That's a fine lookin machine eh. Did ya rewire the backbox too? Did it have one of those old isolating transformers in it that the old Ontario Hydro deemed necessary for public safety?

I picked up this Marathon recently. The front has been painted black, the door ...original? Anybody have a picture of a original design? Also curious on the green legs. Did Gottlieb just randomly paint the legs different colours?

marathon0 (resized).jpg

My game has the original paint on the side, unfortunatly a previous owner decided to touch up the red centerpiece with a bright red rattlecan and let it run down the cabinet.

It's a generic door Here's a qoute from IPDB description of Southern Belle"and indeed the flyer shows the game with the same generic door.
http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2248&picno=4739 All of the hardware has been removed so I'll make a new door for now until I can search out some hardware replacements. Actually I'm kind of lucky the holes are all in the door because a few year later Gottlieb moved the coin holes above the door into the cabinet.

I like that idea, the legs are made of good solid oak I believe. The grain has swollen and cracked the paint, so I am considering sanding off the paint and sealing the wood. I like to use a hemp-oil wood sealer. It's locally made and doesn't smell, get sticky and cures quickly.

My observation regarding the cupped inserts discussion is the game gets played more and has a noticeable better game play after the inserts are filled.

My wife and kids are casual players who play friendly games and accept what they see and the results they get. They have seen the old beaters show up, get cleaned and made playable. Played them accepting the weirdness of the deflections caused by the cupped inserts and still enjoyed themselves.
After I filled the inserts they played the games again, looked at me and asked "What did you do? It's so much more real." For them its like the difference of a new game vs used. Now they have a better understanding of how the game was designed to be played. They are playing more and are more interested in the work I am doing to restore these fine machines.