Upper Saint Clair, PA
My Butterfly was also a LEP - keep in mind the original color of that is an off white cream so it isn't as yellow as you might think
(Topic ID: 130288)
Here is my most recent LEP. $300 and a 30 minute drive. Complete and in nice cosmetic condition. Some PF wear around the 3000 bonus insert. It even has both keys and the schematic. I have a ring kit on order, and haven't set it up yet. I guess $300 is the high end for a EM LEP.
IMG_8867 (resized).JPGIMG_8876 (resized).JPGQuoted from Johnnybee:Here is my most recent LEP. $300 and a 30 minute drive. Complete and in nice cosmetic condition. Some PF wear around the 3000 bonus insert. It even has both keys and the schematic. I have a ring kit on order, and haven't set it up yet. I guess $300 is the high end for a EM LEP.[quoted image][quoted image]
Great Find $300 is a good price in todays market.
Never posted in the thread BUT, I've definitely had a LOT over the years that qualify...
Swing Time I got for free, in trade for fixing another game. Yes, the "ADVANCE" lettering on those pop caps is hand drawn!
Also found two Bally Bumpers, BOTH for less than $100. [PLATE GLASS!] Only have pics of the 2nd one.
Strikes and Spares that I built from parts that I mostly got for free and hoarded for some years. Could not find pictures of that one though and I sold it 2 years ago.
Recently, I built a Gamatron for which I had the PF for over 10 years... The total spent on that game thus far is LESS than $100 but, I do still need a BG or translite for it. (Picture is the BEFORE cleaning picture)
I also count the Tommy I bought last year for $1100. It had a LOT of missing playfield parts that I had to MAKE from scratch, was missing the entire head wiring harness, and probably should not have been brought back BUT, I don't care and I just did it anyway. I spent more in parts on that one than the machine actually cost. I did NOT restore it, just got it working all the way. Left the cabinet all jacked up, just the way I got it. Maybe that's not LEP perfect but I think that any DMD game for that price that is basically screaming to be parted out does qualify.
These were all fun projects and given the chance, I would do each and every single one again. NONE were restorations.
Oh, I also built a Defender from a playfield and did the same with a Harlem Globetrotters. I still have both of those and bring them to shows so people can enjoy them. Those are more "restored" than the games listed above. I have a Funhouse that was 700 and bought an EBD for 600 but, those were both enough years back that those really don't count as a LEP.
Also want to add the comment that these days, it's HARD to find anything that doesn't need massive work in the $1-$500 range.
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Quoted from Johnnybee:Here is my most recent LEP. $300 and a 30 minute drive. Complete and in nice cosmetic condition.
So nice! Congratulations ! I just paid $850 plus cross country shipping for one.
4 weeks later
A year ago I picked up a trashed Jacks Open and a donor cabinet for $200.
FD8A2FF8-AF73-409B-A984-1242ABCC348E (resized).jpeg
I spent about $350 on parts from PBR, a replacement playfield + shipping from Vancouver, some nice used legs and a back door. I think I’m still in LEP territory even with the parts investment.
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Restoration thread here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/salvaging-a-jacks-open-my-first-restoration
1 month later
Quoted from steviechs:Someone scored[quoted image]
Wow. Seriously?
I think this one falls in line with the creed:
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/161109
Quoted from mrm_4:I think this one falls in line with the creed:
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/161109
Saw that, great price and looks pretty good to start with. Thank goodness it ain’t closer!
Quoted from Garrett:Saw that, great price and looks pretty good to start with. Thank goodness it ain’t closer!
I know I wouldve been blowing up the inbox
1 month later
1 week later
Quoted from mrm_4:Paid $150 for this winter project. Not going to do much more than clean and polish it the best I can. Most of the fun will be tracking down replacement bumper caps for this old timer.
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Looks great. Not sure if this cap is correct? Can't read them on the IPDB. Not cheap either but maybe it's an option?
Screenshot 2023-09-20 at 2.17.40 PM (resized).pngQuoted from AlexF:Looks great. Not sure if this cap is correct? Can't read them on the IPDB. Not cheap either but maybe it's an option?
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Thanks in the middle of cleaning and tumbling every piece of mech hardware and hitting every switch with a mini wire brush to bring it back to life.
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The switch contacts are clean enough to eat off!
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Yeah I was eyeing that cap on eBay. 28 bucks for one cap makes my stomach hurt and is against the LEP creed but I might have to get it.
You gotta get it while you can. Don’t wait. If you need/want it and they aren’t making more, you gotta pick it up when one is available.
I’m kicking myself for not snatching up a used El Dorado playfield when I had the chance.
Quoted from DanMarino:You gotta get it while you can. Don’t wait. If you need/want it and they aren’t making more, you gotta pick it up when one is available.
I’m kicking myself for not snatching up a used El Dorado playfield when I had the chance.
The thing that sucks is we all know there’s some dude with a box of 250 of these things out in a garage somewhere just being hoarded and will get thrown away by the grand kids as soon as they pass away.
I respect the parts hoarders for holding on to stuff for the games but at the same time, come on dudes let this stuff go for a good cause. To quote 
LyonsRonnie1 from Joes Classic Video games “Stop parting them out people we need to part them IN!”
Quoted from mrm_4:The thing that sucks is we all know there’s some dude with a box of 250 of these things out in a garage somewhere just being hoarded and will get thrown away by the grand kids as soon as they pass away.
I respect the parts hoarders for holding on to stuff for the games but at the same time, come on dudes let this stuff go for a good cause. To quote LyonsRonnie1 from Joes Classic Video games “Stop parting them out people we need to part them IN!”
Yep. 
At what point do you realize you are just supposed to be a caretaker - not an owner- of this stuff? Answer: too late for most people.
Quoted from mrm_4:Most of the fun will be tracking down replacement bumper caps for this old timer.
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Try posting in this forum. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-em-seeking-parts-thread/page/200#post-7774775
Also try posting in the 3D printing forum as someone may already have a file and be able to print some for you.
Quoted from bluespin:Try posting in this forum. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-em-seeking-parts-thread/page/200#post-7774775
Also try posting in the 3D printing forum as someone may already have a file and be able to print some for you.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-em-seeking-parts-thread/page/199#post-7751714
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-em-seeking-parts-thread/page/200#post-7762852
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/looking-for-red-diamond-bumpers-and-caps#post-7776701
I’m not dismissing 3D printing but I’d rather find an old original ones for this game. We’ll see how many years go by before I cave.
2 weeks later
Quoted from mrm_4:https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-em-seeking-parts-thread/page/199#post-7751714
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-em-seeking-parts-thread/page/200#post-7762852
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/looking-for-red-diamond-bumpers-and-caps#post-7776701
I’m not dismissing 3D printing but I’d rather find an old original ones for this game. We’ll see how many years go by before I cave.
Years? 
2 weeks later
Guelph, ON
Quoted from guard:Can't get much lower then free....
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You have got to be kidding!
Quoted from Garrett:You have got to be kidding!
Nope, plus when I opened the industrial strength coin box there were 5 new balls, leg levelers, springs, fuses, and a coil of unknown origin.....
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1 week later
Great score on the Dragon ---- although given how much I love (or not) to play it. Free is about the right price.
Quoted from guard:Can't get much lower then free....
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Great title
2 weeks later
Quoted from DanMarino:Very cool undrdog! I’m a sucker for those penny pincher machines. It would be pretty cool to operate one. I wonder if they make much money these days.
I did one of those at Disney Orlando last year outside the Universal Monsters store, punched out pennies with the famous monsters on them.
Nice score!
I bet they make good money. When we travel to tourisy places we make sure to bring bright shiny pennies & quarters. I bet lots of folks do.
We fantasize about opening a pinball museum at work when we retire. This could be the first step. That, and finishing all my LEP projects.
Quoted from mrm_4:Thanks in the middle of cleaning and tumbling every piece of mech hardware and hitting every switch with a mini wire brush to bring it back to life.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
The switch contacts are clean enough to eat off!
[quoted image]
Yeah I was eyeing that cap on eBay. 28 bucks for one cap makes my stomach hurt and is against the LEP creed but I might have to get it.
If you go to York or Allentown, there's a good chance you could score some/all of those caps, for about 10 bucks each. Several vendors have caps bins and I've seen a bunch of United caps in them, at least in years past.
Quoted from Dono:If you go to York or Allentown, there's a good chance you could score some/all of those caps, for about 10 bucks each. Several vendors have caps bins and I've seen a bunch of United caps in them, at least in years past.
To your point Murphdom found some at the York show and bought them for me. Check out how it turned out! Had to sand them and paint them.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/1948-united-monterrey-triage-thread-#post-7807050
1 month later
Quoted from DanMarino:Could 2024 be a good year for the Low End Pin Man?
It would be nice. However, I think the average person trying to unload an older EM pin from their basement sees the price of new pins and figures their pin is worth $1500. Nope. Not even close. Same applies for SS pins; just priced higher.
We all hope to find some gems out there. Good luck to everyone!
There’s still some LEPs in the Dallas area. Too bad Im still sticking to my resolution not to get any more projects until the ones I have are done.
Unless a real LEP classic pops up, of course.
2 weeks later
Quoted from Fourtress:Someone got a great deal!
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On top of it being a free game, it is also fun!
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