Gottlieb Sinbad Restoration

[Strangeways]

I am a bit behind on my restorations, but here's a game I've recently started. One of my favorite SYS1 Machines that is popular with collections, but does not receive the same recognition as Joker Poker or Genie (Genie is also on the floor for a restoration). It is being restored for a Collector on AP, and it is a game I imported several years ago. As with most of my games, it was "hand picked" and is in very good condition to start with.

Condition Report

Cabinet - 8/10 - Typical fade, but no structural issues. Very pleased with the cabinet. Backglass is the best I've seen on a Sinbad. They are always either severely faded, or have paint lift/cracking.

Playfield - 8/10 - Dirty. No planking, but lots of ball swirl. Minimal Insert wear. Hardy any wear at all except a small section in front of the flippers

Electrical / Electronic - 8/10 - Boards won't be an issue. A PASCAL 4 in 1 has arrived and will be installed. Lots of re pinning, but no board repairs.


BEFORE pictures

A VERY solid base for a restoration











Stunning backglass - Best I've seen on a Sinbad





Teardown and cabinet cleaning


The playfield is disassembled very quickly.





Filthy lower cabinet





Flippers look to be in reasonable condition. But they will have flipper kits installed so they work perfectly.





Cabinet is vacuumed and cleaned from top to bottom









All mechanisms will be rebuilt





Transformer Board


I get asked a lot about the power train for SS machines that are bought as "projects", and the re-configuration to Australian standards. I ALWAYS replace the EMI Filter on ALL SS games - regardless of their country of origin. Fuse holders are checked and I discard old fuses. New power cable is installed. I remove the wiring to the service outlet. Here's the process in pictures ;


The original Transformer board





The old EMI Filter and service outlet





I remove all components and check everything. I then clean all the parts and the bottom panel. I laminate any reference cards





Finished transformer board. All that is left is to test the output voltages and check the connectors.





Straight away I know there is a lot to do with the connectors, without even looking at the boards. Corrosion and broken pins need to be addressed. The trend is to replace only the visibly broken or corroded pins, but once I see a couple of pins, then all pins have to be done. In some cases, I replace the entire connector.


In the pictures below, there's only ONE affected pin - The YELLOW wire. Right ?








On further inspection, the next two I pulled out were broken. Not visible until I removed them





ALL pins are replaced








This process will most likely have to be done to all connectors !

 

[Boots]

Nice machine
Where do you get your emi filters from Nino?

[Slash]

That Sinbad looks in pretty good nick already.

Good thought with the laminating of reference cards.  I just tidied up my transformer board recently and thought they looked pretty fragile, I might have to pick them off again and do the same.

Can I ask the reason for replacing the EMI filter regardless?  I replaced all the fuse holders on mine since they just looked dodgy after so long, but can the filters fail/become unreliable over time too?

[Crashramp]

Love the system 1 games and this ones a ripper. Actually Sinbad really is one of my favourite games from any era and probably the best fun game to play multi player with (IMO). Never a long game and every time you think you have it all worked out you are quickly humbled again.
 I'm really looking forward to seeing this restoration take shape. Thanks for sharing Nino.

[skywalker]

Nice work Nino, what process did you do to clean up the transformer wood panel, keeping the original stampings/info tags stapled on 

[Steve2010]

That BG is very, very nice!  Alot of original colour still there.

[Strangeways]

Nice machine
Where do you get your emi filters from Nino?

https://www.rockby.com.au/SearchresSql_12.cfm?select=14&subcode=7

I buy in bulk. Freight is very good.

That Sinbad looks in pretty good nick already.

Good thought with the laminating of reference cards.  I just tidied up my transformer board recently and thought they looked pretty fragile, I might have to pick them off again and do the same.

Can I ask the reason for replacing the EMI filter regardless?  I replaced all the fuse holders on mine since they just looked dodgy after so long, but can the filters fail/become unreliable over time too?

I replace the filters because things get very ugly, smokey and smelly if they perish. I had a project game fired up for the first time in years and the "explosion" was not a pleasant experience ! The way I see it (for games of this vintage), it is an easy step to follow if I'm replacing the power cable and the Varistor - especially from USA machines.

Nice work Nino, what process did you do to clean up the transformer wood panel, keeping the original stampings/info tags stapled on 

I removed the tags, cleaned them with a dry rag and then laminated them. The wood panel was cleaned with a dry rag and then I used the compressor to blow out the dirt. Finally I used some sandpaper to achieve the original look.


 

[pinnies4me]

Love this game, it was one I chased during my system 1 days, but never scored a decent one. This one is going to look a treat!

[Slash]

Cheers for the reply and advice.

I noticed also that you desoldered the 2 wires to the service outlet. Is that a necessity or was it just to tidy things up since it's not useable anyhow?

[Strangeways]

Cheers for the reply and advice.

I noticed also that you desoldered the 2 wires to the service outlet. Is that a necessity or was it just to tidy things up since it's not useable anyhow?

Exactly. It is a 110V Outlet and it is no longer required, so I cut the wires.

[howzat]

What a fun game Sinbad is   Its another from my past

It will be a reliable game for a lucky member 

I will be looking fwd to the Genie resto         Howzat

[Mr Pinbologist]

I will be looking fwd to the Genie resto         

+1 same here  How far off is a resto thread on that one Nino?

[dealers choice]

looks excellent Nino, did you run new wires as well or just cut the cable ties and wipe them? Your restorations are always very inspiring.

[Strangeways]

I will be looking fwd to the Genie resto         

+1 same here  How far off is a resto thread on that one Nino?

I have started Genie, but not documented it as yet due to the fact that I'm preparing the playfield for clearcoat ahead of the rest of the game. But it is next in the "High End Restoration" queue.

looks excellent Nino, did you run new wires as well or just cut the cable ties and wipe them? Your restorations are always very inspiring.

I simply cleaned the wires and then used the compressor to blow out any dirt / water.

[Strangeways]

Stripping under the playfield I noticed that it was in very good condition, but had a couple of parts that were corroded / rusted - but this was not common throughout the machine. Strange. So it will be removed and replaced.




Topside, I've cleared it using Nifti and then Magic eraser and alcohol. I then polish it using Novus and then finally several coats of wax. I then go over the insert borders. Straight forward for a game like this that will have no touch up work done as it really does not need it.








The original boards are intact, but need work. The MPU is beyond repair. Power supply has been used for parts. The driver board looks OK. These will be replaced with a PASCAL PI-1X4.





I've completely stripped the head and cleaned / polished / tumbled the parts. Reassemble and it looks much better already.





Even the headbox Hinges are removed and polished.





Reassembled and ready to test the displays.





I do my own "in house" Zinc Plating for smaller parts, and I've got the process working well for me. I even started mucking around with the legbolts !





Flippers were in good condition. After stripping them, it told a different story !





Rebuilt with new flipper kits





New posts, globes, lane guides - No shortcuts.





The Drop Target Assemblies are stripped, cleaned and rebuilt - Does not take that long to do and makes a huge difference to the game.

















Next - The Pascal board and testing !