Got a CL post for an old pinball at estate auction. It is Gottlieb Target Pool. Some youtube videos look like it is fun to play.

It is a project, for sure. And eight miles from my house. The means low transport costs. What would this table be worth? I'm thinking if I could get it for $100-$150 that it might be worth a try.

It looks like there is going to be some problems with the back glass. And I don't see a lockdown bar. The back box is loose.

Maybe good luck would ring and the play field might be in good shape.

wichita.craigslist.org link

But I don't know much about EM service and repair work---yet.

What kind of gremlins do I need to watch out for with a table that has been gathering dust for years?

Any advise and opinions are appreciated.

Thanks.

Well, I called the auctioneer and we talked about it. He says the lockdown bar is there. But the cover for the back of the back box is gone. He said, "or it could be there laying around and I do not know what it is."

The machine has been sitting in the basement (probably for years). He says the play field is in good shape (my opinion could differ). Hopefully it is a dry basement.

I forgot to ask about keys or schematics, etc.

I'm gonna go check it out.

Thanks to all for the info and opinions.

I"ll post on whether I get it bought, or not.

The auction is tomorrow. The auctioneer has placed two more ads on CL for the upcoming sale. In one of the ads, he finally got wise and included the Target Pool name instead of just calling it "old pinball machine". I did not talk machine name with him so someone is probably gonna be bidding competition for me. We'll see. I post results and pictures if I buy it.

I bought it. For a minute I thought I might get it for $15 or $20. I wound up having to pay $70. But I was able to fit it inside my Honda Civic hatchback and get it home for about a gallon of gas and my time.

It is rough but the PF will clean up nice. Beyond that……..well. The basement is was living in was dank and damp. And humid. The house has some major foundation problems. At one time, the basement was finished. But all the drywall had been torn down so I am guessing at one time the sump pumps gave out and the basement flooded.

Anything on the pin that is metal has surface rust. And mice had been living inside.

Here is the good:

1) The play field will clean up nicely.

2) The plastics have cleaned up nicely.

3) All the motors inside the cab turn freely.

4) All of the wiring is intact. I will need to replace the power cord and resolder a wire to the transformer.

5) There was no key but the table was not locked down so I was able to raise the table and unbolt the lock. No drilling. I will need to get a new lock, though.

THE BAD

1)There is some flaking on the back glass.

2) The free replay counter wheel seems to be jammed. The counter assembly is held in with one screw only indicating problems with this.

3) No back box cover and no lockdown bar.

3) The two side boards on the right hand side of the cab have come unglued.

4) Surface rust everywhere. No structural damage that I can see but the rust sure looks ugly.

5) I talked to someone who knew a little bit about the machine ( I think this was his parents house and estate that was being sold). He said the machine came from a bar, that they never had the lockdown bar or back box cover, and that it did work---until it didn't work.

What I have done in the last three hours:

1) I have knocked out the mouse piss saturated cabinet bottom. Plan to replace.

2) Bolted the back box into position.

3) Trial cleaned a couple of areas on the play field.

The first PLAN:

1) I'm going to pull all electrics from the cab, clean all the connectors, repair the power cord, and resolder the broken wire on the transformer.

2) Put it back together and start trouble shooting to see what problems this machine was having.

3) If I can get it running, then I will try to get it dialed in and tuned up.

The second PLAN.

1) If the above works, then I'll breakdown the play field for a good cleaning and get some new rubbers.

2) And then I'll start a new post begging for someone to walk me thru all nickel and dime stuff I might have to do

Here are some pics.

The dirty play field.

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Plastics cleaned up nicely.

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Cleaning the play field. 6 ball is untouched.

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7 and 8 ball area was hit with some rubbing compound and waxed. The play field will shine up in good form. There is the normal ball wear up at the top. There are two or three places down low where the paint has shrunken and shows separation cracks but no play field paint is lifting.

The main problem with the play field is all of the insets are shrunken and con-caved. All of them.

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MICE !! I have already knocked the bottom of the cab out. There will be a lot of cleaning before this machine leaves the garage.

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A one amp fuse is missing. There has to be a reason. Any ideas, anybody?

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Detached transformer wire.

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Cabinet separation.

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34,122 games on the clock.

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