Gladstone, MI
Facebook Link to all the photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.759356060757105.1073741831.100000481547056&type=1&l=d231c6511b
Project: Williams Gulfstream Pinball 1973.
I bought a Williams Gulfstream Pinball machine from Craigslist at the beginning of August. The original owners had owned a bar and after the bar closed it was stored in a damp basement for about 20 years. The machine looked dirty in the dark basement but looked worse after we got it out in the daylight. The owner said mice had made a nest near the flippers which he had cleaned out before listing it on Craigslist. The inside was covered in dust and mildew. When powered on, the machines would run continuous. After driving 2 hours to Newberry, MI to see it, I ended up buying for $60.
Since my first pinball machine was a 1974 Williams Triple Action, I already had some knowledge about Electro Magnetic pinball machines. I found all the original paperwork, schematics and manuals inside. I found that the score reels were not resetting, causing the score motors to continuously run until all the reels read zero. After a quick adjustment to one of the switches, it stopped running and was in play mode. Many of the switches were just dirty and needed to be cleaned and “loosened up” from years of not being played. Let the cleaning begin…
I stripped everything out of the cabinet and cleaned the inside to get rid of the dust and mildew. Used my shopvac in reverse to blow clean all the switches, relays and coils. Stripped down the playfield for cleaning and used Novus 2 to clean the playfield and then waxed with a Carnauba wax. All the bumper covers, posts, plastics were all cleaned and a new rubber kit was installed. The metal skirting at the top of the playfield and the three wooden rail pieces were all sanded and spray painted with Rustolum Berry Pink. Ordered new plastic ball guides to replace the old ones and a new ball. Changed most of the light bulbs as I went.
The backglass has quite a bit of flaking but the cabinet graphics are in pretty nice shape yet. I also replaced the four feet on the bottom of the legs since the old somes were rusted away.
Still need to clean up the coin door and legs and polish them. I’ll also go over the cabinet with some Novus 2.
Played my first game about one month later and I’m quite happy with the overall results of my project. It’s a tough game with lots of challenges and I look forward to moving it in my arcade room to let friends and family enjoy.
The basement was one of those built on the side of a hill so one side of the basement wall was exposed with an outside door. Not 20 feet from the basement was a pond! The grass hadn't been cut in many years and we carried it out through the brush and wet mucky ground. Quite the roadtrip for sure!
