It's taken a few months for me to realize it, but I shouldn't have started my pinball collection by buying project machines. I thought it would be a great experience in learning how to fix them and in some ways, it has. In retrospect however, I think I should have started smaller. Maybe bought a working machine and address issues as they arise. Instead I now have two non-functioning machines sitting in my home and whenever I get the knack to play pinball, I have to go elsewhere.

I'm willing to learn: I've bought books, I've bought soldering irons and tool kits and parts. I've spent hours on Pinwiki and other sites. What I can't buy is mentoring and experience, and I can't really afford to make expensive mistakes over and over.

I've been thinking about trying to trade my two non-functional machines for one machine in working order. Is it worth it? I've got two system 11's and to be honest, I could part them out for more than I paid for them, but I don't have the heart to do that. I would much rather both of them go to someone who can repair them and enjoy them/flip them than strip them down.

What do you think? Is it a good idea, or even worth the time to try and trade them off? My machines are a Fire! and a Jokerz!. I'd hope to trade them off for another System11 title, as they are my favorite series of games.

I hear what you guys are saying. As I think about it more, I am leaning more towards getting rid of them. My ideal solution would be to end up with a BadCats or a Pinbot, as that would kill a few birds with one stone. Badcats is my wife's favorite game so she would be thrilled and Pinbot is my favorite so I would be more than happy.

Still have to think about it for a bit, but I really appreciate the input, thanks guys!

Well, I bought the fire and got it in working order and had a blast with it. I replaced the display with a new rottendog display, replaced some of the easy to replace parts etc. I made the mistake of trying to remove the mylar without any previous experience and pulled up the paint on the inserts. I applied decals to the inserts and put new mylar on top to even out the playfield. Lets just say lesson learned. I started having issues with the right flipper and didn't play it for a while. A buddy of mine 'fixed' it while he was house-sitting for me, as he is more comfortable with wiring and electronics. After returning from vacation I fired it up and the right flipper stuck in the up position. I smelled a slight whiff of smoke and immediately turned the machine off. I inspected the machine, both cabinet and backbox, but couldn't locate the source or any damage. I have't had the guts to do anything to it since. The cabinet itself is in good shape, the bell dings (REALLY LOUD) and the plastics are all accounted for. The two inner building plastics have some slight damage but serve their purpose without trouble. The outer plastics and large center building are in fine shape. I was surprised to see a set of building plastics on ebay, (ending today) that are going for incredible prices. The animated "fire cylinder" in the center works and looks great.

I bought the Jokerz! non-functional. It turns on, the GI lights up and the sound works fine. It registers coins and starts game sounds when you hit start, it just doesn't put a ball in the lane or respond to flipper input. The display only shows garbled info, but doesn't look blown. I can cycle through the options via the coin door buttons, but can't read what any of them are. The MPU board has char damage to it and would need to be replaced. Unfortunately, I don't know what caused it to happen in the first place. The PF is in nice shape save for a small piece of lifted paint next to the pop-up ramp. It still has the original factory mylar. The cabinet is in ok condition with a 1.5-2" gouge on the right side of the head. I bought it from a guy in Delaware who had never played it and didn't know much about pinball. I was surprised when I got to the address he gave me to find out it was in the back room of a strip club! (Sorry, I mean "Bikini Lounge")

I'm certainly not giving up on pinball! I just think I need to start at a slower pace. I'll certainly buy the TOP#7 DVD to learn what I can, but after knocking it around in my head and reading this thread, I think I'll end up trying to do some kind of trade for a game that's more my speed. I'm not in any hurry to attain a massive collection of games and I'd rather have one machine that I can enjoy regularly, than two machines that I'm fumbling my way through.

I'll take some pictures tonight and start a trade thread later. If anyone is interested, let me know.