Recently purchased an older EM machine to gift to my dad for Christmas. He told me about how he would go out everyday over his lunch break, back when he was in high school, to play pinball. I can remember him tearing up a couple machines at a local pizza joint, when I was a real young kid, but until that story I did not know how passionate he was about it. Anyways, ever since I heard that story, I have wanted to find a way to get one for him. I had tried for years to convince my siblings that this was something he would really appreciate (more so than the tools and equipment we usually gift him). I convinced them to go in with me on a machine that popped up for sale close to us. The machine seems to be in pretty good shape (great if you consider the age), but there are definitely a few things that need some work. I have spent countless hours on this forum and have learned a great great deal. That being said, I am in need of some direction if possible.

The machine is a 1975 Bally Hokus Pokus. For the most part the machine works as it should, but there are a few inserts that are sunken and the playfield has a ball trail and some other points of wear. Nothing that I don't believe cant be fixed, especially with the wealth of knowledge on here. We are planning on giving this machine to him on Christmas day, and I know we will want to log some major time once he gets on it. My old man is very handy so I believe some of this I will want to hold off on, as more of a father son project later down the road. What can I do before Christmas to help out with the play on this machine before then? The sunken inserts is my main concern as it does effect game play if the ball is rolled over at a slower speed. I have been reading through all of the posts I can from @vid1900 he seems to know about everything about these machines, and shoutout for all of the help he has been thus far. I have gotten slightly confused though regarding what I can do on the old EM machines vs what is recommended for more modern machines. I am admittedly a newbie, the vocabulary and abbreviations still trip me up, but I'm working on that. I do not want to ruin his gift before even getting the chance to give it to him. I will detail all of the issue I have discovered thus far, and if anyone has a recommendation for a starting point, or any advice in general it would be greatly appreciated.... Thanks in advance for all of your help.

**Sunken Inserts**
-Caused the ball to stall or launch based on velocity. See pics for examples

*Middle spinner occasionally gets stuck on*
-I attempted to straighten out the pin which seems to have helped but not completely alleviated.

*Missing the original coin basket*
-Does anyone know of a part number that matches this machine? More of a want then a need, but thought I'd ask.

*One of the legs has the top bolt stripped out*
-I am ordering a new set of bolts, but anyone know a way to repair the top bolt, other just Loctite, or would that just be best option?

*The wood is wearing around the Left Flipper Button*
-Is that just wood filler and repaint?

*I'm not sure of the proper name, but the right bumper located near the flipper does not work, I believe it may be a switch that is bad*
- Do I just replace this of try clean up the old parts and try to set the open distance properly again. They appear to have been bent.

*I am planning on ordering some VM&P Naptha to keep the table clean*
-That would be the correct option for this particular machine right?

*44 bulbs or 47?*
- there are a few burnt out and I have read some saying that for home use 47's are recommended, but some that disagree?

*Would you recommend ordering new rollovers or just keep riding them?*
- They do function as is, just look a little rough (see Pics)

*Should I attempt to fix the ball Trail at the top?*
- If is a major undertaking, I can wait until after Christmas and work with dad to do this. Like I said I'm a little nervous that I will cause harm to his new gift before he gets a chance to play it.

*Would you recommend a new clear coat eventually, sooner rather than later, or never?*
- This is a machine more so for pleasure than anything else, but I want him to be able to enjoy it for years to come.

Thanks again in advance for any help you all are able to provide.

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Thanks for your response, that was my most likely course of action. I do wish I could fix the cupped inserts however, as it does have a negative impact on play.

Thank you for your prompt response. I apologize as I haven't been back on here for a few days. I do have some experience with clear coats, as I resurfaced all of the hard wood floors in my house last year. But would rather not remove everything from the playfield until after it is gifted.

+Would I have to clear coat the whole thing again if the plan were to just fill in the cupped inserts?

+Would you have a particular wax you would recommend for an EM machine like this?

+The sling will fire if I manually move the rubber, but the contact doesn't seem to work right when the ball hits. Assuming this needs to be cleaned up and the gap adjusted? Is there recommended tool to do this or would it simply be easier to replace?

+So is the consensus to move away from the older lights and go led? or start implementing #47's rather than the 44's?

Thanks again for all of your help. I am going to order that plate for the front leg today.

The previous owner did have new rubbers installed last year. They appear to be in good condition yet, but I may not know the real difference. What is the expected life of the rubbers with minimal use?

Would anyone have a recommendation for what to use to clean up the legs? There is some slight rusting. Thanks in advance.

Who sells replacement legs for $12 a piece? They were much pricier on most of the sites I was visiting. Thanks again for everyone's responses.

Sorry it took me so long to post a response to this, but we gifted the pin to my dad over Christmas and I do believe he loved it. I only repaired mostly the cosmetics, but we plan to dig into the sling that has issues, and then move on to the warped inserts in the near future. These are the only two things still effecting gameplay. I will share his fb post that was made the night he received the gift. I am sorry for not capturing video, I wasn't prepared lol. He does currently hold the high score, but I look forward to changing that soon!

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