Story of my $75.00 Golgo 13 Pachislo

[ForgiveR]

My pachislo collection is rapidly growing, with my latest being a Golgo 13 I picked up for $75.00. The owner was asking $150.00. Once I got a chance to see the machine I was really sad to see how trashed it was. Let me share...

> It was stinky. Like cigarettes and incense.
> It had, at one point, a hasp and padlock on it.
> The seller reported that it "worked with quarters". Obviously senseless and not how the machine is intended to operate. Someone must have monetized it in the past.
> It was throwing "EI" errors when you inserted tokens. Completely unreliable.
> Outside was dirty.
> Inside, filthy dirty and with signs that mice had made it their home at one point. Note that only one mildly chewed wire was found in subsequent remediation. Probably a youngster.
> Did I mention mice? No mice smell, but mouse poop and messy spots, including inside the reels. Entire reel assembly was removed and detail cleaned.
> Some lights inop.
> A ring-shank nail stuck firmly in hopper mech.
> Six or more screws missing from power supply housing. It was also floating loose.
> Mild scratches on glass.

Ultimately I told the seller that I was not interested. I explained that I wanted a machine I could put to use and feel happy to display in my house, not one that needed massive work. At the last minute he dropped price to $75.00 just to get it out of his house, which I accepted.

So, after extensive cleaning, repair, painting, etc (probably 12+ hours work) it's a fully playable and usable machine. I rolled-back the "quarter mod" and now it accepts tokens reliably and via speed load. It rather kicks butt. Behold the machine after all this work!



This is a great machine and very nice to play.

The last thing to address is the smell.

I happen to have activated charcoal, so as a test I bagged the machine overnight with 5 sachets of charcoal strategically placed. When I opened it up this morning, the smell was cut by at least 75%! Very surprising.

This evening I put it back in the bag, where I will leave it till next Friday. I hope and pray the smell is further reduced. I don't really like stinky stuff in my house. I'm fairly optimistic that it will be reduced almost to zero.

So, what do you all think about my find? Have any of you gone as far as me to revive a nasty pachislo? Have you walked away from one because it's as bad as this one? Overall I am happy because this is a really cool and fun machine to play.

Let's hear your thoughts!

ForgiveR