Hi All. New Member. First Post.

When I was growing up, one of he highlights to visiting my grandma's house, was to head to the basement to play Pinball. She had this EM pinball machine. It is was the real deal. When she passed, and the house was sold, the machine was lost....or so we thought!

Incredibly long story, extremely short: it was never lost! It just moved across the alley and into a basement. It more or less sat there for 40 or so years...

Skip forward to 2 weeks ago. My cousin tripped over this machine in an estate sale posting. From there on, the rush was on to secure it and find it a home. It is happily in recovery in my basement (and so are we after moving the beast.)

When found, the back was removed but still attached by the wires. I removed the legs for moving.

The power cord is disintegrated, so I don't dare plug it in. Yet as far as I can tell it is completely intact and in great shape with general "family" wear and tear. However, it is missing two "when lit" bumpers. One seems to have broken off (see picture) and the other is missing.

I most likely cannot restore this thing myself. Mark G. (in thi forum) has provided some great initial advice, and suggested I join this group to learn more.

To start it would be great to find a source for these missing bumpers and to also to connect with a local restorer (south central Wisconsin). ANy other advice and comments are surely welcome. I can share what i can.

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Yes. That's the part. Yo can see its missing the ring and someone tried to tape it to insert back in to the hole. If you look real close to to right hand hole... someone inserted some cardboard shims....

Ok, I am about to crack this open. I have removed the back and the back panel ( MarkG : here was you were missing....see image... solid advice...
specially I don't know who my "jobber" is).

I have looked through the opening in the back. The inside is slightly dusty but wiring and everything looks intact.

My question to the experts is: Once I remove the coin box and the glass, how does the playfield lift up or out? I certainly need to get to the rear of the inside to attach a new power cord.

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Quick update. I drilled out the locks and the machine is open (extra key found inside -- ) . As you can see from the pictures....you guys were correct. I found the missing two small lighted bumpers buried inside the machine. Balls were found as well. Two brass one steel.

Couple interesting things I noticed when I inspected. The "free ball" bumper was purposely disconnected (light and all) and the wires tied off. Also notice at the top of the playfield. Two posts, in front of the orange bumpers, were removed and the holes filled in. Not sure they did that for better play or they just wore out and were removed.

I found several bulbs rolling around the inside and the rubber for all the bumpers is intact. I suspect someone at some point had done some repair and maintenance.

Now on to cleaning. The inside has plenty of dust and some old mouse turds. I am going to vacuum and blow out nooks and crannies with CO2.

Once complete I will replace the power cord and see what lights up...

PS also found the "payout" schedule.

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Hi all, Its been sometime but I thought I would post on my progress. I have the machine back together. (picture)
- I have repaired and reattached the legs.
- The back was basically ripped off the base from the previous owner(s) so I had to do some basic carpentry repairs and then re-attached.
- We soldered in a new power cord and turned it on....

The machine fired right up and when the ball is is in play it looks and sounds like it is functioning properly. I visually see relays engaging, solenoids snapping, circuit wheel turning (I don't know the lingo, but I hope you know what I mean.) However the only lights that turn on and off with play are the lights currently visible. At this point I am out of my depth. I am going to try and find some local expertise (wisconsin) but if anyone has some ideas please pass them along. Thanks, - D

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Hi There. I did replace the fuses with modern 3 amp (as stamped in the machine). However I did not sand the holder.

When I found the machine the head was disconnected from the back (more like ripped off) and lying on the top with the wiring intact. When I opened the head one of the jones plugs was loose. I have since repaired the head and all the plugs reinserted. I can look at all the plugs and sand lightly. Just seems odd only one set of lights seems to work, so current is flowing but not everywhere.

It is ALIVE and quite well!!! It turned out it was a little more complicated than bulbs or fuses, but luckily I found a local expert to help me out.

After about two hours, and a dozen tries: he found the fault in the general illumination (relay/switch) and it sprang to life. I spent the next several days using up some elbow grease and here is a the result. Surprisingly only 1 bulb is out in the back panel (not in a hurry to replace).

Only other flaws are a "1000 When Lit" trip will not score and the Credit light does not illuminate (socket is out...may need to re-solder). Fixable but not in a rush.

But here it is and it looks fantastic. Thanks for all tips and advice!!

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