So the bends basically are just raising the 'up' position of the targets, right? The targets only have a small nub in the center that catches on those bent edges. If that's the case I can't figure out why this would have a noticeable effect on bricking(?)

Maybe the bend actually really is reducing how much of the target's nub is grabbed, because of the way the edge is bent.

Like this... but it's a tiny bit exaggerated.

I really can't see the 'ramp' effect having an effect. The target's nub is flat on the bottom. When the target is hit it's still only going to travel horizontally along whatever edge it is resting on, bent or not.

I worked on some Stern and Bally drop units but never noticed this kind of bending so my guess is it is not factory.

160619-blue8 (resized).jpg

The 'bump' means the target latches a tiny bit higher too, so they should spring downward a tad faster too. And being a little higher it could be slightly changing the leverage point on the target when it is bent back by a hard hit, how it is hitting the rubbers behind it etc. Could be a combination of effects I guess.

I tried that on one of my Lightning's center drop targets, couldn't really see any improvement. And other things like stronger springs. Never have been able to completely lick the problem.

Even with Swinks targets, the center bank was still bricking on my 81 Lightning. That bank gets mercilessly hammered on this game, with the factory flippers needed to make the ramps. Not as much as the repro hooded targets, but still bricked sometimes. The above-mentioned trick I tried was on the metal drop target ledge - I sanded the top edge with very fine sandpaper to remove any possible roughness and polished the ledge shiny with buffer wheel and polish. Those ledges were simply punched out at the factory and not 'finished'.

I can tell the difference when pushing the targets with my finger, target moves smoothly before dropping. Before they felt hitchy/grabby as they moved off the ledge. In fact after the smoothing I found one of the Swinks target's ledge nibs had gotten so chewed up by the previously rough ledge, now it wouldn't even stay up on resets!! I attribute this to that particular spot on the ledge being extra rough + the somewhat stronger springs I had installed months ago. Other two targets were fine. Bricking seems to be much rarer now, not annoying me anymore. I figure the unfinished edge of the ledge was helping the targets get snagged as they bounced forward after a hard hit. Should also prevent excessive wear on the target nibs especially if you are using stronger springs. Not saying this is a total fix, but it helped.