Build from scratch or buy Jamma and install own control panel

[bcrawfo2]

I've been planning my Mame setup for a few weeks.   I've been combing Craigslist for any cabinet options and have also found (but not visited) an arcade dealer that has a few empty cabinets for under $50.
Last night a Mortal Kombat 3 appeared on Craigslist for $200.   He says it's in good condition with no monitor burn-in.  That seems pretty cheap.   
I plan on building my own control panel...as I want switchable 4/8 way joysticks, a trackball and maybe a spinner.
I also look at the Mame games I'm already playing...9 of 10 are vertical format (whereas the MK3 is horizontal).

Since I'm going to not use the control panel...this negates a lot of the benefit of Jamma (except for the video)...agree?

Is it practical to rotate the monitor in  MK cabinet since I seem to prefer vertical format games?   Or should I move on and try to find a vertical game?
Thanks for any input.

Scott

[TOK]

I've never seen the monitor area of a dedicated MK opened up, but I have two Dynamo cabs, and they will do what you want perfectly. Since they were made with the intent of having a variety of hardware installed in them, they're a breeze to change around. On the 25" Dynamo I have, the monitor is mounted on a board with handles cut in it that you just unbolt and rotate. The board is cut so that it drops right back into the same bolt holes with the monitor in either orientation.

The decision you're going through was tough for me too. Most of the games I liked were vertical, but the real problem was that my absolute favorites, Robotron, Moon Patrol and Defender weren't. I eventually built one cab in each orientation, but got by for a long time just playing vertical games shrunk down on a horizontal monitor.

[Turnarcades]

Seems like a big cabinet to use for vertical monitor games. If these are your preference, I'd go for a smaller cab. For a full-on MAME cab I'd go with a horizontal monitor.