Virtua Racing

I purchased this off a collector on KLOV as non-working in November 2009 for $100. It was located in Milford, NJ and involved a 9hr trip, where I departed at 4AM, which crossed 5 state lines and totaled 447 miles. Needless to say when I got back I was exhausted.

When I got there the seller and I plugged it in and saw that the steering wheel calibrated but that was it; nothing on the screen, no sounds, nothing. The monitor did have neck glow and it looked like the boards where getting power so that was a plus. The game would not fit in my truck with the control panel so we pulled it, loaded everything into my vehicle and I was on my way.

When I got it home I was too tired to troubleshoot it but reassembled it and did some quick spot cleaning.

The sides are painted black but I am hoping that the artwork is under there will be salvageable. I will have to try some Citrus Strip and see what happens.

Exhausted from the early rise and long trip I caught up on some much needed rest. Later that night I decided to plug it in and see if I can do some quick troubleshooting to determine what the issue is. I plugged it in and walked to my work bench to get something. I did not hear the steering wheel calibrate and started cussing. To my surprise when I turned back towards the game I saw the attract screen and was stoked. I attempted to start a game but soon realized the steering wheel didn't calibrate because I forgot to connect it back up earlier. I powered the game off, connected the steering and powered back on. The steering wheel calibrated but the game did not come back on. On the screen were some horizontal lines and a bluish tint.

I fiddled with it again today and was able to get it to come up with the steering wheel connected. I put the game into Test mode and ran all tests (which passed) and set it for Free Play. I played about 6 games and am loving it.

After some research and assistance by Mr. Ken Layton (see Ken's Korner on my site), I was able to narrow it down to two, 270K ohm, 1/2 watt resistors (R6 and R11). Apparently this is common point of failure when the fan on the power supply goes out, which was my case. I replaced the resistors and was getting 2.5V, -3.5V, and 5.5V at the +5V, -5V, and +12V connectors respectively. Some more digging around points that this power supply must be tested under load in order to get the the proper readings. We will have to wait and see if this works as I gutted the cabinet in preparation for repainting it.

The op that owned this game before me for some unknown reason painted the entire cab black. I decided to try the strip the paint and see if I could save the art underneath. I have heard people raving about Citrus Strip and how it has helped them save artwork on painted over cabs and decided to give it a shot. I applied it using a paint brush to spread it around and then allowed 5 minutes for it work. I used a wide putty knife and the black paint came right off. Unfortunately some of the artwork came off with it. It appears that the cabinet had some form of vinyl siding and the artwork was silk screened on top of that. While the artwork was visible, simply rubbing your fingers on it would smudge and erase it. After stripping one side I began to notice graffit and realized why the op painted the sides. Too bad... I really liked the artwork on this game.

After I stripped and sanded the cab I focused my attention to the missing leg on the bottom of the cab. I took a 3/4" width MDF board and traced the pattern onto it using the good side of the cab. I then cut it out and routed a notch so it would slide in snug with the inside portion of the cab. I screwed 2x 1 5/8" drywall screws so they would stick out in between the replacement leg and original cabinet. My thought and reasoning behind this is that it would provide the Bondo with something to grip onto allowing for a nice, sturdy repair. I then used 2x 3" drywall screws to hold the leg in place.

(oops!!! I notched the wrong side after being distracted by the ol' B&C...)

I used some cardboard to form a mold and then applied the Bondo.

Repaired and ready for priming...

Since the original artwork was gone I needed to come up with some new, simple designs to repaint the cab.

I ultimately ended up choosing option #4.

I used Glidden latex paint in a satin finish and a foam roller to apply the paint. Painter's tape was used to mask and create the separation between colors.

Here it is with the t-molding applied and reassembled.

I picked up a second Virtua Racing upright in early 2012. I forgot how heavy and huge these cabinets were. I was able to link them up with two 15' TOSLink cables purchased off eBay for $10.