My 1970 Dipsy Doodle cleaning and repair project is going well. This is my first pinball machine, and I've really enjoyed working on it so far. In the last month or so, I've done or am in the process of doing the following:
- Thorough cleaning inside the cabinet and back box with an air compressor and shop vac
- Replaced all fuses
- Cleaned and waxed playfield surface, plastics, posts, etc.
- Rebuilt and cleaned score reels and credit reel
- Replaced all rubber in the machine
- Replaced two mini-posts with red anodized posts
- Replaced all lighting with LED bulbs, including the addition of colored bulbs in select locations
- Rebuilt broken left flipper and replaced cracked bushing
- Rebuilt and repaired broken jet bumper
- Rebuilt and cleaned stepper units
- Cleaned and adjusted switches and relays where needed
- Replaced instruction cards, and adjusted machine to play as indicated on the cards
- Considering adding some small SMD light strips to brighten up the center of the playfield
I know that none of this is particularly difficult, especially for those of you with experience working on EM pinball machines. That said, I'm pretty proud of what I've been able to do to the machine with no experience whatsoever. My soldering skills are improving! Everything on the machine works properly as far as I can tell, and it plays nicely. I'm not trying to fully restore this machine, I just want it to to be a fun addition to my basement.
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