Trying to catch a Taxi here in Maryland - please let me know if anything comes up!!

Thanks,

Nate

Speaking of pf's.........I'm looking for a Taxi and wouldn't mind picking up a playfield if anyone gets a lead on them......

Thanks!

thanks for the heads-up - wow, $1000!!! Better start saving up!

Found a Taxi for sale, but it seems a bit high.

Haven't seen it in person but told it plays 100%, cab isn't in best shape, dents in lockdown bar, original pf, ramps, etc. all supposed to be in decent shape.

Asking $2,200.

Good price?.....Thanx.

Thanks everyone for the response - I had a feeling it was high, I can see with a brand-new pf but otherwise.........I will keep on a'lookin'!

If anyone hears of a Taxi in that more desirable 1200 or so range, let me know! I'd even go higher if it was a nice restore job............

Yo, Taxi!!

Hey, you guys left the back door open, so I slipped-in without doing the paperwork!!

Just picked-up Taxi - my last and final pin! No more room. The pf is original but looks *gggreat* although it's dirty as hell and needs a total shop job - flipper rebuild, post rubbers are rotted,etc.

Looks like the bottom of cab sat in water for a bit as the bottom isn't flat but bows out a bit like a beer-belly - everthing works except center bank of drop targets - suspect it's the opto (hope so). It even has a fancy diode battery replacement thingy, so no acid damage - yay!

I also had to dis-assemble the backbox (one pinball fits in a Toyota Matrix btw.......) to get it into my Matrix.

Has anyone modified the annoying "bell/doorbell buzzer" to sound more like an actual bell being struck?? HATE that buzzing sound for the jackpot..........

Will shoot some pics tonight.

^^Possibly, but the topper isn't all that bad to be honest^^ if I need one I'll certainly know who to ask! Also, my spinout looks great - really fortunate about that but I might pick-up an extra blue one anyways.............

Um if anyone has a spare "stretch limo taxi" plastic that fits over the shooter lane, mine's broken - or if anyone could scan theirs and send me the illo I can probably reproduce it and put it over a clear piece of plastic.

Thanks!

Anyone LED Taxi? Most of my bulbs are burned out - was wondering if I can side-step having to replace ALL of them in the backbox by using a bright LED spaced evenly, which would "compensate" for missing bulbs.......

Also, anyone use blue post rubbers instead of yellow? Thinking that might look nice.

Wayout440

Just thought it might be too bright with all LED's, my GoldenEye has some superbrights spaced along the backbox, with a lot left empty because of their brightness - but if I don't use superbright, I guess I'd just fill all the sockets then?..........

Wayout440 - I'll play around with both the regular and LED bulbs, might use some colored LED's for the traffic light and to highlight the characters........didn't get a shot of the backglass, but it looks very nice.

I need to get that rust off of the bottom of the lockdown bar, anyone use that Evapo-rust? Is that easy to locate in stores?

The playfield looks really nice, no wear around the pops or other areas for that matter - mylar is still on most of the pf, the ramps and wireforms look like NOS because there is absolutely no rust/cracks to be found on these.

Topper is in decent shape, what's the best way to whiten this plastic up?

Spinout cup looks great as well......

The wood is actually lifted away from the body, if I get some glue underneath and clamp it down, what's the best thing to use to protect the surface from sticking to the clamps? Wax paper maybe???

Legs are really rusty, I'll try the coke n aluminum foil on them - might prime and paint them black.....

Found a replacement for the Limo Taxi plastic already, that's the only one that was broken.

I might get into this project by the time winter rolls around! Will keep you guys posted.

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Pindiddy, thanks, but I found a limo plastic already - appreciate it - but don't go diggin'!!

Wayout440, yep, new displays - just needs a lot of TLC and elbow grease - crossing my fingers that I get all the connectors on correctly from pf to the head!!! Ever try writing on the plug ends? Not much room on there........

Gotcha Wayout440 - I won't flip a switch until everything is looking 100%%!!

Anyone need a Taxi manual? I found an extra inside my cabinet......all pages are there has some stains but it's not bad at all. $25 shipped.

Speaking to Pindiddy's "bell success", has anyone modified this thing so it sounds more like a pleasant "ding, ding, ding" instead of that godawful New York door buzzer sound??

Thanks, I'll give that bell wiring a shot!

BTW - have been soaking my rusty legs (the pinball legs that is!) in pure vinegar - man that stuff works! Will shoot before and after photos once I get a chance to clean up one really nice - I also need a wallpaper trough so I can soak the entire leg at one time....

Got all of my connectors plugged-in last night, I noticed that the Sharpie pen was starting to fade on the connectors so figured I'd better plug the head back in before I couldn't read what I'd scrawled on them......I noticed some of my connectors have wires kind of looped around and pinched into each area (each pin?) - was this a "quickie" way to wire the plugs and should I re-wire/solder them the correct way?

Also, there was one weird DIY fix where a wire had obviously broken in two, someone soldered a piece of appliance wire to the wire and used that as an extension to reach the other end of the wire?? You CAN get more slack to the broken end of the wire so I will re-solder this together and tape it with black electricians tape.

The orange with grey marks is the wire that was soldered together, it looks like there is another cut in the insulation on this wire as well that I will fix.

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Kneissl - looks great! I'm doing blue spinout and bumper caps too!

Thanks Wayout440 and RCA1 for the helpful information!

Yeah, I can definitely crimp, so somwhere down the road would like to tackle re-doing those connectors.

Planning my wedding, so little time for resto at the moment, the boards look "ok" - there is some rust where the boards mount to the backbox, so I will probably take them off one at a time and replace screws/mounts - or at least give them a vineager bath.......

Appreciate all the comments, bear with me as I give some (admittedly slow) TLC to my new Taxi and it's little bit 'o moisture rust......

- Nate

How hard is it to replace the bottom piece of wood in a cabinet??

Also, can you soak the "electronic boards" in soap and water or alcohol or something without damaging the components?? Or is it better to keep them dry and use eraser to remove any rust and a damp cloth just to clean them off???

Thanks!

Thanks wayout440 - I may just swab with isopropyl then blow dry - I suspect there might be some rust on the boards, but they don't look too bad...........

Is the artwork on the cab silkscreened directly onto the wood, it sure appears to be........?

I want to get yellow plastic leg protectors to go behind the cab legs but noticed these are NOT recommended for cab graphics that are actually decals, I guess they can get wrinkled.

Thanks!

Thanks Kneissl, that's what I needed to know. -Nate

Ok, plunger springs come in different tensions - I should definitely buy the red spring for Taxi when I rebuild the plunger correct??

Thanks,

Nate

Thanks mainelycoasters.

Another q. I just got all the rust off of the legs, and rubbed a light coat of WD40 over them top to keep the rust from re-occuring. Can you spray the legs with a light polyuerathane (sp???) to achieve the same thing or waxing them or something?

-Nate

Thanks Dr. Scott. Will go the Krylon poly route. -Nate

5" white rubber ring (23-6310) Pinball Life doesn't seem to carry this, can you use a 4.5" instead??

-Nate

Thanks Leesparts I'll check Marco.........

Is this the correct switch for the Kickers? I noticed that there is also a "score" switch - can't find any reference to the switch part # in the manual....

Question #2, after putting all the "sockets" back into their respective locations on the backbox, I see that I am MISSING a location - namely, J9 on the Aux Power Board???? Now, I do have new PinScore displays so I'm thinking that may have something to do with it? I positively am missing this connector!!Could someone post a picture of that area and where the wires are coming from for that connector if I should have it.....

Lastly, I need to replace almost all of the sockets for the bulbs behind the backglass, is this the right socket (for 44/47 bulbs.....)?

Thanks!

Nate

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Double-post - there's no delete?

Anyone have any extra parts for Taxi? I broke a post - the one that supports the Spin Out ramp, one of the hexagonal ones with a threaded base - it can be in rough shape - just snapped mine off. "Taxi Restore - yep another one" thread has a pic of it.

Thanks.

No plastic. Spin Out and ramp pretty much covers that area.

This one measures 1 3/4", can't find this size anywhere??? Anyone have a spare? Are these M/F hexagon standoffs measured to the end of the screw portion?? I'm only measuring the shaft, maybe that's where my measurement is off??

-Nate

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Thanks Dozer1, I'll check on that part - I have no idea what 8-32 threads is, but it sounds like a reference to a small thread size(?) so I will say yes.

Wonderful that I had to break just that ONE that's hard to find - lovely.....

Only difference is mine has a screw hole end on the top - I'm emailing Marco to try to find something, couldn't even match it with their Williams parts manual - what's up with those weird measurements?!?!?!

Dozer1, yeah, I think I'm going to have to do exactly that - just modify the one I have.

Even a wooden dowel jammed into the end would work, I don't think it takes that much "stess."

Ah, lock tite!!!

MMP/Roffels - was wondering the same thing - I am going with blue bumper caps to compliment my new blue spinout ramp - was wondering what those blue LED rings would look like?

Anyone add colored LED to the colored inserts just to make them more colorful?

Was thinking about a slow color fade for the characters inserts - anyone try that?

-Nate

MonkeyGrass, thanks for your input - I have heard a lot about the backbox, and already have regular bulbs slated to go in there, I am thinking about a working stoplight for the game and will keep you posted on that!!
I think a light strip behind the spinout "bowl" would look good as well......

Is there no problem with flickering using LED's, you don't have to use the non-ghost ones?

I'll be adding a few to the pf while it's torn apart........

Is there any visibility at all behind the ramps on the verticle wall to the left of the spinout? It looks like there is - I'm thinking about adding a city skyline with yellow background illuminated by a few leds pointed directly upwards beneath the graphic.....I know the sides are almost totally blocked so not doing anything there.......

I also made a custom coin-door sticker......

Am I seeing more blue on this prototype playfield? Looks nice that way.....

I believe you can actually remove some of the metal wire wound around the coil to lessen it's strength.....I've never tried it though.........

Couple questions as my Taxi restore continues.....

Do the 906 bulbs under the Drac, Lola, Pinbot, Santa inserts flash or stay steadily lit? How about the two pf mounted 906 bulbs in either top corner? Want to replace these with LED but not sure if they are steady or flashing (evidently that makes a difference when purchasing the LED type).

Has anyone replaced their drop-target boards with the newer Great Lakes boards? Good product? Seems like a good idea......

There's one hard plastic post sleeve for Taxi (probably black originally) that I ordered, but I can't recall, and don't have a pic of where this one goes. My guess is the gate at top right near the CAB rollovers?

Lastly, anyone have trouble with ghosting/flickering if you've used LED? Should I get the anti-ghost/flicker type of bulbs?

Thanks!

Check the optos, they might need to be cleaned, check your mounts, make sure the target "stems" are nice and flat and are correctly "interrupting" the opto signal......or are the springs too strong??

-Nate

Anyone have a scan of the blue sticker that goes on the Departures ramp?? For some reason, the repros don't include this sticker???

This is the blue that is on the left side near the entrance to the ramp.

Please pm me for my email, Thanks!

Hmmmm, didn't see it - I just need the blue portion - same design as the sling plastics.......

Thanks!

Glad to be of help! Yeah, you DO learn a lot about pinball here!!!

Posted a coin-door sticker I created a while back, and some people wished for some text added - sooooo, here's my revision.

If anyone wants a copy, pm me your email and I'll send you the file.

Remember, the actual area that this graphic occupies is pretty darn small, so you're not really going to see anything in detail - that's why I had originally left out the text.....

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Anyone know off-hand what parts #'s for cabinet switches on Taxi? I noticed they have a leaf-switch and then also an actual mircro-switch paired with them?......

Thanks.

Gotcha, I think THIS weekend is the one to actually turn on my Taxi!! THEN I'll be on here asking all types of switch/problem questions!
Is the micro switch controlling what exactly at the flipper buttons?? The rollover lights/CAB?

Thanks Dozer. I forgot to order those button switches.....

Almost finished restoring my Taxi, all the plastics are in really good shape so I wonder what's the best way of keeping them that way???

Especially the drop target plastic over the Lola drops - has anyone manufactured something to keep the ball from stiking it - something "nondescript?"

I was thinking about making a slightly wider copy out of a thin plastic and placing it beneath the original one so the ball would strike that first.

Also, that 5" rubber seems "slack" is it better to somehow make sure it's tight, or is it not that much of a factor for game play?

One last question - what LED's fit in the pop bumpers - I got frosted domes from Comet but they stand too tall to go there....

Thanks!

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Thanks for the info, I should have realized the dome wouldn't work......I saw those rings, I want to get the machine "up and running" before tweaking the lights, etc. Although the ones that are in impossible spots I've filled-in ahead of time.

Surprisingly, a few of the Comet LEDS I got (twist in style) kinda just "fell apart" by separating themselves from the base - don't know if that damages them or not, I guess as long as the wires didn't get disconnected.........I wasn't rough with them either?.......

Welcome! Great looking Taxi....

Hard-rubber post?

I have one yellow hard rubber post (versus the usually cushioned post sleeves) - where the heck on taxi does this firmer post sleeve go?? I know there's a black sleeve up near the right-hand side where the gate is.

I placed the harder post sleeve against the left-hand side of the Lola targets for now..........

Couple questions........... Are those 906 bulbs in the large sockets beneath the characters on the playfield? They seem like they don't fit - can't even muscle them into the socket?!?!

The lights on my Spinout board are "dim" - I re-soldered all the pins on the backside thiking it was a weak connection, but the lights are still dim, I have a feeling it's not getting enough power - Comet LED's are in there now, when I switch to a regular 555 bulb there's not even enough power to make them come on at all?

My backglass gets "caught" in the upper channel and will not slide down into place? What the hell is going on with that??? Once I lift it up, it sticks, the meter window is above the number display........I'm thinking it might be that block of wood that goes up against the rear-view mirror on the translite somehow pinching it tight?

As an aside, there was a lot of talk about the new spinout saucer not producing enough revolutions........it may be the metal strip that was glued onto it - mine was crooked and not wrapped around the dish enough, so I took it off and re-positioned it - you have to rough up the plastic with sandpaper first and use clamps and some good epoxy to get it to adhere. Works great now......the metal should butt up against the slot for the micro-switch ........

Thanks,

Nate

Thanks Qdog, will give it another shot.......

I actually added a yellow/black checkerboard design to the front-side of that part of the ramp for a little "padding" from the catapult shot.

But yeah, that isn't a "stock" part of the Taxi ramp.....

Woo-hoo, finally finished my Taxi restore - check out my restore thread if you're interested - I didn't do a "has to look perfect" job, but it looks damn good and plays great!!

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/taxi-restoration-another-one-yep

Enjoying Taxi, got a laugh out of the great callout "Miiilllion!" once you shoot the ramps and build up to that.....

Noticed that the "Carry Passengers" light is difficult to see when lit due to the ramps crossing directly over it - going to add a really bright LED under there so I can tell when it's lit up - I assume there's also an audio cue to signal that it's "available" but haven't keyed into that yet.

That Carry Passengers target is a bitch! Any hints about hitting it?

I'm trying getting 2 or 3 passengers and then hitting the carry target - but so far - I suck!

Yeah, there's a lot of wires going into the head from the pf, several of us have photos if you need to play "connect the wires".

Ah, there's a "crossover" shot!? How do you handle that one....cradle each ball in either flipper then hit the ramps I'm guessing.............

On the PAPA tutorial, it shows the spinout value increasing with each ball played, x2, x3........ mine isn't doing that - is there a setting for this?

Also, the diagnostics is telling me to check some right-side switches, do I go into switch test and see that they are registering?

Man, finally put a bunch of games on Taxi, VERY fun game - difficult shots that are not TOO difficult and goals to achieve - very fun!!

It appears my bell isn't working, but wondering if I want it too, some people don't like the loud noise.....

-Nate

Thanks Wayout, I'll play around with the menus some more - I did get the Multiplier working last night.

I think I want the bell!!!

Best,

Nate

Yeah, I intend to wrap the "clapper" end in something to muffle it - also I think there is a way to wire it up so that it only dings once!

Blackbeard, that sounds like a lop-sided trade, Flintstones is a bit more "advanced" (Animated screen, multi-balls, etc) - keep lookin'!

Boise_D, make sure your backboard is "pushed" all the way back as far as it will go. When I tried to put my backglass back, it wouldn't go and that was the cause. There are two brackets that you have to make sure are as far back from the front of the cabinet as they can go - that'll fix it right up.

Blackbeard, I put in an LED light strip from Comet in place of the light board - while removing sockets from mine, I lifted the tiny round contacts off the board so said "F IT." Light strip plugs into existing socket there, and done......

What type of LED bulbs did you use beneath the playfield? I think you find the 555 and 906 at each character, I purchased a bulb for the 906 which didn't work...

(This one as described on the Comet website:Bulb is available only as a 12 Volt DC Only.#555 base fits in a 906 socket as well.
This bulb is best when continuously lit rather than as a flasher.)

My mistake as this is for 12v only............also which flat LED is good for Pops? I didn't see anything offered by Comet other than flexi which would work, and I don't want anything too bright - which DOES come as "flat" but with multiple diodes........?

Thanks.

DayDay, I like white. No comment on differences....

^^ I dunno, I'll kinda miss Blackbeard's "Anyone got a Taxi to sell?" posts

DayDay also check to see if the sleeves on the bolts that support the pf are both on there, if one has and one hasn't, the pf will be cockeyed/weird.

WooHoo! Got my first Jackpot tonight - it was maxed-out at 4m, High score so far 5,820,000. My bell doesn't work though so it was minus all the ringing! Almost hit the two shots during multi-ball but didn't realize you had to get them in order!! (1 and then 2). Great game, really enjoying it.

Yes, definitely do that, I simply cut out a piece about a 1/2 inch larger than the original out of a juice bottle and placed it *below* the original, so that anything striking that plastic area is actually hitting the lip of my newly cut piece instead.........

Ok - HELP! I shorted out something in my lamp matrix, fooling around with a loose socket and light bulb for Marilyn, of course, the game was on and the socket touched some other metal and that's all it took to screw something up.

It looks like the whole column 4 in the lamp matrix is screwed up all the characters plus a few others. When I turn off the machine, Drac and Gorbie, along with the Ride Again light stay lit and then slowly fade out. I also noticed that the Santa light lights up at the start of the game and just stays on. It looks like those character lights are not blinking the way they should in attract mode.

I am stooopid with the electronics end. How do I find what is fried? Could it be the diodes that are attached to the lamp sockets?

I'm hoping there is no damage to the board - it looks like 1J6 controls this column.

I have a meter but don't know how to use it. Maybe someone can help walk me through this. I'm soooo bummed, I refurbished this Taxi and now caused a problem - I need to fix this before holidays and friends/family visit.

Thanks for your help ahead of time, I can move this to another thread or message me instead of hi-jacking the club listing here. I'll start a HELP! Taxi thread tonight as well.......

-Urgh, Nate-

Wayout440, thanks a lot - I did use that guide, and did the lamp test mentioned there. You hit the nail on the head, it looks like pin 4 is the culprit - just like you said! The bulb at that pin lights extra-bright although it blinks.

I'm hoping to just replace the transistor (thanks for the location), it looks like some of the diodes are also blown on the lamp sockets themselves.

-Nate

Blackbeard, thanks again for the Clive recommendation, I might send the board after the holidays, would like to get this fixed in the meantime for when family is visiting.............Geeesh!

If anyone knows where I can get a Sys11 board for Taxi let me know.....used/refurbished is fine. Looks like Rottendog doesn't have these new anymore............

-Nate

You're all over the place Blackbeard!! Thanks again. I'm glad you're not filling up my posts with "I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!"

Hey Rec - is pinball big in Budapest!!!??? Wow.

Is the actuator for the catapult switch (5647-12133-12) mounted forward or rear? Don't have access to my machine.

Finally made the multi-ball Express Lanes shot 1 and 2 last night. Love the way the machine stops and puts on a little "celebratory light show" for you!

It seemed like there was a shot I was supposed to make after that?

Gotcha, I thought the ramps were key - thanks!!

Weirdo!!! (kidding!)

I have a "moment of zen" while playing Baywatch - just before the multiball begins, I look so cool!!! hands off machine, walking in a half circle back to position...........

-Nate

Red spring Alan.

My taxi plastic also mounts like BriPin's.

Discovered that if you lock the first ball, you can "kill two birds with one stone" if Drac is available for pick-up, then the catapult puts you into the ramp, which releases the captured ball for multi-ball.

Nice.

Wow, great work. I've always wondered why overlays weren't more popular? Did you have to scan sections and then connect them all in PhotoShop?

Did you have to go to a professional printers to print out the overlay?

-Nate

Scanned at the local library??? Images of you carrying in a pf and placing onto a scanner bed.....??...........

nikpinball:

Thanks for the replies, I would love to see him carrying a pf into the library!!! I was half-joking, but hey, whatever works!!!

Of course, copyrights can be a problem, but keeping the business strictly "word-of-mouth" and helping hobbyists improve playfields with overlays has GOT to be a popular area ripe for improvement. Glad to hear you guys are concentrating on doing just that.

Not everyone wants to sand, paint, etc on playfields. Overlays, once understood how to apply properly, would save a lot of time with excellent results.

-Nate

Surprised you are considering this?! There is hardly any room at all along the sides of the cabinet???

-Nate

I keep getting serious air balls that send the ball over the wireform and into the right drain lane...........when I shoot the left ramp from right flipper. I'm wondering if the softer post rubber I have at the bottom right of the left ramp should be replaced with a harder rubber post?? I seem to recall a harder post rubber (just one) when doing my re-build so maybe this dampens the ball travel instead of sending it airborne with the softer post rubber there??

Also check the right-hand hinge that slides up and down, that can pull the lightboard down/up if not lined-up/screwed in correctly.

-nate

Thought a shifter knob would look good on the shooter rod:

http://www.gennieshifter.com/shift-knobs/engraved-series

Anyone do this? How could you mount it - do the real shifter knobs have a hex screw set into the neck???

Me too, I have pinscore also...............

Elicash - I think you mean the color? Red is the correct plunger spring.

Anyone have the Tilt Graphics apron magnet on their machine? Wondering how it looks................

Heads up for Taxi players - just discovered how the large taxi plastic gets damaged...............I've been getting airballs from the right flipper when hitting certain posts along the ramps or Lola drops - the ball ends up either caught by the wireform and rolling back to the right flipper or continuing into the taxi plastic and cracking it along where the screw holds it in.

Might want to laminate with mylar the backside/frontside of your plastic to add a little more protection - I've done that as part of my repair, although should have done that first *before* it got broken............

Anyone else solve the airball problem maybe with a plastic post sleeve with less give???

If anyone has a Taxi Cab plastic, the long one that fits across the plunger lane - my new one just cracked in two!!

sawbill - looks fantastic!! Do these stick onto the pf? Great idea to produce these, so much easier to restore!!!!

-Nate

Those slingshot plastics are from Big Guns..........

Jeff, looks great! I always wanted to "box in" that plastic and put an LED strip behind it that would random light with 3 leds...............