I had postulated in another thread that there were pins out there that I wouldn't cross a county line much less a state line to get for free

Took a road trip to look at a project pin. Seller was listing it for $300. Apparently the seller has had it for decades in their home, but it hadn't been fully functional for a decade. I had powered about a month ago when another prospective buyer came to look, but no longer would power. For a project machine, the description seemed compelling enough to take the 300+ miles (each way) to take a look.

Long story short, I ultimately was going to walk away. I considered offering a token amount, but decided against it. As we were backing out of the driveway the wife stopped us and asked if we would just haul it. We obliged.

We wrap it, pack it in the back of the truck and hauled it home.

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Someone mentioned in another thread cautioning against getting a pin that was in a fire. Check!

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It did seem to have the much sought after two-prong plug conversion.

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Along with the foil wrapped fuse power bypass

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Apparently an accelerant was used in the fire and ate at the art that didn't burn.

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And the playfield

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The inserts were actually dimples in the playfield. I could see the ball talking some wild hops - not good since the glass seemed to be regular plate glass rather then tempered

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Its definitely had a hard life

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The one jewel is the backglass. I didn't want to acknowledge it while checking it out because the seller kept mentioning it. As it turns out, its absolutely beautiful. No flaking or scratches that I've found (the mud dauber nest aside). It doesn't appear coated, so I will definitely work on that first. It might just get framed after that even though I'm sure I could sell it to pay for the trip

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I really doubt that this machine will ever be playable again. I plan to fix the plug and fuses to see if I can get it powered. However, even if I do manage to get it lit up, I doubt the guts are in sufficient shape that it could play again. It'd be difficult just to trace wires as the insulation of wires in many bundles are simply faded and cracked at this point.

Nonetheless, I was looking for a pin that I could learn/practice restoration skills - albeit with the expectation that it'd play at the end of the effort. Much like a med student learning surgery skills on a cadaver, I'll use this as my cadaver to develop the skills and tool set to restore a pin to working condition once I locate a true project pin.

In the meantime I'm still on the lookout for that first pin. I beleive there is a certain expectation of functionality for a pin to be a pin. As such, I don't think this quite qualifies as my first pin.

The upper playfield has most wear. One of the reasons I like this pin to restore first is the lack of detail in the playfield art. Makes it easier for my decidedly non-artistic abilities.

I just don't know if I could get the pf and inserts level to be playable. It'll likely get cleaned, retouched and finished nonetheless if only for the practice.

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It looks a bit better once the plastics are gone. For some reason there was two rubber bands on each of the sling shots.

It'll take a couple days to get the new cord, fuses and fuse holder. Then we'll see if/how it powers up.

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Why, yes it is. my 85 635CSi (arctic blue) rolling restoration project car. Its awaiting time for me to replace a freezing caliper (as well as other things).

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Don't know where in Sandy Eggo you live...but you may have seen it (or the Z3) cruisin around. I lived there 25 years (until about 4 years ago) in the RB/Carmel Mtn area and worked in Mira Mesa

Might be more inspiring if she was dressed and posed like in the backglass (not sure what pose she's going for here).

If I can get the thing running, I'll likely do new cabinet art. I just noticed that the brochure has the red and blue (black?) colors reversed from production. Might have to consider using black and getting black side rails and legs.

After a bit of Magic Erasure and 91% isopropyl. There's still a haze to the treated side. I was perhaps a bit more aggressive than I should have, but went thru a pad just for this area. I might have to see if I can get a couple layers of grime off with iso and paper towel before using the pads. I'll be easier once I can get to taking the rest of the playfield down - after I check electrical first.

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