The glove motor in my resurrected Big Hurt sounded like a coffee grinder attacking a tree. It worked enough to play a game, sorta, but... no. Balks are good for baseball but not motors.

Naturally, while replacement motors for most all GTB Sys3 (and earlier) games are available for $60-75 or so... Big Hurt's alone is $170?! Ouch. So I took it apart and incredibly, all the gears were perfect; the problem was one of the rotor bushings being hogged out. Dammit, where to get something obscure like that?

Now PBR says they can fix these motors for a price... so they surely must have the bushings, right? Having only placed email orders to PBR in the past, I was finally forced to speak to the man, the myth, the legend, after Jimmy demurred my email inquiry and said to call and ask Steve.

Well, my rite of passage was initiated. I can see why Steve is simultaneously revered and feared... but I almost found it refreshing. No bullshit, to the point, old-school interaction with no extraneous touchy-feely corporate-faux-customer-service. I could tell he was a little perturbed by some of my questions, but I thanked him for his patience and answered his own as best as I understood.

I was worried he'd be offended that I was trying to be too cheap to send him the motor, but instead he seemed amused that I wanted to attempt the repair myself. He cautioned that extracting the bearings improperly could damage the housing and was I sure it was OK? I told him as best I could judge, I was willing to accept the risk.

Without skipping a beat he told me the exact bushing I would need and said to append a mention of it to my order when I was ready, he had to dig the correct parts from his personal repair stash at his house anyway.

But when I finished the order and emailed that night, an auto-reply said they were doing phone orders only. So I called the next day and he remembered me, but changed the bushing spec. "Yes, that's not what I said yesterday. I know what I said. That was wrong, this is the right one." LOL.

When my package arrived yesterday I was amused and worried to see that the bushings were labeled as yet *another* different size, not either of the two he mentioned. But they looked right to my eye.

And after installation, the motor is silent and smooth and good as new.

So people give him a lot of grief and I can see why, but on the other hand he's forgotten more about these games than most of us will ever know and in my first interaction, he cheerfully (?) saved me $168. I'd say he's earned the right to run his business as he sees fit, and if you stop and listen you might learn something.

Thanks Steve!

Ha ha... it'll be for more than that since I compiled a few things but yes, DON'T EVER forget the check.

I was actually surprised, since I had him on the phone I said "well, would you prefer I give you a card number or something to just pay it right now before shipment?" and his "no" could not have been any more emphatic with explanation. No cards, never, not accepted. Checks only!

Now THAT right there is something I have never encountered anywhere else in this country, and I've covered a fair bit of time and distance. Most places refuse to even *look* at a check these days, yet here's one that won't take anything else (obviously cash would be fine if you're close enough I suppose).

That one quirk alone is almost worth celebrating, and probably says more about the old-school nature of PBR than anything else.

I used machine screws and locknuts. Don't know the exact sizes (1/4-20 and 6-32?), but there are two different diameters since the motor mount shafts are narrower and the original rivets were different, too. I just happened to have suitable sizes for both dia and length in my random screw bins. The threads completely filled the bore (and may actually have just slightly tapped the housing on the motor end) so there is no slop. Lock nuts keep it all secure. And using removable fasteners makes it easy to service again if needed.

Couple dozen games in and no sign of trouble so far. So nice to have a properly working and quiet motor - the game is a LOT of fun! Nice way for Gottlieb to take their near final bow.