Fortunately, there is a dedicated group of collectors and operators who work to find old parts and create new ones. Visit Deja News and subscribe to rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (rgvac) and rec.games.video.arcade.marketplace, or drop by Ebay and search the Collectibles section to find these folks and the results of their hard work.
My Space Duel arrived in good working condition, though cosmetically it could use a little work. My first task was to make sure it was good and clean. A little Formula 409 and a sponge works wonders to remove 20 years of accumulated dirt, dust, grease and grime. Be careful to cover areas that need protecting from cleaners, like those nifty LED push-button switches for the 1-player and 2-player credit buttons. Those will short out and burn up if you get them wet and power the game up - a hard lesson learned while restoring my Omega Race. Glass cleaner works well for the monitor and marquee glass. It's possible to take off the glass to clean the backside, the plexiglass, and the monitor screen itself, but be sure to use anti-static cleaner, and be careful not to disturb the art on the backside of the glass - it tends to flake off with age!
After making sure there were no mouse skeletons or other assorted oddities in the cabinet, I decided to replace the locks on the coin door and coin box. My cat enjoys climbing into the games, whether they're turned on or not, so it's as much for safety as for appearance. The coin door locks were no problem to acquire - a visit to Bob Roberts website and $3 per lock took care of that - but the coin box door was still locked and I didn't have the key! With some cabinets, it's relatively easy to reach through the coin door or the back panel and unscrew the nut holding the lock on. However Space Duel has the coin box within another larger box, and the lock is of course inside the larger box. The folks at rgvac suggested I get a power drill, a few beers, and drill out the core of the lock. Well, I did it (the beers came AFTER the procedure!) and have a nice trophy to carry around. Like Geraldo Rivera opening Al Capone's vault, I didn't find any valuables, just an ancient bath bead and some Q-Tip heads. Happy discovery - the coin mech is set to use Aladdin's Castle tokens, of which I have about a dozen, so no need to replace the mech!
Some common-sense type information about the coin door locks: It's easy to put them in, but a little more time-consuming to put them in RIGHT. You'll have an easier time of it if you be sure all the locks are set to open with the key in the same position and opening in the same direction. What works best for me is to set the lock so when it's horizontal it's locked, and the key can be removed. When it's vertical it's unlocked (lock's end is UP) and the key cannot be removed in this position. Trust me, it's worth doing this way.
Copyright 2001 Madoc Owain