another Pac-Man sort-of restoration

monzamess

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I was gifted an original Pac-Man cabinet of unknown provenance and unknown condition by a family acquaintance who just wanted it out of the way.

I picked it up about a month ago. Fair warning: As of Feb 5th, I've done everything I've planned to do to it (for now), so these posts are mostly historical. I'll post more here as I have time.

It was very dirty but appeared to be complete, with some oddities.

The control panel overlay was non-standard. I saw it advertised as "Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-Man" on eBay, otherwise, I've seen nothing else about this CPO.

The sides were covered in brown goop; I assume it was glue to hold different artwork.

Overall, it seems like the cabinet was converted to something else (maybe Ms. Pac-Man?), then converted back.

After blowing out the dust and giving it a quick once-over for anything obvious that might catch fire, I plugged it in and it started up!
 

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I thoroughly cleaned the CRT glass, tinted plexi, and bezel glass. This tube, if not this cabinet, was clearly running "Ms. Pac-Man" for some time.

I also temporarily bumped up the "screen" control on the neck board. Got a picture, but it had vertical jitter.

I bought a main cap kit (WG K4600), VR201 pot, .1uF 1600V axial capacitor, and 330uF 250V B+ capacitor from Arcade Parts and Repair.

After discharging the tube and cleaning up the dust and soot with a brush (I didn't bathe it), I replaced the parts. I couldn't (/didn't want to) disconnect the main chassis board from the CRT so I just sat on the garage floor and went to work. I lifted a trace on the XY board (it seemed more "fragile" than the others) at the V-SIZE pot, so I patched it with a bodge wire.

I plugged it into the cabinet and, surprisingly, it worked. It needed a few adjustments but I was shocked (not literally, luckily).
 

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The joystick actuator was replaced with a large hex nut threaded onto a wad of electrical tape at some point in history. It fell off while playing, er, testing the game. Not having another suitable substitute available, I found a scrap piece of rubber irrigation tubing that had almost the right inner and outer diameter for pushing onto the joystick shaft and threading the hex nut onto it.

A wire also broke off one of the leaf springs so I reattached it by loosening the leaf components and using them to clamp the wire back in place. The joystick needs to be rebuilt and I'll come back to that later.

Anyway, at this point I could reliably play a very ugly game of Pac-Man.
 

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Looks like maybe a Willis overlay.

That 4600 is a very reliable monitor. Behind the smoked plexi overlay, it'll look/work great.

Plenty of parts options here for the joystick.

You're well on your way to to a decent playable classic game. Pac is iconic. A fine addition to any game room.

I'd suggest a bitkit for that cab, if you'd like some other options for games.
 
I was gifted an original Pac-Man cabinet of unknown provenance and unknown condition by a family acquaintance who just wanted it out of the way.

I picked it up about a month ago. Fair warning: As of Feb 5th, I've done everything I've planned to do to it (for now), so these posts are mostly historical. I'll post more here as I have time.

It was very dirty but appeared to be complete, with some oddities.

The control panel overlay was non-standard. I saw it advertised as "Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-Man" on eBay, otherwise, I've seen nothing else about this CPO.

The sides were covered in brown goop; I assume it was glue to hold different artwork.

Overall, it seems like the cabinet was converted to something else (maybe Ms. Pac-Man?), then converted back.

After blowing out the dust and giving it a quick once-over for anything obvious that might catch fire, I plugged it in and it started up!
Awesome work. You can get the correct plastic parts for actuator etc to really fine tune that joystick. They are available here. A member 3D modeled all of them. I can find his info and post up.

Go pac! Great job. Keep it up.
 
Thanks for the Willis pointer; that was an interesting rabbit hole via Google.

Regarding the joystick... I'm getting a little out-of-order but I'll go ahead and talk about it.

To refinish the control panel, I had to get the joystick shaft out. As you can imagine, it was rusted to the rubber grommet piece. I tried a LOT of things but eventually, I just hack-sawed it off. I hated doing that but I was too dumb to think of anything else.

With the joystick removed, I refinished the control panel (primer and Krylon black satin spray paint). The CPO is from Phoenix Arcade.

I had a Happ "Pac Man" microswitch joystick on hand from an arcade controller I built about 20 years ago, so I repurposed it here. I mildly augmented the factory wiring to add spade connectors to connect the switches. I also hacked up some plywood chunks to attach the joystick itself to the control panel. I know there are better adapters available, but I did this as a temporary measure since I am leaning toward refurbishing the original joystick.
 

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Thanks for the Willis pointer; that was an interesting rabbit hole via Google.

Regarding the joystick... I'm getting a little out-of-order but I'll go ahead and talk about it.

To refinish the control panel, I had to get the joystick shaft out. As you can imagine, it was rusted to the rubber grommet piece. I tried a LOT of things but eventually, I just hack-sawed it off. I hated doing that but I was too dumb to think of anything else.

With the joystick removed, I refinished the control panel (primer and Krylon black satin spray paint). The CPO is from Phoenix Arcade.

I had a Happ "Pac Man" microswitch joystick on hand from an arcade controller I built about 20 years ago, so I repurposed it here. I mildly augmented the factory wiring to add spade connectors to connect the switches. I also hacked up some plywood "struts" to attach the joystick itself to the control panel. I know there are better adapters available, but I did this as a temporary measure since I am leaning toward refurbishing the original joystick.
Original stick is the only way to go on Pac.
If there is a nuclear war, cockroaches, NYC rats and midway pac joysticks are all that will survive.

They are bulletproof as shit. Get it rebuilt and you'll never look back.

Clicking on original pac will drive you smoothly transitions to make the turns with lead original cab never be compared to hard click on non OG.

Good luck !
 
Ok, so, the (very ugly) elephant in the room: artwork.

I wanted to save the original paint. It was covered in tough, crusty old glue. I did a lot of research (lots of lurking in here especially), tried various chemicals and abrasives plus heat, and the bottom line is that anything that was effective at removing the glue also removed the original paint.

I sanded down the sides and lightly sanded the front, then filled holes/gouges/etc. I primed with Zinsser 123 and then rolled on Rustoleum Sunburst Yellow enamel.

Finally, I applied decals. Yeah, I know, it's a shame, etc. I was not up to stenciling and stand in awe of those who successfully pull it off. Anyway, I used artwork from Phoenix Arcade.
 

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Odds and ends:

I kept the original(?) black t-molding.

I kept the original(?) marquee, but it's flexiglass so I'm not sure it's truly original.

I replaced the marquee light with an LED under-cabinet light. The fluorescent components already in place were not working and the wiring was questionable.

I kept the original bezel. I used tape on the underside to cover holes and prevent more crumbling, but I have a feeling I'll just want to replace this some day.

I replaced the power switch since the old one was really hard to press and didn't always click.

I replaced the coin door lock and (missing) rear panel lock.

I repainted the coin door.

I repainted the black "inside" parts with Rustoleum gloss black enamel. I thought the original(?) paint was OK, but between things I did that made it worse, and really looking at its original condition, I had to redo it. Unfortunately I didn't come to this conclusion until I had reassembled much of the cabinet, so I had to remove and mask a lot.
 

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Here is where I have stopped for now -- good enough to move inside the house and play Pac-Man!
 

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Original stick is the only way to go on Pac.
If there is a nuclear war, cockroaches, NYC rats and midway pac joysticks are all that will survive.

They are bulletproof as shit. Get it rebuilt and you'll never look back.

Clicking on original pac will drive you smoothly transitions to make the turns with lead original cab never be compared to hard click on non OG.

Good luck !

I'm not even that good at Pac-Man and I've already noticed the difference. Getting the leaf switch joystick back in place will be the next thing, when I can do it.
 
I'm not even that good at Pac-Man and I've already noticed the difference. Getting the leaf switch joystick back in place will be the next thing, when I can do it.
You've done some great work already.
After it's all up and running, look up tge 4-1 conversion also. It's an easy update to get pac/ms both reg and fast all on same pcb with software menu and no dip switches .
 
Welcome to the forum - Impressive first posts! That came out great.

I had to lurk around, watch and learn then tinker on garbage MAME cabinets for a long time until I was ready for this level of restore.

FYI, you can use a Classic to modern adapter if you stay with that Happ stick. Also, Tornado Terry sells a modded Happ Reunion stick with correct height shaft and correct size balltop which is the best option if you go with a microswitch stick. I agree with @SCUBA King though, OG leaf switch sticks are so much better and actually really easy to rebuild.
 
Really nice. I think Pac-Man originally had orange t-molding, so it looks just a little different.

Maybe I misremember, or I had one that was orange over the years, steering my memory.
 
Welcome to the forum - Impressive first posts! That came out great.

I had to lurk around, watch and learn then tinker on garbage MAME cabinets for a long time until I was ready for this level of restore.

FYI, you can use a Classic to modern adapter if you stay with that Happ stick. Also, Tornado Terry sells a modded Happ Reunion stick with correct height shaft and correct size balltop which is the best option if you go with a microswitch stick. I agree with @SCUBA King though, OG leaf switch sticks are so much better and actually really easy to rebuild.

Yeah I made my own garbage MAME cabinet in 2006. Actually the black enamel paint I used here was leftover from that effort.
 
Really nice. I think Pac-Man originally had orange t-molding, so it looks just a little different.

Maybe I misremember, or I had one that was orange over the years, steering my memory.

I've found the vast majority have orange t-molding (though most have faded and look almost yellow).

However this advertisement shows Pac-Man with black t-molding so maybe that was an option?

For this particular cabinet, who knows. I just couldn't bring myself to trash the t-molding after it came off and cleaned up so well, so black it is.
 
Awesome work. You can get the correct plastic parts for actuator etc to really fine tune that joystick. They are available here. A member 3D modeled all of them. I can find his info and post up.
That would be me. :)

IMG_20190507_082722973.jpg


Also available in black.

Stenciling is definitely a massive undertaking. I have to say, the hex nut actuator on the joystick is a ...creative... hack. Very nice clean up. Not every restore has to be a complete "fresh from the factory" job. Sometimes just taking a battered old game and returning it to an attractive and playable state is all that is needed.
 
That would be me. :)

IMG_20190507_082722973.jpg


Also available in black.

Stenciling is definitely a massive undertaking. I have to say, the hex nut actuator on the joystick is a ...creative... hack. Very nice clean up. Not every restore has to be a complete "fresh from the factory" job. Sometimes just taking a battered old game and returning it to an attractive and playable state is all that is needed.
Yes! I was going to find exact post but had the weekend from hell. I have your stuff still going strong in one of my most-played pacs. I'm pretty impressed with the hex nut and electrical tape from OP but think yours may be a bit better feel. 😂😂👍🏻👍🏻
 
Yes! I was going to find exact post but had the weekend from hell. I have your stuff still going strong in one of my most-played pacs. I'm pretty impressed with the hex nut and electrical tape from OP but think yours may be a bit better feel. 😂😂👍🏻👍🏻

Even with the hex nut & tape combo, the leaf switches still felt better than the microswitches. I just need to fix up the old stick with a more permanent solution!
 
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