Omega Race Cockpit - An Interesting Restoration

Hyde

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WARNING: LOTS OF PICTURES (Scroll Down)

Hey all! I recently picked up a free Omega Race Cockpit machine off of craigslist. I am welcoming it in as the 5th game in my collection! It is just missing a few minor parts like the monitor and game boards. :D Actually, the machine has been completely gutted with the exception of the original wiring harness, marquee, bezel, plexi, metal hardware, and controls.

Aside from that, though, the cabinet is in pretty nice shape. It is a bit yellowed but the side art looks nice. One of the 2 control panel overlays is torn pretty badly but the other looks good.

This thing is going to need a lot of work - it will be my most intense and ineteresting "restoration" to date. I put "restoration" in parenthesis for one reason: I don't plan on putting the original electronics back into this thing.

I will be putting a PC running an emulator in the cabinet, so I can run multiple games (Omega Race, Asteroids, Asteroids Deluxe, Gravitar, Lunar Lander, Space Duel, Blasteroids, etc) within it at the same time. Yes, I realize there will be no vector monitor. But as some of you might know, I am very limited on funds. I estimate that turning the cabinet back into a dedicated Omega Race is going to cost $400+, while my emulator plan should be less than $100.

Bash me if you want, but this is going to be a fun project that I can hopefully finish up within the next month. Keep checking here for weekly updates!

-Hyde
 
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PART 1 - Initial Analysis

Today, I have begun inspecting the machine to see just what work it needs. Here are some pictures so you guys can see where I am starting at.

Overall shot: Nice side art, minor chipping, T-molding is good


Huge gaping hole where monitor should be:


Marquee and Bezel: Moderate to serious flaking in some parts:


Seat and Floor: Partially replaced by ugly green fabric


Back: Looks nice but no PCB, Plexi is in great shape
 
Control Panel Overlay: Nasty and torn


Coin Door: Missing


Front: Dirty but in nice shape


Next up: Buy some cleaning supplies and freshen the cabinet up.

progress.png
 
I can totally understand the "Lack of Funds" issue :) Good luck! Hope to see some good progress. If I can find my spare coin doors, Ill let you know and Ill see if I can hook you up :)
 
I can totally understand the "Lack of Funds" issue :) Good luck! Hope to see some good progress. If I can find my spare coin doors, Ill let you know and Ill see if I can hook you up :)

Thanks! I am trying to keep this under $100 bucks. I already have an old computer and monitor that I plan on using. If you could find a coin door, that would be great! I think this cabinet just uses a standard Midway door.
 
Since it's missing the boardset, you might as well, as long as you don't do anything that can't be reversed. A b&w XY monitor is relatively inexpensive, so don't rule out putting it back the way it was someday.
 
Since it's missing the boardset, you might as well, as long as you don't do anything that can't be reversed. A b&w XY monitor is relatively inexpensive, so don't rule out putting it back the way it was someday.

Yeah, I know PCBS for this game can run upwards of $200 for working specimens, courtesy of the infamous acid damage. The original wiring harness seems to be 100% intact, and I don't plan on modifying the cabinet past reversibility. So I would say that if I found a cheap boardset, I would definitely consider putting it back to what it originally was. But for now, I'm going to go the MAME route (but I'm not hacking the controls whatsoever) and have a little bit of fun on this project.

EDIT: Update coming up later today. Keep tuned!

SECOND EDIT: Well, it rained all day. :( So there probably won't be any progress updates until this weekend.

THIRD EDIT!: What is this? No updates? Calm down, eager beavers. I have been working a lot this weakend and didn't have much time for restoration.
 
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UPDATE #1

I haven't had as much time as I would like to work on the machine, but I have made some progress. At this point, I have completely dismantled the cabinet and have begun cleaning it up.

Here is the flaky bezel: (Notice the bottom and left side)


And here it is after masking off the center in preparation to be clearcoated:


The nasty control panels: (Anyone have a scan of these? Or better yet, does repro art exist?)


I ordered this coin door from our very own thedrewster0 for a price I could not refuse. Thanks again man!




Up next: Refinishing the coin door and other metal hardware. Also, I will be cleaning up the cabinet with some Simple Green and Magic Eraser!
 
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Man, that was fast! More pics are up.

Bought some cleaning supplies today:



-Textured Black Spraypaint (To refinish hardware)
-Clearcoat (To seal up flaky bezel)
-Simple Green (To clean side art/control panels)
-Magic Erasers (To clean side art/control panels)

Already had around the house:
-Steel Wool
-Sandpaper

Metal/Plastic hardware that needs to be sanded and repainted:


Time to paint some screws! (I had to buy some new ones to replace some of the screws that were super rusty)






Uh-oh, I'm already almost 1/3 of the way to reaching my budget max. I need to get some more progress done.
 
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Any more progress Hyde, I am picking up the same cab, just watching with interest, nice work so far..
 
Any more progress Hyde, I am picking up the same cab, just watching with interest, nice work so far..

I took a small break from this for a while. I got kinda pissed sinced I screwed up the bezel in an attempt to make it look better!

But I should have an update coming up this weekend.
 
I like the tracking system. I could use this for mine but I'd have to note that the Total Cost section is a factor of 10. Otherwise I'd blow my budget on day 1.

Good luck with this restore. I got to sit in one of these a few weeks ago. Really neat cab.

Awh, dang. I was hoping this new post meant an update. :)
 
I like the tracking system. I could use this for mine but I'd have to note that the Total Cost section is a factor of 10. Otherwise I'd blow my budget on day 1.

Good luck with this restore. I got to sit in one of these a few weeks ago. Really neat cab.

Yeah, I try and keep a tally of the cost. But it is very difficult to keep it under $100... but we'll see what happens.


Awh, dang. I was hoping this new post meant an update. :)

Sorry about that! I know I haven't updated in a long time. Since school just started and all, I've been pretty busy. Hopfully I can get some more work done on the game later today or on Saturday. Right now I'm working on refinishing all the metal cabinet bits.
 
If you need any reference pics for your game ..just let me know. I have a complete one of these..just need to fix the boardset. Its in decent shape..all the art work is there. I also have a couple board sets..acid damaged of course. If you think you might be interested in one set let me know via PM.
 
Alright, this project is not dead! Here is the latest update:

I just bought a set of security bits from Harbor Freight. Woot! I definitely needed this to get out those funky screws Midway used on this cab.


I mostly worked on one of the control panels today. I decided to peel off the parts of the overlay that were already loose, and masked off around the bits that were stuck on. Here is that really gross control panel after light sanding:



Here it is after being primed:


And after being painted. I placed the remaining bits of overlay back on. I still need to get some sort of adhesive to attach them with... right now they are just sitting there:


I'm rather pleased with the way this control panel is turning out.
 
Part II

Just finished up painting the coin door thedrewster sent me! Thanks again!


Compare that with the "before" picture earlier in this thread!



And finally, here is my progress/cost chart. I think I'm doing alright.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Up next: Putting it all back together!
 
Nevus picked up a nice Omega Cockpit at todays auction in Mesquite, just in case you need some reference pics.

I had never seen one in person before, pretty cool!
 
Part II

Just finished up painting the coin door thedrewster sent me! Thanks again!


Compare that with the "before" picture earlier in this thread!



And finally, here is my progress/cost chart. I think I'm doing alright.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Up next: Putting it all back together!

WOW! You did an awesome job on that old coin door.
 
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