Hard Drivin Cockpit restor

bretpyle

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Hard Drivin Cockpit Restoration

I am moving my thread to the Restoration section so I can document my progress...Here are a few photos of the before state.
 

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Here are a few more...
 

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So the first thing I did was looked into several issues:

1. No power to main PCB stack and the switcher was shorting out. I tested the switcher and it was bad. I picked up an new one and the same issue was there. I found out that one of the wires was hooked up incorrectly to the APU, causing a short. I switched the wire and fired it back up, no more short. I am now able to get the game to play blind.

2. Shifter board, no power. I am getting 20 volts to the board PCB from the APU. It's putting out 50v to the magnet which caused the shifter board connectors to overheat, including the PTC fuse to fry. I replaced the burnt connector and added a fuse. I did some additional testing, but it's still putting out way too much power for the shifter magnet. I'll have to look at this later. I also removed the shifter and found a few shorts. While that doesn't fix the power overload issue, its just one more issue identified. I did test the shifter magnet out of the game and applied 5 volts and it works great.

3. Monitor is dead, lots of chatter. I discharged the monitor and pulled the chassis out. I had to remove the motor driver board and the rear of the cockpit to pull the monitor out. I sent the chassis to Arcade Cup. I would rather spend my time repairing other things on the game, including an entire restore of the cockpit itself.

4. The brake board and motor driver boards seem to work fine. The motor seems to be working as well.

6. Light on the seat adjust button not working. Replaced the light on the seat adjust, working

7. Dead lights on coin door. Checked power, ok. Replaced the lights on the coin door, fixed.

8. Seat magnet not working hooked up. I traced back power to the APU and seems to fluctuate from 5 volts to 25+ volts. Issue may be the APU. I will need to look into this later. I did test the magnet out of the game and applied 5 volts and it works great.
 

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Once I traced down what worked and what didn't or needed repair or replacement I felt comfortable with tearing down the game. The game had a LOT of mold, so I opted to pressure wash it. The game is mostly plywood so I took the risk. It worked out great and is all bone dry now after a night of heat and a high powered fan.

A few things I found:

1. Some of the PCB boards are dirty, I know a few folks here have washed their PCB's. How should I go about this? I've never done that before, but would like to clean these up.

2. Power switch needs to be replaced.

3. The seat and swivel mechanism was a bear to get out. Once I read the manual, I was able to get the spring pins out of the seat swivel assembly. Removing the seat assembly was like a puzzle piece though, it must be done in the correct order....

4. The plastic seat POT gears are not broken, thankfully. I will replace the pot.

5. The seat magnet was scraping on the metal plate causing a VERY loud screeching sound. Will need to buff up the metal plate. Does anyone know if I can apply grease to the area that the magnet rides on? Will a light coat of grease affect the magnet?

6. The gas pedal is in good condition, no issues. I will replace the pot

7. The break/clutch assembly was inspected. The small 14 tooth gear that drives the clutch pot is broken, new one ordered. I will replace the pot.

8. Removed the shifter assembly, in good condition, except for a few shorted wires. I will repair the wires and replace the two pots.

More to come..
 

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Here are all the parts...I have a lot to clean up and work on...

Oh, see the steering wheel? That is actually a new one from O'reillys Auto Parts. I went in to the store thinking that I wouldn't find anything. This said, I found one that is very similar in size and style. I purchased it thinking I'd surly be returning it at some point or perhaps drilling out the center hole to the correct size. I get home and it's direct replacement, same holes, pin holes, an exact fit to the Atari original. It's never that easy so I was happy. If anyone needs the part number, let me know. It was around $40 with tax.
 

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I also ordered a few things from ArcadeFitIT (MS). I picked up:

NOS rubber bumpers for the clutch
NOS shifter boot, the one on mine is shot.
NOS shifter knob, mine is fine, but figured what the heck.
14 tooth gear for clutch POT
NOS Seat Adjust button...

Also, picked up a new 115v fan for the cabinet, the other one was non-functional. I picked up all new POTs. I think the 10 turn pot on the motor is fine, but will see.

I'll need to see if someone can help me with reproducing the art, didn't someone on the forum reproduce it?

I'll be spraying the cabinet after bondo repairs, sanding and primer, using satin black oil-based paint.

More to come...
 
If anyone has them, I need a working APU and a working Shifter board. Can anyone help me in that area?

Last post for now, I'll be de-greasing and cleaning all parts today...
 
So here is what I got done today.

1. Washed all the parts, including all metal items, wires harnesses, etc.

2. Cleaned the steering motor with electrical de-greaser

3. Cleaned and painted power transformer assembly board.

4. Cleaned and painted magnets for shifter and seat.

5. Labeled all electrical parts (all male and female plugs). This will make sure everything goes back together smoothly.
 

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Nice work. You don't see many documented restorations of these. Unfortunately, when I did all the work to mine, I didn't take any pictures. I just wanted to get it done so I could go Race Drivin'!
 
Thanks! It has been a fun project. Today I was able to replace all the pots, including the seat pot, the two on the shifter, the clutch pot and the accelator pot. Also I received some NOS parts today, including a new shifter knob, new rubber bumpers for the clutch and break assemblies, a new seat adjust button, a new shifter boot and a reproduction 14 tooth gear for the pot on the clutch. This coming weekend I will be tearing down and painting the clutch/break assembly and also starting to paint a bunch of the metal parts, includg the accelator. I will post more photos soon as well.
 
So I sanded, cleaned, primed and painted almost all of the metal pieces to the game this weekend and there are a LOT of them! I estimate that it took me over 9 hours. I also restored the motor as well, that was another 2+ hours. I've done several restorations before, but this one is a beast. Additional photos to follow.
 

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Here are some more photos of the painted pieces. I also painted all the smaller plastic pieces as well, with the exception of the red cowling. That will come later...
 

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Here is a before and after of the motor. It was a lot of work to clean everything up and to prime and paint. It's all greased up and ready to go...
 

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Looks good so far! A lot of work to restore one of those. I've played Hatrick's and it REALLY made me want one. Some day.
 
I can't wait to play mine, hopefully sooner than later. I plan to restore the cabinet and paint by the end of the month. My next project is to tear apart the clutch and brake assembly, clean it and then paint. Oh, also need to work on the key assembly too.
 
I started assembling the shifter. Question, can I put some lithium grease between the shifter magnet and the metal magnet block? When you move the shifter it squeaks, surface is clean and smooth. The seat magnet had the same issue but the noise is so loud that it's way worse than nails on a chalk board...Will post more photos soon
 
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