Donkey Kong Restoration / De-Conversion

ckasek

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In addition to the Gauntlet conversion I recently picked up, I also acquired a DK that had been converted into Herbie at the Olympics. To the dismay of some, Donkey Kong has sent Herbie packing.

This is what I'm starting with:

HVozxh.jpg


This shouldn't be quite as big an undertaking as the Gauntlet restore. Here's the list of what needs to be done:

- Obtain DK roms and z80 (DONE)
- Marquee
- Bezel
- Control Panel Overlay
- DK Side Art
- Vinyl Kit
- new t-molding
- clean the buttons!

Big thanks to ballytablewiz for all his help in getting it converted back to DK.
 
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One of the first things I did was to rehab the buttons. I sanded them down a bit, then used some rubbing compound and wax to get them looking shiny again. I think they came out pretty fantastic, and you can no longer see the cigarette burns. The orange button was in decent shape, and didn't get the same treatment.

tcT0p.jpg


I got the marquee and bezel installed as well, removed the t-molding and started to strip the control panel (and put the orange button back in the wrong place). Ended up just ordering a new control panel from Jeff412, should be here in a few days. I'll need to vinyl or paint the piece of wood under the marquee, and then apply the instruction decal.

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I ordered a repro CP from jeff412, so I'm just gonna use that on this machine.

I'll keep the original as a spare/backup, i'll probably sand it down, prime and spray it black, and then cover it with black vinyl that is coming in the DK vinyl kit.
 
The repro CPs that jeff412 makes are really nice. Totally worth the price especially with the amount of effort it saves you. Your deconversion is coming along nicely. Can't wait to see the end product.
 
So tonight I got the front panel removed from the cabinet, including the speaker part and the marquee piece above the CP. Sanded down the marquee piece and filled some holes from where a previous owner had bolted in a totally unnecessary bracket. Hopefully tomorrow I can primer it and get it painted.

I also gave a first pass over the front pieces to fill in dents, scratches and a big "8446 P" that was stamped on the cabinet. Plan to sand the spots in the morning and fill in any areas that still need it.

Removed the coin door so I can take it to be blasted and powder coated. Having problems getting the coin mechs removed from the door though - how the heck do you get these things off?
 
So i got the new CP tonight and got everything moved over. The quality is great, and the plywood is much better than what nintendo originally used.

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Still need to screw in a few more of the cable clamps
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I also took advantage of the abnormally warm weather (for mid-february in ohio) and got the back, top, base and insides spray painted black. Not sure if I'll repaint the area behind the bezel or leave it be. Received the vinyl kit today from Rich, so I'll start prepping for that next.
P1030158.JPG


Also managed to break the starter in my marquee light, so I need to either pay $20 shipped to order a new bulb and starter from bulbtronics, or buy a replacement light fixture.
 
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I took the speaker grill piece and applied the vinyl. Definitely learned how important it is to ensure the surface is as smooth as possible, as there are some areas where you can see scuffs underneath if the line shines right. I have enough vinyl that I could have peeled it off and filled more, but it's not super noticeable unless you see the glare on the vinyl and are looking for it.

Before:
cp_old.jpg


After:
P1030180.JPG


I also got the cab sanded quite a bit. It's crazy how much you can sand the blue paint without stripping it off completely...been able to just sand away a lot of the scratches and scuffs. I have a pretty smooth surface, just need to sand down the bondo areas and give it another going over and it should be ready for vinyl soon.

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You can see that I filled the bolt holes that aren't necessary. Considering sinking the bolts for the upper bracket as well so the side art doesn't have bolts poking through, but it won't be the end of the world if I do, since it was how they did it originally.
 
Not much happening the last few days, though I did finally get the coin door disassembled so I can get it sandblasted and possibly powdercoated, depending on the cost...otherwise I'll paint it.

This was the small project for tonight..going from this:
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to this:
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Just some steel wool and brasso, cleaned it up real nice.
 
One side is done. Not real happy with the job I did applying the vinyl...looks OK from a few feet away, but up close you can see a bunch of small air bubbles and such in the vinyl.

P1030280.JPG


Front panel is vinyled as well, came out pretty good, no issues going over the gap where the coin door goes. Obviously not much to see here, but a picture anyways:
P1030270.JPG


Probably get the other side done in the morning, think I need a break for tonight.
 
Well applying the vinyl on the other side went much better...but then putting on the side art, I somehow managed to scrape the vinyl :001_scry: On top of that, the side art went on TERRIBLE, had bubbles everywhere. I ended up just pulling it off and I'll have to order a new piece. So frustrated with things at this point.

I put the cab back together, at least it looks good from the front:

P1030295.JPG
 
I feel your pain. I applied DKJ sideart last week and couldn't believe how difficult it was to apply - with two people helping! Bubbles were everywhere no matter how conscience we were of avoiding them. We ended up taking a pin and poking microscopic holes in the bubble, then sliding a credit card over them to push the air out. It actually worked fairly well and you can't even see the holes you poke.

-BB
 
The side art in the picture above went on fine, a few small air bubbles that I got out without any problem. But the second side just had way too many....I started trying to smooth them out using a pin, but it was just too much of a lost cause. :(
 
Looking good! Those coins slots cleaned up very nicely.

I'm in the middle of a Gauntlet refurb myself (my first), so I'll go back and take a look at yours for some pointers. :)
 
I am in the middle of restoring my DK jr. Any website or help with finding monitors that will work with DK jr would help me a lot. I am trying to avoid Sanyo 20ez at all possible.
 
I am in the middle of restoring my DK jr. Any website or help with finding monitors that will work with DK jr would help me a lot. I am trying to avoid Sanyo 20ez at all possible.

Why in HELL would you do that to yourself?

That said, I believe you could source a Wells Gardner monitor from a Playchoice Single cab. I'm not sure of the monitor model number, but I know that they built one that supported the inverted video natively.

Here's a thread on the monitor in question:

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=125557
 
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