Another Apple 8-bit adventure:  Restoring two Apple IIe units (Part 4) - Mixing main components

Introduction

The two Apple IIes described in the previous posts were now up and running. Cases had been cleaned, motherboards repaired and keyboards and PSUs checked out.

Before these new units came along I had two Apple IIes so now I had a total of four. Looking at the individual components collectively amongst all of my IIes, it was obvious that some were in better shape that others. For example the Apple II (standard) case was fairly battered and wasn't up to a showpiece role. However, having an Apple IIe (standard) to display was important to me. Also, some existing configurations were just wrong. One of my two existing units was an Apple IIe platinum motherboard but in an Apple IIe (enhanced) case!

I decided to mix and match these components to give me the following authentic models which I wouldn't be embarrassed to show off:

The order listed here would be the order of quality as regards the cases. All would be acceptable for show, but the enhanced would not be quite as good as the standard. If I ever needed to part with one, it would be the enhanced. It's the model between the 1982 standard and the 1987 platinum and if a unit had to go, it would be that 1984 "in-between" one. For the moment though I'll keep it.

Blending four machines to become three would also give me some parts left over in case I needed to repair the working ones again at some stage.

The remix

How parts were mixed is shown in figure 1. In short, the platinum was left alone. The IIe (standard) inherited the IIe (enhanced) case. The former's case went in the parts bin. My original Apple IIe (enhanced) case (which has some retr0bright damage to the label) went to house the new IIe (enhanced) while its previous motherboard (a platinum) would be kept as a spare.

Apple IIe mix and match

Figure 1. Rearranging the Apple IIe parts

The standard and enhanced case swap meant I had to move the sticker at the bottom of the keyboard between cases. This sticker was either blank or had the words "enhanced" on it. They popped out easily and I was able to swap over and reglue them without any issues.

Next step

So now I have the three good looking Apple IIes in the configurations I want. Two of them are fully working and the Apple IIe (enhanced) would be fully working if I could get hold of a keyboard encoder IC to replace the one that failed. I will get a replacement eventually.

The final step in the restoration project was to clean and check the four drives that came with computers. Click here to continue...

Tez
8th May, 2011
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