Ever wonder what became of this Time Machine and its unusual ramps? Well, here you go.
The machine is mine, i bought it from a gentleman near DC who must have had it right next to a window with a lot of sunlight, causing all three plastic ramps to warp. Neither the cab or head are faded so the machine must have been right up against the wall under the window. Both right side ramps were repairable and work just fine, but the left side dual Starwarp ramp was a goner.
To cover the bare wood in the upper left corner, I used a piece of gloss black vinyl, which I cut to fit the bare spot. Then I installed various colored mini globes over the GI bulbs.
I showed the metal ramp to a number of metal working guys to try and get an idea of how to attach the two switches to the ramp. Long story short, I wound up using JB Weld between the ramp and the metal microswitch bracket, and it holds just fine. I had the assembly electro-chemically polished and it looks like factory plating.
After I installed the head and hooked it up, i still had the usual variety of problems: the bottom two displays were outgassed, a shorted TIP36c on the PPB board, cold solder joints everywhere, bent switch wires, feature light issues, etc. All have been corrected the the game works 100%. You can make either of the two left ramps shot from either flipper.
With a new LED display, LED feature lamps and GI bulbs, rubbers of course, I think it looks pretty nice and it's a fun game to play. The playfield also features a brand new CPR plastic set. The music, speech and sound effects really add to the experience. It will be for sale in the Free Play area at Allentown Pinfest.
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Lambertville, MI
