I totally agree with the silver I bought too! It's so much better than my original little tiny things won't bother me so much. The biggest difference I see is the colors. The blues in the middle of the playfield are a darker tone than the original. I'll never have an original sitting next to it so that's nothing I'll have to worry about!

Glad to hear folks are happy with the silvers. Out of sight marks don't bother me. I had opted to exchange my bronzy gold for a silver back when I first got it... hopefully will get something soon but still have not heard anything back.

OK, I decided to go ahead and list my Whirlwind for sale with all the extras. Here is the ad:
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/54642

Apologize for the long description, but there is a lot there...working WW with LED's, extra boards, CPR gold pf, plastics, even a nice rotisserie.

Ok
This has been bugging me for some time. I won this ebay auction around a year ago and had Neo repaired and clear this NOS playfield preserving the signature. Its looks amazing! I've always wondered if it genuine! The seller stated that Pat was at his home attending a party and got him to sign it. What do you guys think? Here is the old listing ebay.com link: i

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Might want to send the photo to PL himself and see what he says...

The signature looks authentic. It matches Pat's signature on my TZ translight. (I will get a picture soon - the game is still wrapped up after the York show.)

I am not a signature expert but I just compared it with my WW that was signed in person by Pat and it looks legit for sure. All the same characteristics. He is a hard signature to get compared to some of the others. Very nice!

I would certainly like to if I knew how to reach him.

JJP or Facebook might be a thought.

Just curious ... I ended up with a CPR gold WW pf from this last run which I'm happy with, but noticed the shooter lane is extra short. Seems to be plenty of variation on other people's pics (including on CPR's website). Any insight in if this will affect anything negatively, or is it no big deal?

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Here is a pic of mine from the latest CPR run, it's a gold too. Yours definitely looks short. Although at the same time mine doesn't look particularly long either, albeit perhaps slightly longer than yours.

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I had a query someone can hopefully help with. Ive got a project WW I am doing a full restore on and I was looking at the fan and wondering how the blade is supposed to be attached. Mine looks like it has glue on both sides????

Problem is I have no idea if it actually works since I wasn't able to test it when I bought the game (only paid $400) and it's now in pieces as I go through my restore. When I manually turn the fan the blades seem to catch at the back, but if I pull the blade off I have no idea how I would reattach it. Also if I pull it off I'm worried I would need not just a new fan but perhaps motor as well if the shaft for the blade is messed up?? Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

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Thanks for the reply! After closer inpection, the end of mine does go up about as far as yours, it's just super light.

I am glad I stumbled on this thread. My first pinball was Whirlwind. When I purchased it, I had to drive it home 60 miles and ironically there were tornado warnings in my area
Fortunately I was able to avoid any disasters.

Still own it and have a CPR silver PF waiting to install along with new plastics. Mine is from the first run and I am happy with the quality of it. Unfortunate to read about the second run quality issues.
Hope to get it swapped over the winter.

I just purchased a Whirlwind that was in a house fire. It has a bunch of smoke damage and the translite and backglass are missing. I am purchasing a new translite and I need to get a piece of glass cut to mount it. Can someone measure theirs and let me know what the correct dimensions are?

Additionally, has any one dealt with removing smoke damage? Through trial and error, I have have found that 90% alcohol and magic eraser works best on the cabinet, but it is pretty aggressive with the paint. Any ideas about what will work without damage to the artwork? Inside the backbox is a major mess that is less of an issue since the machine actually plays without any issues except that the fan doesn't work. I would like to clean it up if there is some solvent or cleaner that will work on the boards and metal grounding plate.

Thanks in advance.

It's 20 by 27 inches.1/8 thick

You could always just sand it all down, repaint, then apply new cabinet decals.

How much damage are you talking about? I have always had good results with simple green on cabinets but I am not sure how damaged we are talking lol. I’m my mind I think this thing looks way worse than it probably does in reality

It's pretty bad. I tried a 50/50 solution of simple green/water with magic eraser and it worked sorta OK. I'm out of town for a few days. I'll post some pictures when I get home.

Clear tempered glass with no logos/etchings

Or try to get a real CPR Backglas with mirror effect. More expensive but a very nice must have on WhiWi.

New Decals and you will get a nice pin.

Any body have a CQ Whirlwind they want to part with? Looking for one with new everything.

I've heard mixed reviews over that. I've been told it looks fuzzy, and the artwork didn't translate well. Of course, that's subjective, but it seems it's poor reception is why they didn't really pursue it further.

Just finishing up a Whirlwind restore and would like to add a Cliffy set. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a set at the usual places. Anyone have an extra set for sale. Thanks.

Order right from Cliffy.

http://www.passionforpinball.com/whirly_pros.htm

It looked pretty bad in person. The translites are way better.

I second this. I always order direct from cliff. $100 order gets you a free t shirt too lol

Here are some pics of the smoke-damaged Whirlwind I picked up. Note the backbox door and the white streak to the right side. I sprayed some automotive brake cleaner there. I also tested it on the the side-by-side caps on the power supply. At this point, it seems to do best as it is a pretty good solvent, it leaves no residue and it is generally benign regarding paint. It does "melt" certain plastics (like the topper!).

On the side art, you can see the white in the clouds on either side of the wind-dude's cheeks is where I used 90% isopropyl alcohol and magic eraser to do the cleaning. On the apron, Novus 2 seems to work fine but I have to be careful not to remove too much paint (I cleaned the "W"). I have tried 90% alcohol on aprons in the past and it dissolves the paint rather quickly.

The playfield has some graining but it is in overall very good condition. I will use Novus 2 to clean the plastic and the ramps prior to flame-polishing. I have the tempered glass for the backglass already made and a new translite is on its way. I also have the spinner decals and new slingshot plastics. You probably noticed that the machine came with old Bally legs from the early 80s. Those will be replaced.

The whole project will be a ton of work and I am never going to tell anyone what I paid for it (I'm too embarrassed!), but I am confident it will be a nice machine when all of the work is done.

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That honestly doesn't look too bad. Have you tried mean green? I use that frequently to pull up the tobacco stains from cabinets of EM games. Works great. Spray on, let it sit, sometimes I lightly scrub with a scotchbrite pad, then wipe up with paper towels. Works great, and you can find the stuff by the gallon at Home Depot (or Lowes, I forget), or by the bottle at Dollar Tree.

I did try a 50/50 solution of Simple Green. It worked OK on the side art when used in conjunction with Magic Eraser. The alcohol/ME combo worked better. Neither alcohol nor Simple Green does anything without a scrubbing assist from ME.

I dilute simple green in my ultrasonic cleaner but spray it directly onto a cabinet. It works well with smoke

Simple Green and Mean Green are not the same thing. I'm not a huge fan of Simple Green. Mean Green is a far more effective cleaner. Use it full strength.

I'll track some down and give it a try. I did use the Simple Green undiluted, not the 50/50 I stated earlier. Again, it worked OK with the Magic Eraser but not as well as the alcohol.

Close but no cigar! 19 by 27 inches. I hope they can cut tempered glass, but I doubt it.

Sooo. today I finally got my CPR WhirlWind-Trilogy delivered... Can't wait to unbox and see the beauty...
Luckily import taxes en VAT were stupid low due to minimal value described on the bills haha

But first have to finish my Earthshaker project which has been lying around for way too long now

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Can someone tell me what goes in these holes (marked with green arrow). Thanks.

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probably a bad pic of one side which is a post with rubber beside the star post.
Same post on other side under the ramp. With that said, it doesn't seem to be adding any direct support to the ramp in any way.
Hope it helps.

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Vino - I really appreciate the pic and description. Thank you so much!

I finally completed my restoration. However, the spinning discs don't seem to be spinning correctly. I get more off a pulsing spin. Does this look normal? If not, what might be wrong? Thanks.

The discs seem to be working the same as mine.
There is an adjustment for the wheel speed setting 32.

I cant tell... but I had the set screw on the motor gear come loose and it made them spin slow kinda like that... but it got worse over time. Get some lube if you can on all 3 disc bearings, that helped speed mine up. And as it has been said check the setting for the speed.

The spinning disks are supposed to pulse, but it looks like yours aren't "coasting" enough once the power is removed. Maybe there's too much friction in the mechanism. There's a section in the manual that explains the proper adjustment and lubrication procedure. I'd start there.

I have a question About how best to set up a Whirlwind for a group of really good tournament players. Aside from extra hard game settings (disc speed, compass difficulty, multi ball diffiiculty), do you think that the center post should be removed?

I am concerned that the center post is so critical for balls falling out of the upper jet bumpers and other areas, that removal of the post will make the machine virtually unplayable given its original design. It seems to me that it takes a bit of skill to know when to trust the post versus when not to.

Thanks!

If you are going to adjust all the settings to extra hard--I'd throw the competitors a bone and leave the center post! That is really part of the strategy--do you let it bounce or take a poke at it if it isn't quite SDTM.

if anyone has one in southern california they would sell txt me pictures please 714-401-3854 im looking to purchase a nice working whirlwind thanks

Leave the post

I agree with leaving the post. Whirlwind is one of those kick you in the teeth games without it. So many sdtm balls. It drives me crazy lol

Hey all, joined the club this weekend!! Super pumped. I have a switch problem for the single drop target switch #26. I attached a pic, can anyone tell me if it’s wired up correctly??
Thanks in advance!!

Btw, great thread, it took me two evenings and a 1/2 day at work to read all 30+ pages, seems like a great Whirlwind community!

Edited!!

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That diode looks to me to be installed incorrectly.

Welcome,
First things first... The pics are not of your drop target switch, that is the ramp lifting solenoid "ramp down" switch... And the switch actuator is not correct, but it appears to be functional. The wire connections and diode are correct. The drop target switch is an opto on a circuit board, and it probably just needs a cleaning with a q-tip and alcohol.

Thanks, I pulled the connector and gave it a swap and cleaning and it appears the single drop is functioning correctly.

I HAVE 2 MORE questions for you all though now.

1. Anyone know of the best quality cabinet decals/wrap for WW? My cabinet is in too rough a shape for a repaint or touch up.

2. Is the three-way combo one of the most gratifying shots or what?? nailed my first at lunch today, i'm going to be chasing that feeling again and again, lol