Just picked up an oddball Neo Geo cabinet - advice please!!

[specialmoose]

Couldn't pass up on this deal even if it needs a lot of work. Long story short, it use to be a Konami "The Main Event" cabinet. When King of Fighters came out and became popular, the cabinet was converted over to a Neo Geo cabinet.

I'm stuck between two decisions. Should I try and repair/restore it as a Neo Geo cabinet or keep the arcade authenticity and leave it all beat up to hell? It needs a lot of work to fully repair it. Top panel needs to be replaced, control panel needs to be either replaced or at least have the plastic overlay replaced, kick plate needs some work, the cord needs to be fix, and the bottom wood either replaced or somehow salvage it. Paint and new decals a must.

I can't get the coin mechanism to work, so not sure if those can be salvaged. When I insert a coin, it gets stuck until I push the refund. The mech won't drop the coin into the hopper.

Anyways, what you guys think?

[mrserv0n]

I like main event   , That CP conversion is a serious botch job LOL. I mean if you want to play neo geo than yea redo the CP, if not than mame it up or something

[ArtMAME]

Well it will need a lot of work to get the cabinet solid again, weather you Neo or MAME it. I say MAME it since you have to rebuild the CP anyway.  Probably be harder to re-NEO the CP than to start fresh with a MAME CP.   You can play a bunch of NEO GEOs on MAME plus all the other non-NEO games anyway.  More versitile.  NEO cabinets usually make great MAME boxes.

[Malenko]

if you're gonna un neo it, can I have/buy the carts if they are ones I dont have?

[Namco]

Do what I did. Strip the thing, sand, filler, sand, paint, etc... That'll take at least a couple weeks and while you're busy slaving away on it you can think about it. You'll have a firm decision at the end of the process.

But if you ask me, Mame it with custom artwork, because it's neither a NeoGeo cabinet nor a Main Event cabinet anymore.

[NIVO]

i say disassemble it. Take a router to every piece and replicate with new wood(your using every old piece as a template). Then reassemble all new pieces *Voila* brand new cab. Then you can discard the cab, or donate/sell to another person looking to do a project.

[specialmoose]

i say disassemble it. Take a router to every piece and replicate with new wood(your using every old piece as a template). Then reassemble all new pieces *Voila* brand new cab. Then you can discard the cab, or donate/sell to another person looking to do a project.

I like that idea. Just use this one as a template and reuse whatever hardware I can.

I already have a MAME cabinet so I was thinking about just making this an authentic neo geo cabinet. However, looks like more work since the monitor will need to be eventually replaced along with the power supply.

If I were to gut it and sell the carts and neo geo motherboard, what is the going rate? I checked ebay and only found 1 listing for a 2-slot neo geo motherboard for $199. The two carts are KOF 98 and Cyber Lib.

[Glaine]

So long as there are some Neo games you like, I'd recommend keeping it a Neo, they're great fun. Personally, it doesn't look like all THAT much work to fix that up again either way. I would fix up the control panel and apply touch up paint where needed, but I wouldn't worry about getting new stickers for the side because honestly the one sticker you posted looks a little tacky on a black background.

It'd be a pain, but with all that space on the control panel, it'd be nice to space players 1 and 2 farther apart also. Anyways, good luck with it and congrats on getting it.