Elvira and the Party Monsters
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Need some help. I just picked up my Elvira, and I'm making my list of needed parts. I'm having one HELL of a time finding the plastic channel at the bottom of the backbox that the backglass sits in. It's an odd shape which no one seems to carry. Does anyone have a source for this stuff?
20210814_221813 (resized).jpgQuoted from billsgto:I could not find this part anywhere.
Quoted from alexmogil:I could not find it either. I was lucky that mine was recoverable.
Quoted from Enchantress:I’ve been looking for that trim forever. Posted for help and heard nothing. Probably on the unobantium list…… unfortunately!
Yeah, still no luck here either. mines pretty rough, but here's my plan. I'm going to smooth down the flat portion that faces the player, and glue a new thin plastic "skin" on it. That will hide all the chips missing on the original face, and no one should ever notice the difference.
Quoted from kyle5574:That’s not just the normal lift channel, right? I’ve purchased lift channels from Pinsider Gatecrasher . He’s got a picture of what he carries in his profile.
No, it's not the backglass lift channel, it's the piece that attaches to the bottom of the backbox that the lift channel sits in. On most games it's called a U channel or H channel.
On a happier note, I just purchased a new playfield, mirrored backglass, and plastics set from CPR. New ramps from Starship Fantasy, and cabinet decals from Gameroom Guys. The fun will begin soon. 
Quoted from guitarded:Nice, Scribbles.
I have a Kruzman finished CPR here waiting its turn. Can't wait to dive in and give mine the treatment as well. Would love to follow your build if you care to start a thread.
There's a wonderfully done resto thread done about 4 months ago by @Alexmogil. My documentation would pale in comparison....lol. I'll be referencing that one alot.
Does anyone have a domestic source for the apron decals? I can't find any in the states.
Quoted from Enchantress:I’m getting all my decals with this next Zitt order. We need a few more to join in!!
I've messaged him. No word back yet.
Quoted from KoolFingers:I got mine from Flipper Fidelity a few years ago. The speakers are a bit different and I had to send him mine. He did a great job and I like them a lot. I’d do pics but at the moment my games are all put up as I’m redoing my game room.
Thanks for the info. I'm finding that there aren't really many options out there, so...
Here's what I plan to do. Enlarge the right side hole so that the panel will hold two 5 1/4" speakers. Wire them in series to create an 8 ohm load, then put in an 8 ohm resistor to end up with a 4 ohm load just like factory. As fat as the sub, factory is 8 ohm, so a dual voice coil 4 ohm speaker will do the trick. Not worried about amplification right now, I just need working speakers that aren't thrashed
Restore is going pretty well. Cabinet and head are basically done. Haven't touched the playfield yet. I think my fix for the plastic below the backglass turned out amazing. Couldn't be happier.
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16305512561054738388890940599152 (resized).jpgQuoted from Enchantress:Completely digging the color on the speaker grill!!
Thanks! I thought it was worth a try. I simply painted the panel behind the grill. Then reinstalled the grill. It mutes the color just right I think.
Quoted from Enchantress:Sorry I lunch boxed…… post 1427! How did you repair?
So, all the damage on my piece was on the portion that faces towards the player, the front face i suppose you could say. Mine had some chunks missing out of it. The repair was super simple. All I did was buy a sheet of 1/16" thick black ABS plastic off of Amazon. I believe it was about 12" x 36" and cost around $20. I then measured the original channel face dimensions and cut a piece of the ABS the same size. Lastly, I roughed up the face of the original plastic and glued the new piece of ABS on it. I used clear silicone as an adhesive. A plastic bonding epoxy would work also. Just be sure to have plenty of clamps or clothespins or something on hand to hold the 2 parts together while they cure. 1/8" ABS is too thick, make sure to use 1/16". Worked wonderfully for me.
1630644574471326643986020991324 (resized).jpgQuoted from Enchantress:Killer job!! Pin is coming along nicely. I’m currently still in the tear down phase on mine. I’ll definitely be referring back to your posted pix. Cheers
Thanks! If you're doing a playfield swap using a CPR playfield, fair warning, the dimples on the back of the playfield aren't even close to correct. I'm having to hand fit every mech and board mounting hole. I did a cyclone swap a while back and it was pretty close to accurate. This one is waaaaay off. If you need any more pics, I have tons of them in my tablet for reference.
Quoted from guitarded:How is the topside? Does it need a ton of drilling,too?
I havnt messed with the topside too much, but from what I have done, it seems fine. The major holes are pretty dead on. And CPR does have a disclaimer on their site about dimple locations not being 100%. But man these are way off. Not complaining as I'd hand fit them anyway, just a warning to anyone who may be attempting their first playfield swap. 
Quoted from alexmogil:The only place I found weirdness on the CPR topside holes was around the Barbecue targets. Everything else was quite good.
Underside I had to do paper transfers nearly everywhere.
I read your entire restoration thread before starting mine. Well done sir!! Very well done.
Quoted from Pinkitten:Gonna be a killer pin when it’s done. I love the colors on the EATPM playfield. Something to be proud of for sure. Someday I’ll attempt a full restore with a new playfield. Right now I’m adding RadCals to my TOTAN and FT. ToTAN has a CPR playfield and FT has a restored playfield with a new clear coat. Your EATPM should be awesome!
I may try some Rad Cals on my BSD this fall. I hear great things about them.
Quoted from Jrotten:Also, The left is larger to clear flip up target mech in my opinion. Every EATPM I’ve seen looking from straight on seem like the right side of this cover is crooked when mounted, Like the right mounting point should be lower. So from left to right the cover seems to be going up hill, has nothing to do with cutouts.
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That cover definitely should not be crooked from left to right. I'm restoring mine now and it was straight at teardown, straight at rebuild. It looks like maybe your post spacer at rear right is too tall, or screwed down in the wrong spot. It's a very tricky tight squeeze back there.
20210920_222028 (resized).jpgQuoted from silen7ce:Looks amazing! Who did the powder coating? I'm going to try to get a similar color when I do mine.
Thanks! I had it done at a local shop about 15 miles from my home. I'm lucky to have a variety of powder shops in my area.
Quoted from guitarded:Damn!
Nice job Scribbles. Now that you worked all the kinks out...When can I send you mine?
Bring it on bud!! I'm ready to do another!
Quoted from Enchantress:Scribbles, start to finish how long did she take you? Or maybe I don’t want to know, mine is creeping along..
I worked from about 6pm to midnight most days. Some weekends I squeezed in a bit more work, some weekends I didn't touch it and partied with the family. I did take some days off here and there. Overall it took about a month. Give or take a few days. I should say I did NOT go to the lengths some perfectionist go to. But I did get pretty thorough. All mechs were taken apart and cleaned, boards cleaned, harness was molexed, new screws/bolts in most places, etc.. Lots of new parts sped up the process.
Quoted from pyrotech:Man that Elvira goods great. Where did you get pinball cards from?
Thank you. I downloaded the files from the apron card thread here, then emailed them to Fedex/kinkos with dimensions. They printed them up on thick glossy card stock for about 6 or 7 bucks.
Quoted from IdahoRealtor:Does he do restoration and artwork touch ups? I thought he just did clearcoats.
Kruzman told me last week he no longer clear coats or works on used playfields. Only new ones or New old Stock.
Quoted from RandyW:PM Sent
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Hey Randy, I've got a fully restored EATPM I'll sell ya for 10k!! 
Quoted from pyrotech:I bought my Eatpm and it had a transit for the backglass. Did it have a true backglass in it or a mirror backglass? Thanks
Just for the record, the CPR mirrored backglass is beautiful.
Quoted from kyle5574:I installed new ramps from Starship Fantasy. My original ramps were still holding up, but they were starting to crack. Install was a bit more work than I expected, but they turned out real nice.
Those ramps are a beast to replace simply because the way they run through the back of the playfield. Looks great when done though. Nice job!
Quoted from aahgo:Hi guys; just curious, what is a realistic price range these days. Thinking of trying to find one.
What condition? With today's prices, I'd say probably 2.5k on a rough one, between 3 and 4k on a players condition, and the sky is the limit on a well restored one. I know I'm nuts, but I would want 7k or so for mine if I were to sell it 
Quoted from KrustyBurger:Beautiful EAPM restore Scribbles! Love your work!
Thanks!
Quoted from guitarded:What did you use for Cab decals, Scribbles.
I need to pick those up and then I think I have everything I need to dive in this winter.
They were included with the machine when I bought it from a friend. He said he bought them on Ebay from ClassicArcades. They were nice and thick. Seemed to be very good quality and they look and fit very nice.
I know I've asked before, and someone did post a pic, but I'm in need of either a source for a new backbox lock assembly, or some very detailed close up pics of an oem backbox lock assembly so I can make one. It appears the originals are no longer available?? Any and all help is much appreciated.
Edit: just found post #1202 from JeffZee. I think I can reproduce his efforts. Still if anyone knows where an OEM or repro set can be purchases, let me know please.
Quoted from kyle5574:I don't know if they're better, but they're definitely the original equipment.
Eye-balling, looks like they might be 1/16" longer than normal Williams bats--at least judging by the ones that I have in my stash. They look longer than that at first because the shaft-side of the flipper extends further past the shaft, closer to the flipper return guide, but when you line them up shaft-to-shaft, the part of the bat that makes contact with the ball is just a tad longer.
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JeffZee posted the patent documentation for the Bally-style "carrot" flippers on his site. Pretty cool. I always thought the marks were just for aesthetics, but they're intended to help the player aim their shots.
http://www.jeff-z.com/pinball/eatpm/pics/pics.html
Patent documentation describes how "increased length and height of the flipper...along with the substantially vertical draft angle provides greater player control of the ball." The Bally-style flippers are definitely taller than Williams flippers by about 1/8". Maybe 1/16" longer once installed. I don't see any difference in angle though.
Well, how about that. I just assumed they were standard length. Now I'm debating about putting originals on my machine. If they're 1/16" longer, that's a total of 1/8" gap reduction. Not as drastic as lightning flippers, but still a decent difference.
Quoted from tdiddy:In the club....all that purple has to go though. I was thinking just warm white leds for G.I. ....what is everyone do?
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I chose cool white GI, color matched inserts. In the backbox I used warm white GI, with cool white flashers.
20210921_215256 (resized).jpgQuoted from tdiddy:On Elvira do you have to modify anything to run led flashers. I thought there was an issue but that might have been a longtime ago
I wasn't aware of any issues and installed all LEDs. 100%. No problems on my machine. I used Comet brand LEDs.
Quoted from pacman11:I'd love to see what color rails you put on your Elvira. Looks like a blood red.
It's a pretty obnoxious glitter red metallic. I think it was called Disco Red or something like that.
20210901_193411 (resized).jpgQuoted from pacman11:Yeah that looks pretty amazing! Love that color better then the greens that I see most people do..
Thanks! It looks better in person. My wife and daughter tease me saying it looks like Dorothy's ruby red shoes...
Quoted from PatWoodrailLVR:Would it be sacrilege to add a center post to Elvira? It looks like (from the top) there is room below the extra ball light.
Why though? It doesn't need one. The game isn't a center drain monster. Personally I would never even consider it.
Quoted from PatWoodrailLVR:I just picked up my second Elvira and the Party Monsters today. It's in great original condition, however it has no playfield mylar. I'm looking to put this pin into commercial service in my restaurant for about 1-2 months. Should I put the Mylar on? (not sure if this is a hardtop? being mostly a woodrail collector I'm not that up on it?)..
If its only going to be on location for a few months, I wouldn't go through the hassle of putting mylar on. If it's an original playfield, clean it up, wax it, and let it rip. If it's a hardtop (does anyone even make a hardtop for this title?), then just put it on location as is.
Quoted from Pickle:OK…thought I would check in this thread first before I purchase but I found a CPR silk screened playfield…..how off are the dimples and any big issues found on these swaps with the CPR playfields? Just want to be prepared once I get started on the swap.
Time to give my game some love…..art is worn off the ELVIRA inserts and a couple others…could put insert decals on but can be tough to line them up perfect and eventually they will probably wear anyway.
The dimples on mine were off pretty bad. Some almost 1/4". Major playfield holes were correct of course. But, I'd highly recommend test fitting each and every mechanism as you go. Mark the correct screw locations with a sharpie, then drill. It's a pain in the ass, but necessary. At least that was my playfield.
Quoted from Jrotten:CPR playfields dimple badly in my opinion. Had this happen on several. My solution was to send it to Ron Kruzman, his work is amazing & you won’t be disappointed. To me CPR’s clear is to soft so it will dimple no matter how long you let it cure. Here is a example of Ron’s work.
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Beautiful playfield, but wrong type of dimples 
I believe he was asking about the accuracy of the dimples on the back of the playfield which indicate where screws should go.
Quoted from SirJellyCat:Technical Issue Question: I recently acquired a lovely Elvira and the Party Monsters. Plays great, all new LEDs and very enjoyable. Playing I realized I was not getting the Wolfman or Elvira sound-bits. Checked all the cables and made sure everything is connected properly and secured. Ran all the diagnostics on the machine and everything is working properly - during the sound test it runs through Elvira and nothing, runs through Dracula and I get his sound and no Wolfman.
I have attached the boards in case someone sees something I do not - I am new and this is my second machine. Everything I am finding and researching sounds like it might have something to do with the Rottendog board specifically with the daughter board since the Music and sound for Elvira and Wolfman go through the daughter board and not the sound board like Dracula does.
Thoughts and assistance is greatly appreciated.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Wolfman sounds?? The only voices I'm aware of are Elvira, Monster slide callout, and Dracula (thank you boys)? And someone shouts Paaaarty!!! at the beginning of multiball. Maybe I'm missing some callouts also??
Quoted from PatWoodrailLVR:Still hoping to get an answer to this.. my Elvira is missing the light and wiring harness over the monster slide, I tracked down a single lamp board but have no idea where it gets wired in. Can anyone steer me in the right direction and let me know where to connect the light? I believe it lights up when a rollover is hit. Not GI.. This is pretty much the last thing I need to do to get it finished. Thanks.
I'll have a look under mine in the next few days when I have time and room. I have a BSD torn all to hell right now. Limited space....lol.
Quoted from SirJellyCat:When I ran the sound diagnostics it had WM - I just assumed but found this list - so wonder if it is cyclops
Elvira:
Hey, Lets Party!
Oh, Deja-VU!
Now We're Cookin'
Don't Touch Me There!!
Oooh, Nice Organ!
How 'Bout Another Ball?
Let's Boooogie!!!
Party Pooper!
Oooh, Monstrous!!!
Oh, Yeah!
Oooh, Jackpot!
Head for the Cauldron!!!
Dracula:
Thank You, Boys!
Get Down, Get Funky!
Lights! Organ!!
Quick, to the Monster Slide!
Quick, to the Cave!
PARTY!!!!!!!
Blah!!!
Skull Lock:
HA HA HA!!!
Cyclops:
Ooooh, YEAH!
Oh, NO!
That list seems to be correct. I do wonder what WM stands for though.
Quoted from JeffZee:List I compiled at the bottom of my rules page...
http://www.jeff-z.com/pinball/eatpm/rules/rules.html
Vocabulary:
(E) = Elvira; (D) = Drac; (C) = Cyclops;
(S) = Skull; (W) = Wolfman
"Hey let's party!"(E) - Start of Game
"Don't touch me there!"(E) - Start Button without Credits
"Now we're cookin'"(E) - Un-Flipped Flip-Up Target
"Oh deja vu"(E) - Un-Flipped Flip-Up Target
"Good Evening"(D) - Un-Flipped Flip-Up Target
"Don't touch me there!"(E) - Flipped Flip-Up Target
"Blah"(D) - Flipped Flip-Up Target
"Hahahaha"(S) - Skull Passage
"Lights; Organ"(D) - Start Multiball; Part 1
"Ooh nice organ!"(E) - Start Multiball; Part 2
"Party!"(W) - Start Multiball; Part 3
"Head for the cauldron!"(E) - After Left Ramp Shot during Multiball
"Quick, to the Monster Slide!"(D) - After Right Ramp Shot during Multiball
"Ooh jackpot!"(E) - Jackpot; Part 1
"Get down, get funky!"(D) - Jackpot; Part 2
"How 'bout another ball?"(E) - Extra Ball Serve
"Oh yeah!"(E) - Monster Slide
"Oh yeah!"(C) - Monster Slide
"Oh no"(C) - Failed Monster Slide
"Let's boogie!"(E) - Start Boogie Men Toy
"Thank you boys"(D) - End Boogie Men Toy
"Quick, to the cave!"(D) - To Skull Passage for 3 Million
"Ooh Monstrous!"(E) - 3 Million
"Party pooper"(E) - Drain
"Oh deja vu"(E) - Enter Initials
"Ooh Monstrous!"(E) - Match
"Hey let's party!"(E) - Random Attract
"Hahahaha"(S) - Random Attract
"Get down"(D) - Random Attract
"Blah"(D) - Random Attract
I've listed five different voices above which may be debatable. Elvira, Drac and the Skull are pretty obvious. The two calls I'm citing as Cyclops are both associated with the Monster Slide ramp switch directly behind the Cyclops plastic. I don't actually know what a Cyclops sounds like, but it seems like a reasonable association. The one call I'm citing as Wolfman sounds different from the other four voices and includes a bit of a howl; kind of a Wolfman-like howl.
Makes perfect sense. So the only Wolfman callout is "Party!" then.
Quoted from Rcarpen22:Hi all. I just picked up an Elvira and the Party Monsters which was at the top of my wish list. Always really liked this game. It's a pretty nice example, but has a few things that need to be addressed. The biggest issue is the left display is cutting off the top line or two of characters. The easiest solution seems to be just go with LED replacements. I did a search on this thread, but did not see any discussion of the relative brands. From a general search of the forum, there doesn't seem to be a significant difference in quality between the various brands (XPin, Rottendog, PinScore, etc.) However, I thought I'd see if anyone here has experience replacing these and which might most faithfully recreate the font/characters and color of the originals. Or just any general opinions on quality and ease of installation. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks
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Before you spend money on displays I'd at least re-seat all connectors associated with the displays and display board. That may (or may not) fix your issue. Congratulations on the wishlist purchase!
Quoted from Jrotten:Some powder coat in Jamaican Ice.
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Nice! Very subtle
Quoted from Rcarpen22:So, I’ve owned EATPM since the end of April and just today got to put my initials in by snagging the 4th highest score. Nothing to write home about at just a shade over 5 million, but I was happy to finally be represented in my own game[quoted image]
Aways a good thing to have ones own initials on ones own machine 
Quoted from Enchantress:I think Cassandra and her party monsters would approve! Thnx brmorr
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Love it!! But look out, the "woke" crowd is gonna show up and lecture you
Can anyone provide me with a source where I can buy a replacement lock assembly for the back glass? My machine came without one, and I can't find one ANYWHERE! Apparently it's an oddball design? Unfortunately I don't even have an old one to look at and maybe fabricate a lock. Any help is much appreciated
Quoted from djblouw:Here's what it looks like. Should be pretty easy to make.
I'm about to start a restore on one, and can take measurements later, if needed.
[quoted image]
Awesome! Thank you! Yes, if you get a chance, shoot me some measurements
Sweeeet!! Thanks everyone! If I'm successful, I'll post some pics for others to reference in the future.
Quoted from Jrotten:I have orange Rottendog ones that are like new that I removed for the green Xpins. If you need those lmk.
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You have a brand new playfield hanging behind there?? Get that sucker installed!! 
Quoted from GraniteStatePin:Hi all, new to the club! Looking for the left sling (take a set if I have to) and upper plastic (ones circled) Let me know if you can help!
Not perfect is ok, just looking to get by, players game for now. If I decide to do it up I'll buy all new later on. thanks
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I should have the left sling if MattElder can't hook you up. The other piece is always broken or missing, so i dont have it. I'll have to dig just a bit to find the spare sling plastic. Just cover the shipping, and you can have it free.
Quoted from Mr_Outlane:So, the "E" and "L" on ELVIRA are always lit at start of game. What is the most likely cause? I'm thinking switch or lamp matrix.
Thanks!
That's normal. It's an adjustable difficulty setting. It spots 2 letters at beginning of game. You can adjust that, and also choose whether earned letters carry over from game to game, or reset with each play. Good news, you don't have to fix anything! 
I must bid farewell to my fellow party monsters group. As of today, my fully restored EATPM has a new home (sort of). I bought it from a friend of mine who deeply regretted selling it. It was ROUGH. I did a full restoration. I mean cab down to bare wood restore. He made me promise if I ever sold it, he got first dibs. Well, I got an EHOH recently and I need money and space for my incoming Scooby, so we agreed on a price. She's now back to her former residence. The good news is, he's local and I can go play it anytime I want. Still hate to see her go...
20210826_223422 (resized).jpg20210828_135630 (resized).jpg20210829_212100 (resized).jpg20210830_213347 (resized).jpg20210921_215440 (resized).jpg20210921_215446 (resized).jpg20210921_215502 (resized).jpgQuoted from guitarded:Damn, Cat. I bet that was a tough one to let go of. How do you like HOH?
HOH is pretty amazing. No lie.
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Knoxville, TN
