If the original paint is still under Mel and Zel and Maureen, why not try and strip down to that?

I have a similar project in my future with one of my machines, and I'm a little reluctant to start, so I can sympathize either way.

The date and the five digit number has got to be a high score.

I just thought of something --- what if your pinball machine is actually a time-traveling machine, and if you achieve 65,500 points, you get sent back to Nov. 10th, 1976?

Think about it - why else would it be called "Post-Time..."

And all those names painted on the side must be names of travelers who have disappeared into the past...

Rando, bon voyage! Be careful, and we'll be watching the thread to see if "Rando" appears in the photo....

♪♫ cue eerie music ♪♫

Woot, congrats, and excelsior!

Rando, did you solve this already?

I took another look at your video. The first few times that the chime solenoid fires, there's a corresponding relay that also fires, below the chime box. Then, at the exact moment that the chime solenoid locks up, the relay directly below the solenoid fires and stays closed. It had not fired before that. Might be good to take a look at what controls that second relay...?

Yeah, it sounds like the ball count unit. Make sure that the contacts are centered on the rivets. If the contact is slightly "ahead" of the rivet, it could behave as you're describing, and intermittently too.

Since you asked about your springs: I don't think you'll need to replace the springs. If you manually activate the plungers and the unit steps up and all the way back down with no hesitation, don't mess with them. If it's a little sluggish, cutting a few turns off the long springs or tightening up the center "clock" spring by one turn can fix that. But that doesn't sound like your issue -- you said it's dropping balls, as in skipping from ball 1 to ball 3 and that kind of thing? Follow other people's answers above and you should be fine. If not, report back.

Dude. Phenomenal job.

So long, Zel. So long, Mel.

Maureen, I think I'll miss you most of all.

Nice job, Rando!