Morristown, NJ
Looks fantastic!
(Topic ID: 279957)
1 week later
Made all new flashing for inside of backbox...... cleaned up the mounting trim etc. Looking fairly snazzy, waiting on new N26-1200 knocker coil & 2 3/4" sleeve from pbr.
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Melbourne
Quoted from WeatherbyMAG:Made all new flashing for inside of backbox...... cleaned up the mounting trim etc. Looking fairly snazzy, waiting on new N26-1200 knocker coil & 2 3/4" sleeve from pbr.
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Holy crap!! That looks awesome!! Did you bend it by hand? What type/thickness alloy did you use??
The only thing I had to bend were the corner pieces. Yeah, they are no fun. It's aluminum roofing flashing I buy at Home depot. Has a nice brushed finish & is just a hair thinner than the original, but that makes it easier to cut, bend, staple etc.
Quoted from WeatherbyMAG:The only thing I had to bend were the corner pieces. Yeah, they are no fun. It's aluminum roofing flashing I buy at Home depot. Has a nice brushed finish & is just a hair thinner than the original, but that makes it easier to cut, bend, staple etc.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Amerimax-Home-Products-20-in-x-10-ft-Aluminum-Drip-Edge-Flashing-68320/100071450
Looks great!! what did you use to get such clean cuts?
Your resto is coming up a treat! An incredibly worthy pin of this sort of attention. I just bought a CPR playfield/backglass/plastics, can't wait to pull mine apart.
Yesterdays updates:
Glides installed on rear of cab, new power cord soldered in...
Backbox mounted...
Rail nails came in from pinball life to mount the rails...
Blue Stern coin plates came in for the entry plate.... picked one of the better ones out of my stash & polished it up...
Installed new Stern steel leg protectors....
IMG_20201213_183134 (resized).jpgIMG_20201213_183220 (resized).jpgIMG_20201213_183229 (resized).jpgIMG_20201213_183257 (resized).jpgNew board standoffs came in from PBL, installed boards & started to route wiring.
Starting to look like a pinball machine again.
I got a new set of raw steel Bally/Stern legs from PBL as well, they are currently curing in my paint booth.
IMG_20201213_183108 (resized).jpgIMG_20201213_183120 (1) (resized).jpgOh, & to answer the question about cutting the flashing, it's very easy to cut. I use pair of heavy duty scissors made by Milwaukee, but you could probably use just about any good scissors to do the job.
1 week later
New Pinitech displays are in..... he forgot my smoke filters, so will have to try to get a set after the Hollidays when they are open again.
Comet SMD's sprinkled throughout the display board.
Cleaned up the coin door wiring a bit more & changed the bulb layout to match the wider opening coin entry plate I used.
IMG_20201219_140911 (resized).jpgIMG_20201219_141116 (resized).jpgIMG_20201219_141148 (resized).jpgGot her fired up yesterday & other than few minor bulb/socket issues went very smoothly. Got most of them worked through, still have a few to fix. All the feature lights are working, now it's just down to couple GI lights on PF that are intermittent. Comet 4SMD colored bulbs look awesome in the feature lights. Plays fast, as one would expect with all new everything & a cleared PF. I probably have too much angle in it right now, needs leveled & angle set correctly, but overall very happy with progress so far. Not much left to do...... finish off the apron, couple bulbs, tighten up a couple leaf switches & get new backglass for it.
IMG_20201220_155450 (resized).jpgIMG_20201220_155506 (resized).jpgIMG_20201220_155623 (resized).jpgIMG_20201220_161358 (resized).jpgQuoted from WeatherbyMAG:Cleaned up the coin door wiring a bit more & changed the bulb layout to match the wider opening coin entry plate I used.
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Now that's something that never occurred to me. Just take all the coin mech hardware off of the door & run the wires cleanly. At home on free play...who really cares anyway. Nice idea. Looking great!
Quoted from WeatherbyMAG:New Pinitech displays are in..... he forgot my smoke filters, so will have to try to get a set after the Holidays when they are open again.
Sorry about that! Send me a PM with your name/email & I'll get the smoke filters in the mail for you! 
-Wayne
---
http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
NVRAM, Bally/Stern LED Displays & Mods for pinball machines
1 week later
Quoted from HoakyPoaky:Wonderful work! And I'm curious to see that Cheetah restore progress
Sneak peek. 
I might do a Cheetah Restore thread when that machine is complete.
IMG_20210103_154530 (resized).jpgNew apron decal is in.... spent a good hour or so trimming the excess "fat" off of it, to make it look a lot better & installing. These things are never overly close to right size etc.
People wonder how I can rack up 200+ hours restoring one of these machines... well when things like this eat up the hours just for one minor piece. Figure between bead blasting the apron, painting the apron & installing decal, polishing the screws & washers.... easy 2- 2 1/2 hours for one fairly "simple" part. Looks good, well worth the extra effort.
IMG_20210104_182047 (resized).jpgIMG_20210104_183028 (resized).jpgIMG_20210104_190303 (resized).jpgIMG_20210104_190337 (resized).jpgQuoted from WeatherbyMAG:Sneak peek.
I might do a Cheetah Restore thread when that machine is complete. [quoted image]
That is sexy! Looking GREAT!
Decal was a Classic arcades, which is only one for this model Stern readily available in the US. I wanted a Pinball Rescue one, but couldn't justify the shipping cost from Au & lead time right now. This one looks nice, just took a lot more effort.
Don't know why most of the good apron decal suppliers are overseas. There is no licensing on classic Stern parts....
Quoted from WeatherbyMAG:Decal was a Classic arcades, which is only one for this model Stern readily available in the US. I wanted a Pinball Rescue one, but couldn't justify the shipping cost from Au & lead time right now. This one looks nice, just took a lot more effort.
Don't know why most of the good apron decal suppliers are overseas. There is no licensing on classic Stern parts....
Honestly if I had the equipment and skill I’d love to tap into the apron reproduction side of the hobby. Even those that have the licensing available aren’t doing anything with aprons. I don’t get it. It was a nightmare finding a Firepower decal. I wanted to get one for xenon, ended up getting an entire new apron.
Maybe I’m wrong but seems like the apron is ignored. Perhaps CPR, Outside Edge, Pinball Pimp, BGresto, and all the others that make other repo parts can chime in.
CPR BG came in, looks great, mirroring is nice. Installed the Pinitech display filters (Thanks Wayne), displays look great.
I might swap out a few bulbs tonight to tone down the whites. I like to take guess as to which bulbs I think will work best, then install glass & see how things look & then switch them up for optimum effect.
I don't have correct lift trim or glass trim on in these pics. I had a new 3/16 set I need to swap out for a 1/8" set for this thinner aftermarket glass.
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Leamington, ON
A lot of work..... off & on for at least a year while I worked on other projects, but she's ready for her new home. I've got about 50 games on it & she's played flawlessly.
Pretty darn happy with how it turned out, I learn something on every one of these I restore & I will take lessons I've learned on this one & apply them to the next ones in line.
Not my favorite game to play in the world, wish it had an upper flipper, but damn good looking early Stern. Sad to see it go, but I can always build another one if I wanted in the future.
IMG_20210110_173752 (resized).jpg& I just realized I completely forgot to take some final pics of inside of Backbox yesterday. I'll take some tonight.
Fantastic work! What does a resto like this end up running for a buyer? I can send a pm if you prefer to not have it on the thread.
Anyone looking to have something restored, I'm always willing to discuss potential future projects, but it must be a 1977-1981 Bally or Stern. & Yes I'd prefer PM's when discussing pricing, but I think if you ask anyone who has had me do work for them, I'm extremely reasonable for the level of work. I do this only as a side Hobby, this is'nt a job for me, it's just something to occupy my free time, so I don't charge like I have to make a living doing it. But that being said, it can take me 3-5 months or more to restore a machine as well & I almost always have a backlog.
I also do cabinet restorations, if someone has a good working game that has a nice PF etc, but just needs the cabinet restored & painted to make a really nice game.
My current focus is on the Kiss I'm currently finishing up: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bally-kiss-restoration-1
Cheetah I'm in middle of..... I have a Flash Gordon Cabinet coming in for a cab job tomorrow, & an Eight Ball Deluxe LE (I know it's an 1982, I'm making an exception to my rules) Coming in for a Hardtop & Cab job. Possible Skateball to do full resto on. I want to do a Star Gazer build/full resto to take to Pinfest if that happens in May.
2 weeks later
Thanks for documenting your work on here - it's been a pleasure to read about and look over your shoulder. The one I have at home is in terrific shape for a 40something year old machine, and I love playing it - but man - you created a brand new one. It's beautiful. Congratulations.
1 month later
3 weeks later
Starting on my stars now - I’m curious how the hammered paint works on the lock down bar slider - did you mask it off in a certain way to make sure it still slides well once painted? Will the paint show wear in those areas?
Mine is pretty rusty so will need some good clean up and prep first... thanks for taking the time to document and inspire me to tear mine apart!
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