Everyone in the arcade collecting community has an opinion on game conversions. Some despise them, others see nothing wrong with them as it was a common practice during the heyday of arcades. Many games were only available as conversion kits. Given that, someone will definitely be rattled by my decision to turn my Leland All American Football game into Golden Tee cabinet that will eventually be capable of playing numerous jamma trackball games.
I made the decision to proceed with the conversion after striking a deal on Monday to acquire a Golden Tee 2002 board set from another collector. The board is on it’s way and will hopefully be here by week’s end. I spent some time last night ordering the needed parts to begin the conversion: a 3″ trackball, a trackball to PCB harness, a trackball mounting plate with bolts and a jamma wiring harness.
I’m going to try and maintain the original appearance of the cabinet so it can be converted back to an All American Football at some time if necessary. This will probably require that I construct my own control panel and design my own control panel overlay. If someone has a nice, clear picture or scan of a Golden Tee control panel with fly-by and backspin buttons I’d love to get a copy. Also I’d be interested to know the measurements of an original Golden Tee control panel. I’ve found several spots to purchase an authentic overlay but I’m not sure how it would fit on my particular cabinet. The original would also require me to change the angles on the front of the control panel to a straight piece.
I’ve also given considerable thought to the monitor. I’d love to throw a 25″ monitor into the cabinet but right now that’s cost prohibitive. I’m going to use the 19″ monitor temporarily and hopefully, down the road, upgrade to a larger monitor. I’ll need to rotate the monitor in the cabinet and will probably construct a new mounting board to accommodate the new orientation.
Right now, it’s just a waiting game for the parts to start arriving. I still have a few other things to order but I’m going to spread the cost out over a period of time. I’ll have plenty to work on once things begin appearing on my doorstep. Meanwhile, I’ll be looking for a additional games to add to the cabinet. My most wanted right now: World Class Bowling and Shuffleshot. Stay tuned for updates.
Edit: I’ve been told by another collector that the original red & blue version of the Golden Tee Fore control panel is 25 7/8″ wide at it’s narrowest point near the machine, 31 1/4″ wide at it’s widest point where the controls are actually located and 15 7/8″ from front to back. Thanks for the info!
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