Mario Bros Widebody Restoration

Chris206

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I picked up a widebody Mario Bros a few weeks ago! I had been looking for one for years. You never see the widebody version at all in my area. It was turned into a GI Joe. It was also Jammatized..../sigh. The control panel looks like swiss cheese. The only positive is the cabinet is not too bad. Ill let the pictures speak for themselves. Here goes another restoration.

~Chris
 

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Here's he control panel before and after I cleaned off the CPO. Also my new Control Panel Overlay from Quarterarcade. Its silkscreened. It was a little spendy at $60 but worth it. The quality is great!
 

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You have the original bezel and marquee? Those will be seriously hard to find.

I think there was a repro marquee project. I didn't read into it, but saw a bunch of guys got refunds. So not sure what happened there.

I do have an original marquee but it has a crack in the center. It actually isn't that bad when backlit. I'll post a pic when I get around to it. If you're interested, let me know.
 
You have the original bezel and marquee? Those will be seriously hard to find.

I think there was a repro marquee project. I didn't read into it, but saw a bunch of guys got refunds. So not sure what happened there.

I do have an original marquee but it has a crack in the center. It actually isn't that bad when backlit. I'll post a pic when I get around to it. If you're interested, let me know.

Yep... many of us were in for a new Marquee or two but...let's just say the project fell through. Luckily Rich is taking up the cause. Hopefully, he'll have them done very soon. As for Bezels I don't know what to tell you. I bought a decent condition one off a fellow KLOVER a while back until repros are made.
 
The bezels come up for sale once in a while. Repros are coming at some point.

I would make sure you somehow plug up those extra holes before you apply that CPO but I am sure you already know that. If it was me I'd probably look for a another MB control panel without the extra holes. They do come up for sale sometimes.

I would also try to clean off the sides before considering the idea of painting them. The game is more collectible without painted sides. I did not have a choice with mine but yours might not need to be painted.

Then there is side art, game boards, monitor and all the rest.
 
Robo you must not have seen my prior restorations :) This MB will be completely stripped bondo'd primed and painted. I am going to fix the holes in the CP. As for the Marquee and bezel I have talked with Rich and they will be available in the near future. I like my games to be as near perfect as they can be. To me its very satisfying turning an abused beat-up machine into something beautiful.

~Chris
 
Good luck, Chris. It'll be cool to see both a wide body and a conversion be restored around the same time. Chances are you'll beat me as I have very little time to work on it and am going to wait until I get my chassis back from buffet before I really move forward, but still!

I will forever be jealous of the nice CPO repro from QA :(

I would definitely suggest the side art from Phoenix Arcade, though it's pricey. You won't find any better, though!
 
The one you have doesn't look bad at all to me. Once you get your cab looking all pretty a nice new overlay will look great no matter what! I don't know about me finishing first. I have a lot of parts to acquire as my cab was jammatized. I have purchased the MB PCB, cage, edge connector, and the CPO. I have a bezel that will work temporarily as well. I just need to find a temporary marquee until Rich@Thisoldgame has his ready. And a Wiring harness for a MB. Also I am working on my D2K restoration at the same time. Its fun to watch other guys restorations. I learn a lot and its always great to see these classics restored :)
 
Robo you must not have seen my prior restorations :) This MB will be completely stripped bondo'd primed and painted. I am going to fix the holes in the CP. As for the Marquee and bezel I have talked with Rich and they will be available in the near future. I like my games to be as near perfect as they can be. To me its very satisfying turning an abused beat-up machine into something beautiful.

~Chris

Those sides do not looked chipped in the pics. I would try to clean them up first and then only paint as a last resort. An original non painted cab is always preferable to a painted one, in my opinion. I did a MB WB resto several years ago and painted it - had no choice - but I always prefer the non painted look of Nintendo cabinets.
 
I picked up a widebody Mario Bros a few weeks ago! I had been looking for one for years. You never see the widebody version at all in my area. It was turned into a GI Joe. It was also Jammatized..../sigh. The control panel looks like swiss cheese. The only positive is the cabinet is not too bad. Ill let the pictures speak for themselves. Here goes another restoration.

~Chris

That looks like a great restoration candidate! Awesome find! For the dents and bruises, has anyone ever tried coloring their Bondo or epoxy in order to avoid painting the cabinets sides?
 
Yeah you cant really see it in the pics but it has some really deep gouges. They have to be filled. I have never tried color matching Bondo. It seems like it would be extremely hard to do as it dries so fast!

~Chris
 
Control panel

I got around to messing with the control panel today. It had so many extra holes drilled into it. Anyways I bought some electrical metal plates. They are about 1/8th inch thick. I drilled a 1" 1/16th hole in each plate. Then I used epoxy to glue them to the underside of the Control panel. Ill bondo the top tomorrow and get it ready for the overlay. I think this is going to work great!

~Chris
 

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I belong to a Local arcade collecting group. One of the guys in the group has offered me a Mario Bros widebody control panel free of charge. I am stoked to get this. I had mine pretty much fixed but I was a little worried about it giving me problems later with all the holes it had. So I will clean the new CP off and just install my overlay. I completely gutted he MB cab yesterday and cleaned it up. Im going to start filling all the deep scratches and holes tonight. Its really in pretty decent shape though. I will be doing my D2K bondo work at the same time. The DK is in pretty decent shape to!

~Chris
 

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New CP

Hey guys I got lucky today and scored a widebody Mario Bros control panel. This panel is not all drilled to hell. It is in great shape. I just need to remove the old overlay and put my new one on. I have my old MB CP almost fixed. I will be selling it after its all bondo'd and a 100% ready for a new overlay. If anyone needs a Mario Bros Control panel send me a PM. I also found a local friend who has an extra Mario Bros widebody Bezel. I will be picking that up tomorrow for $40. All the pieces are coming together!

~Chris
 

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Told you you'd get ahead of me pretty quick. Looking good! :D
 
Hey guys I got lucky today and scored a widebody Mario Bros control panel. This panel is not all drilled to hell. It is in great shape. I just need to remove the old overlay and put my new one on. I have my old MB CP almost fixed. I will be selling it after its all bondo'd and a 100% ready for a new overlay. If anyone needs a Mario Bros Control panel send me a PM. I also found a local friend who has an extra Mario Bros widebody Bezel. I will be picking that up tomorrow for $40. All the pieces are coming together!

~Chris

Great to have a local collector community that helps each other out. I know I have landed some key pieces to get my games looking their best from local friends. I've tried to lend a hand or a part when called upon, as well. Keep up the good work.
 
Yeah my local group "SMAC" is awesome. There's a real sense of community within the group. Everybody loves the hobby and it shows. There are always repair parties going on. There are a lot of really knowledgeable guys in the group that are local to me. Dokert is in the group. Ken Layton is I believe. Barry Flagg. I could go on and on. These guys really know there shit. And they are just really cool guys. Everyone in the group is great. Ill keep going on this resto with pics to follow!

~Chris
 
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