Anyone a expert on Pinball Machines

[RubbarDucklin]

Hey, I am just about to buy a pinball machine from a friend of a friend. It is about 15-20 years old and the kid says its in a not-too-good but working condition. He claims that the parts that would help it alot are non exsistant now but I would think differently. I am going to go check out the machine in about a week. Anything I should be aware of and what to look out for?

Thanks

[Zaxxon]

I'm far from an "expert" but I know you can probably find parts for it. There are people out there making new, reproduction parts for games that old. It's hard to tell you more without knowing what machine it is. I hear that Gottlieb machines are notoriously flaky.

[maxlords]

Gottlieb machines ARE notoriously flaky :) They tend to break easiest and be the least sturdy. As for parts.....they're around. In fact, I myself have about 10 boxes of pinball machine parts left over from my arcade. They can always be procured. Things you want to look for:

Check the playfield for wear and for clear plastic stickers (used to protect the paint on the playfield). Typically, pins are worth less with a worn playfield, and less with those stickers protecting the playfield. Most older playfields are made of wood and you'll see wear where the ball has been if they have had heavy use.

Check the numerical displays on the backglass. A lot of times, those will burn out, or partially burn out...spendy pieces to replace. If it's really old, it won't have those, and it'll have electromechanical displays instead, so no worries.

Take the glass off that's protecting the playfield. There should be a handle inside the coin door to pull that lets you slide the glass out. Do so carefully and then check over the bumpers by hand. Everywhere the ball can hit....test it out. Make sure all the bumpers are working, and see how brittle the rubber on them is. There are usually about a hundred (or more) copper conductors on the bottom of the playfield that run those bumpers, and if they go out, or the circuits break, you'll have to fix em. Make sure they all work and check the bumpers, cause when you get it, if the bumpers are brittle, you'll have to replace them. you can buy bumpers cheap (I have a few thousand lying around back home too). They're easy to replace...kinda like big rubber bands.

There should be a latch holding the playfield down as well. Once the glass is up, you can lift the ENTIRE playfield up from the bottom end, like the hood of a car, and there should be a prop rod to hold it up somewhere underneath. Do so carefully and check out the underside of the playfield and inside the pinball machine. Check to see if there is a manual stored inside (cause you'll NEED the schematics and the other useful information in the manual to fix it). See what else is lying around inside it (usually..VERY dirty).

Make sure there are keys for not only the coin door, but also for the backglass. Carefully unlock the backglass and there should be a lip on the glass itself at the bottom, lift up gently and pull towards you, and you should be able to remove the backglass and inspect the circuits behind it. That's also how you get in to replace burnt out light and numeric displays. That's typically where the ROMS for the pinball machine are, as well as any sound boards. The main circuitry is all behind the backglass. Also, look at the back of the glass to see what condition the art is in. The worse the condition (wear, peeling, etc) the less the machine is worth. Oh....one more thing. Check the pinballs themselves. If they have ANY rust or wear on them....throw them away and buy new ones. They should be easy to get from any amusement company. If they have ANY wear or rust, they do TONS of damage to the playfield...not worth the few bucks you'll save by using them.

Ultimately, pins are VERY cool, but tend to need regular servicing (replacing lights that burn out, fixing this or that, etc) The lights have to be replaced from underneath while the playfield is propped up usually...but be careful! Pull one wire out in the wrong spot by accident and you could lose a whole section of playfield! So be careful with it. If you do decide to buy it, when moving it, do the following:

Open the backglass. Inside, on the bottom, there should be either latches or bolts, Either undo the latches or take out the bolts with a wrench. Almost all of the backglass upright sections are hinged. Now very carefully (while someone holds the back) put the backglass back in and lock the top lock. Then gently lower the entire top of the machine so that the back is lying on top of the playfield glass. It's designed to fold down so that you don't damage it during movement. I highly recomend you lay a few blankets in between the top and playfield before lowering it, keeps the top from bouncing. Then strap it down with something. This protects the backglass and the playfield. Also..... remove ALL the legs (they're just held on with bolts anyway). Once the legs are off, then move the machine. It's VERY hard on pinball machines to move them in vehicles with the legs on them. Does a lot of damage. So just take them off, and then when you gert it home, relevel them (conveniently, most have adjustable feet on the legs so it's fairly easy to level them. You'll probably need help to do it, but it's worth the extra effort to protect the machines. Once you get everything reassembled, check over all the bumpers and everything again, cause just moving a pin can loosen connections, etc. Got to check everything out before using it!

Anyway, I hope that gives you a better idea of what to look for. A poor condition pin is worth $200-500 depending on the machine, and nice minty ones can go for upwards of $1000 for older ones and as high as $3000 for newer ones (like Medieval Madness, Twilight Zone, Addams Family, etc). Typically, for an unknown pin, I'd say $200-500 for a decent one. The last one I bought (before I sold everything) was a MINT Spy Hunter pinball, and I paid $500 for it. And it looked NEW...the tech had just fixed and replaced EVERYTHING on it...was totally "shopped out". Shopped is the technical term for machines that have been gone over by a game tech. You might ask if it's been shopped recently...if they know their pins...they'll know what you mean...and that's a good indicator that it's been well cared for :)

Enjoy! I sure do miss having my pins! :)