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Having second thoughts on Ms. Pacman cab -- need input
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Diet_Pepsi:
So I acquired a ms. pacman cab a couple of days ago.  It's pretty beat-up, and the monitor has moderate to severe burn -- so much so that it is noticeable on the blue maze level.

I bought this thinking that I would gut it and convert to a mame machine, but...

- Everything seems to work well (with the exception of the right hand coin mech)
- The joystick is pretty good.  Has a little play at center, but, other than that, functions well.  Guessing the grommet could use replacing, but thats a pretty inexpensive part, right?
- The innards were a lot cleaner than expected
- I had forgotten how nice it is to play a ms pacman cabinet with original hardware...

So now I am thinking about keeping the original board in some fashion.  Some things that have been crossing my mind: 

-rip out the original wiring, re-wire the cab to JAMMA and buy a ms pac to JAMMA converter (so that I can switch between the original PCB and a Jpac)
-leaving the original as-is and getting a Mike Doyle 96 in 1 or an ABC board
-perhaps doing both of the above (convert to Jamma and upgrade the original board)

Am I nuts for taking this on and trying to save the original hardware?  I'm attaching some pics so that you guys can take a look...

This is going to stay in my garage so I am not too concerned about the external cosmetics (except for the CP overlay, which I will replace regardless).



kahlid74:
Typically it's looked down upon to get a cabinet that still works and Mame it (especially a classic).  So no, you're not crazy for it.  If you can save it/refinish it, there are people who would want it.  So the idea is to buy a cabinet shell of a game that is broken and gut it/mame it.

If I were in your place, I would attempt to save the game and refinish it.  I would then sell it and buy a shell of a cab to MAME out.

Generic Eric:
The lack of other answers should suggest that Khalid's answer is *the* answer.

Fear not.  You can have the cake, eat the cake, restore the cake and then sell it for profit.  Here is what I mean. 

Step one:  trace the cabinet, build a replica.
Step two:  get your ms pac fix on the unit you purchased. 
Step three:  fix that old girl up.  Get intimate with the joystick.  Buy a new one and replace it. 
Step four:  if you are inclined to learn how to, work on the tube.  Do what you can. Swap in a new one.  Maybe you want a lcd in your replica.
Step five: work on side art.  Start on your replica with your stencils.  Hopefully they can be reused.  Consider stenciling the old gal. 
Step six:  by now you have a spot on replica and a fully restored original.   If you don't decide to flip the old gal for profit, you have an original game and a replica you use for vertically orientated 4 way joystick games in mame.

If you are into this,  you literally can't lose!
Diet_Pepsi:
Thanks guys.  Gonna keep it as a dedicated ms pac.  Ordered a new cp overlay and a 96 in 1 mike Doyle kit.  Also bought a second original joystick to use while I tinker with the one that came with the cab.

Now all I have to do is convince the wife to let me buy a project cab for Mame...
yotsuya:
Kudos to you, bro!  :cheers:
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