Finally! I found the machine I have been looking for! Also I have a few question

[PachiPachi]

Picked her up last night. It is the original Hokuto No Ken (Fist of the North Star). Required A LOT of cleaning. It was filthy. Luckily it cleaned up very nice. In its state it reliably works! There is still a lot of work I need to do.

- External chrome coin area is corroded and needs to be thoroughly cleaned. I am thinking of taking a thin nail file or sand paper to sand it down.
- Skill stop buttons need to be disassembled and thoroughly cleaned
- Coin hopper is complete rubbish. Bubbled, rusted and down right ugly, but it does function.
- Two reel bulbs are burned out
- Needs an all over thorough cleaning
- LCD fan area needs to be dissembled and cleaned.
- Who knows what else

For a machine that I have been searching for months I was able to get it for $180! Not including about 4 gallons of gas for the ~100 mile round trip drive I had to make . I took it home, blew it out with the air compressor and started cleaning. Here are some photos: IMG_20131028_212209.jpg IMG_20131028_212217.jpg

Now I have some questions:

-The hopper is really, really bad. I disassembled it partially and tried to clean it out. I do have a spare that's in great shape but the connector is a tad bit different. Worst case ill try to swap the connectors. Look at this photo: IMG_20131028_221759.jpg
It seems like that black plate is held in by a spring. Id like to remove it and sand it down or attempt to remove as much rust as I can. Any ideas?

- I did some searching and I was unable to find a definite answer. Two of the reel bulbs were burned out. Id like to replace them. I found a PDF repair guide that explained how to replace the bulbs. It said that Sammy pachislos use T5 12v bulbs. I searched pachitalk and found people using T1-1/2 and even saw a listing on eBay for T3.5 bulbs. Does anyone know which bulbs I need?

Thanks for the help! It is a solid work in progress.

[heima]

Congrats to fulfilling your wish! Your restoration will become a labor of love.

[pachi_sloter]

Don't go by anything in the fake repair guide.

You need 24 volt bulbs.

T1-1/2 Glass Wedge Base Bulb Identification
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OirhPS0QUu4

[PachiPachi]

Thanks for the heads up Pachi_sloter. So I need T1-1/2 bulbs?

Would these work? Wedge Bulbs for Pachislo Skill Stop Slot Machine | eBay

[PachiPachi]

Update - found the bulbs I need. Fixed the hopper too. I'm all good!

[MrGneiss]

[mcclad]

I had bought a barn rescue machine that needed a good cleaning, and one thing that worked really well for me was a good quality spray car wax.

[PachiPachi]

Yeap you are right. I used degreaser to knock off the who knows what the was caked on the machine. Then I used car wax and man it looks beautiful. The chrome and plexiglass loves the wax. I am really happy with how well everything turned out. The only complaint is that the reels have scrapes here and there. I can see the light through them. I'm thinking of taking some model paint and dab it on there. Sure I won't be able to see through it but it might make it less noticeable.

[mcclad]

I work on and restore pinball machines, and if car wax is good enough for a $7000 machine, it is fine for a pachislo that I paid $50 for. I use the wax on the hopper, the reels, the screen, chrome, payout tray, coin mech, everything. The wax also helps to keep it clean, and make things work smoother.