Hi, I think I'm in the right place... I'm pitching to my wife the idea of getting a pinball machine. I get a lot of satisfaction out of getting things cheap and fixing them up- for example all my lawn and garden equipment that I bought in non-working condition at scrap prices and now works great I have a lot of electrical and mechanical experience from tinkering not to mention repairing toy trains professionally for many years.

Anyway, it seems like the best way to learn is to jump right in. But what pitfalls do I need to look out for? Are there certain models or issues that just aren't fixable or worth fixing, or are there better brands or models for a beginner to get into?

Thanks!

Thanks for the encouragement and insight. I did incorrectly use the term "restore", to be clear I wouldn't be looking for a full restoration candidate right off the bat- more like something that works but needs some maintenance. I'm assuming rubbers, lighting, targets, that sort of thing should be fairly readily available... Where's a good place to start looking for parts like this?

As for the money part, I've been involved in high power rocketry where you buy expensive motors and literally set fire to them- so pins have to be more reasonable than that, right?

It looks like a lot of wearable parts and mechanical parts like flippers are widely available for most em's since the 70s. But I've seen some 60s bally machines with a different kind of target. Anything I should know about these or are they just as serviceable?

Amkoepfer thanks that looks really nice, a little further than I want to go though ATM.

If a EM game hasn't been used in some time are there any precautions I should take or things to check before firing it up to see what works? I'm aware of the battery issues with the SS games, didn't know if there was anything similar with EMs.

I see a Bally Six Sticks available. Kind of interesting, out of the ordinary. Doesn't look like there's a lot of info out there- is that because it's rare or because it's a terrible machine? Do those go hand in hand? Is $350 fair for one in decent shape?

Well I went and picked it up for less than he was asking. Yeah it's pretty much a beater but I could've done worse. I did the seller a favor I guess. How nice of me, right? It seems buyers are vultures around here so I don't know how much better I would've done... Surely if this were a steal someone would've already bought it. But hey I've already learned a lot just from picking through it and I'm excited! Yeah the backglass is pretty bad. It's interesting too it's a mismatch, I wonder what its whole story is. German body with English head. Also has a nameplate from an automat in Germany so this must've crossed the Atlantic a couple times. Has the coin mechanisms marked in German and 25c written in magic marker above so are they adjustable or been swapped?

Actually all plastics are in good shape, everything on the playfield is there and as far as I can tell all the guts are there.

First thing I did as suggested was check the fuses. EVERY one of them was wrong. *facepalm* Replacement power cord had ground broken off and polarity reversed. *double facepalm* Put correct fuses in and a new 3prong and fired it up.

Everything on the playfield seems to function. The release solenoid on the player up unit gear was stuck on, seems the gear isn't rewinding as it should, it's sticky.

Next step I think is to figure out why it's not resetting the game. It just keeps feeding balls.

Thanks good advice. I'm definitely not playing it, just feeding the ball down the gutter to get the mechanicals going. Right now if I reset the machine it feeds and counts 5 balls even though I've selected three and keeps feeding ball 5 continuously with no end game. Need to figure that out. Cleaned the player stepper so that's working properly now.

Well dopamine is a powerful drug I've been putzing with this thing all day. Kind of want to make sure everything's in mechanical working order so if I need any coils or whatnot I can place one order with a new ball and rubbers. I have a technical issue which I'll start another thread for.