Donkey Kong + (a kind of sort of restoration)

javeryh

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Donkey Kong + (Yes, MAME is inside!)

Well, I've been pretty much finished with this "restoration" for a few months and I thought I'd post the results here for all to see. I bought the mostly gutted cab on eBay for $36 and it came with the coin door and mechs - quite a steal, I think. It was pretty beat up when I got it home and I had to remove the old side art, and bondo the sides and front to get it ready for paint. The pictures actually make it look way better than it was - it was really beat up (but no water damage which was great).

DK+091308+001.jpg
DK+091308+018.jpg
DK+091308+010.jpg


Certainly not the worst looking cab ever but definitely not suitable for my dining room!
 
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It is not a traditional restoration in that the guts are actually an old computer running MAME. I made this decision because I don't have the money for a proper board and since this is the only cab I have room for in my house (on the first floor - there is a cabinet in my daughter's room!), I wanted to be able to play more than one game on it. Some other changes I made were the joystick (JLF) and no bolt holes in the side panels! Other than that it looks exactly like a regular DK. I always wanted one of these as a kid and now I do!

I had to completely remake the control panel from scratch:

Control+Panel+-+Overlay+03.JPG
Control+Panel+-+ABS+Laminate+02.JPG


Control+Panel+-+Joystick+05.JPG
Control+Panel+-+Assembled+07.JPG


This is the part that took the longest because there were a lot of tricky cuts with the router, I had to laminate the panel and line up the artwork.
 
Anyway, here are the results:

Side+Art+12.JPG
Side+Art+13.JPG


I ended up ordering new coin mechs directly from Asahi Seiko (they were expensive!) and I had someone powdercoat the coin door and all of the marquee retainers. All the art is new (repro) and so is the t-molding. The cabinet plays about 30 vertical, 4-way, one button games and boots straight into DK upon power up.

I think it came out pretty nice for my first try at a restoration!
 
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Wow, looks absolutely amazing based on what you started with. It's a shame you couldn't make it a true DK again, but I understand given the circumstances.

On the bright side, you have a perfectly minty DK cabinet if you ever want to make it a true DK again. Just need all of the parts on the inside which would run you a bit of cash, but it wouldn't be impossible.

Great job!
 
Great Job. It looks really good. There's nothing wrong with MAME-ing the cab considering the shape it was in. It would have been a money pit had you sunk the money needed to get it back to DK.
 
Wow, looks absolutely amazing based on what you started with. It's a shame you couldn't make it a true DK again, but I understand given the circumstances.

On the bright side, you have a perfectly minty DK cabinet if you ever want to make it a true DK again. Just need all of the parts on the inside which would run you a bit of cash, but it wouldn't be impossible.

Great job!

Thanks! I'm really happy with the way it came out. Pretty much everyone who sees it wants me to build one for them! It has been great having it in the house - my high score has shot up from around 40,000 to 157,200 as of last Sunday. My next goal is 200,000.

Great Job. It looks really good. There's nothing wrong with MAME-ing the cab considering the shape it was in. It would have been a money pit had you sunk the money needed to get it back to DK.

Thanks. This project felt like a money pit already! I just couldn't stomach the expenses for the board, the Sanyo monitor and power supply and whatever else I'd need to buy in order to make it "original". One of these days I'll get a "true" dedicated cabinet but space is at a premium in my house so if I want to play multiple games then MAME or a multi-board are my only options. I actually prefer my slight modifications to the original design - especially using the JLF. It is nice!

I have a TON more pics of the restoration process that I can post if I get bored (or you could click the link in my sig for excruciatingly detailed explanations of each and every step).

Thanks for looking everyone.
 
A friend of mine who hadn't seen the cab yet asked for a before and after shot so I figured I'd post it here too...

compare.jpg
 
What I love is how clean the cab looks when bondoed and painted. Very slick.
 
That is very well done!

Love seeing these in top shape :)

Thanks - me too! I've always wanted one and I don't think I ever saw one this nice in the arcade!

What I love is how clean the cab looks when bondoed and painted. Very slick.

Thanks! The bondo and paint was kind of a pain (definitely the hardest part) but definitely worth it.

Don't forget to pickup the instruction sticker that goes right below the bezel. Looks great though.

Thanks -yeah, I have the sticker but I haven't put it on yet because I don't know if I'm totally happy with the surface of the black bar where it goes - the grain in the wood shows through and it bugs me. I may have to bondo and paint!
 
Thanks -yeah, I have the sticker but I haven't put it on yet because I don't know if I'm totally happy with the surface of the black bar where it goes - the grain in the wood shows through and it bugs me. I may have to bondo and paint!

Yeah, on mine (which has some dings) the enamel is pretty thick, smooth and shiney. Like so:
DK%20Buttons%20Restored%20and%20Installed.jpg
 
Anyway, here are the results:

I ended up ordering new coin mechs directly from Asahi Seiko (they were expensive!)

Are these these more or less the exact type that Nintendo originally used? NOS or they still manufacture them? How much?

Cab looks tremendous
 
Are these these more or less the exact type that Nintendo originally used? NOS or they still manufacture them? How much?

Cab looks tremendous

I'm almost certain the mechs on my DK are original to the machine. They are the Asahi Seiko mechs with the push-button returns/faceplates. My original plates had been spray painted and so, rather than spending hours restoring, I bought new plates, buttons, springs and returns from Asahi Seiko. The stuff they are currently selling is exactly the same as the original stuff. Not sure if it was NOS or just new stock.

Also, from looking at old pictures of DKs in the wild it looks like Nintendo used "ears" rather than loops for coin returns but there also looks to be two different sizes of ears and the only ones I could find from Asahi Seiko were the large ears.
 
Asahi still makes the same style originally used on DK's.
Back when the DK's were in production Nintendo used both types of coin return pieces on the mechs.
They used what ever type Asahi had in stock to meet production demands.
I painted that part under the bezel satin black and it looks better that gloss imo.
Mine was missing most of the laminate so I sanded it with 80 grit and went to finer grits till the laminate was all gone.
I then put a coat of Spackle on the surface and sanded it smooth then primed it 3 or 4 times to hide the wood grain.
 
I'm almost certain the mechs on my DK are original to the machine. They are the Asahi Seiko mechs with the push-button returns/faceplates. My original plates had been spray painted and so, rather than spending hours restoring, I bought new plates, buttons, springs and returns from Asahi Seiko. The stuff they are currently selling is exactly the same as the original stuff. Not sure if it was NOS or just new stock.

Also, from looking at old pictures of DKs in the wild it looks like Nintendo used "ears" rather than loops for coin returns but there also looks to be two different sizes of ears and the only ones I could find from Asahi Seiko were the large ears.

ty for the information
 
Asahi still makes the same style originally used on DK's.
Back when the DK's were in production Nintendo used both types of coin return pieces on the mechs.
They used what ever type Asahi had in stock to meet production demands.

That makes a lot of sense.
 
Are these these more or less the exact type that Nintendo originally used? NOS or they still manufacture them? How much?

Cab looks tremendous

Thanks for the compliment. The new coin mechs I ordered are exactly the same as far as I can tell except for the "U" shaped thing for the coin return (vs. the "ear" that was more commonly used). They had the "ear" in stock for an additional $5 each and I meant to order them but I actually forgot to ask for them (they only accept phone orders and actually getting someone on the phone proved to be difficult). It is not NOS - they are still manufacturing them, I think. They were expensive - if I remember correctly they were almost $80 shipped!
 
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