(Topic ID: 312615)

New to Restoration (Bally Monte Carlo 1973

By wmkane

2 years ago



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  • 5 posts
  • 4 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 2 years ago by Garrett
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Gridiron After Paint Touch Up (resized).jpg
Gridiron Paint Pitting (resized).jpg

#1 2 years ago

Greetings fellow Pin-Ballers,

I'm a little new to this. I enjoy a good game of pinball, and grew up around the electro-mechanical games. I never thought I'd actually *own* a pinball machine, but I've fallen into a deal I couldn't refuse: A free pinball machine! All it cost me getting a few brothers-in-law to assist with it's relocation. I figure that'll be some burgers and some cold drinks once it's up and running.

All said and told, I'm the excited owner of a 1973 Bally Monte Carlo (#monte-carlo-bally-1973). I'm not an expert at grading, but I can say that the condition of the cabinet is pretty gosh darn good for a 49 year old game that has over 25,000 plays on it. The backbox and glass are in equal condition. I've not noted any major problems there.

I've spent the past week watching some YouTube videos about machine upkeep from the likes of PinballHelp, and have begun Retro Gaming with Hopper's series detailing his tear down and restore of another 1973 Bally Monte Carlo.

The playfield is dusty/dirty. I know that some of the "dirt" on the field is old wax, as it's small bits of white material. The bumpers are mostly dry-rotted and need to be replaced as well. I know that I can clean up the playfield with some cleaning wax, and then rewax the field. These jobs, I think I can handle.

The jobs I don't think I can't handle on my own, are as follows. I'm trying to describe in detail what is happening, so that others more experienced than me can make suggestions. I appreciate any and all advice. Here's my notes:

1. When I plug in the game and turn the switch to on, nothing happens. No lights, no sounds. The machine has no coinslots, only a credit button. When I push the button one of two things happen:
A. The lights on the backboard come on. The Game Over light in the lower right corner usually is glowing. Lots of noises come from the backboard as the score resets to 0, and some noises come from below the playfield but the ball is not popped out.
B. The same thing as above but the ball does pop out. A full game of 5 balls can usually be played (though sometimes only 2 or 3 balls are allowed before Game Over flashes.
It's hit or miss if A or B happens, though if a ball does pop out usually you can play the full game, and press the credit button again for a new game.

2. If the ball does pop out, much of the game still works and responds. I took off the top glass, and was able to press all of the buttons, the flippers work, the bumpers respond to the ball and scoring appears to work as well. The only thing of note is that the playfield lights do not come on.

3. The machine came with original documentation. A circuit diagram was included and one of the previous owners had circled the Ball Count Unit Reset Solenoid C-28-1100. Not sure if the issues listed above would be explained if this solenoid is bad. Not sure how to locate it either . . . I know what capacitors look like, but my 1990's high school electronics class didn't cover solenoids.

I've gone as far as to get out a voltmeter and confirm that the transformer is outputting the voltage as marked on the card inside of the machine, which it does. After that my knowledge of electronics is falling a little short (it's been 20+ years since high school electronics).

I'm really excited to own this machine and have the opportunity to fix it up and get it working. I did create a shared Google Folder with some images in it (link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-OSszsdjdlz-BGDuDTD-OoTxl70huxvQ?usp=sharing)

#2 2 years ago

The best advice I can give is search Youtube for repair/restoration videos. The best is Joe's Classic Video Games. You can see step by step everything you need to do.
When I get a new machine I take apart every score reel and stepper unit and clean out the gunk. I clean and inspect every relay and switch. Rebuild the flippers, replace the rubber rings and light bulbs. Clean the play field, touch up paint and then wax.
Now you will have a reliable machine that will give many years of enjoyment.

#3 2 years ago

That pin is in excellent condition inside and out.

There isn't a great picture of the playfield but it is too dirty to play. The pinball will pick up debris and get stuck to the ball, as it rolls it can pit the playfield paint.

There are guides out there for this work and it's not hard at all. Like Kent above, I also rip a pin apart if it's been sitting for an extended period. In your case I'd get the playfield cleaned up first. Take all the plastics off and clean with Novus 2 to remove the dirt and grime to see how the playfield really looks. Pop bumper areas need to be addressed if thy are an issue. Put fresh mylar under the pops if needed, they usually do. That's a bit more work but also, not a hard job.

Once cleaned up an reassembled is when to go through start up. But it is always a good idea to make sure stepper units and score reels operate properly.

Great game and very nice condition.

#4 2 years ago

Start a thread for EM repair first. Get it up and running then look into restoring it. For an EM the first thing I do is turn all the motors, bonus and player unit. They need to advance freely by hand. Also some EMs you need to push the left flippers button after plugging in to start it, but not sure which might that pertains to.

#5 2 years ago

If you wish you can try to get the game running, a common practice is to use your fingers to test playfield mechanics.

This Gridiron had been played with a dirty playfield and the paint had pits all over the place. The ball will pick up this crude and can damage the playfield paint. Took a great deal of time to touch the playfield on this one. A shame too, as generally the condition was very good other than the pitting.

I'm not implying you have to do paint touch ups either. But that's not too hard either for small areas.

Before

Gridiron Paint Pitting (resized).jpgGridiron Paint Pitting (resized).jpg

After

Gridiron After Paint Touch Up (resized).jpgGridiron After Paint Touch Up (resized).jpg

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