I am quite sure it is ssembled wrong which can be easy to do. Keep the power off, then raise the playfield and rest it on it's lift arm. Now turn the power on and try to grab a picture or two: post a picture from the game underside, with solenoid off, and then also while running the solenoid test.

(I am guessing you just have the arm mounted 90-degrees off placement)

I've seen several toppers for FH and never really liked any of them; they all look to me like an afterthought or just somehow out of place. So I've been messing around for a month or so on a topper idea inspired by actual carnival lighting which exactly fits the theme of this game. I had many prototype attempts at mounting and wiring details etc, but I've got it now. The lights are synched to the mirror bonus and plugs into a couple unused headers on the driver board. Also I've experimented with different color bulbs and can't decide which color combo is best. Neat and clean, about a 10 minute install. It looks just incredible in attract mode!!!! I cannot take full credit for this...I saw something similar a while ago on one of the facebook threads but for the life of me can't find out who or where it was. So if you were my inspiration then thank you. Now after a year of labor I can FINALLY call my FH restoration complete. Who knows, now that I have things ironed out maybe I could make a few more of these. Hit me up PM to talk details if interested. Anyhow, enjoy the pic's.

Here's a video link

20201026_202343 (resized).jpg20201026_203721 (resized).jpgBYR (resized).jpgRWB (resized).jpg

Here is mine (from pics I took before my resto) what does yours look like?

20180311_105546 (resized).jpg

How does one ever buy a Funhouse? Asking as a Lawlor lover.... I cant seem to find one ever for sale...

Cannot find one, or cannot find one with a price you are willing to pay? 4 on the marketplace right now.

There is a fixer-upper candidate for sale in Bakersfield in the marketplace. There are lots of Funhouses out there, if you keep tabs on the marketplace and your local Craigslist they will pop on from time to time. If you dont mind getting one shipped you'll never have a prob finding one.

I think you hit the nail on the head. they are Pricey!! dang, i guess I'm just priced out. someday when i have more cash, i may just pull the trigger and bite the bullet on this great game. seems the good Funhouse games are all around 5500 bucks! thats almost a brand new pinball machine price.

The condition of the playfield and Rudy's head will likely drive the price. Everything else can be replaced/repaired. Those two items are tough to find or hard to replace and directly impact price. I sold mine last spring with a 9.0/10 playfield and a 9.9/10 rudy head. It went for $5000 and I had six offers the first week. It's just a great machine that many of us remember from the early 90's...

Most of the ones you see listed here are completely restored...and many have more money put into them than what they are asking.

So long as rudy has the front, back, and eyes you are good. The rest is pretty easily found.

Yup, plastics are the challenge. Saw the $250 set of head front/back parts a few weeks ago, and every once in awhile an eye pops up for sale. Those are tough...

The head plastics have always been hard to find...eyes werent for a long time.

Biggest issue i have seen is the missing centering flange, which will eventually break the eyelids, and worn gears for the jaw.

Having a hard time finding the pop bumper cap decals in stock at the usual suppliers. Anyone have a lead on where I could pick these up?

Got mine off ebay from ebay user: "dugmar" perhaps try messaging him through ebay, didn't see any active listings but worth asking. Quality was just ok, a little thin and sticky enough they captured my fingerprints on install.

The problem you'll run into is if the playfield hasn't been swapped it'll likely be hammered to hell and the clock inserts will all be raised from heat. Just not fun to play that way.
Comparing price from old to new - the newer pin price is because they aren't hard to find and it definitely doesn't mean they are more fun to play.
Trust me when I say spend more money and buy one with the play field already replaced.

There is a repro PF in the marketplace right now. Find a $3000 beater )with the rest of the parts working good), add the $1000 PF and spend a month of work to swap stuff.

I am tired thinking about it.

Or get a flood damaged one and put $6000 of parts into it...

I had to save it!

Is that common? Mine has none of that. It only has a bit of paint missing in the normal out kick spot, and a bit of crazing, otherwise it's in great shape...and it was a routed machine.

I think it's a bit extreme to say every single unrestored FH is blown out. Average prices are around $4200-$5000 and you can find some good players in the middle of that range. I wish I got serious about buying one long ago. Thought they were expensive back then at around $3500. Good luck finding any FH for that price or less these days.

I sold a solid FH in the early spring. It was a peach. Had multiple offers within a few days for $5000. It had a really clean playfield, everything in perfect condition, rudy was nearly perfect, DMD was bright and clean, and steps ramp was clear. I had swapped all of the bulbs with new bulbs, and in places where they were under colored inserts, I replaced with the same bulb type but colored incandescent bulb to enrich the somewhat faded plastic colors (like the STEPS inserts which are blue, but over time faded. A couple of #44 blue bulbs and the whole thing seems fresh! Did the same for a few other colors too). Cabinet was a little faded but not so bad. The PF itself had a single tiny blemish at the outhole kick out area (light blue). It had an original playfield, but it was removed from california route usage around 1995, and very light home-use only for the past 25 years. (Maybe another 1000 games on it since I purchased it).

You might still be able to find $5000 machines in similiar condition. If you found one in good shape for less, seriously consider pulling the trigger!

Lol !

My bad... I meant the Neon displays...

Not neon either

Thank you for the advice

I will make that replaced pf a strict requirement in my search.

Alphanumeric displays, lol, or just displays I guess.

Yep, we can be harsh at times

Thank you for the advice
I will make that replaced pf a strict requirement in my search.">

If you are expecting a new pf, you are going to always be looking at high prices. Anyone who had that done knows what it is worth. His comment about pf's is exaggerated. Just make sure to examine them and base the price on it's condition and what kind of work it needs.

What a great game to own! Finally a dream came true this year. For Wedding Anniversary we gifted ourselves a FunHouse museum piece and i just cannot get enough of it. I always wanted one but this is my first real touch on a pinball machine in my life. So i really have a hard time to get high scores.
Collecting extra balls, shooting the trapdoor during Multiball or Super Frenzy are so satisfying and addicting. Rudy is a true Masterpiece. I usually just cannot play under 2h... i am just ultra happy with this new toy.

I saw this awesome slow-mo video
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/check-out-this-awesome-slow-motion-video#post-5941622

Especially the shaking flipper finger and flipper rubber is really interesting, something you do not notice in real speed.

Inspired by this I tried out the slow-mo function of my phone. So please don't take this very serious its just for the fun of it.

And what a great light show for high score!

really cool slow mo FH videos ! thx for sharing

I just noticed in the second video: Look in the end how Rudy tracks the ball on the ramp shot. How cool is that.

I opted for importing a beat one from Europe for $2200 a year or two ago. I've been gathering parts for it, I think it will cost me around $3500 total when I'm done. It's going to have a shiny new playfield, plastics and ramps and a beat up Rudy

Your eyes on Rudy aren't working properly. They should return to center after looking left or right. It's an easy fix. The centering bar that provides the tension to return the eyes to center have 2 brass eyelets that are what actually provide the tension on the centering bar. They are worn and enlongated. Check a local hobby store that does RC planes or a good small hardware store. They should have the right size needed.

Wow you saw that by looking on that video? Thanks for trouble shooting. I will check this... but i guess the head assembly needs to be removed from under playfield to fix this, right?

The head is intimidating, but quite easy to remove from under the playfield, BUT TAKE PICTURES BEFORE YOU TOUCH ANYTHING!!!!!!! There is a jaw armature linkage that is troublesome to get right if you don't what you are looking at!!!! Once you take the head out, repairing it is fairly easy. And the metal link between the eyes is available in a few places, but can be made if needed. The eyelid solenoids should also be checked, along with their springs and the plastic links. BUT AGAIN, TAKE PICTURES FIRST!!!!! Those two solenoids and how they open and close the eyes are somewhat complicated.

Yes. It's a super easy fix though. Remove the head faceplates (two screws each).

Flip playfield up. Find the motor that runs the jaw, and remove the 4 screws holding it to the pf. Gently turn until the unlock hole matches the link, and disconnect from the jaw link. Reattach to pf.

Now disconnect all wiring going up to the head. Label ends of the connectors as needed. Remove the 4 screws holding head to pf, and pull head out.

Once head is on your workbench, on the back you will see two screws (one on each side) that holds the eyelets that put the tension on the centering bar. Remove the screws and the eyelets come out. Take them to local hardware store or hobby store and find the same size replacements. put new ones in, one side at a time. Make sure the tension bar feeds through the plastic guide that rides on the bar.

Reverse removal procedure and you are done.

https://www.marcospecialties.com/control/keywordsearch?SEARCH_STRING=A-19258

Is this the part you are talking about? This fixed problems I had with eyes not looking one direction very well. If I remember right, the raised plastic tab things in the middle of the part were worn on my original and one of the reasons my eyes were not working 100%. I recommend inspecting this part and replacing if any of it looks worn.

Nope. Two brass eyelets mounted in the frame that hold the tension bar in place that the piece you linked to rides on in the back of the head.

Anybody have a Funhouse they want to sell within 4-5 hours of St. Louis MO?

I feel like there is so much positive energy still in Funhouse, and we still see folks considering it to be their grail machine. I know it was mine and when I found mine in 1995 or so, I smiled ear to ear. I hated having to sell it last year to make room for a NIB machine.

Seems like a new 'FH-remake' would be in order... but the manufacturers mainly look at do they think it would route well.

What do y'all think?

Funhouse 2.0 with enhanced rule set and DMD.

I would have loved this. I believe it was supposed to be after BoP 2.0. I don't think BoP 2.0 sold well so that likely squashed it. Plus all the drama with Dutch Pinball.

It was supposedly going to be done by the predator guy.

Having a problem with my Hidden Hallway. I just rebuilt my game and I updated the roms, so I am not sure if the game is playing different because of that. When a moderate or hard shot goes into the hallway without the "Lock" being lit, the crescent moon shaped ball catch is not capturing the ball and ejecting them. Balls push straight through. Softer shots that don't have enough power settle on the switch and then are ejected. Before my rebuild all shots were captured whether hard or soft and the mech would eject them. This seems right to me. Anyone know why my ball capture assembly is not holding the harder shots? Hope my description makes sense.

Thanks

If you look at your disk, the cutout for the ball is probably a little elongated from being bashed. On my last funhouse, I was able to loosen the set screw under the playfield and adjust the disk slightly counter clockwise so that it kept the ball. Never had a problem after that.

No that doesn't seem to be my issue. The harder balls just push through the disk like a turn-style at an amusement park. Shouldn't there be some resistance?

Thanks

Perhaps the set screw needs to be tightened so the disc doesn't spin on the shaft once it stops.

Thanks yzf, but the nut is tight on the flipper crank assembly that the crescent moon disc attaches to. It is not slipping.

I would guess 1 of 2 things could be it:

1. Spring on the coil is too soft, seems like a long shot.

2. The disc is too low (too much gap towards the top/back guide). So less of the disc is blocking the balls path making it more likely that it could power/push through. I think this is the likely one.

Attaching pics from my tear down

FH1 (resized).jpg

FH2 (resized).jpg

Mine did that occasionally. I didn't look to deep into it since I could tell the disc was beat up so just replaced it. Might as well since I already had the game torn down. Without comparing to a new part, it's hard to tell just how worn the disc is. You might get away with adjusting it but replacing better option imo. After replacing it, never had the problem again.