I am starting a full resto on an interesting machine. Very early production FH.
Unfortunately it spent it's time in South America, where maintenance didn't seem to be a priority.

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This machine was #55

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These early machines had a few unique details, including system 11 sound board

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Protruding start button

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Wide siderails

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And best of all

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Entire playfield will be stripped top and bottom.
Wiring harness cleaned, mechs replaced, sleeves and switches replaced, and inserts cleaned. I will lightly sand the bottom of playfield to remove the black stains before repopulating.

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This is a local collectors machine that has been in storage for well over a decade.
And yes that is the original start button, thx zennmaster for adding yours.

Wiring harness removed.

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Another small detail is the volume pot inside cabinet to control volume of system 11 sound board

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Playfield mostly stripped, should be ready to clean, and remove mylar in a few days.
Owner is nervous about mylar removal, but I'm not.

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I haven't noticed any, but I have a standard pf from an earlier resto, and once I have this one stripped, I will set them side by side to compare.

Very few Funhouse playfields are Diamond Plate.

Yes, I built the one I believe Skypilot put on pinside. I would not do this without one.

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Pf stripped today, will sand bottom, and clean topside tomorrow.

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Awesome. Not more than a couple of those.
Super rare machine.
Bring it to Pincinnati, please.. I will make room..

Sample Game #71 here. Sadly it wasn't mylared and has some insert chipping and a bit of insert wear. Playfield has zero wear though.</blockquote
Sorry to hear. The arrow targets seemed to be trouble on my last one. But not here, thankfully.

It's actually 3/4" plywood, Jason.
2x4' would have required some Flintstones type
engineering.

Bottom of pf lightly sanded to clean, bottom of inserts cleaned

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Removing mylar with freeze spray today.

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Cleaned up the glue with alcohol and flour.

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And here we go. Very nice.

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Starting to repopulate cleaned pf with parts.

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New resto decals from Treasure Cove just got here. Very glad these are available.

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Yeah, maintenance was a little lacking on this machine. New vs old flipper coil stop..

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I started repopulating pf from below with cleaned mechs and switches.

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Major mechs rebuilt and installed, wiring harness in place.

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Lower cabinet has been stripped of parts. I will be putting a new bottom in this one.

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Decals removed with stripper. Glue remains will be removed with xylene and razor blade.

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Saggy, dirty bottom panel removed by cutting 3/4" off the bottom. Puts me right at the top of the old mdf panel.

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This will make it easy to smooth and paint the inside of the cabinet.

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Inside of cabinet painted, new mdf panel fabbed and glued/nailed.

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To recreate the look of original, I make a trim of 3/4" plywood. I will remove the space marked with my table saw.

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Attached with glue and pin nailer.

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Makes for nice finish on the inside.

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Next up, need to flush the outside surface of the trims I made to the cabinet sides. I use pencil guide lines to do this.

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Using an orbital sander with coarse (80) grit sandpaper just until pencil line disappears on both surfaces.

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Clean up entire panel with same sandpaper, ready for Bondo.

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Bondo applied, will sand this tomorrow, and apply sander/sealer.

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Sounds like the inserts raised. The last FH I did, the arrow inserts were all up a bit, and chipped.
I used a Mirco pf (nice) on that one
These are flush.

I was very happy all around with the mirco pf.
The FH I did a few yrs ago was not a diamondplate pf. It had not been well cared for when I got it.The arrow inserts raised (for whatever reason), and the owner continued playing it for years, resulting in chipping.
This original diamondplate pf has no raised inserts, therefore no chance of becoming chipped.

Outside of cabinet sealed, smoothed, and painted. Decals won't be here til next week, so I will start installing parts on the inside next.

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No garage here. 1000 sq ft shop. I use a PTAC unit (like a hotel room).

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And since I build cabinetry for a living, I have a ton of wood scrap. So I also use a woodburning
stove.

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Of course all that heat temporarily goes out the window, because you need to ventilate when you paint. But it warms right back up.

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Decals going on. I just use painters tape to hold it where I want it. Notch the decal where the tape will be.

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Trim off excess to make it easier to handle.

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I use the dry method. It's very important that the decal doesn't fold over and stick to itself.
So I stick a straight edge to the decal at the free end. I leave the decal long at the ends to give me something to stick to. And the straight edge gives me something to hold onto.

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Keep a smooth curl as you go, and it will stay smooth. I use a plastic squeegee with a rag over it to prevent scratching the decal.

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Trim with exacto and straight edge. I cut the decal a shy eighth off the edge.

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And this is how it finishes up, with the new plywood edge and mdf bottom panel.
Pretty close to how it looked when this machine was brand new.

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I saw that.
Wipe your chin.

After a month and half hiatus (Pincinnati and holidays) back at it.
I make these cabinet protectors from aluminum angle from Home Depot.

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I don't screw them to the cabinet, just used as a spacer. Make sure to cut the decal 1/4" around it and remove to eliminate chance for wrinkles.

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H/D mounts used inside.

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New legs and bolts on the outside

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Plastics and ramps showed up. Mmmm.

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Also, I have the old plastics which are decent, so if anyone needs a replacement for their broken one, just let me know.
The old ramps were junk, and pitched.

Thanks. I am putting the backbox thru the sanding, Bondo, and paint process now.

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Backbox painted, decals applied, and on.

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Lamp board painted.

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Playfield installed, display/speaker panel painted, new panel plastic installed.

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Just realized this thread hadn't been updated in awhile. Took some time waiting on boardwork and oddball parts, so it got moved to my basement. Will have it playing in week or 2.

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Powered up this machine for the first time in about 20 years.
Have a few coil issues, but happy to see it lit up.

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