Refurbishing an original Centipede

[studboy62]

Anyone remember my previous post when I asked if I should MAME an original centipede?  Well you guys all thankfully talked me out of it so me and my friend have been refurbishing it.

Yesterday we got some new particle board and replaced the bottom piece and some of the back panels.  We have started to cover them with contact paper but the blackest one we could find is actually black marble.  It looks really cool but obviously isn't totally original.  We have also been replacing the weather stripping along the sides with this plastic door stop material that we got from Lowes.  We got a caulk that goes with it and are just gluing it around the edges so that we don't have to use anymore staples on the side panels.  The side panels are still pretty rotted and no staple will stick in it but we still want to try and preserve them cause they have the original side art.  We have been using the same caulk to fill in the chips around the edges of the side panels.  So far it's looking a lot better and is a lot more sturdier.  

Jay (my friend) also found some owners manuals and maintenance manuals.  He's the electrical engineer so he recognizes more stuff in there then me but he now wants to replace all the wires with new wires so that they are color coded correctly and aren't all dry rotted.  I can help with that but he's gonna have to read the schematics and tell me what goes where.

Anyway, I hope you guys will appreciate the work we are doing to this machine.  Obviously with black marble contact paper it won't all be original but we are trying to preserve as much as we can while making the box sturdy enough to last for another 20 years.  I'll try to get some pictures up when I can get a digital camera around.  

[REBIRTH]

Congrats - enjoy the restoration.  As for the "weatherstripping" I assume what you are refering to is called "t-molding".  You can buy the real stuff pretty cheaply in various places, including HAPP Controls...  With that stuff you shouldn't need to glue it at all, just push it into the slots that should be gut into the cab sides...  Here is a link to it if you are interested:

http://www.happcontrols.com/interactive/accessories/49099900.htm

If it is too late, then so be it - at least you are restoring an old cab!

[Magnet_Eye]

Glad you are restoring it..definately don't hesitate to ask for help on this board so you can hopefully do things right the first time. Save yourself some frustration, etc.

Also, please document with pics as you go and share with us all!

 

[Santoro]

Anyone remember my previous post when I asked if I should MAME an original centipede?  Well you guys all thankfully talked me out of it so me and my friend have been refurbishing it.

Hey, conrats.  I owe you an apology for wailing on you in the original thread then.

Enjoy

[DaveMMR]

Thanks for giving a classic cab another chance at life.  Throw some pics up when you get a chance.   It may help me when I come across a nice cab that needs a little TLC (and parts).