Original Pac-Man Upright Cabinet Restoration

[thk]

Ok, so this is my first ever restoration. I have chosen PacMan which I bought for $325 plus $100 in gas = $425

It was a 4 hour drive to get it and another 4 hours to get it back home. LONG RIDE but WORTH IT (in my opinion).

The pics speak for themselves but yes I know it needs work. But where to begin? Ideas? Comments? Suggestions?

Thank you to anybody who cares enough to comment.

 

[jennifer]

   Oh for fun  (and IMO) The price was reasonable.... There is a lot of parts and support for him, so a real good choice for your first, Since its working, I would @ this point start saving new parts for the "big day" and just enjoy it now as pre restored.... The monitor is most likely the first thing that will go, normally a cap kit will prolong it but judging that pic, there seems to be some burn on the screen, the colors will become less vibrant over time, even if you bring the chassis back to specs.(but use it till You cant).... The art is #2 in my opinion, Gently clean it and scan it (if you can) before you do anything with that.
     Congrats on your new baby !!!!

[ed12]

+1 to what jennifer
has to say..olny thing i would inculde is
touch up the foucs on the crt,and give er a good cleaning
then follow bellow advice
nice call jennifer

ed

[thk]

   Oh for fun  (and IMO) The price was reasonable.... There is a lot of parts and support for him, so a real good choice for your first, Since its working, I would @ this point start saving new parts for the "big day" and just enjoy it now as pre restored.... The monitor is most likely the first thing that will go, normally a cap kit will prolong it but judging that pic, there seems to be some burn on the screen, the colors will become less vibrant over time, even if you bring the chassis back to specs.(but use it till You cant).... The art is #2 in my opinion, Gently clean it and scan it (if you can) before you do anything with that.
     Congrats on your new baby !!!!

Thanks for the info Jennifer and Ed

I want to make a few dollars and would like to restore the coin mech to working order......

A friend if mine mentioned a cap kit as well. They said it will most likely get rid of that squiggly line on the right side.

[Cobolisdead]

I hope that whomever you bought it from didn't get your tag number, because at $350, you stole it from them! 

It has the back piece, the bezel looks good, the Marque is not only there but in good shape, and it works!

Oh, and definitely do the capkit, especially if you can solder.

[thk]

  Gently clean it and scan it (if you can) before you do anything with that.

I was curious on what that means. Scan the artwork on a giant arcade machine? Is this for a reference when I touch it up? I don't want to use any side art stickers. I really like the original paint. I know I need to bondo or fill in holes and broken corners.

Whew...now I am slightly overwhelmed. "deep breaths"....more studying to do.....

[thk]

bezel looks good

Bezel looks "ok" I guess. It does have some damage on it and I can see some light coming from the back where the black boarder of the bezel seems to have rubbed out.

[Cobolisdead]

You could take a risk in touching up the original bezel, buy a reproduction one off of ebay for around $100, or you can scour the web for originals that might be better than the one you have.

I found this one, no good pics to see if it is in better shape or not though.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pacman-Non-Jamma-Pcb-Bezel-/261471954362?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ce0f165ba

[jennifer]

     The clean and scan thing is done with multiple scans and reassembled in photoshop, normally done to preserve the art before it gets all messed up with bondo. Not real important with that one however there are a few good reference copys already available.... You will run into some problems with your plan however, That art was originally a screenprint on wood, that's not going to be reproduced commercially like ever (more likely than not) and after fixing that cab that art will be trashed.... So 3 options, the first (and what Jenn does) paint the cab sunburst yellow and slap a sticker over it, #2 airbrushing, a very time
consuming and expensive approach, or Make a screen set (or stencils)... Be careful who you talk to with that last one, That cab has some very protected copyrights on it.... And FWIW, the "T" moldings on that cab was orange originally, somebody changed that one.

[thk]

 

CAP KIT INFO. Trying to locate a cap kit but does anybody know which one I need? Here is a pic.....

[Cobolisdead]

I found some side art for you on Ebay. No idea on the quality of these, but at least it is something:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pac-Man-Arcade-Machine-Cabinet-Decal-Set-NOT-INKJET-UV-Cured-INKS-SIDE-ART-/301153971055?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item461e2ceb6f

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pac-Man-Arcade-Side-Art-Panel-Stickers-Laminated-All-Sizes-Available-/231239710004?pt=UK_Children_s_Decor&var=&hash=item35d6f5f534

The second one is from the UK, so shipping would be kind of pricey there.

[Cobolisdead]

Also, This might be an interesting watch for you:



Apparently, they just touched up the paint.

[thk]

Thanks for the info.

****QUESTION****

I talked to this arcade repair guy and he said to check the 50/60 hertz switch and that may be the reason for the vertical line on the screen.

Does anyone know where the heck this is located?

Thanks

[jennifer]

    If you bought that in the us Its already hooked up for the 60hz, (That's your cord input on the transformer)... But more than likely those hum bars are the result of bad filter caps on the power supply. **Yes those BIG ones.

[Cobolisdead]

Which on PacMan are on the main board, as I recently found out.

[thk]

Oh NO 

[jennifer]

Oh NO 

  Jennifer laughs, and laughs.... and laughs,  There is no going back , you are one of us now.... Welcome to the forum!!!!

[thk]

Ok I am regrouping after my rant 

1. Done With Rant
2. ...Continue to make progress.....
3. Check for Board Cap Kits



(Ebay Auction)  $11.90 w/Shipping if winning bid doesn't increase.


UPDATE:

I WON THE AUCTION

So now I just have to wait for the caps and swap them out. I hope this gets rid of that bending of the maze. Otherwise its the monitor...one step at a time...
 

[thk]

Purchased for

$13.45 Total

[Cobolisdead]

Good price! Before I got mine form the arcade junkyard, I was looking online and the best that I could find was $15 shipped.

[Malenko]

for the sides and front, I'd try to gentle just touch the paint up. There is NO SHAME in a  30 year old cabinet looking 30 years old. For the bezel, just paint the BACK (underside) of the "missing area" black. that'll stop the light and not mess with the existing art.

Really I'd just do a minimalist touch up job and enjoy the cab.  As for mechs and making money...... sounds like a tax permit nightmare.

[orion]

The first thing you should do with a Pac or Galaxian is replace the fuse holder and fuses and the edge connector going from the wiring harness to the games PCB. Bad edge connectors are almost always responsible for hum bars in the monitor. If it's original it needes to be replaced.

[thk]

Ok so I just ordered a used "Pacman Wiring Harness & Transformer Assembly" from TNT Amusements. $35 Shipped
The old wiring was chopped up bad and there was no telling what could be shorting out.

I also ordered 2 new fuse blocks with new fuses with a new updated 3 prong power cord from Bob Roberts. $28 Shipped
http://www.therealbobroberts.net/
Hopefully this should take care of any electrical/signal issues. Still waiting on my Cap Kits for the PCB Board. When those arrive I will solder those in.

I also ordered 4 new legs for underneath the cabinet $9.30 Shipped
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261422655393?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT



Coin Bucket arrived and it fits like a glove! (Shout out to "TwistedQuarter") They have a website but they are more reasonably priced on eBay!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/120370341780?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Replacement coin door should arrive tomorrow. I have to strip it all down, repaint and put it all back together.

Just a waiting game now.


p.s. Found this guy on YouTube, his show is called "John's Arcade" This guy is a genius! His video on a pacman restoration is crazy and you really learn alot.

[thk]

The coin door came in FINALLY. 



$27.29 Shipped (which was a good deal, it just could of came a little quicker).

I pulled it all apart like in the "John's Arcade" YouTube videos. (which are awesome)!

I used "Citristrip" to coat the whole thing so it will strip the paint off. It is sitting overnight now (24 hours).

It came with the coin mechs and wiring too, so its a big plus to have that. (hopefully it will be plug and play but nothings ever that easy).

So now I have to wait on a few things before I can proceed.  We're getting there 

[Generic Eric]

I have watched many John's Arcade videos.  He would be a total lock for a radio show. 

[thk]

I have watched many John's Arcade videos.  He would be a total lock for a radio show.

Agreed


Check out this guy too!

http://youtu.be/FO7oanyMGqE?list=UUyjs8rzlagt8XfWxdPQnVRw

I noticed right off the bat that player 1 and player 2 have orange buttons instead of the traditional white. LOL

No blue speckle on this original cabinet but it was nice to see they actually touched up the artwork and did not use those dreadful sticky decals!

[thk]

UPDATE
__________________

PICS of door before I stripped it down



PICS of door drying after a few coats of paint






I want it to look a little better still. Looking for a medium gloss with a light hammer touch finish.

I know the original door didn't have that hole punch out, so I might end up restoring it and selling it. Time will tell.

[jennifer]

     I wouldn't worry about that punchout, In fact that kind of an option if you ever sell that thing, its for a free play button. You could strip it again putty over it and repaint, but after you get all the glamor on you wont even notice it... That coin bucket however, not sure what to make of that, its not the real thing, or its been modified for some reason, but if it fits nobody will ever be the wiser all locked up in there.

[thk]

Ok did a little more research for anyone interested.

Space Invaders Door



From what I can gather some games did not have a "free play" option so they needed that hole for a credit button.

Optional Credit Button




Credit Button Installed

[Spyridon]

You can check out my restore thread and it will give you a lot of information on a Pac-man restore.

And if you decide to go all in and repaint with stencils you can turn that cab into this:

[thk]

You can check out my restore thread and it will give you a lot of information on a Pac-man restore.

And if you decide to go all in and repaint with stencils you can turn that cab into this:

WOW