Jess' Arcade Restoration

The NES came out when I was two years old. I don't remember when my family first got one, but I vaguely remember watching my brothers play Super Mario Bros. I think my mom even played and was very good. I don't think I started playing until I was in maybe 1st or 2nd grade, but I have a lot of fond memories of playing with my brothers and friends.

My love for gaming has always been rooted in Nintendo games. On Christmas of '89 or '90 (I forget which one), my mom bought my brothers and I an original green-screened, brick Gameboy for Christmas. For a little kid, having Nintendo on-to-go for the first time was simply amazing. Almost 20 years later, little kids and adults (including myself) are carrying DS Lites.

All our original NES stuff is all but lost (my older brother sold everything off to buy the Sega Saturn when it came out), but I've managed to partially rebuild my own NES collection. I went a little further and went for the Nintendo game that started it all--Donkey Kong.

Before Nintendo became known as a video game company, they simply made playing cards and games in Japan. They didn't release their first arcade game until 1980. Nintendo's first hit was in 1981 with the release of Donkey Kong. This led to licensing to consoles like Atari and Colecovision. Then, Nintendo released the Famicom (Japanese NES) in 1983. In 1985, the NES was released in North America and the rest is history. With all that said, I never thought I'd own my own arcade cabinet (especially a vintage Nintendo).

How did I find it? No, I didn't ask Billy Mitchell or Steve Wiebe (King of Kong). I was able to find a seller on Craigslist who pretty much accepted anything in return for his DK cabinet. He said it came into his possession through a garage sale swap and he never really played it. I tried to salvage some of my stuff that's been laying around for years (old bass amp, some electric guitar pedals, etc.) to trade. We made the deal and he delivered it to my garage (free shipping!). This to me was an absolute steal. You can find an old working DK cabinet for around $700-1000 on eBay. A brand new reproduction DK cabinet goes for around $1500 online. I got this ORIGINAL working DK cabinet for things I would have gotten rid of anyways.

The problem with receiving a 28 year-old arcade cabinet is that it's most likely going to be in pretty bad shape. I'm guessing this one has been through its share of arcades, bowling alleys, bars, and homes.

Some initial damage notes:

- Bezel (Front plexiglass) is all scratched up like someone went to town with a key and needs to be replaced.
- Front board holding bezel has chips in the finish and the instruction sticker will need to be replaced.
- Marquee top bracket needs to be repainted.
- Control panel overlay has cigarette burns and needs to be replaced.
- Joystick needs to be cleaned and lubricated.
- Leaf-switch Buttons are worn and need to be replaced.
- Control panel instruction card needs to be replaced.
- Coin sticker needs to be applied.
- Coin door has some dents and needs to be spray painted.
- Speaker hole has some chips that need to be patched, sanded, and repainted.
- Cabinet corners will need to be patched and sanded into shape.
- Side art will need to be replaced on both sides.
- Cabinet sides and front will need to be sanded, primed, and painted due to scratches and minor graffiti.
- Cabinet back will need to be sanded and spray painted.
- White T-molding needs to be replaced.
- Inside needs to be cleaned and sanded.

Some version notes:

- Original blue colored cabinet
- Original Donkey Kong PCB (No save kit or modifications)
- Nintendo light fixture has been replaced with a 120V light fixture.
- Original serial number plate and warning sticker still attached to back.
- Original dip switch instructions attached to inside of back cover.

This is a pretty hefty list and I'm sure more will be discovered once I start getting into it. On the bright side, everything on the inside of the cabinet works. The PCB is in great shape, the monitor is bright, and the speaker is clear. I've only played a couple of games and was able to get to the fourth frame or so.

This will be a long-term project that I'm hoping to get done within a year. Like any restoration project, it takes time, money, and patience. I'm really excited and I'll try to be good about updating my progress on this blog.

Here are some initial pictures I took of the cabinet the first day I got it:

It looks good from far away...



The marquee is probably the only thing that doesn't need to be fixed or replaced on the outside...



You can see the wear of the control panel...



The title screen (you can notice the scratches on the bezel)...



First frame (honestly, what would compel someone to scratch up the bezel like that?)...