I have a Whirlwind. Leds, shopped, etc. Had one strange issue I could not diagnose so in my quest to fix it I bought new interconnect and aux power boards, even had JohnWartJr go over the MPU. Turned out to be an intermittent short on the slam switch on the coin door. Anyhow, it plays perfectly now. The cabinet is in OK shape, the translight is original with the W sticker on the ball cap. However, the playfield is worn to the point that several of the letters for the compass points are pretty much gone. So, 18 months or so ago, I put in my order for the CPR playfield. Last week, I got the notification that they were ready and just got notification yesterday that it shipped.

In the intervening 18 months waiting for the playfield, we got an MMR. As a result, our WW gets no love so my wife wants to trade it out for a new title.

I've never done a playfield swap but I know myself well enough to know that I can do it. I also know myself well enough to know that I will somehow miss something and have some hidden issue that will frustrate me for weeks until I, with the help of Pinside, am finally able to get it back to its current fully functional level. I also know that one typically does not get a return on your labor for a lot of the work you do on a pinball machine. So, here is my question, should I sell now with the new playfield and plastic set or sell after the swap? How much added value is there to having done the swap. Now mind you, even with the swap, this is not a collector's quality game.

Actually, per my initial post, I am confident I do have the skill. I have managed to encounter everything I could possibly run into over the years, have built a nice rotisserie I've used for pf restoration and am pretty diligent with pics and labeling...just haven't had to do it all at once, as this would be. I am also a bit of a perfectionist...in fact, that is a bit of the trepidation. However, I certainly understand your perspective.

That's interesting, there must be regional differences, I've not been able to find a fully functional, all parts there (including topper) for $1500...of course, I did buy my PinchHitter from someone up in MN. Even though a large project, you couldn't find one here and they were valued as if they were gold plated so I definitely am aware of regional pricing variations

Yeah, good point. I love having a project.. (my wife loves me having one even more! )however, when you don't have the passion and are just doing it for the sake of doing it, it makes it feel more like work...hence my hesitation

Reasonable, it just seems like anything complicated always results in something hidden somewhere....Many moons ago, I was a developer (COBOL, RPG, LISP, C, etc.) with those early languages like COBOL and RPG you had to compile the program first. One of the scariest things that could happen to you was to get a clean compile on the first try...you just knew there was some really ominous bug/logic issue buried deep in the code that would only manifest itself at the most inopportune time while in production. Hence, I just assume something will happen and it won't be easy to diagnose and fix....sometimes I think my last name should be Murphy

Hey that works for me as long as you are throwing bags of money (only large bills, please) into my car

Boy that would be a heck of a deal. here, heck any non project Sys 11 for $1k would be immediately snapped up.

As to your second sentence, therein lies the rub. I enjoy working on the machines and I don't mind that my labor is free...however, that is done with the knowledge of having something I can look at, admire and enjoy whenever I play it. Now at some dollar value, I'd be crazy not to do the work, but then the only enjoyment is from the extra cash in my hands and I don't do this fo the $

Hmm, no need to ask what you do to earn money on the side!