I am hoping that a rat rod style of pinball building comes around soon. It sure would be a lot easier!

I like pretty-much factory. I prefer incandescent over LEDs because because of the aesthetics. The only mods I really like are things that were originally intended for games but were cut for cost related reasons, or other weird reasons.

I personally like the idea of altering and customizing. Especially if it is done well and improves on the table.

I think I am more partial to stock. THAT SAID......stock often costs MORE than simply making your own or going custom mostly b/c a lot of the parts aren't in production. I am in the middle of "Super Shopping" my Johnny Mnemonic. I think it would be more of a restore if there were more stock stuff available. BUT I am kind of having fun coming up with my own.

I think both approaches have viability in the world....

There's a mixture of both. Purists seem to be a bit of a minority at this point, but we DO exist

That being said, the majority of restoration threads don't really center around what a restoration truly is.

If you look up restore or restoration in a dictionary, it's clear that you're returning something to original condition.

You're not changing it. You're not 'improving' it. You're making it like it was originally made by the manufacturer. It's not perfect It's not 'better than new'. It's not new playfield, cabinet, plastics, ramps, everything but the wiring harness etc - it's fixing the original parts so they are like they originally were.

I'm not saying that's right or that's wrong. That's completely in the eye of the beholder.

Coin Op games were meant to make money and be enjoyed. My theory is, let people do whatever they want to with their own games, so they can enjoy them more.

+1, but personally I prefer stock.
I don't get the guys who see how many action figures they can mount on the playfield, but that's just me.