control panel. Just be sure to prep it properly and take time to do it right. Painting should take weeks, not hours. As far as the control panel overlay goes, I'd spring for a repro overlay. They're adhesive backed vinyl, so no need to worry about applying adhesive. Just peel and stick.
3. Bob Roberts has a GREAT writeup on wiring a cab. His method deviates from the original wiring, opting to use a switching power supply instead of the old linear power supplies found in the original wiring. I'd highly recommend converting to a switching power supply in that cab when you restore it. It will save you headaches later.

http://therealbobroberts.net/acwiring.html

[Muffindude]

Just got the fuse holders for the transformer section, hope to get the other parts today or soon.

3. Bob Roberts has a GREAT writeup on wiring a cab. His method deviates from the original wiring, opting to use a switching power supply instead of the old linear power supplies found in the original wiring. I'd highly recommend converting to a switching power supply in that cab when you restore it. It will save you headaches later.
http://therealbobroberts.net/acwiring.html

The Power supply area of my Pacman is still in tact, and I'll use the old linear supply, but thanks for the info.

[opt2not]

The Power supply area of my Pacman is still in tact, and I'll use the old linear supply, but thanks for the info.

Good job. I for one am a fan of the old Linears.
It's original, easy to repair, and more reliable in the long run.

[Muffindude]

Ok, just got some more of the parts.
I have recieved:
- Fuse Holder
- Marquee
- Bezel
- T-Molding
- Locks
- Legs
- PCB

I have some more stuff that I have to receive, like the joystick.
Apparently my photos are too large, so I'll be posting them later.

[Spyridon]

Good luck with the restore, these extreme make overs are fun to watch.  The link to my Pac-man restore is posted above.  Check that out as it may answer a lot of your questions.

[kampcool]

Sweet find, cant wait to watch the progress on these, as it will be very interesting.   Best of luck, and have fun.

[Muffindude]

Did some more work on the machine:
- Got the Marquee, Bezel, and CPO, Board, Joystick, Legs, and locks
- Wired up the Edge Connector
- Replaced the light bulbs
Just need to get a couple more parts like the monitor brackets and a control panel, because the one I have now is from a galaxian.
I would really make my day if someone could tell me where I can get these parts.
Some pictures:
$15 Marquee:

$5 Bezel:

Flaking Paint:

Pacman has seen better days...

Coin Door:

Only 12 thousand plays?

Coin Door lock:

New Lock Installed

Old Legs:

Legs replaced:

[Muffindude]

Going to try turning on the game later today. I am going to change out the WGK7900 out with a G07 from another machine on a later date.
I hope it works!

[LeedsFan]

There is a fantastically detailed restoration thread on here somewhere by a guy here in the UK (the UK Pacman champion actually). However that was a Pacman cabaret cabinet and not a full size one like you have. But the stuff inside the cabinet should be exactly the same yes? I'll see if I can find a linky....

EDIT:  I could have sworn I saw the thread on these boards but never mind... I found it here:
http://www.classicarcadegaming.com/forums/index.php/topic,1638.0.html

[Muffindude]

Found a place that sells monitor brackets, but I heard there is a difference between Pacman ones and MsPacman ones. Does anyone know if these are the right ones?
http://quarterarcade.com/GamePicture.aspx?c=&g=9099&o=0&m=0

There is a fantastically detailed restoration thread on here somewhere by a guy here in the UK (the UK Pacman champion actually). However that was a Pacman cabaret cabinet and not a full size one like you have. But the stuff inside the cabinet should be exactly the same yes? I'll see if I can find a linky....

EDIT:  I could have sworn I saw the thread on these boards but never mind... I found it here:
http://www.classicarcadegaming.com/forums/index.php/topic,1638.0.html

Just looked at the thread and that guy did a pretty good job on his machine. Hope mine turns out just as good.

[Spyridon]

Just need to get a couple more parts like the monitor brackets and a control panel, because the one I have now is from a galaxian.

You can still use the panel that is in there.  You'll just need to plug the holes.  Follow these steps to repair it.  

I used that technique to fill in extra holes on a Taito cab


Final control panel looks like they were never there:

$5 Bezel:

Not in perfect condition, but not bad especially considering the price.

So, you haven't really said what you are going to do with this game.  Are you doing a full restore?  What are your plans for the sideart?

If you are doing a full restore, you're jumping ahead too far.  No need to install new locks until you fix that coin door (You are going to fix that door -- right!?)

[Muffindude]

Finally got the machine to work!
After resoldering the  edge connector 5 times, I finally got everything to work, and I played me some Pacman.
Now I'm going to try and restore the machine. At the moment, I am sanding off all the paint off the Control Panel.

Are you doing a full restore?  What are your plans for the sideart?

If you are doing a full restore, you're jumping ahead too far.  No need to install new locks until you fix that coin door (You are going to fix that door -- right!?)

Yes, I will be fixing up that coin door, it is a really bent in one spot, and won't close properly. I'm not sure yet if I will be repainting the sideart, but I probably will.
(Thank god Williams games don't have edge connectors...)

[Muffindude]

OK, just finished sanding down the control panel, when I realized that where the joystick goes will be in an area where I apply Bondo. Will this be a problem? Any subjections would be appreciated.