American Pinball Machine Question

[mark1120]

Sorry to go off-topic on our website, but I'm desperate for some background information on pinball machines.

I'm thinking of buying my first pinball machine to add to my collection of pachislos, pachinkos, and arcade games, but I know very little about them, such as ease of transport, required maintanence, etc.

A seller lives about 75 miles from me and I would need to rent a U-Haul to pick it up. These might be basic questions, but are pinball machines light enough for two people to pick one up and carry it up a ramp into a truck? Do I have to disassemble it somehow for transport? Will the machine bounce back and forth in the truck while driving such that I should wrap it with cushions, etc.? Is there anything else I should know or consider when buying a machine?

Thanks for helping a pinball novice out!!

[ocpachinko]

What machine? (there are differences in pinballs that change the jobs involved).

[drcrippen324]

ok depending on the age of the machine you should be able to remove the back glass (the one with the score bord on / in ) and there be 2 bolts through the bottom this allows you to then again depending on the model unclip the top box attached to the play field and fold it down towards the play field befor doing this slide teh glass out of the play field ad remove all the balls as these will bounce around in the machine during transport and sods law says they will take out the playfield glass (not cheap) slide the glass back (safest place for transport) teh legs should be removable and it will look like a wooden sled if your U-Hale is big enough then place it up on its end ie back of the playfield and folded back bord on the floor and rachet strap it in place tightly the sucker shouldent move any where then and will transport safe if the U-Haule isnt tall enough then put it flat on the floor minus legs and strap the back bord down to the playfield (id it bounces up on a bump in teh road you risck breaking teh back glass or teh playfield glass depending on the machine tha back glass is harder and more expensive to replace than the play field

on answer to teh 2 people carying then yes it is possible im no muscle man and 7 my partner isnt no muscle woman but we managed to get a folded machine up a steep flight of stairs in to our first floor games room with only a little sweat as for maintinance well depends on how its been treated no doubt the play filed will need cleaning and then mill waxing (stops any damage or further damage to the paint on the playfield) change the balls streait away (no doubt that hasent been done in years) any slight pits or marks in the balls will pull paint / wax off the playfield and damage it fot the sake of a few dollers its worth it then its just light bulbs depending on the age it may be worth re rubbering the machine rubbers are avalible quite cheap on ebay as are bulbs but it dose pay to shop around i found when restoring BOP over here in the uk some specialist shops are cheaper then ebay sellersthen all you might have to do is replace the odd flipper / solanoide every now and then depending on the age of the machine alot of problems are usualy mechanical not electronic key when working on them is start with the easiyest thing ie if a flipper isnt working check it has poewer to teh flipper and it is free to travel befor looking at any electronics or electrics you usualy find its as simple as can be

hope this helps a little and pleas feel free to post questions there is a number of us that have restored or are restoring pin tables lurking on here

[Eddie]

Remove Back Glass and legs. Remove Back Box dont forget to disconnect the harness connectors or, fold it down to playtable.

Wrap machine Plastic Wrap

Then wrap with a moving blanket (U haul rents them)

Then move machine to the very front of the truck/trailer wall and strap it if you can.

Do not strap directly on the machine as you can get strap marks on it or damage the finish. Always put something between the machine and the straps (towels ,cloth etc)
especially make sure the strap buckles are not against the machine and completely away from the machine corners.

Rent a hand truck if you think it would be easier to move the machine around from and to the truck/trailer.

[daviddnv]

You might want to look into just renting a pick-up truck instead of a U-Haul; it would probably be much cheaper. I moved pinball machines in the past by just removing the legs and strapping it down. Hopefully it won’t rain.


Depending on where you are, may want to rap the head in plastic to keep any bugs from hitting the top if it sticks up over the front of the truck.

--David

[mark1120]

Thank you very much for the tips. This string will come in handy for me when I get ready to pick up the machine. This morning I purchased a Star Trek Next Generation. I hope to pick it up sometime within the next 10 days. I like the theme and have always thought the machine looked cool...I just never had it in me to pay the going rate for a pinball machine...until now I guess. Ha!

[drcrippen324]

cool machine reel cool machine man that brings back some memorys was only talking with another member here the other day funnily enough

[ocpachinko]

I moved my STTNG (and my other pins) in my pickup (of course, it never rains in Southern California!)

1) There's a latch on the back of the game. Unlatch, then gently see if there's resistance to folding the backbox down onto the playfield glass. If there is, you need to remove the bolts. If not, you should get bolts to install when you set up the game. If you can fold the backbox down, put cardboard or towel to cover on the playfield glass and carefully fold (the weight will be from the front edges of the backbox onto the side rails of the playfield body).

2) If the head is bolted, use the key that should be hanging inside the machine to unlock the translite (lock is top center of the backbox); lift up the translite from the translite lift rail and gently pull forward and the plexiglass and translite will come out; gently lift the speaker panel up and forward, setting it down on the playfield glass to gain access to backbox bolts, remove bolts, reverse steps to reassemble and lock the translite before folding backbox down onto that cardboard or towel.

3) This game with its folding backbox weighs about 280 pounds (about as heavy as they get, other than bingos). It's easier if you can use wheels (I love my pinball skates that stay attached to the legs even over bumps PINBALL MACHINE LIFT MOVER DOLLY CASTER SKATE WHEEL SET - eBay (item 250282910029 end time Aug-21-08 15:16:26 PDT) )but you can use the little three wheel dolly casters from your home store (similar to http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/22-9124). Go slowly.

4) Move back of machine near truck. Have buddy steady machine while you remove one back leg, then carefully lift corner onto truck while being careful not to let the game tip over (the folded backbox is a much safer center of gravity than an unfolded backbox...many games have tipped due to laziness about folding the backbox!) Remove other back leg, push onto truck (use cardboard on bed if not plastic), remove front legs, push flush to front of truck (you may want to put a 2x4 on the front of the bed to space the game back from the truck.

5) Use a ratcheting tie-down strap (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=47708 cut off 2' or so of the length of the hookless end of the strap before assembling strap to ratchet) to secure game.

6) Drive safely.

7) When at destination, reverse steps to reassemble. I second the use of new balls (game has 6). I'd print out and read the manual "English Manual" at http://ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2357

8) Read read read at pinrepair.com for more information. Don't panic.

9) Have fun!

[MrGoodBurn]

Congrats!

I wish I had the extra money right now for the TNG pinball... That would look so nice in my game house!

[Chris]

I loved my STTNG - then the family came along and I had to sell it

You have bought a great pinball

[Eddie]

Pickup and transport is one area where Pachislo and Pachinko machines rule!

Easy to lift and they take up very little space.

[compirate]

they take up very little space.

Says you!

[hanabi]

Pachislos stack nicely in garages!!

but Pachinkos need space to breathe...

[Eddie]

Says you!

Yes, they take up little space, thats what I have little space and they take it up!

[luckydog]

I still have to slide Cutey Honey over a foot whenever I need to use my oven

[vespacar]

When I got my first pin ball machine I just put it in the back of my dodge minivan. Legs off of course, cover in blankets, one inbetween the header folded down and the body of the machine. To move it I strapped it down to a dolly (bottom down) and moved it into my apt. So if you know anyone with a mini van and would like to go on a trip get a hold of them. Just tell them they get to play first and with two people you'll have no problems moving it. Great starters game BTW.

Cheers,
vespacar

[drcrippen324]

Pachislos stack nicely in garages!!

but Pachinkos need space to breathe...

eeeek what have you done to poor betty

[Chris]

eeeek what have you done to poor betty

I did think that myself Doc

[hanabi]

eeeek what have you done to poor betty

I did think that myself Doc

What??


At least I took the black bag off her head!!





Don't worry it's only a temporary place for them...

Besides you know I have a real nice Betty Topper ( thanks Doc) when she gets a proper place to be set up

[fast toys]

Thank you very much for the tips. This string will come in handy for me when I get ready to pick up the machine. This morning I purchased a Star Trek Next Generation. I hope to pick it up sometime within the next 10 days. I like the theme and have always thought the machine looked cool...I just never had it in me to pay the going rate for a pinball machine...until now I guess. Ha!

I also own a STTNG pinball and love it, it is in the list of must have and never sell.

If you have any questions about it let me know and I will help out as much as possible.

The first thing I did when I got mine was take it completly apart an do a full shop job on it. Made a big difference in how fast the machine plays.

Also just a word of advice keep the optos (ball sensors) clean. There is a IR transmitter and a receivers. If they are dirty or mis aligned there will be issues on how the game play.

Have fun and you thought Pachis are adictive just wait.

On that note I just picked up a Saga Independence Day last week. I am planning of cleaning it up, doing a few repairs and then put it up for sale. This is unless I really like the play of it.

I like the cleaning and repair of them, kind of calming for me in a strange way.