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Hey guys, I have a friend who has this 1975 Gottlieb El Dorado sitting in his house. His uncle bought it brand new, and it was in his music shop for years. When the store closed, the pinball machine went into a storage room in a garage, and has sat up for 15-20 years. For it's age, it looks to be in good condition. It powers up, but is stuck on TILT. This is going to be my first (non-working) project. I want to offer him a fair price, but I'm not sure where to start. I have no idea how much it will take to get it going. Any input is appreciated.

I want to say the count was 200,000 something, maybe 3.

There used to be a guy that serviced it for his uncle when he had it, but he has since passed; thus, the servicing on this pin ended. There was still an old service note pad from the guy inside the coin door! Being that it hasn't been working in 15-20 years, I was thinking of offering him $300-$400. I'm comfortable with that price because I'm not quite sure what it's going to take to get it up and running again. Again, I'm not looking to get over on him at all, but I don't want to overpay. The inserts had some cupping, but the playfield itself seemed to be in average condition. A slight problem we came across - there is NO key to the backbox, so I have no idea what it looks like back there.

Thanks for your insight, Dirt. I checked all over that cabinet (including the clip on the coin door) for that damn key yesterday - no go. I'm fairly new to posting in forums. How do I link this thread into the "EM Hangout sub-forum?"

Thanks for your help, Dirt. I moved this over to the EM Hangout.

I picked up a fully-working "Alien Poker" at the Texas Pinball Festival for a cool $500, so I figured $300-$400 for a non-working project would be sufficient. I know that "Alien Poker" is nowhere near the rankings of "El Dorado" on the fun-meter on Pinside, but still.

Initially, my friend wanted me to come look at it to see what it would take to get it fixed, but his partner wants it gone because they want to make a closet out of the room that it's sitting in. This is funny - His partner told me when I was going over the pin, and naming off what I thought it may take to get it up and running, "I'll sell it to you for $50." I laughed and told him I couldn't take it for that price, because I knew it was worth more. He replies, "No, you don't understand, I'll PAY YOU $50 to take it out of here!" It was funny to watch them bicker, but I couldn't do that. This is a friend through friends, and I'm too honest of a person to take that offer. At this point, I'd like to have some kind of estimated "budget" that it would take for it to work again. My friend says that when he does sell it - whether it's before or after the closet situation - it's mine. More than likely, I am just going to take it and start working on it for him until he is ready to part with it. Being that it was his uncles, there's that sentimental value to it. Also, he looks at it as a neat "piece." His partner, on the other hand, wants that "eye sore" to GO! Lol

My initial review of this backglass was that it was flawless. I was blown away that there were no visible scratches or peeling seen from the front side. You're right, though. Until I get that back off, there's no way to be 100% sure it's as good as it seems. I figure the backglass alone (if it's in as good of condition as I think it is) is worth at least $150-$200, right?

Great point. I guess I have to look at the EM's like an old car. The engine can be tuned-up, but the original body is worth its weight in gold.

If there are 6 places on the reel, then I want to say yes. I may be mistaken, but I want to say that number started with a 2 or 3. If there are 5 places on the counter, then I am definitely wrong. I will shoot him a text and get back with you on that. That does seem like an awful lot of plays now that I think about it.

Yes, I am just a young Paddowon when it comes to learning the way of the restore. I guess Arcade would be Yoda, and KingNine, hmm, Chewba... nah, I guess I'll give you Obi Wan Kenobi.

When I text him earlier, he said he thought it was 200,000 something when we looked, too. I am waiting for his text back with photo's of the counter.

Yes, I have a soft spot in my heart for the PinBot games. My vision is to have all 3 in a lineup one day.

I'm still waiting on a text back for confirmation on that count. When texted him earlier, he thought we saw 200,000 on the counter, too, but he was going to double-check when he got home and send me a pic.

LOL! Brilliant! Right on time.

I've been paying them with fresh-caught flounder every time they've come out to help with Fish Tales. I'm just about out of fish.

Sounds good. Just shoot me a text whenever. Side note: I just ordered that plastic piece that was broken on the right side of the boat. It's been a hard to find piece. I probably overpaid, but I haven't been able to find it til now. It's been bugging me. I should probably search the Fish Tales forums on here and see if anyone knows what's up with that Caster's Club rinky-dink assembly.

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203077 - It's the Final Countdown!

He says his uncle said that kids would bang away on that thing all day for 15 in his record shop. The guy who used to service it must have known what he was doing. I think it's in great shape for that many plays, right? I'll try to go by and get more pics this weekend.

My '07 F-150 4x4 just made it to 204,789 (Runs like new, too). What are the odds my truck has just as many miles as this pin has plays? It's almost meant to be. The stars are aligning, the planets are....well, there was a Blood Moon. Good enough. Signs, man. Signs! Science!IMAG0127.jpg

Arcade and KingNine - I'm going to try to set up sometime later this week to bring ya'll to go see it. I'm thinking we should offer to take it and start working on it, and see what he wants to do later down the road. I am anxious to start trouble-shooting and learning the process. The closet situation over there is coming, and it WILL be ours when the time comes. I really want to play it and see what it's all about. I know ya'll don't have room for another at the house, so one of those pins may have to rest out here while this goes on. What do you say?

Poetry in motion.

You know my door is always open, and I stay up late.

Pretty sure we can give Ford to Gary after Mustang's release.

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