Question on taking apart a Mark IV combo.

[ramsfan87]

Hey guys, I am new to the board and it is quite a great place. Anyways I've got some questions that I can't seem to find the answer for. I am thinking of converting my mark iv Rev A short combo to a head unit, and I have been unable to find much info about the actual process. I was wondering if there was any sort of step by step guide to taking the combo apart that you all could link me too, as I am inexperienced in this type of work. For instance, today I was trying to remove the rear panel, and I couldn't because it seemed that the fan was attached to both it and the side of the chasis. But it is too cramped in there to get a screwdriver in there to try and remove the fan. I know the conversion has been done many times before, so if you guys could give me some pointers, that would be great!

Paul

 

[MrMarkIII]

Trust me, I've done this.
First, get a coffee cup or something similar to hold all the screws.
Write down where all the screws go as you remove them.
Or if you're really anal, use baggies labeled with masking tape.
It also helps a lot to take pix of everything as you go to remember where all these tiny little pieces go.
Unplug speaker. Try to wrap the cable around the magnet and stick the plug to it (hey, it's a magnet!) so it doesn't flop around and poke a hole in your cone.
Remove speaker grille.
Remove speaker.
Remove reverb tank. It's that strap thingy.
Now the fan is a bit easier to get at. A bit.
If you're going to remove the chassis from the cabinet, the fan has a regular two-prong A/C cable that will un-plug from the chassis bottom, next to the transformer. It's fun to get at, too! :lol:

 

[ramsfan87]

Thanks for the tips guys. I wouldn't call myself mechanically declined at all. I mean I've installed my own pickups, i've built some things before, I just meant to say I haven't ever messed around with the internals of an amp, and I was just making sure I wasn't gonna do anything to break it. Also should I have to worry about any lethal voltages? I've heard that the caps can store them so i would just need to make sure not to touch the leads of those?