My Funhouse restoration is taking way too long, and I was planning on selling Hollywood Heat at the Pintastic show. Funhouse had to get bumped from the rotisserie. I thought it was pretty funny. I'm hoping to tear down this weekend and order parts, finish it by next weekend and enjoy it for a couple weeks before taking it to the show. I'm going to try and scale back the tear everything apart and buff all metal approach and get it up and running, clean, and playing well with new rubber. We'll see how that goes. I'll try and document some of it just because it's not a game you see a lot about. I've never played it. Bad games tend to be big hits at drunken parties. I hope this is no exception. I may dive in and realize it needs a ton of work and it won't make it to the show. Stay tuned!

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Fancy rubber

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All the easy stuff is removed from the top. Now to pry off the stupid guides and drop some stuff from the bottom. It's dirty but I've seen dirtier fully working games. So far one broken target, cracked ramp (hopefully repairable) and a locked up coil. I hope I don't find too much more when I turn it around.

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Fully stripped topside! Those metal ball guides are awful. I lost a couple small chips. There doesn't appear to be any major wear. We'll see after it's cleaned up.

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I got a helper!

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My other helper. Checking out Gojira. I've decided I need to listen to some metal that happened after the 90's. I like it so far.

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I suck at taking pictures but the playfield came out really nice. I could probably spend a couple more hours with the magic eraser getting out tiny marks but I'm super happy with the result as is. I'd love to pull the mylar but I have no experience pulling mylar on a Gottlieb, I'm on a schedule and I don't intend on keeping the game. This is after one coat of wax.

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These really need to be regrained. I seem to remember them being a PITA to remove from the rails with the nails. Maybe I'll try to clean them up without removing....

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I thought we agreed no buffer for this quick shop job! Damn you Gran Marnier! Now I have to make them all look this good. It was the quick version of regraining, only about 5 minutes. Hopefully the curved ones will be as easy.

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That really wan't that much work. I'm glad I did't attempt removing them from the rails. If this was a restore I could have gone into much more detail but this is the quick version.

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There are lots of existing threads from people much more qualified explaining how to regrain metal, but this is my quick version. I could have gotten better results removing the metal from the rails and going through multiple grits of sandpaper. I think I get about 85% of the result with my quick method. Scotch Brite finishing sander wheel on a cheap Harbor Freight drill press and a quick buff with a cheapo Harbor Freight buffing wheel.

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Plastics cleaned up decent. There was a thread with a yellowing removal process I've been curious to try. Maybe if I had more time and I knew I could get replacement plastics if I screwed it up. I'm still hoping to repair the ramp. it's in decent shape, one of the mounting tabs is broken off. I guess the Teed Off ramp works but it's $70. If whoever buys this wants to turn a decent game into a really nice game they can spend the extra $70. I'm not sure I can justify it here.

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Under playfield hardware after a bath in the ultrasonic. Anything with the zinc (?) coating looks great. The rest of it looks much better than when it went in, but still not great. I didn't remove everything from the bottom of the playfield so these will go right back in the game as is. Otherwise I'd put them in the tumbler or most likely replace them. My small flat head bit too a bath too. I was wondering where it went.

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This is where the ultrasonic really shines every time. They look brand new. I'll have to pick some rotted rubber off, otherwise they are near perfect. I don't see any badly cracked ones so these will all go back in the game.

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Most of the hardware is clean and organized. I typically use a couple bins but they are taken up from the Funhouse I put on hold so I squeezed it all into the spare bin. I'd love to replace a lot of this hardware but I don't have it on hand. I have to keep telling myself it's a Hollywood Heat and I'm already going overboard.

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Made some progress today. Just sort of plunking down parts as I walk by, no rhyme or reason. That is the nice thing about single layer playfields. Has anyone seen LEDs in a Hollywood Heat? It seems to me the theme is screaming for them. I know it's $50 I'll never get back but I might get a kick out of it.

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I was hoping to have the top side complete today. I got pretty close. I kind of wish I was a little more consistent with the buffing and new hardware. I need to remind myself I don't intend on keeping this game, I'm stressing about things nobody will ever see and it's not a valuable game. This is an over the top shop job, not a restoration. Once all the plastics are on and I can see what's visible I have a feeling I'll be touching up with more buffing and replacing hardware.Here are a couple pics of the progress and a couple with the plastics tossed on. The leaf switches need to be cleaned and adjusted before I put the plastics on and I need to order a lamp socket for the pop bumper.

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Back to it today! I wasn't happy with the way the Hot Shot ramp cleaned up. Everything around it was shiny and it was still grimy. I couldn't take it to the buffer without ruining the decal. I took a few good pics and decided to risk cleaning it further. I decided to remove the decal and clean it properly. The decal is available so I don't feel like its a big deal. I could also attempt to scan it and reproduce it. For now I'm calling it the shiny Hot Shop ramp mod. I like it better than the decal.

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A quick before/after of that area

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I just noticed Rudy's creepy eyes watching over the job in the 2nd pic.

I saw that. Looks great! I prefer the big lettering on the original but cool to have an alternative.

I pretty much go with cool white frosted in GI as a rule. I typically use Cointaker on newer games but I had some Pinball Life on hand and they are a little cheaper. I've been happy with Pinball Life in older games. They seem less overpowering.

Just spent a half hour scouring through pictures and looking for any open screw holes. Losing my mind trying to figure out how I missed a double post. It was this little bugger under the apron. Time for a break.

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The bottom of the playfield is the worst part of the shop job for me. At the beginning of a shop/restore I'm all fired up and don't mind doing the repetitive tasks. Building the top of the playfield is very rewarding with all the eye candy. Cleaning switches, not so much. This game was either serviced before it went dormant or doesn't have a ton of play. It's fairly clean underneath. The picture shows a fairly shiny sling bracket I didn't touch. I'm going to try and keep the bottom playfield stuff to a minimum. There are 4 slings that will get new sleeves and cleaned up switches. Flipper mechs will get cleaned and hopefully only partially rebuilt. Pop bumper will get the full service. I may try and skimp on the rollovers. I'll polish the actuator by hand as I reinstall them and give them a quick cleaning. I'm sure the drop target bank will have to be rebuilt. I hate those things.

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I snuck a couple hours in today. I was hoping the rollovers I could just polish in place with some Wrights. They looked 1,000 times better than my hand polishing after ten seconds on the sanding wheel, and twice as good again after a quick buff. Add on another hour. Foolish of me to think I could skimp on those. Stupid slotted screws. I'd consider replacing every slotted screw with a phillips if I did these often. I was hoping to reuse a lot of the flipper parts. They are a little dirtier and more worn than anticipated. Ultrasonic is not stripping off the grime like I had hoped. I think it's time to change the solution. Today was a little discouraging, not sure I can have it ready for Pintastic at this pace. I really wanted a couple weeks to enjoy the game and play test it.

This is why you don't make parts orders late at night after a few drinks. I ordered 115 yellow #44 LEDs. I meant to order 15. It was an experiment, I think I typically put white LEDs in yellow inserts. Maybe they will let me trade the 100 bag for something I'll eventually use like white.

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There are a couple alternates available. Someone made a Miami Vice one that looked good. I'm not really into the show, so I'll pass, although it would still be a big improvement. There are some others that are borderline NSFW. Fun, but not ok for my gameroom. Someone suggested another theme that would be amazing, not sure if anyone has done it. I don't want to post it unless I can make it happen. If anyone is good with photoshop or has some info on printing a one off PM me.

Some day I will put a pop bumper together without having to desolder a lamp socket half way through because I forgot something. In my defense the majority of games I work on are B/W and they don't have this plate.

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I probably got a good 6-8 hours in today, which makes up for very little time Friday and Saturday.

LED's are in. I'm sure I will do some adjusting once the game is on. I think I will need to change a few out to flex and I'd like to experiment with some colors and maybe color changers.

Other than under the apron, all mechs are reinstalled. Pop bumper, 4 slings and 4 flippers were cleaned in the ultrasonic, replaced parts as needed and all new coil sleeves.

Hopefully I got all the switches cleaned and adjusted. It wasn't a full bottom teardown so I'm sure I missed something.

I'm happy with it. The game was in a basement for many years not being played. It's not a perfect restore but I think a decent, deep shop job and one more gae to add back into a collection. I realize it's no MM. If it was I probably wouldn't have bothered with documenting it.

I have some great ideas for retheme. I need to put them aside so I can at least get the game playable.

All that's left is all the stuff under the apron, trough and related stuff and board work. I'll do a quick clean up of the cabinet. It's in pretty good shape as is.

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You've probably never played or seen it because not many people like it. I've never played it either. I got it partially working before I tore it down. the layout looks like a lot of fun. I'm really looking forward to playing a game I don't know super clean and dialed in. Hopefully by the weekend!

Preliminary board work is done. I say preliminary because I don't know if the game works. If I twisted the reset board I could get some things to come on. I removed the old battery (no leakage!) and replaced with a capacitor. I removed the reset board and reflowed all the pins. I decided to replace the socket on the board while I was there. I also added the ground on the interboard connector. I have a few things left to do still. Clean up the cab, maybe some touchup, rebuild the plunger. I'm at the point where I can plug it in so I'm gonna give it a shot. I poured a stiff drink, wish me luck!

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Well, LEDs look great! Other than that I have some work to do. Looks like all the flashers are stuck on and I have no solenoids. I had flipper power before I started so its likely something I did. The game does boot and will start but I have no solenoid power and no switches. Off to check the obvious stuff. At least it boots.

Turns out it was only 2 flashers locked on. The manual is pretty vague so troubleshooting a system I'm not familiar with is slow. They share wire colors so I'm pretty sure it's one of the under playfield transistors. I don't have that in my stock pile so I just pulled the lamps for now.

I think the game not fully booting was because of the outhole switch not registering. I can now start a game that scores... with 3 flippers. Probably a wiring error on my part. Progress!

I realized this thread is as much of a documentation of my silly errors as it is a shop out/back from the dead thread. I didn't take great pictures of coil wiring thinking I could look up the colors in the manual. The manual sucks, or mine is incomplete. I wired the right flipper wrong. With any luck I only cooked the diode. I was able to start a multiball with the 3 working flippers so I'm pretty happy. I'm confident I can get it running in short time tomorrow.

Part of the delay on finishing this game is the half assed retheme. Preparing the artwork was a lot more work than I anticipated. I'm only replacing things that can be easily reversed. The translite should be back from the printer on Friday. In addition to the translite I'll make some drop target decals and possibly stand up decals. I'l also replace the Heat is On billboard with something new. Here is one of the ideas I have for the drop targets.

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Unfortunately a cooked flipper coil is stopping me from moving forward. Trying to find one locally. I guess I'll use my time to work on the drop target decals.

I think these are gonna look pretty good. I'm hoping glossy photo paper plus protection doesn't mess with the targets function.

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I need to trim them a little cleaner but I think this will do the trick.

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The translite is done. I wasn't able to get it today, hopefully tomorrow. I wanted to wait to post a picture with it in the game but the picture the printer sent me looked so damn good here it is. No idea of he quality up close or how it will react to light, but the same guy did my MAME marquis and that is fantastic.

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A little obscure, but totally reversible.

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The original plan was just the translite. The playfield and plastics pretty much already match the new theme. Every time I look at it I come up with new ideas and add things.

If I end up liking the game and it doesn't sell this weekend I may continue taking it a bit further.

I had it listed at $1300 which may have been a bit high. I think I have it down to $1100 right now. Part of me wants to take it home and enjoy it for awhile.

I'm finally getting the game room back in order after the show. In hindsight it was foolish to bring a game I'd never play tested to a show for hundreds of people to play. I planned on installing the flipper coil Thursday afternoon, tweaking it and having it ready for the show. We got a late start Thursday and the free play room was already booming when we got there. I was too tired to bother with it so I waited until Friday morning. A little hungover and lots of people around you playing games while you try to repair something isn't an ideal situation. Fortunately Tony Dziedzic not only helped me by bringing the coil, but also troubleshooting when it didn't work. Also thanks to Ardvark Pinball Repair. Allan's wife Susan let me steal a diode. I promised a beer in return. I will fulfill the promise along with the 12 pack! It didn't take long for the game to go down again. One of the brackets that held the return lane broke. An easy fix at home with a rivet press, not so much at a pinball show. I scoured the outdoor flea market and parts vendors and ended up with some stuff that "might" work. After a couple hours and some more scouring I found something on one of the playfields Automated had that would save me. He said take the part but don't let anyone see you and give me $5. Ha! Deal. In reality it's only a $3 part new, but I was glad to get the game back up and running. Saturday morning I thought the GI went out and kind of gave up on it. I just set it up at home and it plays great. The LED's fell out, or got knocked out under the slings. GI is fine. Flippers are strong, need a little adjustment. Translite looks fantastic lit up and off. I thought I saw somewhere the drop targets synced up, that may still need some work.

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I've been making some adjustments and enjoying a bunch of games on this. I think the game is quite good really. I have the flippers dialed in. The drop target issue was a matter of me not understanding the rules. They only sync up during multiball and it works perfectly. Cool feature! There were a few stuck balls at the show over the right sling plastic. Hopefully flattening it will help, it has a little bow to it.

I also got a free play ROM to work. Had to fight with Windows 10 to take the driver. It doesn't appear that MCUMall will continue driver support for the GQ-3X but if you disable the driver certification you can get the 7 driver to work.

A couple quick custom cards.

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I ended up selling the game. Any further retheming seemed like way too much work, I didn't have the time.

Speaker panel would have been a nice touch. If anyone wants any of the decal files I'll pass them along. I just printed them at home. Most were done with my limited Photoshop skills. Translite cost me some dough to have it converted to vector and had to have it professionally printed. Not sure I want to part with those files yet.

I don't remember if it was from here or the local forum. Maybe he will chime in if he still has it. I do still have a spare translite if anyone wanted an alternate.

I had a sign printer do it for me. It looks better than most alternate translites I've seen. He did a great job.

Sorry, I don't have either and the game is long gone. I believe I used Pinball Life's generic LEDs and just color matched inserts. I generally go frosted white for GI across the board. I like the cheaper LEDs in older games, they give the effect of a nice bright light and accentuate the insert colors, but they don't look ridiculous. Something like a Cointaker Super Bright looks out of place in a game like this, to me at least. I remember thinking it looked great when it was done.