Ottawa, ON
Quoted from Captive_Ball:Yellow "patina" not good for pinball plastics?
AKA Nicotine 
(Topic ID: 48888)
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Centaur
Bally, 1981-
Centaur II
Bally, 1983
Topic Gallery
Quoted from Cheddar:I've been playing around with the idea of a centaur spinner. I found a spinner from a Pinball Magic that has about the right dimensions and dry fit it in. My goals are to wire it into an existing target (maybe one of the 10 point rebounds or the switch behind the OR) without requiring any playfield modification.
It's a very satisfying rip and doesn't hinder the flow to the lanes
Please once completed I would love to know how to do this, always wished Centaur had a spinner. Great idea. 
Lodi, CA
Quoted from Hazoff:Please once completed I would love to know how to do this, always wished Centaur had a spinner. Great idea.
Will do. I'm thinking about moving the mounting arm up and mounting the switch upside down in a normally closed configuration.
Spinner update: managed to find a decent switch placement and with a little manipulation get it to mount to the post on the left. Needs some washers to hold it upright. Got some spinner rips and felt right at home.
Checking the switch placement out to see if the glass would clear and problem! The whole assembly is too tall and the glass drags on it! D'oh!
I grabbed a quick vid.
I'll start looking at other ballys for spinner ideas
In the club today, bought Mitch's Centaur.
If anyone needs a CPR playfield let me know. This is a STANDARD Version from 2010. The GOLD, SILVER and BRONZE system was not used back then.
http://classicplayfields.com/photo74.html
1 week later
3 weeks later
Yes, we are desperately trying to this is ready for our YEGPIN show so many people can enjoy it, I forgot to take pictures of this section when we did the swap and it can be a little tricky to put back together so any suggestions or help would be awesome!!!!
Quoted from Stretch7:I could really use a pic of underside and top side of Ball trough if someone can supply me with a few pics would be greatly appreciated.
iron00monkey your the man!!!! Thanks, next time I know to take pictures of everything, my bad there... Will post pictures when it is fully assembled going to look pretty sweet!!!!
I have been taking mine apart over the weekend. Happened to see this thread.
I might need your guys' help, pics when I put mine back together.
-Scott
1 week later
Quoted from eh97ac:Anyone know where to get the rubber stops for the pf hangers?
Marco has the rubber post caps that Centaur uses. I think they are available in black too.
2 weeks later
I'm rebuilding a barn find Centaur, and have run into a few hiccups. For the gate at the upper right on the playfield, I'm missing the wire form. Does anybody know a part number for it, or provide a few pictures so I can make one? Also, does the top of the gate assembly just hang out there under the plastic with no support?
I also am looking for a light shield plastic that goes to the left of the left flipper. Mine is cracked, and missing a metal barrel that is attached to the plastic. I would prefer a used one to match the patina of the rest of the yellowed plastics. Thanks for the help.
the gate from the shooter lane is ASE-2250-99. Here's a list of the playfield pieces. Note: some of the components don't match production. http://www.planetarypinball.com/reference/partsmanuals/BLY_Parts_1981/index.html#/42/zoomed
Not sure what you mean hang out. Can you send a pic?
Quoted from Cheddar:Spinner update: managed to find a decent switch placement and with a little manipulation get it to mount to the post on the left. Needs some washers to hold it upright. Got some spinner rips and felt right at home.
Checking the switch placement out to see if the glass would clear and problem! The whole assembly is too tall and the glass drags on it!
I'll start looking at other ballys for spinner ideas
Please create a new thread for this. It's too awesome.
-mof
Cheddar - Thanks for the information. I am really looking for just the wire form that is used on the gate. An example is Marco's #12-6565 - I am not sure if that's the one I need.
I won't be back to the machine until the weekend - I'll post a picture of the gate assembly then. By hanging out, I mean the gate assembly toward the top of the machine has no support underneath it. It juts out under the playfield plastic, and is only anchored by screws on one end of the gate assembly. I am used to both ends of a gate being supported, not just one end.
Quoted from Billc479:Cheddar - Thanks for the information. I am really looking for just the wire form that is used on the gate. An example is Marco's #12-6565 - I am not sure if that's the one I need.
I won't be back to the machine until the weekend - I'll post a picture of the gate assembly then. By hanging out, I mean the gate assembly toward the top of the machine has no support underneath it. It juts out under the playfield plastic, and is only anchored by screws on one end of the gate assembly. I am used to both ends of a gate being supported, not just one end.
I have the same thing on my Centaur that I'm working on, and was wondering also if it was standard.
yeah that one is way too short. It's a simple bend and you can use almost any other gate as a template just make it longer.
I looked at mine and sure enough the upper end is not anchored to anything. Mine is tucked part way under the plastic.
Here's some pics
2016-05-04_08.51.02_(resized).jpg2016-05-04_08.50.44_(resized).jpg
Sana'a
Quoted from vid1900:http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/12-WS-KIT
This is all you need to bend your own wire gates.
This is fantastic. Thanks for the link!
2 weeks later
Launceston
I'm on the lookout for a Centaur so I can join the club, wondering if anyone here has fitted a Playfield Protector to their Centaur and what they thought of the outcome? http://www.bestofpinball.de/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/636/products_id/12760
I have a Flintstones and PinBot and have put protectors on both of those and like the result, it smooths out the playfield from any slightly raised or sunken inserts. Does Centaur often suffer from insert movement?
Wondering how the protector works as Centaur has the roll overs, inline drops and the outlane bounce posts etc that might be affected by the overlay?
If the overlay works fine then I will not need to be as fussy about the playfield when looking for one.
Quoted from Rat:I'm on the lookout for a Centaur so I can join the club, wondering if anyone here has fitted a Playfield Protector to their Centaur and what they thought of the outcome? http://www.bestofpinball.de/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/636/products_id/12760
Wondering how the protector works as Centaur has the roll overs, inline drops and the outlane bounce posts etc that might be affected by the overlay?
I have a playfield protector on my Centaur and it seems to work quite well with no effect on gameplay. The star rollovers work just fine. Every once in while (very infrequently) the ball will "hang" on the edge of the protector just below the left or top star rollover if the ball is moving very slowly. No noticeable effect on outlane bounce posts. I have not seen any impact in the Queens chamber inline targets, but given that area of the playfield gets little action, you could remove that part of the protector if it caused an issue.
The only issue I had is that I had to trim a bit at the top to fit around one of the wire forms. I trimmed too much and now the protector slides a bit at the top. Does not affect gameplay, but hopefully the motion is not wearing my playfield. Net, net, I am very happy with it.
4 weeks later
My Centaur Restoration:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/good-move-human-centaur-restoration
I have another one for sale here:
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/ad/35997
2 weeks later
If anyone has the home roms installed on Centaur need some troubleshooting help... A picture is attached on the showing how I have put placed my dip switches, and the version number when I fire up the machine is 27 so everything should work as advertised. But when testing my bonus countdown does not reset when you hit 20 or 40. Can someone let me know what I am doing wrong as it does not seem to be working...
2 weeks later
I'm in!!! Even tho it's a 2 owner HUO I cleaned it up and put some money in it to get it to my own personal satisfaction! Love it!!
Wow BladeFury, that's a stunning unrestored machine.
In other news: Woop Woop!! CPR Centaur playfields are in the clearcoat stage. Won't be long now!!
Quoted from jibmums:Wow BladeFury, that's a stunning unrestored machine.
In other news: Woop Woop!! CPR Centaur playfields are in the clearcoat stage. Won't be long now!!
Sweet might have to get me one!!!!
I am about to have a Centaur (full sized original) shipped to me from a private seller via Michelle at NAVL (or whatever the freight company is called).
Does anyone have packing / prep advice for this model of machine to help ensure it arrives cross country unscathed? I was assuming the following:
- legs on (firmly)
- bubble wrap behind and in front of the back glass
- balls out (insert pun)
- head box down with padding between it and the playfield glass and steel trim.
- mummify in stretch wrap
Is that about it?
Quoted from calico1997:Is that about it?
Keys not left in head where they can snap off (don't ask, I didn't do it)
-mof
New question: as a soon-to-be Centaur owner, every game has its things that always go bad and need to be bullet proofed. This is my first Bally of this era. I had a Black Hole for example and the repairs on that game are legendary. So what should I check and preventively do for this machine, especially electrically? Are there some recommended pin repair web links pertaining to this series of Bally? The owner says everything works but those are often the famous last words. 
Quoted from calico1997:New question: as a soon-to-be Centaur owner, every game has its things that always go bad and need to be bullet proofed. This is my first Bally of this era. I had a Black Hole for example and the repairs on that game are legendary. So what should I check and preventively do for this machine, especially electrically? Are there some recommended pin repair web links pertaining to this series of Bally? The owner says everything works but those are often the famous last words.
SDB, MPU and rectifier covered. Check all the fuses upon arrival to make sure they are correct and/or not a piece of foil, bullet, screw or nail. 
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-quick-bally-driver-board-repair-bulletproofing
Denmark
I unexpectly joined the club about a week ago.
Pulled this Centaur from a garage - had been with the previous owner for 17 years. Not working, stored for years.
Previously routed, but overall very nice - playfield mylar protected, that should be removed some day. A little wear at the top orbit from shooter.
Say-it-again board not working - guess one of those replacements are the way to go.
A shorted tip102 and a new coil and the game plays.
Still needs to be shopped throughly.
I saw this game some years ago with someone I bought a pin from, and was impressed by the looks of it, but was'nt really into the pre-dmd games then, but that moment opened my eyes for older games. Many really beautifull games from that area without the typical 90 family friendly or cartoonish appearence.
Was'nt really looking for it, but this basically fell into my lap - what a great day.
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