- backbox. Surprisingly, this is where all of the game's circuit boards live. There usually aren't any circuit boards down under the playfield.
- playfield. The "lockbar" and "apron" are removed in this pic, but the apron is back on in the next one.
- name that machine!
cabinet
Howdy! Welcome to my pinball machine repair photo journal thingy!
This is my first pinball machine, although I have a couple of arcade video game machines. I just started teaching myself electronics a couple weeks ago, and now I'm diving into a huge project.
Fortunately, this machine is in pretty good shape. I bought it from a guy in Clovis, and picked it up, literally on the side of a two-lane highway, in the middle of nowhere halfway between Albuquerque and Clovis. It was quite cinematic, especially because they hadn't removed the backbox, and I didn't have the tools to take it off, so we weren't sure it was going to fit in the suburban I was borrowing from my parents. It all went well, though, and now it lives in my office, as pictured here. I decided on this particular machine because it was offered pretty cheap, and because it has a ramp. Ramps are neat.
This is totally a "learning as I go" sort of thing, and I'm going to try to share everything I learn so that other beginners can also learn about the harrowing world of pinball machine repair!
(Incidentally, my goal with this machine is to "refurbish" it, not "restore" it; the difference is that a "refurbished" machine is fully playable, but looks like the 30-year-old machine it is, while a "restored" machine is in absolutely pristine condition and feels like you've travelled back in time 30 years to play it.)
Click on the next picture in the set to proceed!
Comments and faves
Mr. Bali Hai (48 months ago | reply)
Great project! I had no idea you were a pin-enthusiast.
Check out the 1973 Bally Bali Hi that I keep down in the basement Tiki bar. I used to manage an arcade back in the late 70's/early 80's.
huntybunz (48 months ago | reply)
awesome! Everyone needs a basement Tiki bar!
And I didn't know I was a pin enthusiast either until a couple months ago. :)
Mr. Bali Hai (48 months ago | reply)
Everyone needs a basement Tiki bar!
Now that I have it, I'm not sure how I ever lived without it...:-)
I've always loved pinball. I love Skee ball too, but I don't have enough room in the basement for that.
huntybunz (48 months ago | reply)
then what you need is a midget skee ball! or a puck bowler! There's even one for sale in CT, if you live around there. :)
Mr. Bali Hai (48 months ago | reply)
Nah, midget skee ball just wouldn't be the same. I need the heft and weight of a full-size lane to get the same feeling.
And I'm in Wisconsin, so I won't be driving to CT to buy an arcade mechanism any time soon...:-) I had to drive to Cleveland over a weekend to pick up the Bali Hi machine, and that damn near killed me.