Latest acquisition - Quantum project

joeycuda

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I'm the one that bought the Quantum project from bhamarcade, and the transaction went flawlessly as always with him. We made a fair deal considering the condition of the cabinet, but also what all good is here.

Aside from the back door, it's all there - original keys, all cloth harness tags, RFI board, all screws, fuse cover, manuals, plastic bag. All numbers match - 00270. The HV board is partially disassembled, with red HV unit.

The cabinet got wet and is unrestorable. Lots of swelling and crumbling of particle board. My plan is build a replica cabinet, but retain the upper rear piece with the decals. I'm thinking 3/4ish (slightly undersized) birch ply, with matte black Formica instead of the laminated vinyl on the inner panels, and the Phoenixarcade artwork. The overlay is good enough to leave alone.

This is honestly one I never thought I'd own, unless I built a replica cabinet, which in a sense I still will be doing. Pics below:

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Even though it looks waterlogged to hell, its an awesome purchase, hopefully it was a fair price considering the condition. Congrats!
With the new sideart (and repro cabs) you'll be set.

if you decide to part it, ill buy that harness!

Jon
 
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Congrats man, what a find! Original manuals, locks and keys to boot. Definitely restoration worthy.
 
I was wondering about that posting / the pics behind it. Thanks for posting- i can definitely see the potential. While looking through the pics, at each point i just said "nice" - i think you have a big job ahead of you but very manageable. Best of luck on the restore!

Also, i have no idea how one would work with the water damage, which seems like the biggest challenge - guess i will start researching to learn more.
 
Even though it looks waterlogged to hell, its an awesome purchase, hopefully it was a fair price considering the condition. Congrats!
With the new sideart (and repro cabs) you'll be set.

if you decide to part it, ill buy that harness!

Jon

Thanks. For a cabinet rebuild, it's a great candidate I think!

The hardest decision for me is-

-particle board and laminate with black vinyl - closest to original material
-birch ply and black vinyl - better material, lighter, would look the same
-birch ply and Formica - expensive, but no peeling and rock hard surface, would look nearly the same.

I'll probably go birch ply and Formica. The plywood I've seen is slightly thinner than 3/4, so even with the laminate, it should look right with new t-molding.
 
Very nice. I have worked with far worse.
I sure you can bring back into great shape.

It soaked up water like a sponge. Nearly everything particle board or wood will have to go.

I'd guess I can retain the upper back piece (just for the serial, etc..), the marquee lamp tray, monitor frame, and possibly the Amplifone board mounting pieces.
 
I can't remember if it was mentioned in the fs thread, was this playing blind?

It's missing some parts off of the HV board, so monitor not working. Although getting the proper voltages, the start LEDs just light up and won't play blind. PCB will most likely need repair.
 
i've got 2 original quantum cabs at my place, one is a lost cause, it's worse than yours. The other one is borderline hopeless, i'm going to disassemble it and sand it down, wood harder, bondo, sand etc.. Your best to replace the entire cab, and reuse the back piece. If it's swelled, take it off, and sand away the back side to get it back to 3/4". I would highly recommend Black melamine for the cab, reuse the game bottom if it isn't soft. The new artwork should cover the black melamine on the sides without it looking dark.

You can always get a cab from me, and i can leave the top back piece off, so you can install the original one :D
 
I would reuse the bottom ( and whatever else can be saved ) and rebuild the rest using the same exact particle board so it looks totally original but that's just me.
 
well, the melamine is particle core. Atari used straight particle board, with what i assume to be a heat or pressure (or both) applied film. I can find nothing like it available where i am at. Prok found something he called black film mdf where he's at in florida, and said it's a dead on match to the smooth finish on Galaga. that's also about the same finish on the atari cabs, except for the white sides. Replacement art would fix that. It's alot easier to make new strips to hold it together than sniping off all those staples too.
 
Congrats! Still a score. I am on the look out for one...... ;)
 
Truly a labor of love - the main board to me is the true treasure for this buy.

Myself, I'd save as much as I could from this cab but buy a repro bare cab and transplant. It just seems that it is a lot of work to use the old cab just as a foundation but covering it all up with a new skin, artwork, etc. It will certainly add weight and be a bear to move around.

But at the end of the day you will have much more to be proud of if you restore this cabinet and give it a second life. The before and after pics are always great to have with the restoration story surrounding it.

Whatever you decide to do, congrats.

Bill
 
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