Just an update since I haven't made one in a bit, I warned up top that I’m slow…

I thought I mentioned this at the beginning but it doesn’t look like it, the motivation for this restoring this particular machine is as a gift for my father-in-law. He’s in his 80’s, and he, like his daughter, is a Pinball fan. But he wasn’t crazy about my newer machine that he tried, I think there was just too much going on. He’s also a big horse racing fan, and goes to the track pretty much every day. Enter this horse racing themed EM pin that needed some work and this looks like a perfect gift for him, if I can get it presentable. And it serves as a nice test project for me to see if I can play on these over time.

So far so good. Her entire family came over this weekend and she wanted to show them the machine, so I quickly finished replacing all the remaining rubbers, put the backglass back in, got the apron and glass back on, and moved it into position next to my existing machine.

At first glance, it doesn’t look that bad! Slightly smaller, but good stance, and lights up nice with the houselights dimmed. Fired it up and he played a bunch of games and seemed to love it. He’s a big shaker, meaning that he constantly moves the machine while playing, something I know many do but I currently haven’t picked up yet. He actually stood to the side and shook the machine from there while watching his wife play which was fun to watch. And he got the high score of the night with about 19k, which was great to see.

So I need to get moving and wrap this up so we can transport, but so far the gift looks well received. On list to do:
- Need to replace existing power cord, current one is sketchy and I’m not sure how my wife will take it if I burn their place down
- Need to install an on/off switch, current is missing and I can’t have him bending down to plug/unplug it (Does this need to be original or would a more modern switch be ok?)
- Left flipper (not the one I fixed) is weak and buzzes
- Cabinet paint
- Replace the Bell solenoid, it isn’t 100%

But it played good, scored good, sounded good, and looked pretty good. And it’s fun, I’ll be sad to see it go, but that’s the motivation to try it again, isn’t it?

Thanks for help so far all.

The good news: I replaced the springs and rubber on the plunger, works great.

The bad news: I played a game and managed to get the chimes to lock up (previous issue noted above as old coil was burnt out). It looks like if targets are hit in a quick/repeated manner, it locks on, until game is tilted or reset. Video link below:

It doesn't seem to be a common issue, and is a lot easier to do by hand, but I did manage to get it to happen in game when the ball repeatedly bounced between a bumper and rollover.

Not sure of next step?

Hi all,
Moving slowly here. I have not yet resolved the chime locking issue above, but I also haven't had it occur again when playing live. So keeping an eye on it but putting on back burner.

I did rebuild both flippers with new bushings, coil sleeves, plunger/links, and plunger stops. Both flippers working great and quite happy about that.

My wife likes the game and what I work on is determined by what causes her the most frustration. It was the flippers, now it is the occassional loss of a ball.

Sometimes, not consistant, the ball count will drop by 2 instead of 1 when the ball drains. Doesn't happen every ball, and doesn't happen every game. I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary leading up to it happening. I'm guessing it's registering as draining twice instead or once, or trying to fire the ball to the plunger twice instead of once for some reason?

Looking for insight on what to check or look at. Problem with this one is it's inconsistant, and I can't "make" it happen, so I'll only know it's fixed after some extended gameplay.

Thanks all!

God I'm slow...

Ok, below I've provided pictures of the front and back of what is labled in the backbox as my Ball Counter.

Regarding the springs, i'm seeing springs on the frontside, would I be looking to replace all of those springs, or just some? At a glance, how does it look? Note that it "usually" works ok, will drop a ball or two every couple of games.

Regarding the contacts on the rivets, am I seeing those on the backside? Assuming I need to loosen that center screw to enable those to move/rotate a bit? Do the contacts move during a game? I'll have to watch the back. At a glance, how does it look?

Thanks for feedback all,

counter1.JPG counter2.JPG

Finally got to repainting the machine. Below are Before and After pics as well as the reference pic I used. As stated earlier I aimed for "Close enough" rather than exact.

newcab.jpg

Thanks Text & Jeremy,
It cleaned up good and I got to have some people play it this weekend and it performed well.

Right now I have it setup for Add a ball, but the extended is different and I will likely switch to that to see how it feels and how well it works. Deciding factor on which mode to stick with is my wife so we'll see which she likes better.

Haven't tested that feature yet though, hoping it works!

Question for you Jeremy,
I see by your collection that you have a Post Time (Awesome, how is the condition? Any issues?) and Jungle Queen. I have a Jungle Princess (2 player version of 4 player Queen) that I'm waiting for delivery on. I have very little experience on EM machines. How is that as a player, how does it compare to Post Time which I enjoy?

Thanks!

Hi all,
I just wanted to wrap up this thread and thank folks for their help and guidance. While I didn't take every bit of advice I was given, every comment was useful in helping me to move forward. I didn't clear up every issue (the game will drop a ball every now and then but infrequent) but I learned a lot and it is now a smooth and fun player.

The goal of this particular machine and the reason I was so happy with the theme was that this was a gift for my father-in-law. He is a fan of betting on horses, and hits the track almost every day. He is also a fan of pinball from playing back in the day. I would think a group of these or similarly themed machines would make a killing if routed at a track today.

I delivered the game this weekend, impressed everyone that I was able to move and set it up myself, and then had a scare when the backbox didn't light (connection cable was too tight, loosening it helped) and another when the ball feed wouldn't kick. Poked around for 30 minutes and eventually tripped the extended play (kicks back back onto field) switch which isn't used in current configuration, which then enabled ball return to work again. Wife questioned "You don't really know how you fixed it, do you?" to which I replied "I know HOW I fixed, I just don't know WHY I had to fix it."

Fun was had by all, I hope they can remember how to turn it on, and below are pics (If I can figure out how to upload pics in this new forum...) of a little old lady playing pinball, and the new owner alongside his daughter (my wife) showing off her new/current high score.

Thanks all!

PT1-171.JPG
PT2-255.JPG

Ha,
I meant to bring my floor protectors but forgot them. Temporary solution is folded paper towels which I'm sure will protect that nice carpet.

There will likely be some movement though, I forgot to highlight that my Father-in-law constantly moves/shakes the machine. I actually removed the weight from the tilt to help him out. He shakes the machine from the moment he shoots the ball. I haven't seen any evidence that his shaking is helping his game out, but he gets a workout.