The Six-Million Dollar Mini...

It's amazing what $100 can or can't buy in this hobby. Sometimes it can get you a working mother board or monitor. Sometimes it can get you new side art for a game. Sometimes it can get you a complete working game in decent condition. And sometimes it can get you in over your head so deep you begin to wonder where the next stop is on this runaway train so you can step off. Such was the case several years back when I picked up a Centipede Cabaret or " mini" as they are sometimes called.

The hour was late as I sped along the bridge trying to get across the San Francisco Bay. I swear those bridges are a thousand miles long when there is a classic arcade game waiting on the other side. The preliminary report I got on this Centipede wasn't good. Missing control panel. Water Damage. Chunk missing out of one side .
I drove on wanting to see for myself just how bad it was .

I arrived at the house and he opened the garage door. Sitting alone in the corner with the headlights of my truck shining on it looking like some kind of scared hostage was the Centipede mini. Missing control panel. Water damage. Chunk missing out of one side. I knew what I had to do. Moments later the game was wrapped in a blanket and being whisked away to safety. I got home and unloaded the game and took a better look at the damage. My heart started bleeding. The only way this game would be saved was with two complete new sides. Then there was the issue of the missing control panel. Where on Earth was I going to find one of those ? The madness took over and I went to work.

I started looking for a control panel and as you can imagine I had no luck. I decided that if I couldn't find one then I would just have to make one. I looked for a donor panel to copy and fellow arcade collector Scott Caldwell answered the call. I didn't know Scott. He lived pretty much on the opposite side of the country from me. But in one " it takes a village " moment he was willing to send me his panel to save the game and try and make more panels to save more games in the future. So I have a donor panel , now what ? . I started calling some local fabrication shops but all I seemed to get was the " we are too big and too busy to deal with your silly arcade game " attitude. It wasn't looking good.

Meanwhile back in the garage the patient was undergoing major reconstructive surgery. I started by ripping the old sides off. They were both swollen at the bottom and crumbled as I removed them. The original front and bottom were in good condition and salvaged. The lower rear panel had to be replaced . I traced out the new sides and back , cut them out, and started transferring the parts over . I glued the cabinet back together, routered a slot for the t-molding trim and applied new woodgrain siding as the six million dollar man theme song ran through my head .

It was time to resume the search for a panel or someone that could copy the donor. I decided to make another call and this time the results would be a little different. I have no idea what made the gentleman on the other side of the phone decide to help . Maybe it jolted a childhood memory of playing arcade games . Maybe business was just slow . Maybe he could hear the determination in my voice to see this restoration through. All I do know is that he was willing to take a look at the panel and see what he could do. That was good enough for me.

Trust me when I say that walking in to a fab-shop with a control panel from an old arcade game can feel a little awkward. It turned out that these guys had been building a Battle-bot in their spare time in the shop and entered it in those robot gladiator wars that you see on tv. I guess they could relate to me dumping large amounts of time and money into something that most people would never understand. They looked over the panel and gave me an estimate. Remember what I said at the beginning about how it's amazing what $100 will and will not buy. Well I will tell you that it will definately not buy a reproduction control panel for a centipede mini. They did however offer a discount if I had several panels made instead of just the one. After talking it over with Scott we decided to make several to get the price down to a reasonable level. I dropped off the panel at the fabrication shop and waited for the last piece of the puzzle .

Time passed and the panels were ready. When I first saw them I could not believe my eyes. They were exact and perfect copies of the original. Nothing less than amazing.
I went home and applied the reproduction control panel overlay and bolted the panel onto the game. It was a proud moment. The Centipede was whole again , better, faster , stronger...

This Centipede now resides in someone elses gameroom. Other than the new owner , I dont think that anyone that plays it even knows it's story . They are enjoying this game's new lease on life and that is all that matters. And if someone plays that game and decides they want a classic of their own, even better. Special thanks to Scott Caldwell for trusting me with his original panel . If I had to do it all over again I would. It's amazing what $100 can and can't get you in this hobby...

Exploring a Different Galaxy...

Vintage coin-op machines are my first and real true passion when it comes to collecting and restoring . Lately I have been afflicted with a new craving for old cars and scooters. I have always wanted to pick up some old metal and I finally took the plunge on a 1966 Galaxie 500.

I spent some time thinking about what kind of car I should buy. One night while watching the movie "Zodiac" I noticed the sleek black Galaxie the detectives were riding around in throughout the movie. It reminded me of riding around in our brown "Streets of San Francisco " LTD and the Ford-blue Galaxie 500 that belonged to my Aunt . I come from a family of ford lovers so it just really felt right. Besides, after seeing what most of the classics are going for these days , a Galaxie was one of the few cars that would fit my budget. The search was on.

I never realized how difficult it would be to find a car worth purchasing. I looked everywhere and eventually started looking in neighboring states . Three times I would travel great distances only to find a misrepresented rust-bucket awaiting me. I was getting a little discouraged. Late one night while searching the web I came across a beautiful 2-owner Galaxie . This wasn't your typical Gal. She was equipped with a factory 7 liter . This car was one of only 8000 made with the big block 428 installed. It was love at first sight.

The car was several hundred miles away just south of Portland. I wasn't sure I could stand another let down if the car was yet another rust-bucket. I made the call . After talking to the owners I was pretty confident this would be the one. The car was originally purchased in Roseburg Oregon by a lady who worked at the Ford Dealership. After owning it for 32 years she sold the car to "Rockin Robin " and her husband Don . Robin and Don had decided it was time to sell the Gal and work on some of the other classic cars in their stable.

I flew out to Portland, caught a shuttle to Albany and waited for Robin to pick me up. I tried to block out all the memories of the previous disappointments and remain positive. I heard a faint rumbling of the 428 big block in the distance. As it grew louder I could only hope the car looked as good as it sounded. Here came Robin down the street and I was pleasantly surprised to see a car that looked even better in person than it had looked in the pictures.

The car has the original interior and was repainted the original color back in the 90's by the original owners. Don rebuilt the motor and transmission and added a few nice touches under the hood. The car was everything I wanted it to be and then some. She still needs a little mechanical, electrical and some detail work here and there but overall I was pleased.

The drive back to Boise was exhilarating . Sitting there listening to that 428 roar down the Interstate was a dream come true. I feel extremely priviledged to own and drive this car. It was apparent that Robin and Don were looking for the right buyer as much as I was looking for the right car. I bought this car to satisfy my own yearning but I have to admit, the reaction this car evokes from people on the street is amazing.

The paperwork passed on to me states the original owners paid $3300.00 for this car. The price has gone up a bit but was still a steal for the magic that it still holds. It was 42 years ago that this car rolled off the assembly line. The car is a nice blend of muscle and cruiser and is really a blast from the past .
Thanks Robin and Don. It really is a different Galaxie.

Rock around the clock...

I love restoring arcade games but I guess there comes a time where ya just feel like branching out a bit. For some reason restoring a jukebox seemed like a good idea. I love the way the "Happy Days " era boxes look and decided that I wanted to add one to my collection.

After talking it over with my buddy Tom I decided a Seeburg was the way to go. They look great. They sound great. They are fairly easy to work on . They have a fun vibe to them . A Seeburg just seemed to fit the bill. I lucked out and found an unrestored Seeburg G less than 30 minutes from my house. The owner had been collecting and restoring jukes for several years . His collection was nothing less than stunning . In fact , it was downright intimidating.

He wanted to be sure his jukebox was going to capable hands. After seeing some of my arcade restorations and talking for awhile I think he felt better about letting go of the G. I was actually a little nervous about getting this Seeburg and restoring it. What if I screwed it up ? What if he didn't approve of the finished product ? He made me promise that I wouldn't yank out the mechanism and turn it into a cd player and the deal was done.

According to the previous owner this little juke sat unwanted in the back of an old diner for many years until he came across it. The level of grease, grime , and unidentifiable muck that was present seemed to substantiate this claim. The most important parts were actually in fairly decent condition and the box was about 98% complete. The glass dome and selection keys looked good and so did the mechanism. Still, it would be a long road to recovery for this G .

This turned into one of those projects that would end up on the back burner for lengthy periods of time . The whole process took over a year . There were times that I was wondering if I had bitten off more than I could chew. After seeing the juke just sit there and collect dust for far too long, I decided the day of reckoning must come, and must come soon . I had a week of vacation coming. It was time. I set aside the full week to work on the jukebox and nothing else. Tom came over and we worked diligently into the night each day for the full week.

I will never forget the first time I actually heard music come from the G. It was about 1am and the song was "Bye ,Bye ,Love" by the Everly Brothers. The perma-smile burned into my face was the result of countless hours, setbacks, small victories , large victories , moments of doubt , and lots of hard work.

As usual , in the end it was all worth it. I ended up with a great learning experience and the crown jewel of my coin-op collection .To top it all off the previous owner was pleased with the outcome . What more could I ask for .

Tribute

It's hard to believe I have been collecting for 15 years now. Seen a lot of games and names come and go . Countless hours spent searching, sanding, spraying and praying for grails and warehouse finds. Many lessons have been learned ,forgotten and relearned again. Through it all i've made friends, enemies, good contacts and bad buys.

One thing is for sure. My machines might look good, but the reason they work as good as they look is because of my friend and technician Tom Noreen. Tom has been repairing arcades, jukes and pins for almost 30 years now. He is nothing less than amazing and was the driving force behind a lot of my restorations. He gave me the confidence to tackle some of the tough ones and was always there to offer advice when I needed it. He is a walking encyclopedia of coin-op repair knowledge. Time to give credit where credit is due. Thanks Tom for all of your support and expertise over the years. I have learned more about games from you than all other sources combined. I have lost track of all the games we have saved over the years and I guess that is a good thing.

Factory Fresh Tron...

A few years ago while perusing the assortment of games at the Cal-Extreme, I caught wind of a salacious rumor about an empty Tron cabinet straight out of the Bally factory . The cabinet was obtained somehow by a guy and he had brought it to the show in hopes of selling or trading it. After digging around a bit I found out where this treasure was being stashed. My drool cup runneth over at the thought of somehow finding a way to get my grimy little hands on it. It was missing the monitor, motherboard , power supply , control panel and a few other pieces but the cabinet and sideart were absolutely stunning. A glory to behold.

I found the owner and threw my hat in the ring as a potential buyer realizing my chances were probably slim to none of actually getting a chance to make the purchase. As the show went on I eventually found out the game had been sold/traded and went outside to have a good cry. Later that day I found out who the new owner was. Turned out it was someone I knew and he was interested in a game I had there at the show. Won't mention your name here but I am forever grateful for the trade . He knew the Tron cab was going to a good home and would be well cared for.

Supposedly the cabinet had been set aside at the factory for some kind of prototype game that never materialized. Lucky for me . I got the cabinet home and went to work. I slowly pieced the game together .I was lucky enough to find a zero-burn G07 to keep it real and the rest is history.