M90 done at last!

caution

Member (SA)
Mar 25, 2014
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Boomboxery
Over a year ago I rebuilt the deck in my M90 but sort of fell behind on the rest of the work on it. But as of yesterday the beast is alive again!

New top trim from bredgeo
New tweeters from Superduper
Media blasted grilles by blu_fuz
Newly painted grilles by trippy1313
Amp board recapped with Nichicon Golds
Giant crack on the rear cabinet welded
All pots and switches cleaned, many disassembled for a thorough scrub
Brushed metal overlays cut for tweeter (bezel and behind grille) and the tape door
Repainted JVC badge
New battery plate foam
New lower chrome dial strip
Lots of Windex, Nevr Dull, soap and a toothbrush

The deck was a big undertaking (documented here) that involved:
New belts
New lube
New fusible resistors
New photo interrupter reflector
New carbon contacts for the control panel buttons
New pinch roller installed on original core
Stripped rust from multiple parts

The unit suffered water damage at some point in its life, which destroyed a tweeter, partially lifted some of the chrome on one of the full range drivers, and left a lot of random little spots where the paint faded, but I'm leaving a full repaint for another day, if ever. I covered up the worst of it with brushed metal vinyl on the tape door. I have some black brushed metal as well as a very close color to the original paint which I might try, I think it looks a bit bright with the silver now.






I also had to bend the top trim back just a smidge, to get a perfect 90 degree angle on it.
 

T-STER

Member (SA)
Jul 14, 2014
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Wow that looks like a lot of work but the results speak for themselves. I find its easier to bond with a box when there is a bit of blood sweat and tears involved to. Great job man.
 

Fatdog

Well-Known Member
Staff member
May 3, 2009
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Simply beautiful! Hey Eric, do you have a thread detailing your recap of the amp board?
 

caution

Member (SA)
Mar 25, 2014
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Boomboxery
Rimmer36 said:
beutiful Eric, superb job bro :w00t: :thumbsup:
Thanks dude!


blu_fuz said:
Real nice job Eric.
Thank you for stepping up and media blasting the grilles clean, they came out great!


Fatdog said:
Simply beautiful! Hey Eric, do you have a thread detailing your recap of the amp board?
You know I never did - looking back at my pics I think I refreshed 12 of them, 11 on the top and one on the back side of the board.
Here some shots at different angles





 

Superduper

Member (SA)
Great job, must be very satisfying feeling when done, bet it sounds fantastic.

Question: Why didn't you just go ahead and recap the entire board instead of just the larger ones? In my experience, the small ones are usually more prone to failure than the larger ones and also has the greatest improvement in sound as they are frequently coupling caps and in the signal path, whereas the larger ones usually aren't in the signal path, and serve more as filter caps. Anyhow, just curious.
 

JVC Floyd

Inactive (Delete)
May 6, 2009
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Maryland USA.
I bet this beast sounds fantastic too!.
My favorite boombox , such a magnificent monster.
Awesome work and awesome box.
 

Lasonic TRC-920

Moderator
Feb 16, 2010
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Naples, Italy
There are only a handful of members/collectors/restorer's that dive in as deep as you. Not only do you get results but you bring this information to the greater community. Thank you for that.

I have yet to recap a box. This is something I would like to try, as I have a few boxes that people give huge reviews of, but mine just seem to fall short. So maybe a recap will restore them to their pounding glory.

Great work as always :bow:
 

caution

Member (SA)
Mar 25, 2014
2,499
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Boomboxery
Thank guys I appreciate it, truly. I tried a gun metal material, I think I might like this better. It changes shades based on the angle of light.