Picked up a Pac-Man cab to restore (it's currently a Bubble Bobble) *Pics*

[Jeff AMN]

Ok guys, I was able to get this cab, with a working Bubble Bobble for $200. It's a pretty good deal since the monitor is in great shape. So, here's a few pics.







Here's the only damage I'll have to patch.


I'd like to convert this to a Ms. Pac-Man, but with this being a Pac-Man cab, it's actually a bit smaller, right? The structure of the cab is solid, it's just going to need a lot of work to get all pretty again and in its original form.

[modessitt]

I can't remember, but I think the Pac-man marquee is a little bigger than the Ms. Pac marquee, so you may want to consider that also if you plan to use an original marquee.

If you're replacing the art, reproduction Ms. Pac art will be a very tight fit on the cab, as it's not only shorter by about 1 1/2", but it might be deeper by about the same.  Check out Jakobud's plans for both cabs (does he have plans for the original Pac on there?) and you'll be able to see if there are any size differences that would keep it from working like you want.

Congrats on getting the cab!

[fjl]

Isn't the pac-man monitor a vertical monitor?

[modessitt]

Yeah, but that's easy to change on the pac cabs...

[Jeff AMN]

Ok, so the cab didn't come with keys. If I order a replacement key, it will fit any Pac-Man cab, right? They're all standard, aren't they?

[Fozzy The Bear]

Ok, so the cab didn't come with keys. If I order a replacement key, it will fit any Pac-Man cab, right? They're all standard, aren't they?

No they're not..... On top of the keys being numbered and different, you'll also find that most arcade opperators change the locks so that other people can't come along and get into their machines and cash boxes.

Unless you can get access to the back of the locks to read the lock numbers, you'll probably need to order new locks and drill out the old ones.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Paladin]

Judging by the picture of the side of the cabinet, I'd say it was originally a Rally-X.  You can see the outline of a round sticker on the side of the cab, and it matches the size and location of Rally-X sideart.

[Pac-Fan]

Yep I was going to say the exact same thing.  The RallyX cab is about 6" Shallower than a Pac-Man or Galaxian, but should share everything else in the profile/mounts.  I didnt' say that was an option in your other thread because it's VERY rare to see a RallyX cab, plus your first picture didn't show the side profile fully.

It was shallower since the monitor could be mounted horizontally instead of vertically, saving some space for where the tube would have popped out the back, plus the fact that they often used horizontal frame monitors instead of vertical, causing even more bump out if it had been a pacman mounted vertically.

In fact if you simply change the monitor frame in a Pac/Galaxian you can trim off about 4.5"-5" of depth on the cabinet before you run into the neckboard. Thats a lot of wasted space, but does help for stability.

[Jeff AMN]

Hmm, so how is this going to affect things? I don't want to ruin a Rally-X cab, but it's really not what I'm looking for at all. I guess I could keep this one, restore it to Rally-X, and continue on my Pac-Man/Ms. Pac-Man hunt.

If I restore it and try to sell it, would a Rally-X cab do well on eBay or local listings? I'd rather pass it along to someone that's looking for one, but I'd definitely like to see it restored first so that the next owner maintains it as a Rally-X instead of MAMEing it or something like that.

[Q*Bert_OP]

<hijack thread> If you do not want the Bubble Bobble boards, PM me... </hijack thread>

[Pac-Fan]

You can restore it to a PacMan or Galaxian cabinet if you don't plan on doing side art. Then you won't have 'ruined' it.

If you have a monitor in a vertical mount frame you likely won't run into a problem with it sticking out the back either, but may have to get new metal (or wood) mounting braces for it, depending on what you currently have)

As far as what you got, if the BB boards work, you've almost paid for everything anyway (so long as they're not bootleg). I often see authentic BB boards selling for $175 to $225 on eBay.

[Crax]

How the heck did you get that guy all the way down to $200 from $350?

[Jeff AMN]

How the heck did you get that guy all the way down to $200 from $350?

Me: "My wife loves it...but I don't know...we're house hunting and trying to save up...maybe I should think about it..."

Seller: "Well, I can be flexible. People have been calling but not showing up. I really need the space in my house more than the money."

Me: "Well, I'd feel fine with $200. I could take it with me tonight for that."

Seller: "Deal. I don't know much about these machines, but it's fun. If my wife asks, you paid $300."

[Crax]

 

Nice.  If I knew he was giving it away for $200 I would have thought about it.  I figured maybe you could get him to 275-300, but I didn't think he would go that low.

[horseboy]

The fact that it already had orange tmolding seems to indicate at some point in it's life it MAY have been converted to a PacMan anyway. 

Rally-X also used the orange t-molding, so I doubt it was ever converted to a Pac Man.

[ChadTower]

pinballjim would have picked up for $150.

[melarky]

You must be in Utah, I saw that same one on KSL and contacted him about it.  I have too many other projects to justify one more, but I do love Bubble Bobble

[Crax]

pinballjim would have picked up for $150.

No, pinballjim offered 150 when the guy wanted 500....I'm sure he wouldn't go so high since the guy wanted 350.  Pinballjim might have offered him $90 though.

[horseboy]

$19.50

[Pac-Fan]

Unless you can get access to the back of the locks to read the lock numbers, you'll probably need to order new locks and drill out the old ones.

No need to drill out anything.  Simply take off the marquee brackets and reach back with a socket wrench and undo the nut on the lock cam. Simple, easy.

[markt]

pinballjim would have picked up for $150.

That made me laugh..

[Jeff AMN]

Ok, I opened up the back last night and found a Bubble Bobble manual in there and was able to verify that that the PCB is original and not some bootleg. Now I'm going to have to decide if I want to hang onto the game for collection purposes, or if I want to sell it to make back the cost of the cabinet. It was surprisingly clean inside.