DK 3 to Donkey Kong conversion/resto *FINISHED*

[ZORK2]

Hello all,
I hesitate to start another project before I finish my last one(SuperOffroad) But I picked up a beat, DK 3 cab last week for $100 bucks. And after alot of debate, I decided to convert it to a regular Donkey Kong. Partially because I looked and LOOKED for a new Bezel, and it was nearly impossble to find. I plan on donating my old one to Scott over at Mamemarquee.com so that someone in the future won't have this issue. AND THE REAL REASON, DONKEY KONG IS A MUCH BETTER GAME!!!
The game fired up and seemed to work, however the monitor was scrambled. Here are a few shots of it after I dropped it into my garage.
I'll be posted pics of the process as time allows!! Enjoy....

[ZORK2]

Doesn't look THAT bad from the front at a distance....
But from the side, YIKES, SHE IS UGLY!!!!
The poor bezel has seen better days!!! The artwork on it is in GREAT shape! Such a shame! I'm hoping Scott over at mamemarquee.com can scan it and offer it in the future on his website!!

[ZORK2]

After a little tinkering I figured out that the actual game was working just fine, I could put a couple credits on it, hit the start button and I could hear the game working, I also noticed that the monitor did come on, however the picture was completely scrambled. If you look close at these 2 pics, you can see that the monitor is in fact on.  I ordered a cap kit for a Sanyo 20EZV. I'm hoping that'll fix my problems

[ZORK2]

Next I stripped down the cabinate, pulled the beat up coin door, coin box, pulled the power block, and got it ready to remove the monitor.

[ZORK2]

The only major damage to speak of to the cabinate was beneith the CP, above the coin door. At one point someone had taken a hammer to the coin door and hit it about 20 times. The coin door took a heck of a beating, I'm hoping I will be able to restore it later on in this project. They hit it so hard, it cracked the wood and pulled the screws out!!

[ZORK2]

Next I got out my trusty DeWalt palm sander, 100 grit sandpaper and WENT TO TOWN!!! The one side wasn't THAT bad once the paint was removed. The other side was a mess. I'm guessing all those battle scars were probably the reason someone decided to paint the whole thing black? Also there were a couple bondo areas, it looked like someone attemped to fix a couple bad spots before painting it??

[ZORK2]

A quick mix of bondo, sanding got me here....
Alot of battle scars to go, BUT, at least the sweet sight of Donkey Kong Blue is back!!
Note the hammered coin door on the bottom left!!

[ZORK2]

MORE BONDO!!

[ZORK2]

Next more sanding.......

[ZORK2]

One more round of sanding, bondo, and sanding, and she'll be ready for primer!! I got that part in the front of the cabinate fixed that was cracked. I put a bead of wood glue along the edge where the two pieces touched, and then ran in a couple extra screws in. I finished it off with a nice blob of bondo over the crack, one it is sanded and primered, I'm guessing no one will ever know it was even there!!

[Mauzy]

Nice cab! I started out doing the same project (DK3 to DK), but somehow ended up enjoying DK3 enough to hold off of doing the actual conversion. While I didn't have to deal like you have had to, I had quite a bit of bondo work to do. Could you do me a favor and tell me a few things?

What is the height of the black wooden base?

How long is the base from front to back?

Also, did yours come with the DK3 serial plate? IIRC, it should start with DKC...

Thanks!

[ZORK2]

Hey thanks! She's coming along now! I'll get those measurments for you tomorrow when I am working on it again.  I'll try and post em tomorrow night. Got a few quick shots of my progress today.....

[ZORK2]

The last bondo/sanding session......

[ZORK2]

All filled, sanded, and wiped down!! Ready for Zinssers BIN primer!!

[ZORK2]

Coat one is on! It went smooth.  Tomorrow will be sanding with 400 grit, and coat two!
Boy that primer is some sticky stuff! Don't get it on anything that it doesn't belong on!! Or else good luck getting it off!! 
Oh, BTW, got my cap kit in the mail yesterday, I'll be putting that on sometime this week as time permits.  Also picked up a Donkey Kong Board for $85, should be in this week, and a really nice looking original Bezel for $45, should be in this week as well.

[javeryh]

Looking really nice with that coat of primer on there.  You can't even tell that it was all beat up.  I really want to see you restore that coin door - it doesn't look possible!   

What is the height of the black wooden base?

How long is the base from front to back?

The dimensions of the base on mine is 22" x 24-7/8" x 3-1/2" (I replaced the plywood one using some maple).  A 1" x 4" x 8' piece is the perfect amount.

[ZORK2]

THANKS!!
I was REALLY hoping to find a NICE USED one somewhere?!! I found one on ebay but they wanted $75 for it, plus $20 to ship! Call me crazy or cheap, but I think $95 bucks for that thing is a bit steep!! Excpecially since I paid $100 for the entire CAB!!

With bondo, sanding and time, ANYTHING is possible! 
I'm hoping I can fill the dents, sand it all smooth, put a coat or two of BIN on it.  Then my plan is to paint it with a can of rustoleum's epoxy aplicance paint. I'm thinking that'll hide 99% of any imperfections?!!?! We shall see....

My biggest concern right now is the control panel. The buttons are in a slight different location than a stock DK CP, which means I'm going to have to relocate them? This would be fairly easy if this was a wood CP, but it is a metal one? Ah well I'll cross that bridge when I get to it......

[javeryh]

I went a little nuts on my coin door... I got mine with my cab ($36 total!) and it was in great shape (no dents) but it was rusty so I had a local shop sandblast and powdercoat it.  Then I bought new coin mechs from Asahi Seiko.  It was EXPENSIVE but totally worth it now that the money is spent and the coin door looks like it was fabricated yesterday.

As for the CP, I'd just remake the entire thing.  It should be 5/8" plywood anyway.  A new overlay should only be about $20.   

[IG-88]

I second on remaking the CP.

I was wondering...Where can a guy get the measurements for an original CP at? They would have to be pretty accurate especially if you wanted to put a new overlay on it and have everything line up, right?!?!

[ZORK2]

Hmmm, interesting thought, Yeah I suppose I could do that? I may some pics, and some help with the dimentions, but I don't see why I couldn't do it?? Does any one know what joystick the original DK used? The one on my metal DK3 CP bolts through the CP, if I decide to make a CP, I assuming I'd have to use a router for where it mounts on the backside? Hmm, that may be a little advanced for my "routing" abilities? Also I'd hate to have to buy and entire sheet of 5/8" plywood for one 6" x 12" piece of wood?!?!
So what's the deal, did the "DK3 conversion package" come with an entire new metal CP to replace the reuglar old wooden DK CP?? I would have thought it would have just come with a new CPO??

[Mauzy]

Does any one know what joystick the original DK used?

This one. I'm sure you can find one used for much cheaper. The one on your DK3 is much shorter than the one used on DK as the DK joystick mounted to the full thickness of the wood, IIRC. All you have to buy is this shaft that they don't seem to have and new bolts to convert your DK3 joystick to a DK joystick.

Or at least thats what I had planned when I was going to restore mine to DK. 

 

So what's the deal, did the "DK3 conversion package" come with an entire new metal CP to replace the reuglar old wooden DK CP??

Exactly. Why they did this I don't know. Maybe they figured the original DK CP would be beat up after the couple years it had been in service. It might have been a way to get operators to put a fresh joystick and buttons as I would figure the original DK joy and buttons would be getting worn out by the time the kit came out and they knew that a new game would DEFINITELY not take off if all of the cabinets had worn out controls. The panels probably came pre-assembled for the ease of the operator. We've seen in the past how many ops will take short cuts. If you give an op a big bag of nuts, bolts, and joystick parts to replace "good" (only good because its already assembled) joys there is a lower chance that they will replace all of that stuff than if they were given a panel that they just have to plug in and clamp down. 

Of course I just came up with all that crap as I typed it. Could be completely wrong.

[ZORK2]

Yeah that makes sence I suppose. Ok, so now I'm going to need help from you guys replicating a DK CP!! You say that longer stick was made specifically to go all the way through the full thickness of 5/8 inch plywood? How does it mount then with out the top of the bolts being visible on top of the CP?? Are they counter sunk and then cover by the CPO??
Were you also saying that the longer stick is no longer in stock anywhere?
Boy I'd hate to have to pay $70 some bucks for a new stick?!?! Are there any other options? Where on earth would I ever find a used one?!? I have a feeling one on ebay would be a tough find?
Also what buttons and button set-ups would have to be fitted to this new wooded CP!?
Well here is the info you requested from my cab, I tryed to be as excact as I could with the measurements....
21 15/16 wide by
24 7/8 long
 
My cab has TWO plates on it,
the first says
Model No TPP2-UP-US
Serial No 06881

The second says
Model No DCK1-UP-US
Serial No 80037PAK

Who knows what that means!??!?! I saw a thread here the other day explaining it, but didn't have time to read it yet!!

I'll post a pic from tonights work after dinner! OH OH OH, My DK bezel and PCB came today!! 

[Mauzy]

To be honest, I can't be sure about the CP joystick attachment. If I were building one, I would countersink bolts underneath the overlay. However, I don't know if that is how they were built in the factory. The joysticks actually come up on eBay on occasion and don't sell for too much. I would shoot MikesArcade an email if you are interested in that shaft. They run an excellent business. I use them for most of my arcade parts and have never had an issue.

My cab has TWO plates on it,
the first says
Model No TPP2-UP-US
Serial No 06881

The second says
Model No DCK1-UP-US
Serial No 80037PAK

Who knows what that means!??!?! I saw a thread here the other day explaining it, but didn't have time to read it yet!!

I'll post a pic from tonights work after dinner! OH OH OH, My DK bezel and PCB came today!! 

You may not like this, but your cabinet seems to have left the factory as a Popeye as denoted by the TPP2. If it were originally a DK it would be TKG. The DKC plate is from the Donkey Kong 3 conversion kit.

That being said, if it has been running DK3, you will have no problem whatsoever running Donkey Kong in that cabinet. Its essentially (if not exactly) the same cabinet as an original Donkey Kong.

IF you plan on removing that DKC plate and you can do it without destroying it, please send me a PM as I would like to have one for my cab.

Oh and thanks for the measurements guys   

[ZORK2]

Huh, very interesting! A popeye huh? Well judging by the slight burn in on the monitor, it spent the better part of its life as DK3!! I will have to weigh all my options as far as a CP. I would DEFINATLEY like a wooden one. May just be easier to find a decent used one around somewhere, and restore THAT one?!?! I don't have any 5/8" plywood laying around, I bet I'm looking at $25 for the sheet, and then I still have the pain of making it!??! If I could pick up a used one for around that same price? THAT may be the way to go?
Funny side note, I found tucked away inside the cabinte, the original "How to convert your Nintendo PAK game to a DK3" book!! HA!! It has a few different things that you have to do, for all the different games that came in that cabinate, Popeye, DK, DK Jr, and I believe Mario Bro??
At any rate, she'll probably live out her days as a good ol Donkey Kong! 
I'm with you Mauzy, there is a BIG part of me that would have like to just KEEP it DK3!! I had visions of it painted that DK RED color, all fixed up as BK3. I have it on my Multi Jamma and I really DO enjoy playing it. BUT, that being said, I doubt my buddies, or anyone else that comes over to play, would gravitate toward it like they would a classic Donkey kong!! The deciding factor being the fact that the Bezel and Marquee looked like they were going to be a major pain to find!! It was enough to push me over the edge, as DK parts are a dime a dozen. It's the car equvilent of restoring a 65 mustang vs, resotring a 66 murcury comet!! 

[ZORK2]

One last pic, the first coat of bin is sanded, the second coat is on, now for the second sanding!!!!
I just had to place the DK bezel on it to try it out! 

[ZORK2]

Oh and Mauzy,
Help me locate the stuff to put cheepo CP together with, and my DK3 plate is all yours!! I'd like to see it go to someone who will enjoy it, and give it a good home! 

[Chicken McNobody]

Exactly. Why they did this I don't know. Maybe they figured the original DK CP would be beat up after the couple years it had been in service. It might have been a way to get operators to put a fresh joystick and buttons as I would figure the original DK joy and buttons would be getting worn out by the time the kit came out and they knew that a new game would DEFINITELY not take off if all of the cabinets had worn out controls. The panels probably came pre-assembled for the ease of the operator. We've seen in the past how many ops will take short cuts. If you give an op a big bag of nuts, bolts, and joystick parts to replace "good" (only good because its already assembled) joys there is a lower chance that they will replace all of that stuff than if they were given a panel that they just have to plug in and clamp down. 

Of course I just came up with all that crap as I typed it. Could be completely wrong.

This is very true, I used to work at an arcade in the late 90s, and most owners/employees could care less how the game looked.  They only cared if the game would play enough to keep people from complaining.  For example the SFII had only 4 working buttons for the 2P side, but since at this time, the game was not as popular since Tekken 2/3 were all the rage, nobody complained, so it never got fixed.  The closest thing to care that was given to the place where I worked was that we would clean the control panels and plexi glass every night, to keep it sanitary and easier to see.  So mostly if they game was capable of "playing" and taking quarters, they were perfectly happy. . .

Funny thing is that when I worked there, I could care less about the cabinets and inner workings of the games, and now I am obsessed with them.  Meh, go figure. . .

[Mauzy]

BUT, that being said, I doubt my buddies, or anyone else that comes over to play, would gravitate toward it like they would a classic Donkey kong!!

Oh I hear that. Thats the only reason I'm still a little on the fence about leaving mine a DK3. Anybody in my family who would be interested in arcade games always thinks its original DK until I tell them otherwise. They promptly move one game to the right to play Galaga. I may rig up some sort of two board switch to have both in one on original hardware.


As for helping you locate some CP stuff, give me a couple days to research and I can point you in the correct direction!

This is very true, I used to work at an arcade in the late 90s, and most owners/employees could care less how the game looked.  They only cared if the game would play enough to keep people from complaining.  For example the SFII had only 4 working buttons for the 2P side, but since at this time, the game was not as popular since Tekken 2/3 were all the rage, nobody complained, so it never got fixed.  The closest thing to care that was given to the place where I worked was that we would clean the control panels and plexi glass every night, to keep it sanitary and easier to see.  So mostly if they game was capable of "playing" and taking quarters, they were perfectly happy. . .

Funny thing is that when I worked there, I could care less about the cabinets and inner workings of the games, and now I am obsessed with them.  Meh, go figure. . .

Same story at the local arcade here. If it has a picture on the monitor, no matter how distorted, they don't touch it.

[ZORK2]

Yep, it always comes down to the almighty dollar!!
Welp scratch that CP, I just bought one on Mikesarcade.com. A wooden Donkey Kong CP, new stick, the buttons, CPO and the card for under the plexi window, 85$. I started doing the math, adding up all the individual parts, and the price of the sheet of 5/8" plywood, and the amount of time it was going to take me to actually fab one, seemed pretty reasonable to me!?!?! Call me crazy......  I bet I'd have about that in making one?!?! $30 for the stick, $12 for the mounting plate,  $10 for the buttons, $25 for the CPO, $5 for the CPO card,  That gets me close to 80$, and that doesn't include a sheet of 5/8"?!?!
Done DEAL, CP problem SOLVED!!!!

[Mauzy]

Hey that works too! I don't know how authentic you want to be with this cab, but nothing would stop you from upgrading that joystick to an authentic Nintendo either. Nothing beats the feel of a DK game with the original joystick!

Looking at the components involved that would prolly be the cheapest solution for new parts. I would have suggested that for someone looking to not break the bank.

Oh and if you haven't already you should check out my DK3 restore thread 
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=92466.0

[ZORK2]

Yeah I may upgrade to that someday? To be honest, I don't know if I'd even be able to tell as it has been YEARS since I've played a real one? I'm doubting that any of the knuckle heads I have over will know the difference either?  It doesn't have to be 100% authentic.  I mean lets face it, this thing was a POPEYE and a DK3 it's whole life.  I'm sure a true nintendo cab nut could find a 1000 flaws in what I'm doing. Besides, it would be as close as anything I could fabricate myself. In the mean time Mauzy keep an eye open for a real deal stick for a reasonable price for me. I just didn't think the 46$ extra was worth it for the upgrade?!?!!? I would think given a little time and shopping around I should be able to beat THAT price?!? 

[ZORK2]

WOW nice restore on that thing! Amazing amount of bondo work!! Good job man. Hey, I may have found one way to tell that mine was originally a Popeye cab, it looks like the T-molding on my cabinate is a LOT thinner than the stuff on yours? I'm curious as to weather the T-molding was a different width on Popeye?

[Mauzy]

I just didn't think the 46$ extra was worth it for the upgrade?!?!!? I would think given a little time and shopping around I should be able to beat THAT price?!? 

Oh yeah. For a nice used stick you can probably do better than that. Don't get me wrong either, I'm not one of those must-use-26-year-old-screws kind of authenticity guys. I just get as close as possible on my tight budget. To each his own, I've always said.

Thanks! The T-Molding size depends on the material type. If you have a particle board cabinet (what I have) it will be 5/8". A plywood cab will have 9/16". All I have to do is build the base and It'll be as good as I want it.

Another thing that points to Popeye can be seen in picture 23. Those three holes on either side of the inside of the monitor area are left over from when the monitor was horizontally mounted to play Popeye which was a horizontal game.

[javeryh]

If you are thinking about running more than one game you might be interested in my thread HERE.  I restored a DK cosmetically but I am running MAME on the inside with a list of about 30 games that use 1 button and a 4-way stick.  There are no external modifications to the cabinet other than the 3 admin buttons underneath the CP which are countersunk and not visible at all.  In fact, some of my friends came over last weekend and we had one of my buddies putting quarters in the thing for an hour before we told him about the coin button and that there were other games on the cab besides DK.   He actually ran out to his car to dig around for change!! 

[IG-88]

Just for future reference, on the 5/8" CP ply you were looking for, any of the stores I frequent usually have a scrap bin that you can get smaller sized lumber on the cheap if not free of charge. Lowes, Home Depot or Menards all have this stuff. Just ask for it if you can't find it.

[ZORK2]

That is good to know. Never had to look for a small odd-ball sized small piece like that before.
Thanks for the mame idea, but I think I'm going to keep it a dedicated Donkey Kong. Not sure WHY excactly I'd want to play only one game when I could be playing THOUSANDS??!?! Can't explain it I suppose. I'm not opposed to making a mame some day though?!?
Not a ton of progress today, I had a dentist appointment after work which killed a couple hours. I did manage to get the cabinate sanded one more time, and another coat of bin on it.
HEY, here is a problem I have been noticing when sanding the BIN primer. After a bit, my sand paper gets "clogged" the dust all sticks together or something, and it ends up depositing a little flake of melted dust on the cab? And it is STUCK good! Almost like it gets fused to the primer that is on there. And I'm talking this happens after about 10 sec of sanding, I'm not pressing hard with the sander, and I'm not concentrating on one spot the whole time. It is really odd. Then the only way to get that "flake" off, it to change out the paper and resand the spot.
I tryed WET SANDING it, it seemed to help alot, I just get the paper pretty moist, and kept wiping the cabinate with a wet rag as I sanded stuff. Has anyone else had this problem with the BIN primer? Or am I putting it on too thick or something?? I'll just keep doing the wet sanding method, it seems to be working the best.
No pics tonight, I figure everyone has seen enough, sanding/reprimering pics from me in this post!! I'm hoping the get it sanded and reprimered, and sanded again tomorrow night???  I'll see how it looks from there? May do one more after that?? We shall see.
Hoping to get that monitor recapped maybe by the weekend.

[Mauzy]

For how long are you letting the paint dry? Sounds like it still may be a little wet under the surface. Is it really humid where you are painting?

[ZORK2]

Just about 24 hours between coats?!!? Na, not really that humid? Heck that stuff says it drys in 45 minutes on the can? I'm not sure what gives? I'll just keep wet sanding it. Seems to do the trick, just wondered if anyone else has had an issue with it doing this? Ah well  couple more coats and I'll be done with it anyway.......

[Mauzy]

Hmm. The paint being damp isn't the problem then. Maybe the sander is creating enough friction to melt the paint?


Whatever it is, if wet sanding works, keep at it.

[Spyridon]

Are you using a power sander?  Once I have paint on the cab, I switch to a sanding block and do it by hand.