View Full Version : Woo baby, my best yard sale find yet
chadtower
10-13-2003, 09:15 AM
With pics below... one question: The guy didn't have the key to the back door of the cabinet. Is there anything I can do, or am I stuck drilling out the lock and replacing it?
Saturday morning:
http://www.gis.net/~tower/pow/pow_cab.jpg
http://www.gis.net/~tower/pow/pow_controls.jpg
http://www.gis.net/~tower/pow/pow_art.jpg
AB Positive
10-13-2003, 09:17 AM
I used to play that ALL THE TIME when I was a kid! Damn, that is a sweet find!
What's the lock look like? if it's one of those "Circle with a notch" locks, the key shouldn't be hard to get.
-AG
pango
10-13-2003, 09:18 AM
nice. how much did you pay for it.
chadtower
10-13-2003, 09:20 AM
$75... The lock is one of those circle locks, but I'm not sure if it's a real key or one of those notched latch things, now that I think about it. I seem to remember it being a real key but I'm not 100% sure.
sisko
10-13-2003, 09:47 AM
A skilled locksmith should be able to open that for you, and maybe even make you a key.
chadtower
10-13-2003, 09:53 AM
What I'm wondering is if it's not easier and cheaper to just drill out the lock and replace it... instead of paying for a locksmith to make a house call.
omnedon
10-13-2003, 09:55 AM
If you have a truck, you could take it to the locksnith too.
make a couple calls and decide!
Berserker
10-13-2003, 09:56 AM
i agree, VERY nice score.
chadtower
10-13-2003, 10:02 AM
If you have a truck, you could take it to the locksnith too.
make a couple calls and decide!
No truck... and it was not easy getting it into my basement. It did fit okay on its side in my wife's station wagon, but getting it through the bulkhead and down the stairs by myself wasn't any fun. I had to go to home depot and buy a hand truck and strap that sucker to it TIGHTLY so I could wheel it down the stairs.
maxlords
10-13-2003, 10:13 AM
Drill it. Those locks are easy to replace and cost $5-10. I'd hook you up with one, but mine are all in Oregon (got a box of about 100 of those).
chadtower
10-13-2003, 10:14 AM
Cool, that's pretty much what I thought. I'm dying to take a look inside this sucker. I'm hoping to be able to convert it to a mame cab... but have a lot to learn about arcade hardware first.
Chunky
10-13-2003, 11:27 AM
yeah drill the lock out on it, it might even open before you get the still all the way in. They are cheap anyways.
That is a great game. forgot all about it untill i just seen it now, will have to mame that one tonight and take a look back at it. but i did really like it, now i don't have to go broke playing to the end.
buttasuperb
10-13-2003, 11:31 AM
If you MAME it, can I have the marquee? ;)
chadtower
10-13-2003, 11:51 AM
Heh, it's possible I'll trade away the innards of the machine... though it's also possible I'll put them on the wall as a trophy. :)
What I wish I could preserve is the side art. It's gorgeous, and intact too...
MarioAllStar2600
10-13-2003, 11:57 AM
Drill it. Those locks are easy to replace and cost $5-10. I'd hook you up with one, but mine are all in Oregon (got a box of about 100 of those).
Yea, I did that with a candy machine (metal) I picked up for 20 bucks. A little messy, but easy and cheap.
Raccoon Lad
10-13-2003, 12:00 PM
Why does everyone want to mame a cab?
It's JAMMA! You can get Jamma boards cheaply, and play the REAL deal, not a 95% accurate emulation.
chadtower
10-13-2003, 12:03 PM
Because with a mame cab I don't have to keep 4000 boards around! Besides, how many jamma boards can run console emulators?
Chunky
10-13-2003, 12:37 PM
What I wish I could preserve is the side art. It's gorgeous, and intact too...
Can you shoot it with a couple rounds of clearcoat? someone should know. worth looking into.
chadtower
10-13-2003, 12:40 PM
What I meant by that is that if I turn it into a MAME machine I'm going to have to remove that side art... hence not being able to preserve it.
Flack
10-13-2003, 12:46 PM
I just had the same problem -- I got a cab from my dad with no key for the back. Here's what I did. Take a flat top screwdriver, and work it into the door crack on the left hand side. Pry lightly. Work the screwdriver up to the upper left hand corner. Work your way over to where the lock is. Eventually you will just bend the little metal lock tab and the panel will open. Then you can easily unscrew the lock and replace it with one you have the key for.
Why am I opening it? Because I'm making a MAME cabinet out of it! So ha! Seriously, I think it's a good idea, and it will nicely compliment my other three cabs quite nicely.
Flack
Raccoon Lad
10-13-2003, 12:47 PM
WHy would you have to remove the side art?
You could make it a combo Jamma/Mame machine, and leave all of it's original arcade goodness in-tact!
...though if it was me, I'd definitely replace the joysticks. I HATE those tall ones like that.
Chunky
10-13-2003, 12:48 PM
What I meant by that is that if I turn it into a MAME machine I'm going to have to remove that side art... hence not being able to preserve it.
now i'm confused, why would you have to remove the side art?
chadtower
10-13-2003, 01:02 PM
Well, if it's a full blown mame machine, why would I want POW art on it? I'd want MAME art on it. I'm intrigued by RL's suggestion of a combo mame/jamma cab. I don't know enough about jamma to know how to do that... where could I find more information?
Sotenga
10-13-2003, 01:03 PM
Holy crap on a lightning rod. Excellent find, sir! Even if I could find an arcade cabinet and buy it (not bloody likely) I wouldn't be able to fit it anywhere in my house. My garage, on the other hand... :wink 2:
Videogamerdaryll
10-13-2003, 02:44 PM
Wow!,Now that is a Sweeeeeeet! Find..Congrats..
SoulBlazer
10-13-2003, 04:57 PM
I'd like to see that when I come to your house next month, Chad. :D
RetroYoungen
10-13-2003, 05:21 PM
A very nice find, who was the nice person that sold it to you, where do they live, and do they have any more? ;)
xertcev
10-13-2003, 09:08 PM
Sometimes you can get to the back lock through the front.
Either through the coin door or take the control panel off,
and you might be able to reach the lock. Just unscrew it,
and it should pop out.
Just be very careful not to shock yourself on the monitor,
If it's at all close to your arm when your reaching in there, I wouldn't risk it.
Also check out: http://www.ultimarc.com/jpac.html
You could run jamma and mame if you wanted.
chadtower
10-14-2003, 08:51 AM
Sometimes you can get to the back lock through the front.
Either through the coin door or take the control panel off,
and you might be able to reach the lock. Just unscrew it,
and it should pop out.
Just be very careful not to shock yourself on the monitor,
If it's at all close to your arm when your reaching in there, I wouldn't risk it.
Also check out: http://www.ultimarc.com/jpac.html
You could run jamma and mame if you wanted.
Not possible... the lock is near the top of the back of the cab, and the coin door is at knee height. I don't think I'd be able to manage that reach if I were 8 feet tall. I really have no qualms about drilling the lock and replacing it, or even just drilling it and not replacing it since it's not like my basement is an unsafe place. I did check out the Ipac and the Jpac, they look pretty sweet. I have a custom made arcade controller using Hagstrom's ke72 (http://www.hagstromelectronics.com/ke72det.html) which is pretty damn sweet, so I may use that controller again since I already know it well.
Soulblazer, the cab is in my basement, so when you come over you're more than welcome to play a few rounds.
Retroyoungen, that was the only one they had. It was in the back of the guy's garage and he said he hadn't used it since his son moved out 5 years ago, and probably only used it 5 times in the previous several years as well. He was selling because he was moving into a house and didn't want to take it with him.
chadtower
10-14-2003, 10:07 AM
Hrm... after doing some reading on the arcade preservation sites, I'm starting to think maybe I should restore this puppy and wait until a more beaten up cab comes along to make my mame box... it does seem a shame to gut this cab since it could be quite beautiful if restored.
Qixmaster
10-14-2003, 04:56 PM
Hrm... after doing some reading on the arcade preservation sites, I'm starting to think maybe I should restore this puppy and wait until a more beaten up cab comes along to make my mame box... it does seem a shame to gut this cab since it could be quite beautiful if restored.
I'd have to agree with you on that one. That cabinet is beautiful.... i don't understand why people take em apart when they are so nice to look at.... which reminds me, i gotta do something about my mario cabinet on my porch before the wheather gets too bad. I also had to pry the back off. I used a skill saw to cut through some thick staples near the top of mine and then i pried the rest open... it worked wonderfully. :D great find by the way.
hamburgler
10-14-2003, 06:16 PM
Awesome find, chadtower.
KirbyStar27
10-14-2003, 11:23 PM
Great Find!!
Balloon Fight
10-14-2003, 11:27 PM
If your going to restore that bad boy, go to these site... www.therealbobroberts.com and www.arcaderestoration.com
Those teach the basics.
weasel2htm
10-16-2003, 10:16 PM
A very good friend of mine has the exact cab I'll shoot him an e-mail and maybe he'll have some Ideas on how to get in