Centaur II
Bally, 1983
Cheetah
Stern Electronics, 1980
Eight Ball Deluxe Limited Edition
Bally, 1982
Evel Knievel
Bally, 1977
Flash Gordon
Bally, 1981
High Speed
Williams, 1986
KISS
Bally, 1979
Night Rider
Bally, 1977Quoted from WeatherbyMAG:Assembled a new set of Wolffpac red displays & played some games for 1st time on FG over the weekend. Yes the displays work fine, my cell phone camera does not like picking up anything involving LED's.
Couple little switch tweaks left & I think it's ready to go.
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Say the word and I’m coming to get her!!! Looks incredible!!!!
Looks great!
How do you get the lockdown bars so clean (stainless steel)? Seems like now matter how much I sand them they are never perfect
On some games I polish them with a buffing wheel to almost look chromed, but I'm kind of going to start going away form that in future unless requested. The polished ones just attract fingerprints/handprints too badly. They look great until you play a game, & then you have to keep cleaning them.
So on this Stars I just sanded & buffed it. I sand it with a DA sander & 220 grit paper to remove any heavy scratches & then use a new sheet of Red scotch brite pad working side to side to replicate the original "grain" of the brushed stainless steel. I think there have been some threads on that technique on Pinside over the years. The red scotch brite has about perfect coarseness to make it look good.
One of the next 4 in line to get restored. Overall decent condition, missing couple small pieces. Had some interesting repairs on some of the mechs, & the backbox support was falling off, someone actually ran nails through the side rails into the support. Good stuff. Some other interesting cobbling as well in several other areas of the cabinet but I'll get that straightened out.
This one is getting a Kruzman PF & full resto, maple bottom etc.
Got it all stripped down & will start sanding in next week or so.
Want to get the Cheetah finished up as well as my EK here in next few weeks as well, took few days off work after the 4th Holliday which should help as well.
IMG_20230612_193641 (resized).jpgIMG_20230612_193648 (resized).jpgIMG_20230612_193658 (resized).jpgIMG_20230612_194128 (resized).jpgIMG_20230612_194134 (resized).jpgIMG_20230612_194200 (resized).jpgIMG_20230613_200704 (resized).jpgIMG_20230613_200731 (resized).jpgIMG_20230613_201511 (resized).jpgIMG_20230613_203218 (resized).jpgIMG_20230613_203251 (resized).jpgIMG_20230613_203257 (resized).jpgAnother one for the resto wait. Might be most expensive Night Rider ever after I'm done with it LOL.
CPR PF, full resto, etc.
Someone broke into coin box back in the day & a sheet of plywood was nailed onto the bottom to "fix" So this one, a new Maple bottom was'nt really an option, it will be more of a requirement. Also found broken PF glass pieces in between the original bottom remnants & the plywood, so this one has lived a rough life.
You can see how bad the cabinet has faded once the side rails were off.
Will be a lot more wood repair on this one than on the 9 ball.
& Rockwell, I will let you know if I need anything on the 9 ball wiring wise.
IMG_20230615_185538 (resized).jpgIMG_20230615_190806 (resized).jpgIMG_20230615_194709 (resized).jpgIMG_20230615_194723 (resized).jpgIMG_20230615_201427 (resized).jpgIMG_20230615_203855 (resized).jpgIMG_20230615_204148 (resized).jpgWas a productive weekend. Got both 9 ball & NR cabinets sanded down & repairs begun.
9 Ball PF supports were in awful shape, so they got replaced with new wood. Of Course I was so busy I actually forgot to take pics of outside of both cabs. But anyhow..... 9 ball is actually coming along very well, I might only have another 4-5 hours left & it's ready for primer.
IMG_20230618_150753 (resized).jpgIMG_20230618_150758 (resized).jpgIMG_20230618_150803 (resized).jpgIMG_20230618_150819 (resized).jpgNight Rider, not quite as nice shape cabinet wise. This one has a particle board rear to it. So anytime I have one of those, I first sand it down & then fiberglass resin the whole thing. The resin soaks into the particle board & helps "glue" all the tiny wood fibers together, resin is a great adhesive. So, hard to tell in this pic, but that rear has been fully glassed & sanded down. Now the wood particles will not try to ever shift/move & cause issues under the paint & I have some structure to work with instead of a floppy soggy particle board.
IMG_20230618_132126 (resized).jpgI also got the NR PF completely stripped down, & installed a new washer & dryer last night in our laundry room...... was a productive weekend LOL.
The Night Rider CPR needs some extra clear added to it, I gotta make sure I have enough clear, I need to clear Dolly, Skateball, NR & a CPR Eight Ball deluxe here in the next week or so as well as 3 or 4 aprons.
I stripped the Dolly & Skateball in the fall, & will get them out of upstairs storage & begin repairs on the cabinets within the next week. Like to shoot as many in primer at once as I can. I hate mixing up primer/clear/paint etc for the gun. Just eats up time & lot of cleanup etc. So I like to combine jobs to do as many as possible all at once.
The 9 ball PF has been sitting curing for quite a while & is ready to load on a rotisserie, possibly as early as tonight, so I can begin some basic lamp socket installs & ground(power) braid.
9 BALL PF got back painted grey & work begins........
Not a Mirco bitch fest, as all repo PF's have dimple issues, but for those who have never done a PF swap & think all the dimples must be in correct locations because this stuff is CNC'd... this is just small example of how far off hole locations can be. You can see how far off this lamp socket would be if placed where the dimple is. The black dot represents where the hole needs to be drilled to have the lamp socket directly over the insert. I'd say 80% of lamp socket dimples needed moved on this PF, & so far several of the rollover wire locations on bottom side of PF as well. Every single hole you are about to drill in a new PF must be verified before drilling. & people wonder why this stuff takes so long.
IMG_20230624_105758 (resized).jpgIMG_20230624_110319 (resized).jpgIMG_20230624_110403 (resized).jpgI always start with lamp sockets & power braid. On this game I eliminated the original lamp holders for the 2 large heavily populated areas. I know there are aftermarket holders for these, but I prefer the real deal 44/47 bayonet lamp sockets on all my builds when I can, just a personal preference that I don't think anyone is ever going to change my mind on.
IMG_20230624_145252 (resized).jpgIMG_20230624_145259 (resized).jpgTopside making some slow progress. Couple posts were missing, & the left outlane ball wire guide is broken, will have to make a new one.
These rubbers are just on for mock up, I'm putting silicone rubbers on it that I ordered this morning.
This game is a bit of a pain to get parts for, I will probably end up sourcing parts from almost 10 different vendors to do the PF alone.
The pop bumper body was broken, so I'll be replacing that later this week when it arrives. Also going to change the dead pop wafer to blue, I just did'nt have any blue ones on hand.
IMG_20230625_163718 (resized).jpgIMG_20230625_163724 (resized).jpgIMG_20230625_163732 (resized).jpgCabinet is getting there. I think I made a mistake when I made the new PF guide rail for the left side, I will verify that tonight. I think some of the left side PF mechs may interfere with it, I was'nt sure why Stern had a large gap in it & so I thought I was "improving" it by making it full length...& then it hit me last night laying on couch thinking about the PF mechs. Restoring machines is always a learning process.
The right side (pictured) got done last night & came out nice. I will fill the screw holes in to hide them before priming/painting to make them look even more clean.
IMG_20230625_171502 (resized).jpgIMG_20230625_171508 (resized).jpgIMG_20230625_171516 (resized).jpgIMG_20230625_171530 (resized).jpgIMG_20230625_171539 (resized).jpgQuoted from WeatherbyMAG:Cabinet is getting there. I think I made a mistake when I made the new PF guide rail for the left side, I will verify that tonight. I think some of the left side PF mechs may interfere with it, I was'nt sure why Stern had a large gap in it & so I thought I was "improving" it by making it full length...& then it hit me last night laying on couch thinking about the PF mechs. Restoring machines is always a learning process.
Yeah it looked too long - I had a 9 ball pf in a seawtich cabinet for a while, and >CLUNK< the big drop bank hit the playfield runner in the cab. I removed part of it while I was using the playfield in the game to fix the bugs in the software.
That PF I borrowed from a buddy but it didn't get played too much as it was disintegrating into dust in the lower area. The ink was just dried out and worn... had a couple stern PF's like this. (Stargazer, dragonfist)
That's what I was thinking.... I am just SO glad I thought about that BEFORE I painted & cleared this thing, that would have made me sick.
Quoted from WeatherbyMAG:I always start with lamp sockets & power braid. On this game I eliminated the original lamp holders for the 2 large heavily populated areas. I know there are aftermarket holders for these, but I prefer the real deal 44/47 bayonet lamp sockets on all my builds when I can, just a personal preference that I don't think anyone is ever going to change my mind on.
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Got any tips for soldering the lamp socket brackets so effectively? I always struggle with these.
Quoted from phillyfan64:Got any tips for soldering the lamp socket brackets so effectively? I always struggle with these.
A lot of heat. I run my soldering iron at 850 & use a big tip. To pile it up in the back corner of the bend of the socket like I do & then dunk the braid into the molten pile of solder takes a lot of heat. I go overboard, but this is one of those things I'd rather know I'll never have an issue with in future. If you just do a quick dab of solder on corner of a bracket etc, if bracket is too cold etc can have a bad solder joint that falls apart in future.
I solder these in place with the socket screwed down, & that screw will pull a a lot of heat away from solder as well. I know some people will solder the socket off the PF & then install, hope their solder does'nt interfere with the screw, & then add their braid after the socket is screwed down, but that is way more work than necessary IMO.
Quoted from WeatherbyMAG:A lot of heat. I run my soldering iron at 850 & use a big tip. To pile it up in the back corner of the bend of the socket like I do & then dunk the braid into the molten pile of solder takes a lot of heat. I go overboard, but this is one of those things I'd rather know I'll never have an issue with in future. If you just do a quick dab of solder on corner of a bracket etc, if bracket is too cold etc can have a bad solder joint that falls apart in future.
I solder these in place with the socket screwed down, & that screw will pull a a lot of heat away from solder as well. I know some people will solder the socket off the PF & then install, hope their solder does'nt interfere with the screw, & then add their braid after the socket is screwed down, but that is way more work than necessary IMO.
Thanks for the info. I will try it that way. I’ve been doing mine off the playfield. You’re right, it is definitely more work than necessary.
I use a chisel tip for almost all soldering. You do need a quality iron. If it's really stubborn I'll break out the 100 watt gun.
Quoted from WeatherbyMAG:I always start with lamp sockets & power braid. On this game I eliminated the original lamp holders for the 2 large heavily populated areas. I know there are aftermarket holders for these, but I prefer the real deal 44/47 bayonet lamp sockets on all my builds when I can, just a personal preference that I don't think anyone is ever going to change my mind on.
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You need to do a game with the new LED boards. Just do one. I think it will change your mind.
But they're only good for controlled inserts.
2C5B7E1A-E2AE-41B8-8548-5EBECFB98DB1_1_105_c (resized).jpegOh, I know they work good & look nice topside. I'm just a bit of a purist & don't think they look appropriate on a late 70's early '80s game. I just like the look of sockets.
Quoted from WeatherbyMAG:Oh, I know they work good & look nice topside. I'm just a bit of a purist & don't think they look appropriate on a late 70's early '80s game. I just like the look of sockets.
Completely understand.
Quoted from WeatherbyMAG:Oh, I know they work good & look nice topside. I'm just a bit of a purist & don't think they look appropriate on a late 70's early '80s game. I just like the look of sockets.
I'm always torn between the LED boards and sockets for the same reason. It seems a bit wrong under the hood, but damn if they don't look good from the topside.
Quoted from rockwell:I'm always torn between the LED boards and sockets for the same reason. It seems a bit wrong under the hood, but damn if they don't look good from the topside.
You saw my EBD. They didn't have the LED boards when I restored it.
I so badly want them but it would be a royal pain in the ass to change now.
Maybe when I'm bored out of my mind with nothing else to do.
Quoted from Bryan_Kelly:You saw my EBD. They didn't have the LED boards when I restored it.
I so badly want them but it would be a royal pain in the ass to change now.
Maybe when I'm bored out of my mind with nothing else to do.
Looking to do a restore 
?
Some more 9 ball work over the weekend. Flippers would have been on here & looked great....... except when I went to rebuild them, I realized someone had switched both flipper mechs at one time in this games life to Bally's. & I'm not putting Bally flipper mechs in a game this rare & valuable. I don't have a pair of the newer style stern mechs this game takes, I had one, but not a pair. I had lots of the older Stern flat bottom style, but again wanted to keep originality correct on these flippers, so I will just order a pair of the correct style for this game.
Started tearing down the 3 bank drop targets to get those ready for rebuild, as well as stripped the display board to bare wood to begin repairs on it.
IMG_20230702_145330 (resized).jpgIMG_20230702_145335 (resized).jpgIMG_20230702_145344 (resized).jpgIMG_20230702_145347 (resized).jpgIMG_20230702_145406 (resized).jpgIMG_20230702_145411 (resized).jpgAnother weekend, more 9 ball progress.
Cabinet wise, I fixed the left side PF support area where I had incorrectly put in a full length runner. Removed that (carefully since it was not only screwed in, but I had wood glued it on) & replaced with correct runner with gap in it to clear the underside PF mechs.
Rest of cab got freshened up enough for 1st coat of primer.
IMG_20230709_171050 (resized).jpgIMG_20230709_171054 (resized).jpgIMG_20230709_171103 (resized).jpgIMG_20230709_171109 (resized).jpgIMG_20230709_171117 (resized).jpgIMG_20230709_171123 (resized).jpgIMG_20230709_171131 (resized).jpgIMG_20230709_171138 (resized).jpgIMG_20230709_175515 (resized).jpgIMG_20230709_175520 (resized).jpgDisplay board, all stripped & repaired, filled in all the staple holes in back side etc.
This pic is in primer, but I actually shot it in gloss white last night after sanding the primer.... hav'nt taken any pics of that yet. Hope to install new braid & lamp sockets this week.
IMG_20230709_164731 (resized).jpgBefore & After of the 3 drop targets.
The 8 bank, has seen better days. Repaired with braze, some bolts added where pins should be, broken "finger" on the one memory drop mech etc. I'll make it look as good & as functional as I can since these don't exactly fall off of trees these days.
IMG_20230706_121333 (resized).jpgIMG_20230706_121351 (resized).jpgIMG_20230706_121400 (resized).jpgIMG_20230706_124104 (resized).jpgIMG_20230706_124133 (resized).jpgIMG_20230709_164531 (resized).jpgThe majority of my time this weekend was on PF wiring..... it's not done, but certainly making progress. About 7 hours worth of trimming/routing wires & soldering so far.
IMG_20230709_164541 (resized).jpgIMG_20230709_164548 (resized).jpgIMG_20230709_164553 (resized).jpgIMG_20230709_164605 (resized).jpgIMG_20230709_164610 (resized).jpg& I'm convinced now that this game is cursed from ever having the correct flippers. 1st I had the disaster where it had Bally flipper mechs in it & I did'nt even pay attention & realize that until I had one complete mech all cleaned/polished/rebuilt etc... I noticed the linkage was'nt right & was like, what the hell.... Oh shit this is a Bally mech.
So then I did'nt have a pair of newer style Stern mech plates, I only had one original. So I ordered a pair, waited a week for them to come in. Yesterday, built the right side & installed it, polished up & built the left side & went to install & then came to realize they sent me a pair of rights instead of a R&L. Damnit, I have now completely cleaned/polished & built 2 flipper mechs for this game that are not correct, a Stern & a Bally. So.... I go up to my attic last night to see what side the one original Stern mech plate I had in stock was....50/50 shot that it was a left & I could finish off these flippers......... it was also a right. So here I sit with 3 right flipper mechs & no lefts.
IMG_20230716_144311 (resized).jpgThis game has definitely lived a hard life. Just found so many broken/repaired parts, burned connectors, repaired connectors etc. I re-pinned all the PF connectors & did new molex housings on all the .156's. As long as they are in good shape I typically reuse the .100" housings.
I think I just have a couple .100" housings to re-pin on the display board wiring & all the connectors will then be done & I can check that box off on the rebuild. Nothing more fun that 5-6 hours of re-pinning connectors.
IMG_20230722_162640 (resized).jpgIMG_20230722_162651 (resized).jpgCheetah! Progress.... imagine that. It's been on back burner for much too long. Got the PF off the rotisserie, & installed the upper target & rest of the lamp sockets & wiring that my rotisserie won't allow to be reached. Owner came over & re-pinned all the PF connectors on Saturday, got the Display board wiring ultrasonic'd & ready to re-pin.
IMG_20230730_154532 (resized).jpg9 ball main drop mech, what a nightmare.
Multiple things had to be repaired/re-engineered etc. But it's finished & fully functioning as it should & I expect it to have a long service life with the repairs that were performed. The brazing done on it in a previous life seems to be holding up over the years, it was'nt overly cleanly done, but other than looks, I think it is fine.
Stern did us no favors by trying to shove a ton of stuff into a small area on left side of the PF on 9 ball.
I always laugh when I'm on ebay, facebook or even pinside etc looking at a "restored" machine & the person selling it brags about a 50 or 60 hour restoration..... I have 10 hours in this drop target mech alone, between tearing it apart, bead blasting, polishing, painting, ultrasonic cleaning, new coil wrappers installed, go through all switches, resolder everything, fab/fix mechs etc etc. I don't know what you could accomplish in 50-60 hours to "restore" a machine, maybe tear it apart & reassemble it if you are lucky. You certainly are'nt "restoring" anything in that timeframe.
IMG_20230730_140528 (resized).jpgIMG_20230730_154409 (resized).jpgIMG_20230730_154415 (resized).jpgIMG_20230730_154421 (resized).jpgIMG_20230730_154501 (resized).jpgCheetah PF pretty close to being done now. Couple little minor things (spinners are not hooked up to switches etc) & it's ready to go in cabinet.
Owner wanted mini posts all switched out to full length studs instead of screw in, got that done, finished all the ball guide wire work, & installed set of stainless plastic protectors on lower plastics & upper arch.
This game was purchased off ebay years ago as a "parts machine". PF was missing bunch of small stuff & other stuff was in really bad shape. So I'm proud we were able to get this to where it is today, a complete unit.
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Lewiston, NY