Agreed with doing it for the love, not money, as you are never going to recoup your costs/time on that machine. It's probably worth more in parts than it is whole, as it stands now.

But the fun of the hobby is learning all these incredible skills. There's just a steep learning curve both in terms of costs and time. You really have nothing to lose. If you botch the restoration, it will still be a parts machine. If you do it well, it will be loved for decades to come.

I think you may be a little over your head on this one if you must ask this question. No offense, just would suggest that perhaps you should become a little more familiar with pinball machines before attempting this restoration.

Have you shopped a game before? As in, remove the topside playfield parts?