(Topic ID: 11049)
Houston, TX
My old playfiled wasn't terrible - still playable and looked pretty good. But the inserts were cupped, and it was pretty rough. I had to play one last game on it before tearing it down. Got multi-ball and a free game - so I figured it was good karma - and started the teardown.
Good luck with the swap! I am interested in hearing how everything goes. Did you get a set of plastics with it as well?
As everyone says - the key to a successful playfield swap is to take a TON of pictures along the way. Also, document all the parts and keep 'em organized (I used plastic baggies). Now, since this is my first playfiled swap - I'm not an expert by any means - but feel confident I'll be able to get it all put back together.... I hope.
In the 2nd pic - that's the entire wire harness. After unscrewing every switch, coil and lamp, and taking out ground trace staples (what a pain), I slid the wire harness and all the equipment onto a piece of plywood. That way, everything pretty much stays in place, and I can slide it onto the new board. ...that's my plan. Right now, I'm looking at two empty Firepower playfields.
Nice SunKing!!!! It looks like you're also ready for the drop target upgrade with that new PF!
Man, that is one smooth FP, thanks for the pics.
Good luck! 
1 week later
Let me know if you want to sell your old playfield.
Thanks, but I think I'm going to keep it and turn it into some wall art. I'm thinking about something simular to the ones in this post: http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/my-pf-wallstill-a-work-in-progress
BTW - the Firepower playfiedl swap is FINISHED. I just fixed the last issue, and now everything is working 100%. ...and that new CPR playfield is BEAUTIFUL~! ...here's a few pics before I put it back in the cabinet.
Beauharnois
good job, looks great. i'm jalous.
i passed on a firepower a while ago because of the playfield, if i knew cpr was gonna do a playfield the machine would be in my basement right now.
Quoted from SunKing:Firepower is my 'holy grail' machine, and I know I'll keep mine forever
I know the feeling, slowly getting my SS back to 100% (I have a CPR PF awaiting to be populated). I doubt it will ever go up for sale. Not just because of the work I'm putting into it, I just wouldn't ever want to be without it. I have fond memories of playing a firepower when I was 7 at some hotel (wedding). I know if I bought one, I'd just get bored with it (I need my ramps). I grew up with an evel knievel in the basement, and I know I'd get bored with that too. Nice job on the swap, it's good to know you can take everything off in one chunk. When I watched "life after death" and seeing them clip wires, that made me nervous.
Makes me want to do it, looks awesome!
Any issues you had or things to watch for? tips pointers if you will?
Quoted from ovfdfireman:Any issues you had or things to watch for? tips pointers if you will?
1) You can NEVER take too many pictures. Take closeups, take from different angles. Whenever I'd remove a part, I'd take a few pics. When I was done with the teardown, I used the pics - starting with the last and working my way back - as my own rebuild manual.
2) Keep all parts organized and labeled, and keep the screws for each part together. I had about 20 to 30 plastic bags of various parts and assemblies. Some things you can group together - like most all the screws under the playfield that hold the wire harness and switches are the same.
3) Be VERY careful when drilling holes on the back of the new playfield for the lamps, switches, etc. The board is less than an inch thick, and if you drill all the way through - you've just ruined your new playfield. Before I drilled, I stuck a post rubber on the drill bit, and then wrapped some electrical tape around that. It let me know when I was getting close - and it prevented me from drilling all the way through.
4) Remember, a playfield swap is the perfect time to rebuild your flippers, pops, etc. I put in new coil sleeves - flipper rebuild kit, etc. Also - it should go without saying - but clean everything before putting it on the new playfield. It's also a good time to adjust all your leaf switches.
5) ....and the most frusting thing - remember your cure date. CPR recommends you not play on the game for at least a month (45 days is better) until the playfield has completely cured. So I'm sitting here looking at a BEAUTIFUL and SMOOTH AS GLASS Firepower that works 100% - but I can't play it until the end of this month at the earliest. ....tick...tick...tick...
Looks amazing.
I bet it was quite nerve wracking when you had that whole wire harness removed and laying on the plywood
Did you reuse the old ground wire that runs thru the underside of the pf? Curious.
Thanks Blackbeard. Yeah, I started to wonder if I'd bitten off more than I could chew. If I hadn't taken as many pictures it would have been really difficult. Honestly though, I was pleasantly surprised how smooth and quick everything went. ....and yeah, I re-used the ground trace. The only wires I had to clip and re-solder were for the two coils on the top of the playfield, and for the pop bumpers.
1 week later
Looks great!
I still want your old playfield, I'll even send you mine back for wall art after the swap is done. I made an overlay decal for my missing art, so the artwork is complete. I would just like a used original for play use. (if only i could afford the 700 for the cpr repro)
One last update: After a few beers, I could not resist the temptation and played a couple games on my new Firepower playfield. OH MY GOD - it's SO FAST!! Honestly, it's faster than most any pin I've played recently (including new Sterns)...wow...I'm SO HAPPY with the results.
If you're interested, I posted a bunch more pics and commentary of the playfield swap on my website: http://www.bradberryman.com/Pinball_Firepower_playfield_swap.htm
Quoted from Anim8ormatt:I still want your old playfield
Anim8ormatt, take another look at my old playfield in the link above (or this link: http://www.bradberryman.com/PINBALL_Firepower_2011.htm ) ...I'd be really surprised if you still wanted it - inserts are cupped/raised pretty bad.
Quoted from SunKing:inserts are cupped/raised pretty bad.
These are easy fixes if you're planning on clearing the pf afterwards. Just reglue and tap down the raised, and fill in the cupped with clear.
Congrats on the FP Sunking! I'd love to get a nice example someday.
Anim8ormatt, take another look at my old playfield in the link above (or this link: http://www.bradberryman.com/PINBALL_Firepower_2011.htm ) ...I'd be really surprised if you still wanted it - inserts are cupped/raised pretty bad.
yeah, I am still interested. It's about the artwork for me. The inserts are easily fixed or replaced. and I have way more time than money 
Now, I have since had a professional vinyl overlay made and it is installed, but your old playfield actually has the original artwork still screened to the wood. I would prefer that for a players machine. just for durability sake.
Here is my field in its original and artwork restored phases. Let me know if you are interested in organizing a swap, since you plan to wall hang one.
Quoted from SunKing:One last update: After a few beers, I could not resist the temptation and played a couple games on my new Firepower playfield. OH MY GOD - it's SO FAST!! Honestly, it's faster than most any pin I've played recently (including new Sterns)...wow...I'm SO HAPPY with the results.
I was gonna say...who could REALLy wait that long?! Haha
1 year later
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