Centipede Cocktail Restoration - Questions before starting

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Centipede Cocktail Restoration - Questions before starting

So, I am in process of obtaining a "fixer-upper" (**EDIT** - This is actually a Millipede Cocktail) table. I'll be getting this Thursday, and this will be my new project for the next few months. I'm considering doing a near-full resto on this one (Will know more once I see the cocktail IRL).

I do know there is some work to do cosmetically, and I am looking for pointers.

1) CPOs are shot on this unit. I see some repro's are available, who's is the best? How should I prep the CP, should it be painted or should I suck up getting it powder coated?

2) Cocktail Glass - If I assume the glass is salvageable (after pickup, glass is salvageable), who has the best underlay, repro, or replacement? Looking for ideas on this one, what would you use?

I may have more questions on the cosmetics after I see the machine IRL on Thursday when I pick it up, just thought I'd try to get the ball rolling getting answers on the parts I know need replacement/fixing. Someone had to do a resto on one of these before...
 
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Well, to my suprise, the machine was mislabeled (I figured but wasn't sure), and this is actually a Millipede Cocktail table. Got it for a song and it is now in my shop. Game is not working, so that will be my first priority. Will require a decent amount of TLC, but I think this will be salvageable.

Same questions still apply, just in reference to Millipede and not Centipede.. Additional info to follow.

3) Screen has a decent amount of screenburn. Anyone know a good place to start looking for a replacement monitor? Not a really high priority on this, but other than feebay and CL, I don't know anyplace good to look.

4) I am missing the sidepanel that covers access to the powerbrick. Former owner says he has it somewhere, and will ship when he finds it but I'll start looking for a replacement or dimentions/outline trace to recreate if I can. Can anyone help with pictures/measurements on the cover?

5) Trackballs move really rough. I may just try to clean them and hand polish the balls to see if that helps for now. Long term, I will eventually replace or rebuild them. After doing some quick looking around, it looks like rebuilding them (new shafts/bearings/ball) is almost as expensive as replacing them. Which route do you use?

Just looking for suggestions/ideas from those more experienced.
 
Screen burn should not be an issue since a piece of smoked plexiglass is sandwiched between the table top glass and the monitor. It will hide a decent about of burn.

I had Centipede that was missing the same "door". I simple took a large sheet of paper to cover the opening and rubbed around the edges with a pencil to build template that mirrored the rounded corners. I then took a router and cleared away a channel 1 inch wide at a depth that allowed the 3/4 wood to sit flush with the rest of the cabinet. I finished off the new door with some black vinyl.

That "door" is held in place with a security bar. If you can't find a picture online let me know via pm and I'll try and take one for you.

Finally, polishing the track ball will not help. You need to most likely replace the bearings. I spent 2 hours once cleaning a set of trackbacks and bearings with no luck.

With all that being said, I sold off that game. Over the winter I did get my hands on another Centipede cocktail that is trashed. I'm hoping to sand down the metal legs and control panels today before priming.

Good luck on the restore.



Well, to my suprise, the machine was mislabeled (I figured but wasn't sure), and this is actually a Millipede Cocktail table. Got it for a song and it is now in my shop. Game is not working, so that will be my first priority. Will require a decent amount of TLC, but I think this will be salvageable.

Same questions still apply, just in reference to Millipede and not Centipede.. Additional info to follow.

3) Screen has a decent amount of screenburn. Anyone know a good place to start looking for a replacement monitor? Not a really high priority on this, but other than feebay and CL, I don't know anyplace good to look.

4) I am missing the sidepanel that covers access to the powerbrick. Former owner says he has it somewhere, and will ship when he finds it but I'll start looking for a replacement or dimentions/outline trace to recreate if I can. Can anyone help with pictures/measurements on the cover?

5) Trackballs move really rough. I may just try to clean them and hand polish the balls to see if that helps for now. Long term, I will eventually replace or rebuild them. After doing some quick looking around, it looks like rebuilding them (new shafts/bearings/ball) is almost as expensive as replacing them. Which route do you use?

Just looking for suggestions/ideas from those more experienced.
 
Trackball

I've got a few brand new 3" Atari trackballs. These are complete units with Atari optos and have the harness to attach to your control panel. Two have white balls and one has red. If you want to swap out the balls if yours are black that works.

Had these packed away for years, thought they were used but cracked them open and there is zero wear! Oiled them up and they are perfect!!

Pm me your email and I'll send photos.. $50 each plus shipping or best offer.

Also have nos rollers, bearings, optos, and more.
 
I have a Centipede cocktail I recently restored and I used arcadeshop.com to get a replacement underlay, new trackballs, replacement hardware(nuts/bolts) new CPO's and a rebuild kit for rollers/bearings.
Whole thing ran me about $140 for everything. I think they have everything the same for Millipede, save for an underlay.

TRACKBALLS:

I preferred to rebuild my trackballs, as I wanted to save as much as possible, even if it was only saving $10. When I did it, it $10 for each ball, and $20 for each roller kit. Looking at $30 each vs. $65 for a whole new trackball assembly, and rebuilding them was fairly easy. I had problems getting the second player side to move left to right, but that turned out to be loose connections in the connector for trackball, and not due to the arcadeshop products.

CPO's / PAINT
Mine had a ton of rust from sitting in a friend's garage and being exposed to the humidity. I used a wirebrush and an electric drill to remove all the paint and rust from the legs, covers, glass clips and control panels. I also used a cheap sand blaster to get some of the nooks and crannies, but it was far less efficient that the wirebrush.

I used Rustoleum primer on the stripped metal and applied 2x coats to the legs, control panels, clips, and covers. I then used a black textured enamel (spray) paint and applied another couple coats. I was really pleased with how it turned out. After the paint had completed dried, I used the buttons and trackball to secure the replacement CPO's in place. I used some of those heavy-duty paper clips to press the CPO to the metal, since the new ones are a sheet and its fairly rigid. After letting them sit for a few hours to try to mold them to the shape of the panel, I used a box cutter to remove half of the CPO's adhesive backing. I pressed the adhesive side to the metal and kind of "squeegee'd" across to make sure there was no air bubbles.

Key here was to make sure you put the replacement CPO in place and applied it evenly to prevent air bubbles.

I'll post pics a little bit later. I was really happy with the stuff from arcadeshop - turned out looking really good - IMO :)
 
Thank you both for your input.

@Local413, I may be contacting you about those NOS Trackballs... that is a good price and I wouldn't mind using the white balls on there.

@Emby, I was looking at the CPOs from Arcadeshop and it helps you can recommend them. I am still looking for the underlay, but I think I might be able to locate that as well (now I just need to learn how to apply an underlay). I may just scrub the idea of a restoration and just do a flat conversion to a Centipede since I am looking at doing the braze milti-kit in there anyway.

I also have a powdercoating shop a few blocks from home. I may try to strip a whole mess of parts from various machines and see if they can get me a decent price. I suck with a can of spraypaint...
 
Cool, this is the only place I've mentioned the trackballs.. But I need to raise some cash for vacation at the end of the month.. So let me know soon!


Thank you both for your input.

@Local413, I may be contacting you about those NOS Trackballs... that is a good price and I wouldn't mind using the white balls on there.

@Emby, I was looking at the CPOs from Arcadeshop and it helps you can recommend them. I am still looking for the underlay, but I think I might be able to locate that as well (now I just need to learn how to apply an underlay). I may just scrub the idea of a restoration and just do a flat conversion to a Centipede since I am looking at doing the braze milti-kit in there anyway.

I also have a powdercoating shop a few blocks from home. I may try to strip a whole mess of parts from various machines and see if they can get me a decent price. I suck with a can of spraypaint...
 
Centipede cocktail uses 2 1/4" trackballs, not 3".

Not sure about Millipede.

I restored a Centipede cocktail and it was a great project.

New underlay and cpo's from Arcadeshop.
New bearings and rollers for the trackballs (re-used off white trackballs)

I didn't do anything to the woodgrain, mine was acceptable.
All the metal parts were sanded and painted and cleaned up.

I think I have a spare repro smoked plexi (made by Arcade Renovations) if yours is really scratched up.
 
Millipede takes a 3".

Centipede cocktail uses 2 1/4" trackballs, not 3".

Not sure about Millipede.

I restored a Centipede cocktail and it was a great project.

New underlay and cpo's from Arcadeshop.
New bearings and rollers for the trackballs (re-used off white trackballs)

I didn't do anything to the woodgrain, mine was acceptable.
All the metal parts were sanded and painted and cleaned up.

I think I have a spare repro smoked plexi (made by Arcade Renovations) if yours is really scratched up.
 
Well, let's update some progress here. When I bought the machine, I got it for $150 and not working. Guy gave me the old "might be the power supply, but I dunno...". After getting it home, it sat for a few days.. it's HOT here...

Well, dealt with the heat for a while and ducked into the garage for a bit. Started playing with my millipede to see if I could do anything. A few days ago, I noticed a blown cap on the PCB. Ran up to Ness Electronics, got a replacement, and dropped it in. Powered her up for the first time, but gave me garbage on the screen.

Gave it another looksy today, the 5V test point on the board was only at 4.5V. Can't check the ARII board as I do not have anything compatable to swap here, but figured WTF, I'll replace the Big Blue. Pulled the monitor, removed the power block and replaced Big Blue. Put everything back together and prayed.. Plugged it in... AND IT WORKS GREAT!

On to starting the cosmetics and trackball replacements.. gotta love a $15 fix on a $150 machine.. :D I'll get pics up later today... Off to the A/C for a while.
 
Congrats man!

Make sure the fuse holders are nice and tight.. Also, rebuild that ARII!

Anything I should know about rebuilding the ARII? I have never done one before, but I was considering it for more than 1 machine... I see therealbobroberts has kits, but I really don't normally order from people that don't take paypal...(too much hassel to send a certified check).

Also, I saw somewhere someone mentioned a "sense mod". Can anyone explain what this is or point me to a site that describes it?
 
I actually rebuild AR's weekly :) Heh, been offering the service ever since I rebuilt all my ARs in my collection.. Yes, bob offers kits but I also don't order from him either.. As I haven't written a check in years, heh. Arcadeshop.com offers kits too..

If you would like me to do it for you as I've got all the parts in stock, it's $35 per AR.. I'll discount for multiple rebuilds.

Out of the 100+ ARs I've rebuilt for collectors and myself, I've never bothered with the sense mod. As long as your connectors, pcb edge connectors, and fuse holders are ok, there is zero need to modify your AR. Pole Position and Battlezone are the two games that usually have issues.. So people mod their ARs..

Just do a quick search here for "sense mod". You'll find plenty of info.

Radio shack usually has the fuse holders you'll need.


Anything I should know about rebuilding the ARII? I have never done one before, but I was considering it for more than 1 machine... I see therealbobroberts has kits, but I really don't normally order from people that don't take paypal...(too much hassel to send a certified check).

Also, I saw somewhere someone mentioned a "sense mod". Can anyone explain what this is or point me to a site that describes it?
 
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