Old 1980s Atari Cab

Alpha-tron

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Donor 2011, 2019
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So I buy a pile of Neo Geos in converted cabs, The worse one of the lot was put in an old Atari cab.
This old cabinet has seen better days. It was painted black even the trim was painted. It was bondo screwed and nail back together. There were bolt holes in the sides to hold the CP. The bottom of the cabinet is just turning to sawdust. There is major damage and bond above the coin slot area. I know the smart thing to do is to get rid of it.

I got a soft spot for old Atari Cabs.
I know I can breath life back into this Cab but I thinking. What game would you install in this cab?
 

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crush it.. There are tons of games in your area. Why keep a garbage cabinet..

centipede if it has a single door. kangaroo or dig dug if it has a double door.
 
looks like my centipede to me....id go with that and call it a day....who doestn want a centipede in there collection:)
 
looks like my centipede to me....id go with that and call it a day....who doestn want a centipede in there collection:)

Me! :rolleyes:


But seriously would like a centi-cab to house my jamma boards though.. I'd make a Galaga 88' of Bubble Bobble out of it.
 
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looks like my centipede to me....id go with that and call it a day....who doestn want a centipede in there collection:)

We have a Winner. A centipede it will be...
I am sure I can find the parts.

Yes, I can crush an old cab but there is that something fun about building something with your own hands. Taking something that been around the block and breathing use into it.
I have done it with old cars and houses. Why not an old arcade game?
 
Are you going to try to salvage any artwork that is under the paint? The whole thing looks pretty far gone.
 
We have a Winner. A centipede it will be...
I am sure I can find the parts.

Yes, I can crush an old cab but there is that something fun about building something with your own hands. Taking something that been around the block and breathing use into it.
I have done it with old cars and houses. Why not an old arcade game?

I think I have most of the parts. CP, bezel, marquee, PCB, transformer, audio reg. So if you want to blow a bunch of money let me know..

The reason you don't want to save this cab. Is its particle board. Once its F-ed up its not going to get better. Don't start with crap. You end up with a polished turd..

I would go with this:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/vgm/2321241529.html
or
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/clt/2319135890.html
or
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/vgm/2330576306.html

There are hundreds of converted centipedes out there. Find one with art still on it and then you can think about restore..
 
In truth once partical board goes the typical thing to do is grab the parts and look for a better one to restore.

I am sure I can find a much better cabinet to work with. Considering time and effort invested, It's always better just to find a nice one for cheap which doesn't need to restored I sure I can find a nice complete game in the 300 range.

Part of restoring this cab is what one can learn. How to make patches in partical board. I have read up on several ways of fixing partical board. There are different fillers out there that I can try. There are single container counter paints I could try.

If my goal was just to get a cheap atari game this is not the way to go. Trust me I know laughs.
 
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I know my centipede was a monster to move, but kangaroo didn't seem as bad. Was it different? Maybe i was just pumped for moving kangaroo (and the fact that i didn't have to deal with a narrow set of stairs with a landing and a 90 degree turn)
 
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