(Topic ID: 229066)

Restoration - Bally "Fleet" - 1940

By Caverat

5 years ago



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  • 6 posts
  • 5 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 5 years ago by jmsvero
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    #1 5 years ago

    Hello all. Just joined so I hope this is the right place for this.

    First some background. Sometime in the early 1950s my dad acquired a Bally "Fleet" game. As a kid back then I remember playing it. Later in the 1970s, I had it at my place and my kids used it in the early 1980s. Since then it has been sitting in the basement here. I think the last time I tried to use it was in the mid 1990s. It still worked at that time. I do antique radio restoration and figured maybe I should branch out and see if I could get this machine restored, so using a current-limited power supply and doing a visual inspection on the wiring, I powered it up. It still works! (A few lights and some dirty contacts but that is to be expected and an easy fix.)

    So now my questions.... first, I would like to acquire a schematic of the machine if such is available. The pinball is a Bally "Fleet", Model 390, manufactured August 1940. so far I have been able to trace wiring and measure continuity without too much effort, but having a schematic would be helpful. Secondly, the backglass is in fair condition, some slight deterioration is evident but nothing too noticeable . However replacing is also an option depending on what is required and costs. Third, major unobtainium components all appear OK. Of course that issue is not unlike that faced getting parts for radios of that same era, and I do have contacts who can either locate or fabricate those. Finally general advice regarding cleaning the game board It's just a matter of removing decades of dirt, nothing damaged. (The rubber bumpers, etc need replaced, but I found those available online.)

    The decision on whether or not I proceed will depend on what the probability of a successful outcome is for each of the issues I presented here. Any help or advice is appreciated! I just don't like to see a piece of history going away if it can be preserved

    #2 5 years ago

    Congratulations. It sounds like you have a complete, working game from 1940 and the skills to address issues that might come up. Not sure what the dilemma is but I'll share what I know.

    Personal experience and a search on ipdb.org lead me to believe that there are very few schematics available for pinball machines before the 1950s. There are some but they tend to be for horse race and payout machines.

    It's unlikely that a backglass has been reproduced. If you're handy with Photoshop or Gimp you could have a translight made. There are also services that will do the scanning/cleaning/printing process for you but they'll likely require your backglass for a time.

    If your game is complete and working chances are small that you'll break something in a home environment, particularly on a flipperless game. Should you end up needing a part there's a good source here on pinside (https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-em-seeking-parts-thread) and there's always ebay. Parts from that era don't come along as often, but they do come up.

    To clean the playfield start slowly, carefully and in an inconspicuous spot using the least pressure and least aggressive cleaner possible to get the job done. Remove any loose dirt first before moving on to a cleaner. Consider Novus 1 to start or Novus 2 if you have stubborn dirt in places. Some advocate Mill Wax, others don't. A coat or two of paste wax should make it look and play better and make it easier to clean later. Unless you have damage on the playfield like cracking or planking it should clean up pretty well. Bumpers should clean well too.

    I like the castings used on this game which were also used on the '34 versions of Fleet.

    /Mark

    #3 5 years ago

    What Mark said but i would add. Call pbresource.com. they have all kinds of schematic and parts and you never know what they have burried in back.

    -Jeff

    #4 5 years ago

    Hi, I had two of them over the years. Both were good original examples but no schematic was with the machines. I did try all sources for one, but, in retrospect, the mechanism is pretty straight forward and wasn't hard to trouble shoot.
    Some lessons learned: need 5 balls for play, and four for the firing cannons.
    You may have to move the activation wire in the front of the spinning cannon in order to make it easier to score a "hit." It's slightly recessed by the factory, or operator, and otherwise makes scoring very difficult.
    The button on the bottom of the cabinet is to clear credits. It worked fine on one of my machines from the time I got it. One machine required some tinkering and cleaning of the internals to get it to work.
    Here's a video of game play that I made when I had the game:


    And, as obvious as this may sound, there are no moving flippers. Some playfield plastics look like flippers, but they are fixed.
    Hope these few pix help with the resto. Good luck
    Joel

    Bally fleet 1 (resized).jpgBally fleet 1 (resized).jpgBally fleet 3 (resized).jpgBally fleet 3 (resized).jpgFleet  (resized).jpgFleet (resized).jpgbally fleet flyer (resized).jpgbally fleet flyer (resized).jpgbally fleet glass (resized).jpgbally fleet glass (resized).jpgfleet arrangements 3 (resized).jpgfleet arrangements 3 (resized).jpgfleet arrangements 5 (resized).jpgfleet arrangements 5 (resized).jpg
    #5 5 years ago

    Thanks all for the feedback! The pictures are what my machine looks like inside, I have done a bit of clean and adjust to the rotary switch assemblies and they are working good. At first the scoring unit would fail to increment at times but that was just a bit of gunk keeping a ratchet from dropping properly. All good now. I am going to order the rubber bumper kit next since it appears the machine itself is functional and worth restoring. (Well I know restoring antiques is seldom a for-profit venture, but that is fine by me. I did find the transformer seems to run a bit warm, but I was able to measure voltages and determine what they should be in event the transformer has a shorted turn and needs replaced. I have facilities to rewind transformers in the lab so no problem there.

    The flyer is interesting, it seems that new this machine could be had for $105.50. Back then that was a month's wages.....

    Looks like I have a winter project at hand......

    #6 5 years ago

    Let me know if it becomes available for sale.Good luck with your new project.

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