Arcade machine...to gut or not to gut. that is...

my names char.....and I'm a scrap-acholic....
no im just messing. im still quite new to this whole hobby. normally i scrap some steel and some copper when i stumble upon it....okay you've caught me...pretty much anything worth a cent.

I've been given the opportunity of being handed a couple of broken arcade machines. I haven't had the chance to see what awaits me; I'm gonna go pick them up tomorrow. But, in the mean time, i was wondering if there really anything good inside worth breaking down. I mean what all should i really keep an eye out for? I'm assuming there's gonna be a couple mother boards, you know some computer type material with a high chance of wires; maybe some copper tubes or something ayyyyyy no but really, any type of information regarding this would be helpful along with appreciated.


thanks for your time.
char

Yes like he said no copper tubing. What types of games? If they are like racing ones basic you have plastic, wood, and glass and maybe a little goodies. Pinball machines are where resale is because they are easy to fix or swap parts. Think about flipping on Craigslist. Ask yourself if you have a way to get rid of the trash. These things weigh a lot for a reason. If you end up stripping some stuff could still sell such as seat, lights, controls, buttons. Pics would be nice

I too am wondering what machine ya got - depending on what ya got will also depend on wither you can resell it to a collector(some buy em working or not working). Welcome btw.

I worked for an amusement and ATM company for about 5 years. I've scrapped quite a few old arcades, cranes, ticket games, and atms. Like the previous members said....mainly boards with a lot of IC chips, CRTs, and wires. Some arcades actually have game cartridges like the old Nintendo's that plug into the board. These can be quite valuable. I remember scrapping out several Metal Slug arcades and selling the cartridges on Ebay for around $100 each. Good luck!!

The monitors might be worth something if they function and don't have too bad screen burn. Some people turn old cabinets into MAME machines (you stick a PC inside and with the correct software you have an unlimited emulation arcade machine.