From Nothing to Donkey Kong... sort of

[Tusk]

cool story bro....I just bought me a Donkey Kong that I will be picking up this Sunday in Ohio. I plan on restoring it back to MINTY condition. You can get a populated control panel and Donkey Kong instruction card set repro from mikesarcade.com fairly cheap.

Keep the pictures coming I'd like to see the progress and end result.

 

[rainman154]

cool story bro....I just bought me a Donkey Kong that I will be picking up this Sunday in Ohio. I plan on restoring it back to MINTY condition. You can get a populated control panel and Donkey Kong instruction card set repro from mikesarcade.com fairly cheap.

Keep the pictures coming I'd like to see the progress and end result.

Yeah cool, is that the one on Craigslist? I saw that one posted! At this point I do need to put an order in to Mikes for buttons and a new joystick. More pics coming.

 

[rainman154]

A pretty eventful weekend of work. I received the coin door and was able to get that installed. I went to Ace Hardware and picked up some 1 and 1/4" carriage bolts. It was difficult to get the bolts to be completely flush with the box since the ends were square, but overall it looks good. I toyed with the idea of repainting it, but honestly, it looks pretty good. I really am not going to have a heart attack if there are a few scratches.
From Ace Hardware I also picked up a inch long lock for the coin door. It looks great!

I spent about 1 hour using Goo Gone on both sides of the cab to get rid of all the extra adhesive from the VS sticker. It took a while, but now that the sides are nice and smooth, I can proceed with the DK sticker.

I also decided to repaint the piece of wood panel that holds the bezel. It had some rough spots and the wood was showing. I sanded it down and painted it black. I think it turned out nice.

 

[rainman154]

Next comes the difficult part. Installing the monitor. I am using a Pentranic monitor. I wanted a Sanyo, but money is tight and this monitor is from 2001 and looks amazing. The issue, as expected, is that the bolts don't line up. They are just a fraction too long. So I am toying with what to do. Drilling new holes is not really an option because the bar sits up too high. Because of this I am actually leaning towards using.... hold your laugh... twisty ties. Yes I know... ha ha... but actually it might be the best solution. The monitor rests nicely against the bottom and top bars. Since I can't bolt it, a few heavy duty twisty ties might be in order to keep it secure.... or duck tape. LOL!

I had to bend back the side mount of the monitor so that the bar could run all the way through. More pics of the monitor coming.

 

[jimkirk]

You could swap the tube and chassis onto a frame from a Sanyo monitor.
I did that with a Tovis monitor.
It is real easy and then will bolt right to the original mounts.
I just drilled new mounting holes for the chassis and bolted it to the frame.
I have an extra Sanyo frame that I don't need.
You can have it for $20+ shipping.
I can break down the frame to ship to keep the cost down.
PM me with address for shipping cost if you want it.

 

[Nevus]

For what it's worth, I have a 60-in-1 in a DK repro cab with a DK CP. It looks great but it would be more enjoyable for you over time if you went with the Track ball and at least 2 buttons. I plan to change mine over in the future.

 

[rainman154]

For what it's worth, I have a 60-in-1 in a DK repro cab with a DK CP. It looks great but it would be more enjoyable for you over time if you went with the Track ball and at least 2 buttons. I plan to change mine over in the future.

I don't want to add the trackball. But the other button might be an option. I just hate to stray from the "look" of the game. How many games need the extra button?

 

[jimkirk]

I don't want to add the trackball. But the other button might be an option. I just hate to stray from the "look" of the game. How many games need the extra button?

IIRC only Gunsmoke needs the third button and it can be set up to use only 2 in the menu.

 

[javeryh]

I don't want to add the trackball. But the other button might be an option. I just hate to stray from the "look" of the game. How many games need the extra button?

I wouldn't modify the CP at all if I were you. I'm probably biased but the best part about my cab is the look people have on their faces after I show them it plays more than just DK. I'm always discovering new games to install as well. Just this weekend I figured out the both Namco Classics and Namco Classics II work great - the "arrangements" are like having 6 new playable games! There will be plenty of games for you to play with the 4-way one button set up...

 

[Nevus]

I think you can wire the other buttons to the one and two player buttons if you must keep it authentic.

 

[rainman154]

I wonder what the 60 in 1 board uses for a Joystick. 4 way or 8 way? I know DK uses a 4 way like Pac, but what about the others?

 

[rainman154]

Sexy Side Art Time!!!!
I filled the "bullet" holes on my cab with some Quicktight Spackling. I even did the inside of the cab to help with any air.

I then took some wisdom from javeryh's DK restoration when dealing with the side art. I measured it 2 3/4" from the top and 2 1/4" from the side.

I used masking tape to help hold the side art in place. Next I removed the top piece of tape and then slowly pulled back a section of backing behind the words "Donkey Kong" to reveal the adhesive. I then cut away that section of backing and softly and evenly rubbed down the sticker. (I hope it was as good for it as it was for me).
Then I gradually would cut away pieces of backing and repeat until the whole side art was stuck to the cab.
Once that was complete I CAREFULLY pulled of the front protection layer. It was important to do this slow since the sticker would often come up with this layer. Thanks to javeryh for the heads up! The end result was NO bubbles or wrinkles!

I then poked the holes for the two screws to hold up the monitor cross bar.
The entire time took about 45 min.

With the sticker on, it really looks like it is coming to life! Next will be the monitor and insides.

Sorry for the bad lighting in the photos. I am doing this in my garage with the door closed.

 

[rainman154]

Frustration sets in...

Well the monitor install didn't go as I had hoped. I walked into a trap and didn't even see it coming.
The Pentranic monitor chasis sticks out of the back of the cab. I almost threw up. Here are some pics. So I am trying to figure out a "COST EFFECTIVE" way to solve this. I just hope I don't have to buy another monitor (Sanyo)!!

 

[javeryh]

Frustration sets in...

Well the monitor install didn't go as I had hoped. I walked into a trap and didn't even see it coming.
The Pentranic monitor chasis sticks out of the back of the cab. I almost threw up. Here are some pics. So I am trying to figure out a "COST EFFECTIVE" way to solve this. I just hope I don't have to buy another monitor (Sanyo)!!

You need to do what I did which is a giant pain in the ass. I removed those triangle braces from my monitor (which meant the board was attached to nothing) and then the monitor fit. I then screwed the board to the inside of my cabinet at an odd angle. It's not the prettiest but it worked great.

Hopefully this pic will help:

The worst part BY FAR is that you need help to continuously hold the board and get everything in place. I had my mom and dad help with the monitor installation and it still took about 2 full days to figure out (I also refused to put the bolt holes through the side of the cab which presented a bunch of other problems). It was like a game of Twister - we couldn't really put the monitor down because once the brackets come off there is nothing to make it stand up properly.

 

[jimkirk]

He has a way easier solution than that.
I am sending his a Sanyo monitor frame to put his tube and chassis into.
Then it will bolt right in like it is supposed to.

 

[javeryh]

He has a way easier solution than that.
I am sending his a Sanyo monitor frame to put his tube and chassis into.
Then it will bolt right in like it is supposed to.

Nice! I refused to put bolts in the side of my cabinet so it led to a ton of mounting issues with the monitor - the plywood is so thin that I couldn't screw into it at all so I came up with a crazy framing idea that I built on the inside of the cabinet - it works great and even though it was a pain I have no regrets - there are no bolts in my side art!

 

[rainman154]

Yeah, I am gonna try the Sanyo frame from Jimkirk and hope that it works. It should as the measurements seemed fine. We'll see. Otherwise, I might have to rig up another idea.

I am currently waiting on items for the control panel. They are scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

 

[jimkirk]

Yeah, I am gonna try the Sanyo frame from Jimkirk and hope that it works. It should as the measurements seemed fine. We'll see. Otherwise, I might have to rig up another idea.

I am currently waiting on items for the control panel. They are scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

Don't worry it will work.
It has been done by lots of people.

 

[rainman154]

Wow, Mike's Arcade is fast with shipment! Parts arrived today!!!
I pulled apart the control panel and started my cleaning. I actually pulled out some dry crusty remains of a sucker... LOL! Wonder how long that has been in the joystick?
You could definitely tell that some soda (pop) had been spilled and soaked under the overlay. I was able to completely clean it up and replace the DK Instruction Sticker.

I used the diagram from Mike's Arcade to help with installing the buttons, switches and holders. Pretty darn easy. I also put on the DK Joystick Guard. The problem was that I thought it was supposed to be FLUSH with the overlay. It actually sticks up about 1/4 of an inch. See the pic. Not sure if this is correct or not????

Now I need to figure out the correct measurements to put the DK long instruction sticker and coin sticker on.

 

[rainman154]

I definitely could do a touch up paint job on the control panel. There is a spot at the bottom that needs work. While the overlay is in pretty good condition, it isn't free of some cigarette burns. In the future I will probably get a new one.
New T-molding for this would help too.