C64 Case Restoration
Ever since the “Retro Scene” started getting big the prices of 8-bit computers like the Commodore 64 have gone up. I’m not complaining because I never had a Commodore 64 growing up, or really understood fully what it was and how it relates to the history of home computing.
I finally realized what is was all about after watching The 8-Bit Guy’s channel on YouTube. He’s created an excellent series on the history of Commodore computers, and his restoration videos are awesome.
I picked up a C64 a few months ago for a reasonable price. The price was “reasonable” (around $40) because the state of the case was pretty bad. Not to mention the 5 missing keys. Finding replacements was surprisingly easy. There are multiple people on eBay that will sell you key caps, springs, and the support plunger piece. All for a reasonable price per “key set”.
So here’s a quick gallery of images before the restoration and after:
Dirty case, missing keys, etc. Interesting that even though it’s cracked it was pretty solid. A look at the bottom of the case. Despite the rusty shielding the board was pretty good overall. The reason for the disaster. Feast your eyes on the results of a couple of hours of scrubbing with baking soda and vinegar. The outside came out nice too.
I haven’t fully restored the mother board due to not having a power supply, video cable, disk drive, etc. I’m working on getting those things going and will write more posts when the parts come in and I find time to get things assembled.
Party On!