What condition is the Eldorado you traded in like. Im going in this week to take a look .Mike does like his led’s but that is a nice JP you traded for

By all accounts it’s a real PITA changing bulbs in Data East games, but definitely worth it to get the look you want. The bulbs themselves aren’t terribly expensive so you could also just order what you need from Comet - probably better to do that unless the guy has exactly the bulbs you want and is willing to swap them to you for free.

Opinions differ but I would recommend only soft white for the GI and backbox. Then you can color match the inserts. If the backbox is still too bright experiment with selectively removing some of the bulbs entirely - you don’t need that many to get illumination back there, and this will reduce playfield glare as well.

Where are you seeing those prices? On your local craigslist the only pins I see are a $3200 swe1 and a $2800 lah. Have a head time believing that a $2100 jp wouldn’t be snapped up instantly.

Think I’ve had 5-6 of them, and they are a hard sell.
Mine was fully shopped at Pintastic in 2017, good shape, $2,000 and nobody bought it. Probably had it listed here too, no takers. Finally sold it on Facebook group for $2000.

I had a very good condition Getaway at Allentown, no takers or offers, it was listed at $2700. Same kind of thing, people say it’s worth so and so (a lot of them being price pumpers of people that own the game)
but actual sales is a different story.
I never go by craigslist pricing and nobody here should either. That’s a garbage party.

He did give you a warranty at least so be sure to send him a list of everything that’s not working.

Some of these issues may have developed during transport. Not uncommon with a 25 year old machine.

I got excited about doing this once myself, only to find out I saved 2 hours of driving but accepted a rat nest infested Teed Off in exchange. Never again, guy was a used car salesman too, shocking...

Try this thread:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/data-east-checkpoint-problem-double-balls

Turned out to be a broken solder join on a diode for one of the ball trough switches. Post #4 in that thread.

All these issues sound fun to fix. When I got my JP, I played it for about 2 weeks before I did any work to it. I made a list of stuff that needed attention, and just went down checking things off once I opened it up.

Some of it will be easy. Some of it will be costly. But doing the work yourself, the right way, gives you a good warm feeling. I even learned a lot about schematics after I blew some components on a board after installing a diode backwards. I learned a whole lot in the process, and now I'm not afraid to tackle anything. That's what Pinside is for.

List a JP for $2,200 around here and see how much of a struggle it'd be. It'd be a struggle to keep your inbox empty.

Would be gone in seconds in Denver as well. Even with shipping that’d be a quick sale, assuming we mean the same thing by “nice ones.”

Check the diodes with a meter too, don't rely on a visual inspection.

Never mind the diode advice, you’re describing a very common issue with Data East and JP specifically.
The switches in the trough take a 6 ball beating, and ALL switches should be replaced with new for reliability because after 25 years, they get flakey.
On top of that, every ball must roll smooth to the next switch and activate each switch. If one hangs or doesn’t roll to the next switch, you get exactly the problems you’re describing. You’re going to want to remove that metal trough completely and clean it. Check for ball divets in the metal track and make sure there is smooth operation. The switches have to be just right. You may need to sand down the trough or use a Dremel to get the divets out. Once you have a free rolling trough with fine working switches, your troubles will go away.
Pitch of the game can also have something to do with it.
Good luck.

Excellent advice. Test the trough switches

Glad you are. If I paid that much for the machine it would have to be damn near perfect!

Well boys, we’ll put this pricing to the test, I just listed a normal, nice JP for sale here.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/for-sale-jurassic-park-31#post-4561296

Market test at $2,900, love it! I'll take the over on a $2,500+ sale price.

Longer than one at $2,200.

No no, you all price pumped it like pricing experts so I’ll take your word on it. All I said was, I had one for 2k that was shopped one year ago and it took quite awhile to sell it. Nobody jumped to buy it.

I’m having fun with it, it’s a great pin, I’m in no rush to sell. $2900 seems fair to me.

Damn $2000 really? Wish that was around a few years ago when I was looking...

$2900 seems fair to me too. I wouldnt go lower than 3k+ on mine with the color dmd, trex, etc.

Goodluck! Were all rooting for you.

...and that's all that matters!

Try to find a game to play with them on. I’m probably about to take them off of my JP - I get “Cliffed” a lot. Decent shot but the small reduction in hole size means it doesn’t go in. Biggest issue seems to be with the control room shot doesn’t happen as badly on the other 2.

Another thing I’ve learned- if you’re in and out of your games a lot you’re just going to destroy the art blades. My JP cab is super tight fit so I choose not to do it.

I was about to say these two things.

I had Cliffys on mine for almost 2 years, and finally took them off at the beginning of this year. Shots were harder to hit with them on, and slow rolls that may have rolled in otherwise, just hit the edge of the Cliff and blocked the shot. Also, for as "little" as I play it compared to the the 15 -/+ years it was on location, I'm not going to cause a whole lot of extra hole damage that already hasn't been done.

And the insides of my cabinet are scuffed and scratched all up from raising and lowering the playfield. There's just not enough gap that you can't avoid brushing the inside's of the cabinet. Plus, I just like the dark sides anyways. Puts more focus on the playfield.

Ive been considering taking my cliffys off as well. Shots are brutal some times.

Anyone that took their cliffy’s off and don’t want them, I’d buy them if the price is right. Pm me

Use the Cliffy's

For what it's worth I sold mine in July. It worked perfectly but had a lot of wear around the scoops and near the drain. No topper, no LEDs, no mods. I was asking $2500 and had 5 offers in 2 days, two at $2200, two at $2500, and one trade for a game that was valued at $2700 (according to Pinside). All buyers were out of state, 3-5 hour drive away.

The prices of these machines are indeed increasing due to the continued popularity of the movie with continued new releases mixed with the growth of pinball in general. I find it odd that an owner had trouble selling one for $2000.....

Sold mine just a day after I took them off. Sorry.

It was odd, but, it was for sale all of Pintastic show last year 2017, never skipped a beat, priced at $2000 right in the front row. Brought it home, lots or tire kicks but eventually sold to someone out west, took about a month. The real odd thing was the playfield was pretty sharp looking, color posts, all titan red rubber. Oh well.

I had to do a double take. I thought you sold your JP! Yeah count me as not liking the JP cliffy's. Bounce outs on the mode start shot had me rage remove them.

Ha. It'll be a while before I consider selling the machine. So yeah, that'd be a shock.

Mode start cliffys were brutal. A solid shot to that scoop and nothing.

Why? Home use doesnt ware scoops like on route.

To protect so it doesn't get any worse. I had mine on from day one and never had a problem...

jp is a great game ..very under rated imho ... but there is a lot that can go wrong with it ... I bought a nicer one for 1800 and put about 1200 into it ... I added the alternative Chad code ..its makes the game much better ... I think 3800 is was to much for jp and you should look on pinside for another pin

Oh, from day one? You dont say...lol. How is this even an example?

lol...from day one when I bought it second hand...

Oh man, then you've really missed out on a lot more high scores. After taking the Cliffy's off, I've come much closer several times to getting to the Wizard mode than when I still had them on. And the scoops were already worn enough that more damage just isn't going to be noticeable.

I'd say the only way Cliffy's would be a must, is if someone had a NOS playfield, or you were the guy who has a JP still in the original box. Other than that, I'd say, play the machine, and love it.

But he put them on DAY ONE. So, he stopped all that wear from the 100's and 100's of plays he put on it....lol.

Sometimes you got to just take it out and clean it up.

Here is an example of the JP trough. Those roller switches are a pita. If you’re not replacing, be sure to use a q tip with alcohol or a flat head screw driver and clean/scrape the grime off those roller wheels, anything that prevents the ball from moving perfectly.

A89CDB4D-17AA-41C5-B2DB-668CB05D1C93 (resized).jpeg

BBCAEED0-2335-4D62-BAF0-2CE840B24277 (resized).jpeg

Did you get any offers over $2000?

Some, but she's still here.

No shortage of strokers, just like before. Actual buyers do not want to pay what other people are price pumping it at, and that's a fact. This is a very nice JP I have for sale here.

Jurassic-Park-5-008 (resized).jpg