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Gutted Defender Cabinet - Restore vs. MAME?

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Flake:

I have a gutted Defender cabinet that is just that - completely gutted.  The artwork is in pretty decent shape and there is some slight water damage to the base of the cabinet.  I picked it up with the intention of restoring it but after I got to thinking about it I how is this really a restore when I have to purchase everything to get it running?

I also have interest in building a driving MAME cabinet someday and was wondering if I dont restore this cabinet could it be converted to a driving MAME cabinet?  Has anyone ever done this?  I couldnt find any information on this type of conversion on the boards.


padstack:

IMO, it's your cabinet and you paid for it so whatever you want to do.  Prepare for the onslaught of restore, restore, restore though.  :P I would say that you might check locally to see if someone has a cab they might trade you (dynamo or other typical conversion cab) for it as someone might like to restore it. 

Jack Burton:

Where are you located?  Because if you are near a larger city I can almost guarantee you that you could sell the defender and use the money to buy cab much more suited to what you want to do.



FrizzleFried:

Restore or sell/trade someone who will.


...but since it's gutted and there are thousands of Defenders out there...it's your choice.  I'd rather see you trade it for a JAMMA cab though if possible.


wbassett:

I'm a HUGE Defender fan- was home town champ when I was a kid.

Does it have the CP and controls?  Mainly the 2Way stick? 

Here's what I would do, and this is just my opinion...  I'd make it a dedicated Defender cab (seeing that I already have a multi-game cab) but I'd start out with a MAME version on a PC.  You may decide to never change it from that, but at least it's up and running and playing Defender again, and THEN start looking for the boards, monitor and everything you need to restore it back to it's original glory.

This way you get the cab looking great and can play it while you search for the parts.  Could end up getting everything quick, could take you months or a year to get everything.  Why have it just sitting there all that time and chance losing interest?

If it doesn't have the CP, here's one for $65
http://www.quarterarcade.com/Game.aspx/8340

It says it has a new overlay, but in the pic the main panel looks a bit rough.  If it has the cp but is missing parts, check around and you should be able to find the parts you need.  If you MAME it, you should be able to have it up and running again pretty quick.

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