Can I offer a difference perspective here.....do the restoration for your own benefit, not for a financial gain....

Chris

Do you love the game? Is it a keeper forever and ever? Would you put out the cash to buy a new one if someone produced it?

Yes? buy the PF and install it and love your new ish game.

You sound like my wife..."Joe, I am going to invest in a new pair of shoes".

It isn't an investment. It is an expense.

You MIGHT get your money back if you sell it. Maybe, probably not.

I would look at what a Firepower is going for in the condition yours will be in after the swap and compare to what you'll have in it to help make your decision.

Well, according to current pricing policy, you should be able to tack every dollar you spend on the restore on top of the price of the game. Might as well tack on work hours involved also. Hell, did you drink a beer while restoring?? Add that on as well.

I couldn't agree more.
I'll most likely never get back what i put into my Whirlwind restoration but the sense of pride i feel every time i look at it/play it is worth it to me.

Plus if you need a new truck, that bumps it up to 10K easy

I hear ya, but any item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it....I wouldn't put the effort into such a job to try and make money...swapping a playfield (as you know) is a huge job and when you add up the labor and materials, it doesn't make a whole heck of a lot of financial sense....

...but its a heck of a lot of fun and gets your mind off the real world

good luck!

$600 into a firepower is not an investment. But if your enjoyment is worth that much then go ahead.

I don't see the harm in trying to understand if a given enhancement to a machine will provide a reasonable return. It is like making an investment in your house, when you have a limited budget but know you should get 80% of your money back on a new kitchen vs. 10% of your money back on a new pool, it helps you make the decision.

To answer the OP's question, I agree with Dewey68. It really depends on the current condition of the playfield and market price for that type of a machine vs. the market price for a machine with a perfect one. If everything else on the pin is in excellent condition and the final machine will be pristine - you will be more likely to get your money back out of it than than putting a new playfield on a machine with flaking backglass and a trashed cabinet.

Exactly the same feeling I have - & for the exact same game. Go figure!

Agreed. I look at it not as an "investment", but if it will improve the game for my enjoyment.

It's only an investment if you plan to sell.

We all know the guy that tries to get $2500 for his old Ford Escort because he just put a new master cylinder and transmission in it.

Don't be that guy.

If you see good condition Firepowers going for $700 all day long, then you know your starting point.

If the cab is minty and the backglass is nice, then I'd do the playfield swap.

Buy the playfield, swap it out, touch up/restore the old one and sell it.

All depends....what did you pay for the game in the first place? What is the condition of the rest of the game? What quality of work do you do when you swap a playfield. If the money means more to you than the fun and satisfaction, don't do it. You won't be happy.

I would say a fully functional firepower with clean boards, average cab and new playfield should be worth about $1K? Maybe a tad more? I'd pay $1K for one right now with a new playfield and i'm a cheap ba$tard.

I have tried to sell a decent firepower twice with no nibbles. 1k is my price. I am hearing that it would sell fast at 500 to 700. I think the repro playfield MAY get me to the 1k mark, but barely. I LOVE this game. but i think folks may be over most of the system 6 machines......

That said. I have been to the CPR page many times and contemplated clicking that checkout button. It's just so pretty!

Too many variables.

Some of my swaps take a couple months. Some have taken a few years.

My BSD swap took 3 years. I sold it with NOS ramps and plastics for the equivalent of 2 grand. Now, an average BSD is 2 grand.

If I'd sold it today instead of a few years back, it'd be a 4k+ game easily. But, pin prices could crash tomorrow and it might only be worth $1250.

There are so many variables. Odds are, the game will be worth less than current value of the game + all the parts you put into it - regardless of the amount of labor - but it'll be worth more than it is now.

But, there are no guarantees in life, or pinball Do a bad job, worth less, a super amazing job, a little more.

Never look at it as an investment, it's a hobby to enjoy. You won't get the money for the hours of labor and parts you put into a pin, but you'll have a nice pin to enjoy.

Simple answer, it's not an investment because you'll never see a return on the money spent.

There are certainly other reasons why you would do the swap, as others have pointed out, but expecting to recover your costs in this instance is not one of them. Firepower is a great game but it doesn't command high enough prices to absorb the $600 playfield cost.

I liked this hobby MUCH more before people started throwing the word 'investment' around regarding pins.
Doc

This is the attitude I have towards my EATPM restore. I'm never selling it and I want it to look great, so return on my money is not a major concern.

Quoted for truth, although it shouldn't be that way.

Until a year or so ago, if you paid $600 for an NOS playfield and put it into a game, you would expect the price to raise on a sale by maybe $200ish.

You put the NOS playfield into the game because either you got the game for a steal because it was a complete and total beater and you could make a bit of money off it, or because you love the game and have no intention of selling it. Then, if you don't get the money out of it, no big deal - you did it because you loved it.

In today's market, who knows - someone might give it to you. But, I wouldn't expect that to happen. The repro field should lose $400ish the moment you put the new playfield in.