ItsAnAgent
New member
The year is 2006. I have just bought my second arcade game off of the ever so faithful Ebay. A dedicated Sunset Riders cabinet and working game for $600 bucks. $600 bucks isn't bad for a perfectly working game with some "normal wear". After all the game was 15 years old, and Konami wasn't the best at making their games...protectable.
Here she is, after arriving in the mail.

(2006 Photo)
As you can see, not too bad. Even has a plexiglass protective sheet on the control panel. Missing some Wico washers on the joysticks, and the green seems to have a bit of a cigarette burn on it, but it's still functioning. Same with the plexiglass.

(2006 Photo)
The side art is even in relatively decent shape. Normal scratches, and only missing a piece on one on the right side. Even has a metal guard at the bottom to "Protect the wood from chipping". (Not pictured)

(2006 Photos)

(2006 Photo)
And here she is next to my other pride and joy. They look so happy together! Now I bet you're asking, but good sir, this arcade is in relatively good shape and it was a steal. Why would you ever want to restore it?
Flash forward to 2009.
One of my good friends is walking in my game room and somehow manages to catch the corner of the control panel on his hip, instantly ripping the entire control panel off of the frame. As furious as I was, this shouldn't have happened. The control panels are bolted down to prevent such tragedies. I decided to investigate. Upon unscrewing what was left of the bracket the control panel was connected to, I discovered that someone had glued the control panel to the frame, because the bolts had already ripped through the holes sometime earlier. As poor of a job as this was, I began to wonder where this thing really came from. The description had said a bar, which I had totally believed as the inside of it smelled like cigars and was almost unbearable. I started to prod around inside of the machine, taking a much closer look then I had back in 2006. (I was fifteen then and a bit more absent minded on the details) I could see that the inside had been to hell and back, but I have never gotten a great view as the game came without keys for the lock on the back. Time to get cracking.
-----------------
Because I'm already well into the restoration, I'm going to be posting this in parts so I can provide some pictures from along the journey. Stay tuned for more.
Here she is, after arriving in the mail.

(2006 Photo)
As you can see, not too bad. Even has a plexiglass protective sheet on the control panel. Missing some Wico washers on the joysticks, and the green seems to have a bit of a cigarette burn on it, but it's still functioning. Same with the plexiglass.

(2006 Photo)
The side art is even in relatively decent shape. Normal scratches, and only missing a piece on one on the right side. Even has a metal guard at the bottom to "Protect the wood from chipping". (Not pictured)

(2006 Photos)

(2006 Photo)
And here she is next to my other pride and joy. They look so happy together! Now I bet you're asking, but good sir, this arcade is in relatively good shape and it was a steal. Why would you ever want to restore it?
Flash forward to 2009.
One of my good friends is walking in my game room and somehow manages to catch the corner of the control panel on his hip, instantly ripping the entire control panel off of the frame. As furious as I was, this shouldn't have happened. The control panels are bolted down to prevent such tragedies. I decided to investigate. Upon unscrewing what was left of the bracket the control panel was connected to, I discovered that someone had glued the control panel to the frame, because the bolts had already ripped through the holes sometime earlier. As poor of a job as this was, I began to wonder where this thing really came from. The description had said a bar, which I had totally believed as the inside of it smelled like cigars and was almost unbearable. I started to prod around inside of the machine, taking a much closer look then I had back in 2006. (I was fifteen then and a bit more absent minded on the details) I could see that the inside had been to hell and back, but I have never gotten a great view as the game came without keys for the lock on the back. Time to get cracking.
-----------------
Because I'm already well into the restoration, I'm going to be posting this in parts so I can provide some pictures from along the journey. Stay tuned for more.



































