Today, I started on yet another project. This involves taking a complete but unrestored Space Duel and turning it into Major Havoc. Back in the winter of 2008, I acquired a Major Havoc kit for use in a Space Duel cabinet. This included the game pcb, adapter pcb, control panel, and marquee. The control panel has an Archer MacLean reproduction overlay on it, and is actually the exact one depicted at
http://www.ionpool.net/arcade/archuk/mh_cpo.html
Then, in the fall of 2008, I acquired a mostly-working, unrestored Space Duel locally from Craigslist. (I already owned a Space Duel, but, since it's in near-mint condition, I didn't want to convert that one.) Fast forward to now, and I've finally attacked this project.
The cabinet was obviously once someplace a little damp. This is mostly evident in some slight bumpiness at the very bottom of the cabinet sides and in some light surface rust on the coin door. Otherwise, everything is solid. There is an annoying hasp on the lower coin door, so I'll have holes to fill after removing it. The left-side art is in good shape; the right side has some fairly big scratches in it.
My SOP for vector restorations is pretty much to start by gutting the cabinet. I remove: game pcb, A/R-II pcb, transformer assembly, control panel, bezels, monitor, marquee & marquee brackets, marquee light assembly, coin door & coin box enclosure (in roughly that order). As shown in the pic, about all that's left is the wiring harness and speakers.
I did have to drill the lower coin door lock. (Coin box yield - 2 quarters, a couple pennies, and a token.) As you can see, the hasp went away, too. From the mismatched serial numbers and slight Tempest burn-in, the WG K6100 monitor was obviously not original to this cabinet.
Once I have an empty cabinet, I thoroughly vacuum the inside. I also did a first pass at wiping the grime from the sides and top using Mean Green and paper towels. I'll do a thorough cleaning job on the entire cabinet later.
After taking the second photo, I decided to go ahead and remove the t-molding. I'll install new stuff later in the restoration.
Since the cabinet won't get any lighter than it is now, I laid it down on its back to deal with the leg levelers. The rusty ol' levelers came off and went in the trash. The dumb Atari blind nuts and staples also went in the trash. I installed all new leg leveler mounting plates (from Bob Roberts) with #8 x 3/4" flathead screws. Then, all new leg levelers (also from Bob). Tip - put a dab of anti-seize compound on the threads of the new levelers before you install them.
That's all for now. I'll scrub up the cabinet and install new t-molding next, then start rebuilding all the various components. I'll do my best to remember to take photos and keep this thread updated as I go.
Alan
http://www.ionpool.net/arcade/archuk/mh_cpo.html
Then, in the fall of 2008, I acquired a mostly-working, unrestored Space Duel locally from Craigslist. (I already owned a Space Duel, but, since it's in near-mint condition, I didn't want to convert that one.) Fast forward to now, and I've finally attacked this project.
The cabinet was obviously once someplace a little damp. This is mostly evident in some slight bumpiness at the very bottom of the cabinet sides and in some light surface rust on the coin door. Otherwise, everything is solid. There is an annoying hasp on the lower coin door, so I'll have holes to fill after removing it. The left-side art is in good shape; the right side has some fairly big scratches in it.
My SOP for vector restorations is pretty much to start by gutting the cabinet. I remove: game pcb, A/R-II pcb, transformer assembly, control panel, bezels, monitor, marquee & marquee brackets, marquee light assembly, coin door & coin box enclosure (in roughly that order). As shown in the pic, about all that's left is the wiring harness and speakers.
I did have to drill the lower coin door lock. (Coin box yield - 2 quarters, a couple pennies, and a token.) As you can see, the hasp went away, too. From the mismatched serial numbers and slight Tempest burn-in, the WG K6100 monitor was obviously not original to this cabinet.
Once I have an empty cabinet, I thoroughly vacuum the inside. I also did a first pass at wiping the grime from the sides and top using Mean Green and paper towels. I'll do a thorough cleaning job on the entire cabinet later.
After taking the second photo, I decided to go ahead and remove the t-molding. I'll install new stuff later in the restoration.
Since the cabinet won't get any lighter than it is now, I laid it down on its back to deal with the leg levelers. The rusty ol' levelers came off and went in the trash. The dumb Atari blind nuts and staples also went in the trash. I installed all new leg leveler mounting plates (from Bob Roberts) with #8 x 3/4" flathead screws. Then, all new leg levelers (also from Bob). Tip - put a dab of anti-seize compound on the threads of the new levelers before you install them.
That's all for now. I'll scrub up the cabinet and install new t-molding next, then start rebuilding all the various components. I'll do my best to remember to take photos and keep this thread updated as I go.
Alan
