Reversing Rally - A Star Wars Cockpit Restoration Story, the final chapter -pic heavy

m_mcgovern

Active member
Joined
Sep 10, 2007
Messages
1,318
Reaction score
7
Location
Evesham, New Jersey
Reversing Rally - A Star Wars Cockpit Restoration Story, the final chapter -pic heavy

Whoa, once again, it has been too long between updates...but this project is getting close to complete. It was a lot more work than I thought it would be...and every time I paged through Level42's great SWCP restoration over on byoac forums, I found myself saying..."yeah, I should probably do that, too..." It doesn't help that work can get insanely busy, leaving me very little free time to work on this...anyway...I'm sorry if I am too wordy...you can always skip the text and look at the pics.

Here is how it started...

part0 http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=57689
part1 http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=58308
part2 http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=64067
part3 http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=89324


With that said...let's go back to...

Spring, 2009 (yes, 2009!)
I rebuilt the amplifone HV PCB and deflection boards using the Amplifone FAQ. At the time, I test these monitor boards in the upright Star Wars cabinet I owned (it has since been sold). I have in my possession the TO220 resistors, so I plan to mount the 50 ohm resistors to the heat sink using this fine guide: http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showpost.php?p=1294667&postcount=106

Next, I removed the Plexiglas, followed by the wooden canopy arches, in preparation for this cabinet's "surgery". I followed a nice guide put together by bones3010 here at klov forums. Using a screwdriver, I was able to gently pry apart the canopy from the base and use an open ended hacksaw blade to cut through the staples. Once all of the staples were cut, it was pretty easy to remove the canopy from the base and set aside.

Next, I removed the floor speaker plate and cleaned out under the seat. Ugh.
IMG_3177.JPG



After it was clean, I went over it with an orbital sander to get the stubborn dirt, grime, and top layer of wood. Then, I flipped the machine on its side to remove the base plate. Since my base plate had some swelling in one corner, and was filthy, I decided to build a new one. So, to remove this one more easily, I used a circular saw to cut from wheel to wheel on either side of the center channel. This allowed me to pry out the middle channel w/o putting too much strain on the sides since the base plate. Once the center channel was removed, I went back and pulled out the staples around the perimeter with a pair of needle nose pliers. To do this, I drilled a small hole on either side of the staple for the needle nose pliers to fit in. Finally, I was able to remove the remaining two sides of the base plate, by prying from the insides.
IMG_3189.JPG

IMG_3191.JPG


I traced the original base plate onto a new 3/4" sheet of birch plywood and used a saw board to cut it to the proper size. Next, I traced the wheel holes. I free-handed them with a jigsaw, which worked out pretty well, except for the first one, which ended up being a bit more of an oval than a circle...but this will be under the machine and the only people that know are who are reading this post. :)
 
I cut replacement pieces to create a new channel down the base plate's center. This time, the channel pieces were glued and stapled to the cabinet bottom instead of the new base plate. I also left a gap for the big cut. I also cut wood pieces to screw into the wood on the sides and the underside of the cabinet for reinforcing the cut I was about to make. I made sure to label all the joints so I had no issue putting it back together. I removed all of the top half reinforcement pieces and used a hand saw to cut between the two pieces on one side of the cabinet. I cut deep enough into the floor so I could screw in the side support I had made. Next, I used a jigsaw to cut across the floor. As I cut along, I would stop to install the reinforcing pieces I had made once I cut past where they would go. When I got close to the other side, I needed to flip the cabinet so the remaining uncut side was on top. By cutting the cabinet like this, it is almost impossible to tell it has been cut once reassembled and the floor is covered with new replacement matting.
IMG_4808.JPG

IMG_4812.JPG
 
Fall, 2009
I removed the non-standard 19" wood frame pieces. I also removed the metal frame that was used in the conversion (which turned out to me a Taito 19" metal monitor mount). Next, I moved on to control panel overlay removal. I used a heat gun and used a metal drywall knife to remove the old overlay. With the old overlay removed, I applied Citristrip and let it sit on the panel for about 30 minutes, which was enough to soften everything up so I could scrape off the remaining adhesive and black paint. Lastly, I used some steel wool to remove the remaining paint. Once that was cleaned off, I used some JB weld to affix two thin metal pieces on the back of the control panel. When the epoxy was dry, I bondo'ed the holes on top, sanded smooth, primered & spray painted several coats of Rustoleum satin black. I covered with the great reproduction overlay from ThisOldGame.com. To do that, I pre-clamped the overlay on the control panel for 48 hrs. Carefully lined everything up and applied the overlay. I strategically placed down some folded paper towels under some wood paint stirring sticks and reclamped everything for another 48 hrs or so. Looking at the pics, I may have over-clamped...but...it came out nice. Here are some pics of this process:
IMG_3966.JPG

IMG_3973.JPG

IMG_5475.JPG

IMG_5477.JPG
 
Summer 2010
What was first going to be bondo/paint jobs turned into a re-vinyling after reading Level42's restore thread. Several of the external outside black pieces were revinyled. In order to do this, I first removed the old vinyl with a heat gun. Filled in any holes or chips with bondo then sanded the bondo smooth. For any pieces that got bondo'ed, I applied a couple of thin coats of polyurethane using a foam "brush". In between poly coats, I lightly sanded using 400 grit. You want a nice, even, smooth surface for the vinyl. There are a couple of spots that I did not get 100%, but the end result is much better than what I started with, so I will live with it. The black edges also got repainted if they were black. Here are some pictures of the revinyl'ed pieces. For the speakers, I repainted the grills first, and then covered them with delicate surface easy release masking tape which made it easy to remove the vinyl over the grills.
IMG_4815.JPG

IMG_4816.JPG

IMG_5387.JPG

IMG_5377.JPG
 
I used the same masking tape trick on the sides when trying to fit a piece of vinyl on a piece I could not easily remove from the cabinet. This made sure the new vinyl did not stick to the existing sides before I trimmed it to size.
IMG_5378.JPG

IMG_5388.JPG

IMG_5389.JPG

IMG_5390.JPG
 
Fall 2010
I cleaned up the edges around the cabinet and some small rips in black vinyl using Evercoat. Evercoat is like bondo, but it is much easier to work with when you are trying to do very thin layers.

Once they edges were smooth, I masked the sideart and cabinet interior, did several light coats of Rustoleum primer, followed by several coats of Rustoleum satin black. In addition to the edges, I painted the kick plate that had the gas pedal holes repaired, and the seat which had some scratches filled in with Evercoat. I did not do the seat back...and looking back...I probably should have. I was running out of time with the upcoming winter and I decided if needed down the road, I would probably re-vinyl, which is something I could do indoors.
IMG_5322.JPG

IMG_2546.JPG

IMG_5332.JPG

IMG_5329.JPG
 
I replaced all of the 3/4" t-molding around the two sides and just cleaned up the wide t-molding over the canopy. At some point, I will probably replace the wide t-molding, but for now, the cleaned up old wide t-molding is good enough.

I created a new cardboard bezel with the great help from Killerkades. He sent me templates and a CD of pictures of the process he used. I ended up using black corrugated cardboard that looks like a science fair display. In order to mask off 1/2" wide stripes, I used the following trick (since I could not find a local store with 1/2" easy release masking tape). I taped an exacto blade to a post-it note pad that I measured to be 1/2" high. Then I pushed the roll of 1" wide tape and slowly rotated the tape roll to get two 1/2" strips of tape. I used shaker can silver to create the silver stripes. To make the bends, I cut through the back of the cardboard on the opposite side using an exacto and aluminum straight edge. Then I made the bend with a counter edge to get it nice and straight. I currently have it waiting for a new set of 25" amplifone brackets.

IMG_5239.JPG

IMG_5243.JPG

IMG_5244.JPG


For the floor, I had to scrape, sand, and curse the glue that was used to hold down the original mat. Man, that stuff was annoying. I got enough of it removed so that the new mat would sit flat. My two aluminum mat retaining pieces on the sides were bent up pretty good. Using them as a template, I cut and bent a couple of new pieces from some scrap aluminum.
 
Winter, 2010 - 2011
Since it was cut in two, it was possible to move it into the basement (which has a 90 deg bend on the way down the stairs). Once it was moved down there, I was able to reconnect the two halves, and start loading it up. I installed what I think is a Star Wars upright harness using pictures I had downloaded online to help as a guide. I needed to create the section of harness that runs to the second set of speakers.
IMG_5406.JPG

IMG_5408.JPG


With the harness, power brick, game pcbs & cage installed, I started to put together the monitor. I got a 25" medium resolution raster tube and 6100 yoke in a trade with danthepup. After reading as much documentation I could find online, here is the process I used. I carefully marked the location of the convergence rings on the tube neck and also drew a line down the complete ring assembly so I could put them back on in exactly the same place and orientation. I carefully cut through the glue holding the rings in place and slid them off. I swapped the 6100 yoke in place of the raster yoke. In order to reach the amplifone deflection pcb, I needed to extend the yoke, DAG, and degaussing coil wires. Next, I replaced the convergence ring assembly in the same location as it was before, connected everything up and...nothing. The game was playing blind, but I there was nothing on the screen. The spot killer was off and I could hear deflection chatter, but no neck glow....so I knew I was close. After checking HV @ the tube, B+, and everything else I could think of, I found the problem. It turns out that when I had taken apart the tube connector to clean the pins, I did not get one of the heater pins back in place properly, so it was not making connection with the tube connector. I quickly fixed that, reassembled the tube connector, plugged everything back in and voila, Star Wars was playing in this cabinet for the first time in over 12 years. At least that is what I think based on thread that I found on rgvac usenet group about a Star Wars cockpit converted to a Great 1000 Mile Rally:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec....read/thread/abecf8829817d315/4039403f53b11d3a

By replacing the convergence rings in exactly the same spot and orientation as they were before, you can see that convergence is pretty good in the center. I do have some work to do in the edges and corners. You can see this in the PULL TRIGGER TO START message.


IMG_5552.JPG

IMG_5551.JPG
 
Last edited:
So, I think I am about 95% done with this restoration. I have the following left to do:

- Converge 25" vector monitor
- Install permanent 25" monitor brackets (I'm using a temporary set that do not position the monitor properly relative to the player)
- Install new cardboard bezel once correct monitor brackets are in place
- Install fans to keep the monitor board and game board cool
- Replace fluorescent ballast and tube
- Replace two potentiometers in flight controller as controller is not acting smoothly
- Install two back doors
- Re-install glass marquee
- Play the hell out of it

It takes a village to restore, here is my early set of "thank yous" for everyone here who has helped with a part, or advice, or encouragement. In no order, thanks go out to:
- smpoponi, who passed on this project
- pr0k, for all his advice and tips for repairing ripped vinyl using Evercoat, painting on vinyl
- chris25810, origin of yoke
- RikiTiki, for vinyl application advice, black vinyl, control panel and flight yoke overlays
- Daviea, for reproducing the yoke parts of which I used a small gear, potentiometers, nyogel to repair the used yoke from Chris
- Level42, for advice and documentation for his excellent SWCP restoration...yours was an inspiration that pushed me to do more than I originally planned for this one
- bone3010 for his great documentation and tips for cutting it in two w/o leaving visible scars
- KillerKades for sharing his SWCP monitor bezel template and documentation for how he made his. Also for bouncing ideas for disassembly to get this beast into my basement
- Mark H for fabricating a set of 25" Amplifone monitor brackets
- freebeer for his foray into building a 25" vector monitor and posting about his results

So, still a ways to go...but it has come so far

3280636057_ea7fcc8f78.jpg

IMG_5554.JPG

IMG_5495.JPG
 
Love it. I am glad i am not the only one that, would take on a project that big. I have been slowly working on mine . Got it over 2 years ago(traded a pinball machine that i payed $60.00) and i have been picking away at. Still have a ways to go but you have inspired me to get working on it again. As i get in to doing more on it maybe you would not mind if i PM you if i have any questions. Again i love it, and thanks for sharing. Darrell
 

Attachments

  • th_SDC10039.jpg
    th_SDC10039.jpg
    5.6 KB · Views: 70
  • th_SDC10066.jpg
    th_SDC10066.jpg
    5.6 KB · Views: 76
  • th_SDC10071.jpg
    th_SDC10071.jpg
    5.6 KB · Views: 68
Looks awesome! When I got my hands on a Star Wars Trilogy machine last summer/fall, I thought it would satisfy the urge I had to get the Atari Star Wars cockpit, but every time I see pics of one I still want it. I'd definitely take on a project like this, but I've never seen one come up around here. He'll I'd trade my working Black Widow for a non-working project Star Wars cockpit project.
 
@charger-
Absolutely would love to help in any way I can. I've gotten so much help here that I would be happy to give back and help someone else along. I've learned a lot from this restoration. It has been a lot of work, but it has been spread out across a lot of time....

@SuperGunGuru
I know how you feel. I still remember heading into the arcades at Ocean City, NJ, where they would have a several upright Star Wars cabinets side-by-side and 1 cockpit off to the side....I would always warm-up on the uprights, but save a few quarters for the cockpit... :)
 
Great i will prob. need your help at some time. This great guy in Salem said if i help him that we are going to do the med. res. conversion. I already have a spare 6100 yoke and most of the boards. I also had to use upright wiring, and a tempest power brick. I did the same patch work on the control panel, it worked great for me to. Also some guy named Rich(do not know if you heard of him.HAHAAH) did the art work for everything i needed and it is nice looking. Got the new wide ribbed t-moulding, just need to pick up the regular stuff.I also have 3 extra board sets, but one has some bad issues, the other two have sound issues. Again thanks for the extra boost.Darrell
 
Really great work! Not much (readily) available these days in the way of reproduction parts/artwork for the SW cockpit! You did an amazing job here! Seriously that thing was no where near a SW machine when you got it....Job well done!
 
@Rikitiki - thanks for the kind words. I can't say enough about the great job you did on the reproduction yoke and control panel overlays. The work is top notch and your support is great.

@Jedidentist, @retroACTIVE - Thanks! It means a lot hearing that from the two of you. I've admired both of your restoration work so I appreciate your comments.

@joeycuda- I think RAM controls is the only place that sells the wide SWCP molding.

@charger-
Keep at it. It has taken me years to get to this point. Let's see another SWCP brought back. :) Where did end up getting the SWCP wide molding? RAM controls?
 
Yep. He did one of those giveaways and i got it for free. And he even shipped free. And i got it in 2 days. Oh the good old days.HAHAHA
 
Back
Top Bottom