Baby Pac-Man restoration

marvins_dad

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Farmers Branch, Texas
We got this a couple weeks ago on Craigslist for $300.
All I needed to know is that it was mostly functional and couldn't pass up the price.

The Bad:
No Sound - one speaker not working, one speaker not connected and tweaked vol on board - need to replace 1k volume pot
Right Flipper not working - wire disconnected from coil...works now
Most lights burned out or non-functional - all replaced but 10 still don't work, need to check diodes and connections
Filthy inside and out- Pinesol'd and scrubbed inside and out... vacuum'd boards and wiped down.
Playfield very worn - playfield in...wanting to fix lights before disassembly
Rubber rotted and some gone - new rubber in...not installed
Warped playfield plastics - plastics cleaned, need to be baked
Missing nuts on playfield - new nuts in, haven't installed
Coin door not closing - blade on lock was hitting slam switch, trimmed and now closes
Side Stickers damaged - new side stickers ordered
Slight swelling on lower sides
Top fiberboard broken/swelled
CPO is cracked and worn - have, waiting for time to install
Middle drop targets don't always reset - was missing some rubber...all's well.

The Good:
Monitor looks great
Top Art and Monitor Surround Art in great condition
Boards are in great condition
Little to no battery leak damage (has a newer battery...but needs to be relocated)
Entire playfield operation works (except for rt flipper) - flipper fixed, loose wire
Unit plays perfectly
Mostly cosmetic and refreshing needed.

The Story:
Found on Craigslist for $300
Seller had for the past 3-4 years indoors and it had been functional until recently (flipper stopped working).
Prior to 4 years ago she said it was in a "Barn"...or glorified storage.
The keys were on a bodyshop keychain, so it could have been used at a body shop/garage for a stint of it's life.
It had tax tags on it for 1982 and 1992, so guessing it hasn't been used for profit for the past 20 years.
Along the way it had become a home for about 5-7 dirt dauber nests and a mouse (which ate the original manual and looks like it chewed on the serial tag as well)...and the occasional spider.
Must have been exposed to some moisture since there is swelling in the top and the front of the side panels.

Will have to upload more photos after I downsize them...
 

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More images...
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Here's what's left of the original manual and where the mouse used to live...
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That's a nice craigslist score, rare find that it actually works. You can buy a new cpo and side art from Phoenix arcade. A little clean up and you will have a great looking game. Keep us posted on your restoration.

-J.J.
 
Glass monitor surround only has a couple bubbles in the corner and at the bottom and a couple clear spots...but overall, really decent.

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Here's the Right Flipper...the rod is rusty, so I cleaned it, but in the process realized that someone had just wrapped the lowest brown wire around the lead...so it would occasionally disconnect...it is now soldered.
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If anyone wanted to know where the side graphics were placed originally on these guys...
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Oh...and how do you service the bottom of the playfield on a Baby PacMan?
This way....(I really wish someone would have posted this trick - never found any reference to this anywhere on the net, but it looks to have been designed to be serviced this way)

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I connected a bungee from the frame of the monitor to the pin on the front of the playfield. I also put a panel of styrofoam insulation between the playfield and the monitor so it wouldn't harm either of them.

Changing lights and testing lamps are much easier now. I did the rebuild to the right flipper upside down...that wasn't fun and I broke a screw (need to add that to the "to-do" list...extract and replace screw)

All for now...
 
That's a nice craigslist score, rare find that it actually works. You can buy a new cpo and side art from Phoenix arcade. A little clean up and you will have a great looking game. Keep us posted on your restoration.

-J.J.

Thanks!
Side art, CPO and playfield are ordered from Pheonix. They won't have the new CPO in until mid month, so hopefully by the end of August I will be able to start applying some pretty.

I had been looking at one for $750 that was probably around the same condition, but might have been kept inside...so this was something we had to jump on when it came across. By the time I got to speak with the owner, she had 3 or 4 interested parties and the first to arrive with the cash is who walked away with it. Needless to say, that was a long afternoon/evening out to the country to pick it up.
 
Oh...and how do you service the bottom of the playfield on a Baby PacMan?
This way....(I really wish someone would have posted this trick - never found any reference to this anywhere on the net, but it looks to have been designed to be serviced this way)

2012+Jul+29+030.JPG


I connected a bungee from the frame of the monitor to the pin on the front of the playfield. I also put a panel of styrofoam insulation between the playfield and the monitor so it wouldn't harm either of them.

From that position, pick the playfield up and bring the bottom (or back) closer to you and the playfield will rest with no bungee needed.
 
From that position, pick the playfield up and bring the bottom (or back) closer to you and the playfield will rest with no bungee needed.

I know there is another set of blocks, but I was afraid if I leaned it back it would lean against the glass. I'll have to check this out tonight.

The biggest pain is going to be disconnecting so I can remove the playfield and do the overlay...wonder if there is enough of the whip to leave it attached to the cabinet while I work with it on the bench.
 
Another question...
Where can I find matching coin drops? Or is this a cool look?:p

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Does anyone sell just the drop...looks like it just bolts onto the door.
I have seen both types on Baby Pacs...but not sure which is right.
 
The flyer shows the one on the right... but honestly as long as they match they will look good!


-J.J.
 

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From that position, pick the playfield up and bring the bottom (or back) closer to you and the playfield will rest with no bungee needed.

Thanks for the tip...I can totally see now how it keeps it up without damaging he plastics or endangering the glass. Here are some pics I took of the playfield in the service position...

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I cleaned the back set of plastics the other night, but tonight got to play with the rest of the plastics. Need to bake the plastics to flatten them later, but wanted to get these clean now so later it will just be a spit shine before the oven.

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I will post some pics this weekend, but just off the chance someone knows...
The sound is really static-y...by turning the pot on the Vidiot Board for sound volume I can get it to eventually go away. I had read that they used cheap pots and people usually replaced them. Is there a common replacement pot that everyone uses for the Vidiot Board Volume, or is this something I need to hunt down?:confused:
 
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