jcalder8's Blog

Posted on Nov 21st 2008 at 04:22:57 AM by (jcalder8)
Posted under Pinball, Arcade, DIY, repairs

Part 1 can be found here: LINK
Part 2: What I actually bought...

First for the good, the playfield is in fair to good condition with minor wear and only a couple spots of touch up which is pretty good for a game almost 30 years old. Another piece of good news is that new glass was installed because someone sat on it, apart from that though there is not much to get excited about...


[img width=639 height=479]http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq98/pinball_photos/DSCN4187.jpg[/img]
[img width=639 height=479]http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq98/pinball_photos/DSCN4186.jpg[/img]

The back glass with "some flaking" is 50 to 60% gone.
[img width=639 height=479]http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq98/pinball_photos/DSCN4183.jpg[/img]

The problem with the machine accepting credit is due to the fact that there is some error on at least one of the circuit boards because the diagnostic function does not work. The game freezes on boot up and only half of the numbers are displayed in the scores.
The body itself is not too bad and I am still undecided if I want to repaint or just leave it as is since it adds some character, in some ways I wish there was more than just the dings and scratches, some initials would be interesting.
[img width=639 height=479]http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq98/pinball_photos/DSCN4188.jpg[/img]
There are a few light bulbs out and a couple screws missing. Overall this is going to end up costing me a lot more than $150 after fixing it but when it is all done it will look great. I will be posting updates as stuff on the "to do" list gets crossed off.

To Do List:
Repair Circuit Boards
Clean/Wax Playfield
Replace Light Blubs
Replace Rubber Bumpers
Replace Screws
Replace Ball
Replace Signs
Replace Decals
Clean Glass
Polish Metal
Clean Flipper Buttons
Replace Backglass
Replace Broken Plastic Playfield Pieces
Clear Coat Playfield

First on the list: sending off the circuit boards to get checked out.

I wish that I was better at electronics and I have tried to take some courses to help me improve but I could not find any near. What this means is that I have to send off the circuit boards for repairs so that I do not make them any worse than they already are. After searching far and wide I have found a place that seems like the best for price and turnaround time. If all goes well I will be posting the website I found for the individual I sent them off to, if it does not go well I will for sure be posting his website. I sent them off about a week ago so it will be a couple or 3 weeks until I get them back, in the mean time, I get to start on a project that I can do myself and one that quite frankly I have been looking forward to: cleaning and fixing up the playfield.

Firstly I need to get all the parts and supplies that I need to clean the playfield. I have placed a couple of orders for the parts: light blubs and rubber bumpers. I have picked up some of the cleaning supplies that I need: Magic Eraser knockoff and some Novus#2. I had wanted to have a nice update about how much cleaning I had done but since I don't have all the parts back yet I figured I mine as well wait. So with less than a week of vacation time left all I have done is a bunch of ordering and shipping. But the items should start to come in soon and I will, hopefully, have a nice update of what I have accomplished next week. starting my new job in a little over a week so that will affect the amount of time that I have to clean.

At the end of the day I sure am excited about it:
[img width=356 height=636]http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq98/pinball_photos/DSCN4189.jpg[/img]


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Comments
 
Congratulations with the purchase! Smiley

Sure, the unit isn't what you'd call "CIB", but expecting it to be for $150 would be a little naïve. Wink

My advise:

1. Don't paint it. It's a machine with history and the cracks/scratches are part of that. Painting it over would ruin the whole "feeling" if you know what I mean.
2. Once you get the circuit board repaired it'll probably be smooth sailing from there seeing how the other things on that list aren't as complicated as that.
3. You may not have much electronics knowledge but replacing light bulbs/screws or waxing the playfield can't be too hard and won't cost hundreds of dollars either.

I think it's definitely a good purchase. Cheesy
 
That's pretty sweet. Sure it needs some work, but it's a Williams, it should be a great one to restore.
And remember the #1 rule of restoring anything; if you're not sure if you should restore something, then don't. In other words, it would be best to leave the scratched body paint alone.
 
That looks awesome. I'm quite jealous of you right now. Great idea for a blog, can't wait to see this thing become even more awesome that it already is.
 
Awesome man, just awesome. :Thumbs Up:

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