John's Arcade Forum - Classic Arcade and Pinball Collecting and Restoring Discussion Forum - RETRO MAME - Nintendo Vs Forum

When I was a kid in the arcade I would spend my quarters like they were going out of style.
One game I was good at was Championship Sprint by Atari. I believe it was Super Sprint that my local arcade had first and eventually that was swapped out for Championship Sprint.

I eventually forgot all about arcades, and almost 30 years later I began collecting them.  I forgot the name of my 'racing game' and many others but eventually as I got deeper into the hobby, it all came back to me. I never thought I would find a Championship Sprint though.

About 3 weeks ago, I was headed to a warehouse (of sorts) to see if I could score a cabaret cabinet, I wasn't expecting to leave with anything having been there before.  A few months earlier I got my Pole Position form the same guy. When I walked in, the first cabinet I saw was none other than Championship sprint.  Well, it wasn't working but aside from A LOT of water damage and a missing power supply it was complete.
I made the deal and raced home with my soggy new arcade!
(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-74dkLcg/0/S/20151002_204342-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-Db8mRWd/0/S/20151002_204331-S.jpg)
It went straight into the back yard, I have no garage so I thought I would dry it out before bringing it in.
As you can see it was dark when I bought it so I didn't really give it a good survey when I bought it...
the next moring showed me the true condition...  it was not pretty.
(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-3vpRPnb/0/S/20151003_133042-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-stnMpHS/0/S/20151003_133054-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-LskLQPf/0/S/20151003_133102-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-CrKPPX8/0/S/20151003_133119-S.jpg)
Like most of us I have watched John (and a few others perform their bondo magic and make old look new again... but due to swelling I didn't think this was the way to go.

I ended up re-watching his pac-man cabaret restore video, and the episode where he fixed the corner with dowels and a new piece of wood.
I thought I would give that a whirl, or this cabinet would be a total loss.
After surveying just what to do I realized this was going to be a terrible project - with fall around the corner I had only a few days left before rain and wind forced me to see if my wife would let me bring this in the house.  *not likely.
The next morning I bought a sheet of malimine and everything I needed to get it done.

I started by removing the hardware:
(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-cZTXgbH/0/S/20151003_125554-S.jpg)
I even labelled the wires - something which I rarely have the forethought to do!
(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-fJNRTDC/0/S/20151003_133035-S.jpg)
I pulled the CP and the monitor.
(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-RcfLHPH/0/S/20151003_144745-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-6pv7TxL/0/S/20151003_144753-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-f7DTMw4/0/S/20151003_144808-S.jpg)
The Transformer, Light, Fan, coin door and the very rough gas petals too...
My hot tub made a perfect place to store things from glass to the cardboard bezel and the PCB too!
Before getting started I cleaned the inside of the cab, the wires had stuff on them - Mold? Plague?  who knows... I cleaned them very well with a toothbrush. This was also a way for me to avoid cutting this up as I was very nervous.
(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-nh8ZpWC/0/S/20151003_160608-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-863pvBN/0/S/20151003_160619-S.jpg)
Ready for the amputation?
(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-gJKRrzZ/0/S/20151003_161025-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-jVmZqsW/0/S/20151003_161155-S.jpg)
What have I done?!
(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-NQSNDrB/0/S/20151003_165242-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-hvfZwkn/0/S/20151003_171808-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-mKJdkmh/0/S/20151003_175115-S.jpg)
As you can see things escalated quickly!  I got nervous as the front came off too.
(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-gfwzGZ7/0/S/20151003_165254-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-MRHTdwM/0/S/20151003_170053-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-JTh3HV8/0/S/20151003_175121-S.jpg)
Time to Fabricate replacement parts.
(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-fvJv4L5/0/S/20151003_194400-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-PMPqqx5/0/S/20151003_194250-S.jpg)
Unlike John, I was drinking beer all day while doing this...  at this point the sun had gone down and I didn't trust I would have all my fingers if I continued so I decided to go to bed.

The following day I was hung over, and in a hurry because rain was forcasted for late afternoon so I had to get this together and I didn't take photos of the assembly but, I used dowels, glue, melamine screws, and of course the plywood floor and lower back piece.
(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-PJsB5n8/0/S/20151004_163837-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-TQzc5xV/0/S/20151004_163848-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-Z4F8NCb/0/S/20151004_163856-S.jpg)
As you can see I skipped the multi-tier shelves in the coin door area... NOT EXACT I know But hey, it is better than it was.

After moving inside I started bondo work... I was very careful with how much was used... 
*I know why John is so happy all the time now... those bondo fumes... I have been considering becoming a Huffer!
(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-8DSQTkN/0/S/20151009_204732-S.jpg)

On to paint... Oil based malimine paint... I masked off the side art. because it is not HORRIBLE and I dont want to spend that kind of money on a sticker...  maybe later though.
(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-SfdJ43X/0/S/20151012_135408-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-nRDDG3H/0/S/20151012_135419-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-ZkKngjr/0/S/20151012_165313-S.jpg)

I didn't take pictures of me cleaning the CP and oiling up the steering wheels.
nor did I photograph the sanding and spray painting of the gas pedals...

After all was said and done here she is all put back together...
(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-Pnw3W8q/0/S/20151016_233856-S.jpg)(https://netropolis.smugmug.com/Temp/i-9FHZvk8/0/S/20151016_233838-S.jpg)

There she is!  Lets call that a successful restore.  Not up to John's standards but it was my first...
I am pleased wit hte cosmetics...

Sadly after all of that I have monitor AND PCB issues... I will save all of that for another post in another section.

To do list...
New Lightbulb
Cut T-Molding Groove
Add T-Molding  - how about Chrome?  Just kidding!
restore coin-door
Add Locks.

Fix Monitor
Fix PCB

Looks like some very nice work for a first.

Keep us updated.  Enjoyed reading through it.  When I first started doing this, I would frequently get frustrated with my work because everything that John and others post on Facebook seems so perfect.  But a little bit of visible wear and tear is not a bad thing.  You had absolutely nothing to lose on that cabinet since many others would have just scrapped it.

Incidentally, I have a Championship Sprint cab project waiting for me in storage.  I keep dreading it because it is also very water damaged.  Maybe this is the kick in the pants I needed to get it going.