Re: Rare vintage narita nagoya pachinko machine - early
I know it's been a while, but things have been pretty hectic with so many machines to restore. The good news is, I finally have started on the Narita. I think I have the tray problem solved, and solved in a pretty elegant way. I found a Pullman bread loaf pan online for $15.00. 16" x 4" x 4". Once it arrives, I will split it right down the middle, weld a piece of sheet metal onto one half to close it up, and then dremel out the two required holes. Then just tack on a few pieces on either side so that it can be pinned back into the holders as the original piece did.
I have it mostly stripped down already and I will be sending the graphic out to my guy to have it fixed up so I can send it to my printer for reproduction. As to the date of manufacture, I am not sure exactly what is going on. Since it is an auto-loader, it must have been made no earlier than 1969, unless it was made in 1953. But it can't be from 1953 because it has a tulip, and tulips were not developed until 1960. The playfield design also appears to fit with the typical late 60's early 70's motifs, so I am thinking this is probabaly a 1970 or so machine. Also, the telephone number in Nagoya on the badge in the playfield has 7 numbers. The break from letter/ number combinations did not start until 1965. So there you have it, these Narita machines are probably not nearly as old as they appear, although they are certainly quite rare. The simplistic design of the mechanisms would certainly have evolved after the initial recycler designs such as those from Nishijin we are so familiar with.
It will probably be at least a month before I have this one finished, so stay tuned for pics upon completion.
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