You know I never paid attention to that before and didn’t move the top two. When I put on the hardtop the hole on the left side lined up in the liberal hole and the right side with med hole. I thought I had done something wrong and drilled a hole where the med is located on the left side. I think I will move it back to the liberal position and find the liberal hole on the right. Thanks. Either way if u move the bottom one to the liberal where the sling is, even if u don’t move the top 2, it will make it a little easier.

Very good, thanks for the info.

Let us know what u think.

Will do. It will probably be a few days. Thanks.

I guess I’m going to have to drill some pilot holes which I’m pretty leery of doing. I don’t want to mess up my playfield.

Is the above drawing correct? All the posts would be moved lower toward the flippers for liberal? The slingshot adjustments seem to be the opposite of what is shown for Eight Ball Deluxe for example.

Do your upper 2 posts just have one hole like the slingshot post?

Post a picture of Eight Ball Deluxe adjustments.

The settings for the two games are opposite, but I think there is a very different geometry involved as well. For Mata Hari, having the sling posts at the highest setting tends to bump the ball over to the outlane, especially if the upper posts are also set to conservative. I don’t believe that EBD has options for the posts above the slings, and lower posts are more or less at the level of the return lanes, increasing the odds of a bump over to the outlane, where a rebound from above would hit the return lane.

I have my Mata Hari rigged for all conservative on the playfield and the MPU both. The strategy is to nudge on the slings to shift the ball up to the A/B lane rather than straight to the oposite outlane.

I do have the 3 holes on my upper posts like I’m supposed to. zombywoof is correct. Eight Ball Deluxe is a different geometry. It has no adjustments for the upper posts, only the slings. I guess that’s why the settings of the two games are totally opposite.

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My Ek is set up like MH with 3 holes by the slings and 3 holes at the post above with the adjustments in the manual the same for both. If u just want the liberal setting and drill the hole for it, the post will cover the hole for medium setting. If u have all 3 holes and set it in one of the outer holes, one of the holes will show. Post only covers 2 holes. I wouldn’t drill the conservative hole unless u plan to use it. You may PM BigAL for more info on why EBD is different.

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It doesn’t look like there’s really anywhere to go with this post. It seems to be all the way down. Look at the slot in the plastic. The left side has a little room maybe.

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Take a Drexel and take it out a little. On my MH all the plastics fit when I put it on liberal. I just set up EK to liberal and had to use the Dremel to widen the slot on one spot. If it’s not perfect the nut will cover it.

Good idea. For the liberal setting when you line up the post with the rollover guide wire, should the top of the post be about even with the guide wire? This picture still shows the normal setting and you can see the post is just above the rollover guide wire.

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Yes, that is correct

Thanks eagle18.

Finally moved the posts. Seems a little better. I didn’t move the upper posts. I still suck at this game! Thanks for the help eagle18. Pop bumbers are next.

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It helps some. Not a huge difference. Every little bit helps. U should move the upper 2 also.

I’ll check it out but I didn’t want the 3rd hole to show.

I was wrong I don’t even have all the holes on the upper posts. I have dimples on one post and nothing on the other.

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Hi all, I’m about 90% done with my playfield swap, but I’ve hit a snag. I lost all the teardown pictures I took of the old playfield, and I don’t know how to connect the GI and feature lamps. If you have these pics and don’t mind sharing them, please post them here. Or if you’re feeling generous and you don’t mind taking some strategic pics for me, I’ll be forever grateful. Thanks!

I have a couple pics here of the bottom, im looking to see if I can find some more for you that I already posted.
A couple good shots of where the GI ties in.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/i-thought-she-was-a-dirty-girl-before-i-stripped-her-down/page/6#post-5305641

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/i-thought-she-was-a-dirty-girl-before-i-stripped-her-down/page/6#post-5308771

Awesome, thank you!

Funny how this game seems to follow me around... after restoring one last year, I’ll be doing a full shop job on another one ... my serial no. is 1031, and the one I’m working on tomorrow (2nd shot) is 1056.

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Are u shopping that one for someone else Dono? Or did u manage to pick up another EM version?

Not mine unfortunately. The current owners have had this game ever since the woman's dad gave it to her as a gift when she was a teenager. They recalled a story told by her father that he had walked into a vending distribution center in Ohio and requested to buy the top player in the lot, the one that players loved the most. The owner immediately offered up Mata Hari EM. I'd say that the OP knew EXACTLY what he was doing. The game has travelled plenty, from Ohio, to Seattle WA, to TX, and now to Middleburg VA.

Finished the shop job this evening. It was in incredible mechanical shape, and one of the few EMs I've seen that was serviced the right way... super clean, all steppers cleaned and lubed, very little coil dust, no corrosion, and those crappy Bally fuseholders long gone. Made my job so much easier.

Cool addendum to this story, I was invited back to talk shop with the dad who bought the game; he's currently 79, and hasn't played the MH in years.
He's coming from Ohio next week to spend some time with his daughter and son in law... he's a big fan of pinball and beer... how can you go wrong with that?

That’s a great story. Thanks for sharing it with us. I know she and her Dad will really enjoy playing MH again. She was fortunate to find someone like u that has so much knowledge of that same machine.

Thanks for the kind words Eagle18!

Sorry guys I have yet to post some pics of my HUO estate sale #1097 EM. Been real busy at work. Been down to the shop only twice in a month and it was spent assessing and debuging a few other things. The game plays great as is. This week I got sick and tested for covid today so cant leave home for now. ANYWAY. I had an idea. The SS version has a 4th 10K chime and for me it is particularly fun to hear the 50K award when you drain out a lit outlane or get all targets down. It would be very easy to add a 4th one on the EM. The switch is already on the 10k relay. Just a matter of weaving another wire into the harness and finding a chime box from an early SS. There's even spare pins on the headbox plug. Thoughts?

Looking forward to seeing those pics. The EM guys will have to chime in on that question. Nice pun, huh. I like my 4th chime on my SS machine.

Almost positive 10K has an associated chime on the EM, will have to check my schematic though.

I have a Mata Hari backglass, without the German writing, in perfect condition. Going to list it for sale. Any advice on what the price should be?

I'm not sure on the price but I'm in the market for a good solid state back glass that doesn't have the dagger writing.

Wellcome to the group! I think bounces from the saucer to the glass are very common. I’m not sure I know what you mean by ‘bounces behind the drop targets.’

If you mean that you are getting glass hits when you hit where there is already a dropped target, I’d check that the drop targets are flush with the playfield when down.

zombywoof is right, glass hits are common from the saucer. BTW your bumper caps are reversed. 100’s on top, 1000’s below. Your playfield has a lot of wear. Many of us have installed hardtops on our MH and like them. A lot of good advice in this group.

For a brief time, I owned both the EM Mata Hari and the SS version in late 1980's or so. (Bought both from a route operator for $25 and picked them up from a barn). I thought the SS was a huge step forward and comparing the two insides side by side was VERY educational. I was always surprised they made both the EM and SS versions, and assumed it was mostly done as a proof-of-concept for them to gain internal support to make the switchover in their whole company. (I am guessing they had a team of mature electrical engineer hardware guys battling for popularity with the team of 'new kids' doing everything in software).

The EM I bought was nearly perfect. Just some contacts needed cleaning, the sequencer motor and flipper coils needed to be cleaned up and a few of the drop-targets needed to be fixed. Playfield was 8/10. Backglass was 9.5/10

The SS unit I got was a mess when I plugged it in before opening the backbox. It had the early MPU board, which had some battery leakage, so I cut my teeth and painstakenly learned how to repair a MPU board. Enough time and the RIGHT tools and it was pretty easy. And back then, getting the replacement parts was easy. Rebuilt the flippers, swapped some rubber and it worked perfect! I even came up with the clever idea to remote the battery back (got a replacement part at Radio Shack) before that was a thing! Powered right up. The backglass on the SS was another story. One of the colors flaked everywhere on the glass (the red or pink I think) and I tried to hand-paint the color back in with some stained glass paint and some white backer. (Apparently I am not the backglass repair guy!).

Anyway, I sold the EM and SS for $1000 a few years later (maybe 1990?) and thought I had made a ton of money!

I used to play Mata Hari at the bowling alley that my friend and I would hang out at while his dad bowled on Friday nights. Took me several years after starting my pin collection to find a good one at a decent price here in S. Ca. Got it off of Ebay, won the auction easily as nobody else had bid. I guess the "local pickup only" out in the Coachella Valley kept people from bidding. Back glass a solid 9, playfield 8. Didn't have to do much to it as the boards were all good, brand new Alltec mpu had been installed. Seller gave me 3 other backglasses, an extra Mata Hari, a Harlem Globetrotters with alot of bubbling paint and a beautiful Strikes and Spares. The only thing the Mata Hari required was a good cleaning, new rubbers, some bulb replacements and some minor adjustments. 5 years later, it still plays great.

My pin collection is centered around Bally games from the 70's - Capt. Fantastic, EM Night Rider, Evel Knievel, Eight Ball, Harlem Globetrotters, Dolly Parton and of course, Mata Hari. I'm out of room but I am still searching for a Strikes and Spares cabinet and playfield to go with the backglass I have.

Already missed the Arcade Expo at the Banning pinball museum in March and now California Extreme this weekend due to covid. I hope, as I'm sure the rest of you do, that this thing goes away soon so we can get back to our events, tournaments and weekend fun. Playing our own machines helps but not being able to have friends and family over to play sucks.

Stay safe and hang in there everyone....we'll get through it somehow.

It only protects the plastics, you shouldn't worry about damaging the glass as long as it's tempered.

Planetary pinball has the Bally logo lane dividers in stock. Just a heads up!

Nominated for “Post of the year” in any thread

Only one left in stock

I got 6 from Marco in my last order but realized I probably need some more when I get around to Aladdin's Castle if that uses them too. The ones on my Mata Hari and Blackjack are fine (as is playboys) but the ones on Mystic are hosed and gone.... when I changed them to regular the only thing left of the Bally logo one was the top.

I bought my second Mata Hari restored with a hard top. I am very pleased with it and think it looks great. But The lane dividers look an orangey pink. I’d like to have a set of nice red ones with the Bally logo

For me, it plays very fast and very smooth, very similar if not the same as a nicely clearcoated playfield - I love it. Hardtops are a great alternative to someone like me who has neither the desire nor inclination to mess with 2PAC. Plus, I have no artistic ability to do playfield repaints or touchups....I can barely handle stenciling a cabinet.

I had a protector on my MH playfield before putting in a hardtop and while the protector hid the performance evils (cupped inserts, rough spots on the playfield) over time the protector would sometimes buckle up, create uneven spots that affect ball trajectory, and have to be readjusted. I still use a protector on my Black Jack for the cupped inserts and that one has held up well for about 6 months now, but I do feel like the hardtop plays smoother and faster. Plus...nice crisp, clear, and bright artwork!

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It is ultra smooth and quiet. The sound of the ball on the hardtop is dampened and you can't hear the reverberation of the wood playfield. As far as game play, it is smooth and fast. I am very happy with it and it looks fantastic!