Emerald Isle, NC
Cab looks fantastic! I'm jealous. 
Dan
(Topic ID: 25521)
Linked Games
F-14 Tomcat
Williams, 1987
Topic Gallery
Longueuil, QC
1 month later
Some more updates, got the main wiring back into the cabinet, along with the rebuilt mech panel.
Started sanding/repairing the backbox and threw the playfield up on the rotisserie. I have been stripping it down. Got the top 90% stripped and about 10% on the bottom.
Youll have to excuse the dirtiness on the walls/inside of the cabinet. I haven't washed them down, after spending hours in there with my grubby hands installing the wiring/mech panel again.
The loose wires in the front are for the lighted flipper buttons, I haven't routed the wires for them yet. Adding a new connector to the wiring harness so they look like they were always supposed to be there.
Next up, all the board work I have to do. All connectors are getting swapped out, and the HV power supply is being rebuilt.
Cabinet_Front.jpg Cabinet_Wiring_1.jpg Cabinet_Wiring_2.jpg Backbox_Sanded.jpg
Beautiful job. You are inspiring me to redo mine now.
The black satin paint looks like what I want to go with. Did you use an enamel, water base or what? What brand too. I am concerned about which paint to use to make sure I avoid any lifting of paints below it.
Wow, that looks fantastic. Where did you get the colored flexible tubing to run the wires in? Nice touch...
Wire Loom, you can get on amazon or any hardware / auto parts store...
http://www.amazon.com/Install-Split-Loom-Inch-Foot/dp/B005V9UU1O/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
2 weeks later
Got some board work done, and been working on redoing all of the IDC connectors on the harnesses, and getting the harnesses themselves all sleeved up.
Here are some pics of the power supply board, I rebuilt the HV section using the kit/parts from GPE, and replaced the headers with new ones from pinball life.
I also threw in a pic of my chosen weapons for reworking these boards, a Weller WESD51, and an Aoyue 474A+.
PowerSupply_BeforeRebujild.jpg PowerSupply_AfterRebujild.jpg BoardWorkWeapons.jpg
Quoted from Wolfmarsh:I also threw in a pic of my chosen weapons for reworking these boards, a Weller WESD51, and an Aoyue 474A+.
How do you like your desolder station versus a Hakko 808? I'm still limping along with the 808 because I've never found a definitive better choice.
Quoted from Marc:How do you like your desolder station versus a Hakko 808? I'm still limping along with the 808 because I've never found a definitive better choice.
I've never used a 808, so I can't really compare the two.
I do love mine though, for what it's worth. I've desoldered thousands upon thousands of joints with it.
Quoted from pinballfan:after rebuilt your board,the power is better?
Don't know yet. 
Haven't gotten everything assembled to the point where I could test it all.
Every IDC connector is being replaced with a new one, so all of the other boards have yet to be done as well. I'll probably be getting to those in the first 2 weeks of february.
Quoted from Marc:How do you like your desolder station versus a Hakko 808? I'm still limping along with the 808 because I've never found a definitive better choice.
Hakko's 472 bench station with 802 gun is a nice upgrade of an 808. Lighter, so fatigue is less of an issue. I have 2 of the 472s with 802 guns on my bench, with different tip sizes.
The downside? It's not being produced anymore. Both of mine led very long lives in commercial use. A rebuild with ~50 in parts per unit gets them working just like new... assuming the heating element in the 802 gun is good, and doesn't include the $15 tips. The tips are the same ones your 808 uses, and properly maintained, will provide at least a years worth of use at the frequency I use them - which is more than the average hobbyist, but less than a professional board repair shop would.
There are other options as well, depending on what sort of investment you're willing to make. The 472 fits me well. I keep an 808 in my 'in home service' toolbox, too.
That Aoyue looks like someone reverse engineered the Hakko 802 gun, which is VERY likely. I tried some Hakko knock-offs made by Circuit Specialists years ago, and they were JUNK. I've heard better things about Aoyue, though.
Quoted from johnwartjr:That Aoyue looks like someone reverse engineered the Hakko 802 gun, which is VERY likely. I tried some Hakko knock-offs made by Circuit Specialists years ago, and they were JUNK. I've heard better things about Aoyue, though.
John is 100% correct about this, even down to the circuit specialists part. Their knock offs are terrible.
This Aoyue is a direct copy of the Hakko, so much so that you can use the Hakko filters and parts in this gun.
Quoted from johnwartjr:That Aoyue looks like someone reverse engineered the Hakko 802 gun, which is VERY likely.
Quoted from Wolfmarsh:This Aoyue is a direct copy of the Hakko, so much so that you can use the Hakko filters and parts in this gun.
Sounds like I need to order a new toy 
I know it was off topic of your thread but thank you for the info.
2 months later
BadBrick and I have been putting some more work into F-14. We've spent a bunch of time moving and cleaning parts from the old playfield over to the new.
Every single part has been cleaned and restored as it gets moved over. The whole wiring harness was cut off of the playfield and cleaned.
First off, here is the old playfield in one of the rotisseries being stripped. Then pics of the top and bottom stripped.
OldPlayfield_Mounted.jpg OldPlayfield_TopStripped.jpg OldPlayfield_BottomStripped.jpg
This is beautiful. I'm planning to clear coat my F-14 in a couple months. Your rebuild is awesome I hope mine turns out as well.
You've passed me again! I went on vacation and haven't started back up again. Time to start back up full steam..... Right after Easter
Sana'a
Quoted from Wolfmarsh:We also got the backbox primed and got a coat of black on it, but no pics taken yet.
I actually snapped a picture of it with my phone (sorry if it posts upside down, I have an Australian iPhone). This is just the first coat but it is looking good already.
WolfMarsh is doing this restore RIGHT - taking every single component apart down to the screws, cleaning and polishing it all before moving each part to the new playfield! Truly a labor of love/lunacy.... image.jpg
2 weeks later
Got some work done on the backbox. Got the paint all finished and got the decals on. Got the beacon unit cleaned up and since all the board work was done I could put the PCBs back in.
The backbox is ready to go back onto the cab at this point, need to get BadBrick over to help get it on.
Also included a pic of the new FBI label I made, I didn't like the plain red one.
Quoted from Wolfmarsh:The backbox is ready to go back onto the cab at this point, need to get BadBrick over to help....
Just let me know when and I'm there! It looks so good with the new decals and paint over the nice straight edges and corners!
Moved the head back onto the lower cab tonight.
It looks like a pinball machine again.
Also got the speaker panel finished up with the new speakers. I haven't finished the wire wrapping in the backbox yet, so don't judge how sloppy it is at the moment, its embarassing.
Badbrick is over tonight and we've gotten her to boot up and into attract mode. No playfield in it, so it doesn't do anything yet, but at least all the boards and display are working!
Got an issue where sounds under #10 won't play, and a display segment coming on when another one does, so got a little more board work to do on the MPU.
Also got the lighted flipper buttons hooked up per Vid's guide, and they look awesome.
A conversation between badbrick and I last night got me thinking about all the things ive done to this machine:
- Stripped to bare wood, repaired, new cabinet decals from planetary pinball.
- New side rails from Doug Huse
- New full speaker set from pinball pro.
- All stand up targets are brand new (all 20 of them, at $7 a pop)
- Lighted flipper buttons from Vid's guide.
- All flippers rebuilt and upgraded via Vid's guide
- All new pop bumper, built using Vid's guide.
- Repaired and clearcoated playfield from Whridlsoncestood
- All new coil labels
- All LED
- All new playfield components (posts, rubbers, fasteners)
- Brand new plastics set
- Flasher resistor boards had the 330 ohm removed, and the 5 ohm upgraded to a 15watt with better thermal performance. Couple that with the LED flashers and the heat problem should be gone.
- Power supply rebuilt using components from GPE. Added the mod to lower display voltage.
- Every single connector on the pcboards has been replaced, and every IDC connector on the cables has been replaced.
- New legs
- All labels have been remastered in photoshop and reprinted.
- Custom blackout lockdown bar with more modern labelling.
- New flipper buttons
- New translucent red shooter rod and new housing/springs.
- New power cord
There are more, but thats what I can think of at the moment. I tried not to take shortcuts on any detail, no matter how small.
After all this, I suppose I'll drop a sheet of invisiglass in it. Hate to cheap out on the glass after all this.
Thanks for the pro rebuild. Hopefully I can follow your lead and have my f-14 looking this nice again.
So the ultimate question; keeper or for sale? How do you price a machine that is better then original?
Have you thought about a job at stern? I'm sure you could improve there build quality
You are a pinball god my friend. She looks beautiful..can't wait till we see her fired up for the first time.
What a restore! WOW. I LOVE IT!
I love my F-14... there has always been one thing about it that slightly bothers me, tho... The drawings (artwork) of the F-14's is inaccurate. The vertical stabilizers are perfectly upright. The F-14 actually has vertical stabilizers that are slightly angled outwards. Not as much as the FA-18... but certainly not upright. In fact, if it weren't for the hint at an articulating wing in the art... it almost looks like they drew an F-15 (save for the fact that the rear engines are in the wrong place for it to be an F-15).
Quoted from Luckydogg420:So the ultimate question; keeper or for sale? How do you price a machine that is better then original?
Have you thought about a job at stern? I'm sure you could improve there build quality
It's a keeper. I've gotten some amount of grief over putting this much into "just an F-14", but I really love the game, and this is the actual physical first machine I ever owned, so it has a special spot in my heart.
I'm not even close to the quality that the pro restorers put out, so please don't think this game is anywhere near that level.
Quoted from BillinIndiana:Whridlsoncestood. Is this a person or a place?
He is a person. That is his handle here on pinside. He currently has a pretty good Highspeed restoration thread going on, and he restored this F-14 playfield for me.
Here is a link to both of the threads, the F-14 playfield one and the Highspeed one.
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/f-14-playfield-restorationwhridlsoncestood
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/high-speed-full-restoration-started-whridlsoncestood-112512
Quoted from Wolfmarsh:He is a person. That is his handle here on pinside. He currently has a pretty good Highspeed restoration thread going on, and he restored this F-14 playfield for me.
Here is a link to both of the threads, the F-14 playfield one and the Highspeed one.
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/f-14-playfield-restorationwhridlsoncestood
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/high-speed-full-restoration-started-whridlsoncestood-112512
2 weeks later
I got everything soldered on the new playfield, and have been working on populating the top as well. Here are some shots of what i've done.
Everything on the top is pretty much new. The stand up targets, entire pop bumper, standoffs, posts are all new.
PlayfieldTop_InProgress1.jpg PlayfieldTop_InProgress2.jpg PlayfieldTop_InProgress3.jpg
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