Super Mario to Donkey Kong Conversion

D_Harris

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I'm in the process of restoring a Nintendo Vs. Super Mario Bros. back into a Donkey Kong.

My change list is as follows:
*********************
1) Repair cabinet & stand:
**Bondo
**Sand
**Prime
**Paint
**Add new T-molding
**Repair & refinish coin door

2) Re-pin harness: Add -5, Up, and Down.
3) Change to Dk control panel
4) Re-cap & change monitor orientation

5) Replace side-art
6) Replace monitor bezel
7) Add bezel decal
8) Add instruction card
9) Plug in Donkey Kong PCB


But I was wondering if there are any other considerations. I'm assuming at least one of my game boards still work. Is there a rebuild kit for an original Dk power supply? (Anything else I missed?).

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
But I was wondering if there are any other considerations. I'm assuming at least one of my game boards still work. Is there a rebuild kit for an original Dk power supply? (Anything else I missed?).

If you a deconverting a VS Super Mario Bros. back to its original Donkey Kong state then you are better off with...

Removing the VS Kit entirely (i.e. main wiring harness, entire control panel with harness, game PCB and gold cage, marquee, and bezel). You will be left with a Ninty cab that has the marquee light fixture, monitor, speaker and coin door. Keep the basic wiring to the monitor, speaker, and coin door as those are originals to DK...they just added some adaptors to work with the VS UniSystem.

Do all the necessary work to the cab like you mentioned. It is up to you if you leave the horizontal mounting brackets or plug them up and cover it with the DK side art.

You will need the following DK parts...

DK Control Panel with wiring harness
DK Main Wiring Harness
DK Bezel (it's a screen printed tinted plexi...not a decal)
Under Bezel Instruction Sticker
Marquee
DK 2 stack PCB
"L" Bracket PCB Mounts with Wing Screws
Coin Decal and Coin Mech Decals
TKG4 (DK Upright) Serial Plate

And if you are planning to refinish the coin door itself, you might as well refinish the upper and lower marquee brackets and lower bezel retainer so everything looks uniform.

All f this depends on how much of a restoration you are wanting to do. Do a search for DK rstorations and you will see a lot of different versions of what people have done. That will give you a better idea of what you are wanting out of your restore experience.
 
There was a cap list for the power supply a while back.
You might find it with a search. I just can't remember the thread title.
 
you could consider getting in on the next run if Dokert Nintendo harnesses. They are awesome and can simplify the wiring process.
 
you could consider getting in on the next run if Dokert Nintendo harnesses. They are awesome and can simplify the wiring process.

This is true. The Dokert Nintendo Super Harness is amazing and allows for ease in changing between all three DK games. Just unplug the one PCB and plug in the one you want to play. It runs off the edge connector instead of the many small connectors that plug directly into the PCB set itself.
 
I forgot to mention the marquee and that I will be using an "American" light fixture I can still easily get bulbs for. I will also have all metal parts powder coated. But this is not an anal restoration. I just want the machine to look pristine on the outside and work reliably on the inside.

During my landlord's recent apartment restoration some things got "lost". Outside of getting white paint all over my Millipede speaker grill, they were throwing out stuff they were not familiar with and even using my still card-boarded DK side-art as a walking mat when painting. X(

That said, I haven't yet figured out what I need as far as monitor brackets, because outside of the horizontal mounting brackets, which I will be taking out of the cabinet, I can't remember if there were other metal pieces when I took the monitor out many years ago. I do remember picking up some angle iron with the intent of cutting it and using it to vertically mount the monitor, so I guess that is what I'll do.

So the biggest mystery is, what does the "lower bezel retainer" you mentioned look like? (And where can I get one?).

I'm not worried about any "coin decal" and "coin mech decals". I can't see anything like that in the DK cabinet pics I've searched.

And I definitely am not concerned about a serial plate, but I can only assume that this cabinet has one. (I don't feel like pulling it out from the wall to find out).

But more importantly, why waste money on a harness when all I have to do is put a new edge connector on the existing one? (I certainly won't be swapping between three DK games).

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
I forgot to mention the marquee and that I will be using an "American" light fixture I can still easily get bulbs for. I will also have all metal parts powder coated. But this is not an anal restoration. I just want the machine to look pristine on the outside and work reliably on the inside.

But more importantly, why waste money on a harness when all I have to do is put a new edge connector on the existing one?

You had made the broad statement of you are restoring a VS Super Mario Bros. back into Donkey Kong without givinus the detail that you just wanted a good-looking on the outside and working on the inside. A lot of people here think full-on original right out of the gate so when you asked if you missed anything, we mentioned what came to mind. A lot of us have (or currently are) working on DK restorations and some of us are more anal than others. We just wanted to help you not make the same forgetful mistakes we made while working on ours.

So the biggest mystery is, what does the "lower bezel retainer" you mentioned look like? (And where can I get one?).

DKBEZELRETAINER.jpg


You can get on from a KLOVr if you put a thread in the WTB section. There are websites that will sell these but you can get it cheaper here. Someone is bound to have one laying around.
 
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You had made the broad statement of you are restoring a VS Super Mario Bros. back into Donkey Kong without givinus the detail that you just wanted a good-looking on the outside and working on the inside. A lot of people here think full-on original right out of the gate so when you asked if you missed anything, we mentioned what came to mind. A lot of us have (or currently are) working on DK restorations and some of us are more anal than others. We just wanted to help you not make the same forgetful mistakes we made while working on ours.
Well I didn't think I needed to be that specific since the list in my first post included, 2) Re-pin harness: Add -5, Up, and Down. :D
You can get on from a KLOVr if you put a thread in the WTB section. There are websites that will sell these but you can get it cheaper here. Someone is bound to have one laying around.

Thanks. I'll do that.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
Quarterarcade also has one if no luck here.
http://www.quarterarcade.com/Game.aspx/9648

Thanks,

As far as the brackets for holding a Sanyo 20EZ in a vertical position I may have to just go with the angle iron I picked up, because the only monitor bracket I've came across so far is in the pic below. (Anyone recognize it?).

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 

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Darren,

I will have a DK CP, main harness and bezel available shortly. This weekend, I planned on listing them. I also have an arcadeshop DK power supply (older version without the circuit board attached). Lemme know if you will need any of those parts.

Thanks,
 
Thanks,

As far as the brackets for holding a Sanyo 20EZ in a vertical position I may have to just go with the angle iron I picked up, because the only monitor bracket I've came across so far is in the pic below. (Anyone recognize it?).

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

That bracket is the top vertical support bracket that you need. It attaches to 2 "L" shaped brackets that contain the carriage bolts on the side of the cab. The bottom bracket bolts onto the wood the monitor sits on just behind the bezel.
 
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