I've always wanted a real DK cab and I've been looking on Craigslist for quite a while now. About a month ago one popped up so I snagged it. The dude selling it wanted to gut it and part it out on CL. Or turn it into a 60 in 1. I was like "hell no" you're not! So I had to save it and keep it intact. So I've been sitting on this cab for about a month now. It just stares at me every time I go into the garage. I've been on the fence for quite some time trying to decide if this "bag of hurt" is going to be worth it. But DK cabs don't show up that often in my area so I'm going to go for it. For me, the journey is the reward. And this is going to be a heck of a journey on this one. It seems like DK cabs are a "right of passage" now anyway!
Let's get some items out of the way right now:
1. This will be my first real arcade
2. This will be my first arcade restoration
3. I paid $450 for it.
4. I have no excuses to not do this right. There have been a thousand DK restores before me and there are plenty of resources for me to pull from
People I would already like to thank:
34k - Andrew gave me some pre-purchase advice and is also willing to help me down the road. Really nice guy and a great resource.
Wyo - He has helped me he just didn't know it until he reads this. His Zelda cab thread has been great.
Malenko - His advice about buying a used DK cab was priceless. He gave me some really good advice as to avoid buying a lemon.
DeLuSioNal29 - He also gave me some really valuable tips about bartering and talking the guy down. Really good advice about the specific nuances of a DK cab
ChanceKJ - His Ultimate DK project and his "So, You want to build a Classic Nintendo Cab?" sticky have been VERY helpful.
Yotsuya - His Janky Kong project has taught me that even the worst looking cab deserves a restore. I'm also pre-thanking Yots. I have no doubts he will contribute to this thread in his own way
John from John's arcade - His passion and enthusiasm about arcades is inspiring. Also, his YouTube channel is a wealth of knowledge
BYOAC - This forum is the best resource of all because it brings all of the above together.
Here is the punch list...at least from my extremely limited knowledge thus far:
THE GOOD:-My wife encouraged me to get it
-It plays.... despite all the problems listed below.
-No to little monitor burn-in
-Serial tag intact (Doesn't seem to be any kind of popeye convert)
-It seems to be totally original as far as I can tell.
-No side art. So no torn artwork to remove!
-Marquee appears in good shape
-bezel is in decent shape
-coin door is in decent shape
-con mechs work and are in decent shape
-original power supply (this could be a bad thing?)
-still has coin box but missing the drawer
-main boards are surprisingly clean
-it has wheels
-all appropriate marquee retainers and brackets appear to be present
-It smells like dryer sheets
-no water damage or rat poop inside.
THE BAD:-Control panel overlay is chipped and graphics are shot.
-t-molding is totally crap.
-random nails and screws holding the whole cab together. Little worried about "racking"
-side panels are particle board, all the rest is plywood. seems odd to me.
-the whole inside pretty much needs a deep cleaning
-Marquee back-light does not come on
-the square bottom base is rickety and needs to be rebuilt.
-Power cord is frayed around where it enters the cab
-There is some random black paint sprayed under the speaker
-It had a lock bar that has been removed and holes will need to be plugged
THE UGLY:-Needs bondo everywhere. Literally everywhere. Corners are blown out and the entire top right edge is missing? WTF happened there? LOL
-Back edges look like a dinosaur chewed on them.
-Coin box drawer is missing
-Back door is missing. Some janky board in it's place.
-Sound does not work. I'm a little worried about this one.
-Monitor has the waving flag effect from left to right. Cap kit is best case here.
-Joystick is completely blown out. Doesn't return to center. It pretty much sags wherever gravity takes it.
-P1 and P2 buttons are sticky. Gross.
-Jump button is so loose it might fall inside
I bought a real GEM didn't I? No restore is any good with out plenty of pictures.