Wichita, KS
I would be in for a set. With these, there is motivation to restore my play field.
What about back glasses, Tractor Doc? And talk about those?
(Topic ID: 245201)
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Cheetah
Stern Electronics, 1980
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Many ended up here in the PNW it seems, I've had three over the last decade. Last one was a blue cab that I traded to Blairally who then passed it on to a pinhead in So Cal, the PF on that one was gorgeous and nearly mint! Kinda bummed I let it go, I know of another about 1/2 mile from me, sold it to my buddy 5 yrs ago and now I can't get him to sell it back! LOL, pinball.
Quoted from koji:I suspect there will be a Cheetah for sale soon at John's Jukes (flippers.com), near Vancouver, BC. He has been working on one for a long time. I'm curious to see what he prices his at. Maybe send him a message if you want it and are willing to pay store $ + shipping.
I traded my original Cheetah to Alex at Ice Box arcade in Seattle (Really didn't want to sell it, but he wanted it, and made me an offer I could not refuse), and as some kind of stroke of good fortune, a friend found me another Cheetah locally (I was telling everyone how sad I was), so here I am.. back in the game
I know of one other in BC at another collectors place.
Pretty odd how so many ended up in BC. I think for a while it was undervalued because of the left lane bonus exploit. Honestly, I think this has a lot to do with setup tho, as if you have snappy flippers and a good angle, you can make the shot very difficult to achieve. Still, the tournament rom 'fixes' this, and thus the game seems to be in crazy demand.
Cheetah Plastics are boxed up and on their way to Stu.
Quoted from cottonm4:What about back glasses, Tractor Doc? And talk about those?
No serious talk on back glasses. If the plastic sets sell with some degree of success I bet they would give the glass (and maybe the playfield) a closer look. I'm half scared to ship my nice backglass anyway -- with my luck it will arrive in a 1000 pieces.
Surrey, BC
Quoted from TractorDoc:Cheetah Plastics are boxed up and on their way to Stu.
No serious talk on back glasses. If the plastic sets sell with some degree of success I bet they would give the glass (and maybe the playfield) a closer look. I'm half scared to ship my nice backglass anyway -- with my luck it will arrive in a 1000 pieces.
That is pretty exciting about the plastics.
Thank you!
Quoted from HoakyPoaky:I’m tempted to buy a plastics set & I don’t even own the game yet.
All this time I thought buying parts for games I don't yet have was just a normal part of the hobby. . . does this mean I've been wrong? 
From a serious standpoint, if/when the plastics become available I have a feeling the more CPR sells the more interest they could have in taking on the backglass and playfields. No evidence to support that, just a theory.
Quoted from TractorDoc:All this time I thought buying parts for games I don't yet have was just a normal part of the hobby.
This is why I stay poor. Stocking up when I can instead of waiting until they are not available again. 
Quoted from cottonm4:This is why I stay poor. Stocking up when I can instead of waiting until they are not available again.
You may be poor financially, but at least you are rich in stuff!
Piershil
Quoted from Inkochnito:I'm working on creating a Tech Chart for Cheetah.
I've got the manual file, but not the schematics.
The entry on the ipdb also doesn't have the schematics.
Can anyone here help me (and others) out?
Peter
When I get home today or tomorrow I can scan the Cheetah schematics.
2 weeks later
Cheetah Plastics Update.
I was excited to see a box from CPR arrive via UPS today. After I checked to make sure I had not ordered anything (You never know. . . ) I knew they must be my Cheetah plastics. I opened the box to find my originals and nothing more. I e-mailed Stu and he confirmed they will be producing them but had no timeline just yet. Will have to keep an eye on the CPR website -- but at least we know they will be made! 
4 weeks later
Quoted from Pdxmonkey:Looking for some price advise on a NOS Pf.
Never installed, a couple of inserts are sunken and some small scuffs but would cleanup nice.
Was holding on to it waiting for a game but I’m looking to downsize some stuff nowI would be interested.
Brisbane
NOS Cheetah PF sold on eBay around July 2018. I think it went for 700$ USD plus shipping (1 bid, or maybe it was BiN) (it was from Brazil or something, so this was another $300 or so)
If whoever gets this could do a flat scan of it, that would be of amazing service to us all
Amazing piece.
Here is the old link anyway.. unfortunately, no longer available for viewing:
ebay.com link: NOS Cheetah Stern Electronics Pinball NOS Playfield 1980 ORIGINAL
1 month later
Any updates of cheetah plastics ?
Touched up my playfield and cleared it. Pics before
2C39BD46-76B5-4195-9A54-C4B5989904FB (resized).jpeg2F085D37-FD83-4DC7-ACCB-EBB60CE36CF6 (resized).jpeg546E08BD-28ED-4ACA-AF9F-B8072260F90D (resized).jpeg2F81C49A-F095-43AA-949E-A3D9836DDF16 (resized).jpeg4DF90CEC-8D91-432B-B1F3-5483451E0205 (resized).jpeg5CBD715D-622A-462C-B26A-1FF20EB07789 (resized).jpeg777729A5-B56C-4480-9AB0-8956C1F0F94C (resized).jpeg87B7FA69-A3A0-4CEE-8D93-0D21127667EF (resized).jpegA80B17B5-02D5-4FA8-8261-C7CD864C3A09 (resized).jpegE9F244A0-9A45-423C-91FF-F2FB583EA8B3 (resized).jpegEC7B5F08-A23C-4687-8FFA-41FC51C24B2C (resized).jpegWow well done! Beautiful job on a game worth restoring. That's awesome
Did you document your process somewhere?
Quoted from tatman9999:After. Still needs sanded and small touch ups.[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Wow, I've got a case of Cheetah envy! Nicely done!
Quoted from HoakyPoaky:Wow well done! Beautiful job on a game worth restoring. That's awesome
Did you document your process somewhere?
I only have a few pics. It is all hand painted and auto cleared. Here is a few pics during painting and before clear.
00C6F810-282F-47D8-AA16-E50FCF0641D1 (resized).jpeg03CEAD16-F818-4DE8-A3F1-B73D5B8A5C2C (resized).jpeg5080614A-1F71-4562-84BB-05B9F4B8ECED (resized).jpeg6AF5E9AF-184D-4464-9A24-6739DF880D37 (resized).jpeg79776836-EC3C-4BE2-BD93-56B8B3F86376 (resized).jpegE5DBAE46-6FF8-4C96-B08E-E7C75C213ABE (resized).jpegF3877D34-8CA4-42C6-A848-B18E0B0E36E1 (resized).jpegQuoted from tatman9999:Any updates of cheetah plastics ?
Touched up my playfield and cleared it.
Fantastic Work!
I hope I can get mine half as nice someday.
Nothing on CPR as far as plastics yet, when I had last talked to Stu he said they were focusing on playfields. So hard to be patient. . . especially when you've made such great progress.
Even more impressive for the fact you painted by hand. At least the playfield colors weren't overly complicated
Quoted from HoakyPoaky:Even more impressive for the fact you painted by hand. At least the playfield colors weren't overly complicated
Thanks, got it all together and playing 100% installed green led displays in cheetah and big game. I need apron decals, plastics.
Couple pics.
18A26B25-5B64-47A4-8C2C-3EEDEE0151B7 (resized).jpeg1F5EAD90-934D-4C67-9BB6-6B059FC5F74A (resized).jpeg3150E4E3-A34E-46D7-AA65-024653DCADD7 (resized).jpeg3D1A3C2F-CA40-4DA8-8146-A7BB57BC8EF7 (resized).jpeg67F5F35E-DEB9-4564-A135-0E01DE05A0E1 (resized).jpeg6BA4F69A-07A7-46B6-ADCD-9B3EE176FF4B (resized).jpeg9EFDFFC7-0949-4D1F-94DB-261C8D9597DF (resized).jpegDC9900B4-5502-43C7-BD62-10AD4C5BACC0 (resized).jpegQuoted from DK:Anyone got a cheetah for sale? Shoot me a PM!
No, actually shoot it to me.
Quoted from getadam:No, actually shoot it to me.
I will go $100 higher than these clowns!
Quoted from kidchrisso:I will go $100 higher than these clowns!
How’d you know I was a professional clown?
Quoted from tatman9999:Couple pics.[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Get ready for a new acronym: That play field is JFB !
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It is hard to see with your pics but I can see that your inlane plastics are broken. They are supposed to come to a point just behind the flipper base circle. From what I can see, you are going to have problems with the ball getting caught between the flipper base circle and the sling plastic.
I know you cannot buy Cheetah plastics but you can make some from clear Lexan to keep ball flow going.
A guy with a F2K made some clear plastic inlane plastics to sit below the pretty factory plastics. Those take the ball impact and save the factory units.
49a56cf989dc260c13999fcd5c895476a98fe5c3 (resized).jpg
Also, the rubber that sits behind your 3-place drop target needs to be in front of the post behind the middle target. When the middle target is down you want the ball bumping into the rubber and not the post. You will shatter that post if you leave it uncovered.
Quoted from cottonm4:Get ready for a new acronym: That play field is JFB !
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It is hard to see with your pics but I can see that your sling shot plastics are broken. They are supposed to come to a point just behind the flipper base circle. From what I can see, you are going to have problems with the ball getting caught between the flipper base circle and the sling plastic.
I know you cannot buy Cheetah plastics but you can make some from clear Lexan to keep ball flow going.
A guy with a F2K made some clear plastic sling plastics to sit below the pretty factory plastics. Those take the ball impact and save the factory units.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/flight-2000-club-members-and-fans-welcome/page/13#post-5421618
[quoted image]
Also, the rubber that sits behind your 3-place drop target needs to be in front of the post behind the middle target. When the middle target is down you want the ball bumping into the rubber and not the post. You will shatter that post if you leave it uncovered.
[quoted image]
Not sure what plastic you are talking about. My sling plastics are nice. The out lane plastics are broken on mine. I put the rubber behind the middle post because drop target was not going down on a hard hit, is there a fix for that? Here is a few pics
5989669C-F86D-4645-AED2-D8340DF68398 (resized).jpegBD50F1BF-2321-474F-A1EE-A8EBF0117C3A (resized).jpegBEEB4512-3515-41EF-A249-DABB7BE910EE (resized).jpegDFC0D1AE-5E12-4C33-B56A-B4779496A917 (resized).jpegYou probably just need to shave down some plastic on the nub of the drop target that makes it sit on the ledge when its in the up position.
Quoted from tatman9999:Not sure what plastic you are talking about. My sling plastics are nice. The out lane plastics are broken on mine. I put the rubber behind the middle post because drop target was not going down on a hard hit, is there a fix for that? Here is a few pics[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
I meant to say inlane plastics. I have made corrections to me post. Thanks.
Quoted from kidchrisso:You probably just need to shave down some plastic on the nub of the drop target that makes it sit on the ledge when its in the up position.
What he said.
=================
Here is something else to consider looking at. What I have observed with the Sterns that I have is that they are not assembled with a high degree of precision, meaning one particular part on your pin might be located a little differently on my pin.
So, look at your drop target closely. IMO, it should be located in the play field slot as forward as it can possibly be. To explain, when the targets are up they should be as close to the edge of the slot as they can get with out touching wood. If they are sitting back in their slot just a little, this gives the back side of the drop target less room to fall back cleanly and drop down.
You maybe can shave some target from the back side as kidchrisso stated.
Or maybe you need to remove the drop assembly, fill the 4 holes that it locates to and move the assembly forward and re-drill the locating holes to get the clearance you need. And to do that you may need to remove that big old heavy play field.
And this, perhaps use one size smaller rubber ring that will stretch tighter and end up with a smaller diameter which could give you extra clearance.
And you might try the white Titan rubber rings. I think the whites might be a little bit smaller than the frosted rings you have on. I say this because I replaced a standard rubber on one of my pins with a white Titan and I could no longer make my flipper passes. I replaced the white Titan with a frosted Titan and now I can make my flipper passes.
One other option is to move the posts backward .010" to .020" inch. I had to relocate some posts on my Nine Ball due to a clearance issue.
It is a beautiful Cheetah. I am anxious for you to tell us how you like the play action.
Quoted from tatman9999:Thanks I will check this. Thanks. What do you think the value of this cheetah is?
Pretty sure you could get at least $2500 or more depending on condition. There is a definite demand and a very limited supply...
Quoted from tatman9999:Thanks I will check this. Thanks. What do you think the value of this cheetah is?
If I wasn't cash negative at the moment I'd make you an offer right now. Bad timing.
Also awesome news on that plastic set. That's going to make a lot of people happy.
Quoted from koji:Cheetah plastics up on cpr now! Sorry if this is old news I just found out and just about fell over.
Must be a recent addition -- I had checked this weekend and they were not available yet.
Had hoped they would provide extras of the lane guides / slingshot plastics as they do in other sets with the more vulnerable pieces. May just have to make some protectors for those areas.
Now if we could get them to take my playfield for scanning/reproduction. . . 
Quoted from TractorDoc:Must be a recent addition -- I had checked this weekend and they were not available yet.
Had hoped they would provide extras of the lane guides / slingshot plastics as they do in other sets with the more vulnerable pieces. May just have to make some protectors for those areas.
Now if we could get them to take my playfield for scanning/reproduction. . .
Yeah, thanks so much for making that happen. Completely agree, especially for the price, some extra plastics would have been nice.. Still, I ordered away, b/c Cheetah
Quoted from tatman9999:Thanks I will check this. Thanks. What do you think the value of this cheetah is?
From what I have seen in Pacific North west, a working Cheetah should be at LEAST 2.5k, but probably closer to 3k or higher as the condition moves up. The demand is there for sure, and the supply is short. At the same time, it depends where you are, and what the market is like. This price range excludes a lot of casual buyers for an old SS game for sure. I can't assess yours precisely from photos, it looks like the color might be slightly spotty in some areas? or quite likely just the reflection or photo? If you belive the PF and Glass to be 8/10 or higher, and the machine is otherwise clean, you could try for quite a bit more, but your audience def. gets smaller, so won't be a quick sell.
Quoted from TractorDoc:Must be a recent addition -- I had checked this weekend and they were not available yet.
Had hoped they would provide extras of the lane guides / slingshot plastics as they do in other sets with the more vulnerable pieces. May just have to make some protectors for those areas.
Now if we could get them to take my playfield for scanning/reproduction. . .
Doc, thanks for getting the ball rolling on the Cheetah plastics. I will need to buy a set. And then I will need to restore my play field. And then I need to score a back glass and build a cabinet.
I have 7 classic Sterns in my house. Why am I always broke? 
Quoted from koji:From what I have seen in Pacific North west, a working Cheetah should be at LEAST 2.5k,
2 years or so ago, I asked the same question. What is a Cheetah worth. I was told less than $1000.00 and that it would not be to my financial advantage to restore my populated play field.
And now, look where we are.
Quoted from koji:From what I have seen in Pacific North west, a working Cheetah should be at LEAST 2.5k, but probably closer to 3k or higher as the condition moves up. The demand is there for sure, and the supply is short. At the same time, it depends where you are, and what the market is like. This price range excludes a lot of casual buyers for an old SS game for sure. I can't assess yours precisely from photos, it looks like the color might be slightly spotty in some areas? or quite likely just the reflection or photo? If you belive the PF and Glass to be 8/10 or higher, and the machine is otherwise clean, you could try for quite a bit more, but your audience def. gets smaller, so won't be a quick sell.
My back glass is an 8
Here is the playfield that is clear coated with auto clear. Has altek boards.will have new plastics soon.
1E834C17-A36E-45EC-9881-C25F33DD8A5D (resized).jpeg694A8B53-2282-44B5-B48D-58A0E97B6B9C (resized).jpeg6C22272E-EAE1-4F63-A754-D2E6976C322A (resized).jpeg9660D176-44D4-4D69-8904-8A76FF69EFF7 (resized).jpegAAA2B828-9CCF-4F9F-8AD6-80C2E2CAC86E (resized).jpegCAD6F4BC-BE0E-4F44-84CC-5964DE4FCDEA (resized).jpegEB9C5399-835F-4809-BEEA-3EF5BC494875 (resized).jpegQuoted from cottonm4:Does anybody have a Cheetah back glass they could send to BG Resto?
Short answer -- Yes.
I just have to build up confidence in the shipping company to send my very nice and near perfect original without damaging it. The framed option is less than perfect (look below the Player 1 score window); not sure if its enough to work with for Stu but I'd be much more comfortable sending it.
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