This Slugfest restoration was a fun project to take on, when the machine arrived it was functional...but it had seen much better days. I’d never spent anytime on Pitch and Bat games, but after playing this machine for awhile it makes me regret passing on a really affordable one last year. The restore was easier than most, since there aren’t a lot of playfield mechs, but some parts were difficult to find.The owner wanted it re-decaled, chromed, and cleared.
The last piece this machine needs is a decent TOPPER! If anyone has a NOS or even a semi decent Used one, please contact me and let’s talk. I’ve been looking for months, a while back one popped up on Ebay which I saw within an hour of it posting. $175 was the “Buy it Now” price, so I contacted the owner of this Slugfest checking if he was OK with that price, within 10 minutes he checked out the item and it was already sold. That was the closest we got to finding one.
Sorry for the poor cell phone pictures...one of these days I’ll get a real camera.
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One of the most brutal scratches I’ve seen from a prior playfield lift…
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Nice, someone drilled a screw through the rail in order to secure the gray playfield bumper.
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Even a Sunflower Seed on top of the dispenser, now that’s a baseball machine.00010_(resized).jpg
New Decals are hard to find, after chasing down a few leads I found some high quality repros. They’ve been sitting in a tube for years and needed to be flatten, but I got lucky picking these up.
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The tear-down begins
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But first, let’s fix a minor issue...The card dispenser was not working.
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Easy fix, the O-rings were gone and the only remaining half of one was wedged down the slot.
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New O-Rings #14 (Danco #96731) were the perfect fit.
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Putting in some new cabinet speakers, Pyle PLX52
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Re-decaling the Control Panel, which is well needed.
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Time to clean up the targets, after years of baseball beatings...the ground in dirt is solid.
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After trying my regular go to cleaners, Purple Power and Novus 2, neither of them worked at all. I was just about to start looking to find a new set of targets when I decided to try this metal polish.
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Noxon 7, I’ve been using this for years as a tumbler and metal polish. I’m not sure if it was the abrasive grit or some type of bleaching agent, but who knew a metal polish would have been the only thing to work on these grimy targets.
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The tear down continues…
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Time to clean-up the bottom
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Now for me, the fun part begins…
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New Skid Rails
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The playfield didn’t need much work, just some clean-up and tweaking.
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The batting mechanism worked decently, but had some wobble and give while playing. The big metal bolt on the right holds the two batting arms together. You can notice a good amount of wear in the connecting holes.
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Again got lucky again and found both replacement pieces, after installed it will be a much tighter bat swing.
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It was nice to see the playfield was just some type of plexiglass with the graphics screen printed on the back side. That made it very easy to clean.
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A little buffing with Meguiar's 105 shines the playfield right back up.
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Cleaned the outfield netting with purple power and now taping it up for black paint.
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The playfield plastics have some warp damage, time for sunlight 30 mins between glass.
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Masking up the cabinet for clear coating…
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After the first coat, already wet sanded the panels on the left...
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Done clearing on the top, a little outdoor shine, checking for imperfections.
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Cabinet is out of the booth, waiting for unmasking…
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Back inside after wet sanding and buffing, ready for complete assembly.
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Test fitting some parts and installing the new ground braid.
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Time to reassemble the back panel…
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I hear the sharp observer asking now, why relocate the battery pack above the Power Driver Board. I wanted the batteries at easy access for the owners, plus with lithium and a front plate, I didn’t think future battery leakage would be a problem.
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Ready for testing...but those playfield plastics should have been lit from the factory, time to fix that.
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Three led strips were added to each side, which really brightens the areas like they should be.
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Cabinet assembly complete…
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Ready for new T-Molding:
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The top section is ready to go
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A couple cartons of 90’s era baseball cards to restock the dispenser.
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Chrome Parts back from Ron Woodard, good service and high quality.
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Two Southern California baseball guys now sit up top, Mike Witt while playing for the Yankees throwing across the DMD to the Dodgers Mike Sciocia.
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Playfield in place and trim pieces being installed…
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Needed to trim the T-Molding in order to get a tight fit for the metal cabinet protectors.
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Finally Done!
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Thanks Whitey, I had a few more final pics to show but guess I hit the 100 image limit. The owner is picking it up this week and he said it's a keeper for him, which is why he wanted it done this way. Although after seeing it completed, I told him I'll buy it back if he decides to get rid of it...you'll have be 3rd in line.

I wouldn't compare my work to HEP, Chris is on a different level than the rest of us...but I do appreciate the compliment.
Thanks all!

Yea Thx BK, that is very generous! I’d gladly pay for that topper if you find it, wouldn’t expect it for free. I’ll even match any offers your getting via PM, those have been so hard to find, you’ve probably had multiple offers already.

Thanks Bryan - Your IJ thread helped inspire me years ago, you’re a next level guy like Chris and that means lot coming from you (as long as I'm reading that "Damn" right, guess it could go either way, lol).

Thanks, didn't mean to make it look easy or fast. By the time I'm done sorting pictures and posting, my energy level for detailed descriptions fades fast. It was about 3 months to get it done, didn't count the exact hours. Clear coating the cabinet is the longest process, the way it's done is usually taking 3-4 weeks for that step.