Author Topic: Gottlieb Big Shot EM Resto  (Read 5566 times)

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Offline Brettski

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Gottlieb Big Shot EM Resto
« on: June 18, 2016, 12:07:35 AM »
Hi again,
Just picked up this dirty dusty Big Shot this evening and really happy with what I have brought home! After a good look at it she has preserved well.
The back glass is brilliant, only one tiny piece of paint missing the size of a match head which I can fix otherwise the colours are still really strong.

The playfield has no wear marks at all, there is an area over the bottom half of the playfield covered in clear contact which looking at it will clean up beautifully, very slight dips in the inserts but not enough to worry about considering how good the playfield is, I will leave it how it is and just clean and polish it.

I will re paint and re stencil the cabinet and clean and polish all the metal I can and zinc coat the brackets and things and all should come up nice and shiny..

Now this is the first EM I have worked on and have very little idea here so steep learning curve but looking forward to the challenge as it is not working at this stage. It powers on but the tilt light comes on and apparently when it does turn on other times it just runs the motor over and over.

I am about to do some serious research on EM's and get ready to give this a Big Shot!!  :D

Good thing is I also just bought a Solar City that is working and just needs some cosmetic work so I plan to use that machine as a reference for the work on this one, well that's the plan anyway.

Here are some pics of how it is now and I will keep you posted when I get started. I might finish the Solar City first as I can see this being a long long job!

Cheers: Brettski... :)

Offline robm

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Re:
« Reply #1 on: June 18, 2016, 04:04:22 AM »
Nice one Brett!  This one will come up a treat. I guess its lucky that sinbad is on the move so you have space!

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Offline oldskool1969

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Re: Gottlieb Big Shot EM Resto
« Reply #2 on: June 18, 2016, 10:25:06 AM »
Nice one, fun game. I like the more open play fields.
If it isn't broke, it isn't pinball.

Offline DSB

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Re: Gottlieb Big Shot EM Resto
« Reply #3 on: June 18, 2016, 12:11:40 PM »
Good one Brett.  ^^^ Are the schematics available for this machine? They are invaluable for fault finding EM machines. I have only a little experience working on EMs but I can read and decipher the schematics if needed.

Offline Brettski

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Re: Gottlieb Big Shot EM Resto
« Reply #4 on: June 18, 2016, 02:41:33 PM »
Good one Brett.  ^^^ Are the schematics available for this machine? They are invaluable for fault finding EM machines. I have only a little experience working on EMs but I can read and decipher the schematics if needed.
Hi Dan,
Yes it has the original paperwork including schematics, I appreciate the offer and may call upon you if and when the situation arises. :)
This is going to be a challenge but I am up for it.
I also bought a Solar City which arrived this morning and it works, a few tweaks needed as one of the score reels sticks sometimes but it is mainly cosmetic work needed.
I will start a thread for that one and spill the details then.

Cheers: Brettski... :)

Offline Brettski

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Re: Gottlieb Big Shot EM Resto
« Reply #5 on: July 23, 2016, 11:01:31 PM »
Update..

Ok I have cleaned up the playfield and cleaned all the posts, also had enough spare rubbers to kick it off and replaced all the globes with 47's.
The wood rails were removed and sanded then stained with a honey tint varnish to blend back with the existing wood colour in the shooter lane, also the apron came up quite good and usable. That is the playfield organised except for new plastics and pop bumper cap.

Now as I said above this came not working and also being my first EM I have ever worked on started me on a crash course on EM's. Studied endless youtube video's and read the info at http://www.pinrepair.com/em/index1.htm Pin Repair and pinwiki. I also asked questions on a facebook EM page but unfortunately it was difficult for people to provide the required help due to the multiple problems it had. It was a little daunting at first but I went through every relay, switch, contact etc etc and finally got it all up and working, took just over a week but I beat it! I also went through all the coils and rebuilt the chime box as the plungers had seized up. Adjusted target switches, removed and cleaned the pop bumper and gave the flippers an overhaul including new bats

Next was to clean the score reels and replace the bulbs in the backbox, things starting look nice!

The cabinet has been in a place with a lot of cigarette smoke and arrived very yellowed, I decided to give it a clean to see how it looked and was quite surprised how good it came up. Using Gumption and a scourer I loosened most of the yellow stain then with a bit more Gumption and a cloth finished it off nicely. It has a few scratches etc but overall good for it's age and the colours are still strong. I still have the front and one side to do but almost there, quite a bit of work in it.

Finally there is the coin door and legs to clean up, unfortunately the door has a small bit of damage from an attempted break in over the years and is not worth spending any money on so I will clean up the rust and paint it, same with the legs which is what I did on the Charlies Angels legs and they came up great.

This machine has been the cheapest spend so far, on top of the buy price there is plastics at about $100, some paint and cleaning materials. Eventually I will replace the door depending how it looks I suppose. Also I will look at a fresh flipper kit and some coil stops and a few fresh relay coils to smooth things out.

Here are some pics of the playfield and cabinet before and after!

Cheers: Brettski... :)


Offline Boots

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Re: Gottlieb Big Shot EM Resto
« Reply #6 on: July 24, 2016, 12:32:06 AM »
Nice work as always Brett

Offline goodolddays

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Re: Gottlieb Big Shot EM Resto
« Reply #7 on: July 24, 2016, 01:23:31 PM »
Great work there Brett  ^^^
I need more room ! and more $$$

Offline Spanky

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Re: Gottlieb Big Shot EM Resto
« Reply #8 on: July 25, 2016, 08:01:24 PM »
Nice nice nice...  I'm quite jealous. 

Offline robm

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« Reply #9 on: July 25, 2016, 08:46:50 PM »
Looking fantastic Brett. Congrats

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Offline Strangeways

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Re: Gottlieb Big Shot EM Resto
« Reply #10 on: July 25, 2016, 10:01:04 PM »
Fantastic choice for a first EM. Drop Target "Heaven" !

You will find that repairing and maintaining EMs is really just a case of common sense and logic. Sometimes, after almost finishing a repair, you will find that playing the game will fix that final issue. Most of the playfield parts can be purchased from PBR - Drop Targets and I think the plastic Set. Keep the playfield clean and waxed and you will have a lot of fun with this game.
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Offline Brettski

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Re: Gottlieb Big Shot EM Resto
« Reply #11 on: July 25, 2016, 10:37:51 PM »
Thanks Nino,

It is a great EM and was lucky to find it, especially with the excellent backglass and playfield.

Trying to keep this one as original as possible by cleaning and re using all the parts that came with it, I just removed all the rust from the coin door and it now looks good enough to use!

Had a few games on it and love it but it needs some tuning up on the flippers and angle and levels set right but great game as you say especially with all the drop targets.

I enjoyed bringing this one back to life and learned a lot, I see what you mean about logic and mainly just cleaning and adjusting contacts seems to go a long way.

Thanks again for the encouragement.

Cheers: Brettski... :)

Offline Brettski

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Re: Gottlieb Big Shot EM Resto
« Reply #12 on: July 26, 2016, 04:18:54 PM »
I have heard a lot of people talk about products that successfully remove rust but this stuff at only $1.19 for 2 litres seems to do the trick nicely.

I use it to clean all the screws and other pieces that need shining before they go in the polisher and also works great on pinball legs.

What is this amazing stuff you ask! well it is just plain old home brand white vinegar, soak over night and use a nylon bristle scrubbing brush to loosen the heavy stuff and bam!

Here is the coin door from Big Shot, it is not perfect but it is now usable til I get something better!

Cheers: Brettski... :)




Offline spacejam0

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Re: Gottlieb Big Shot EM Resto
« Reply #13 on: July 26, 2016, 05:02:47 PM »

Wow nice result. I have used white vinegar to clean copper non pinball parts in the past and same result soak them over night and bam...like new.


Offline Strangeways

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Re: Gottlieb Big Shot EM Resto
« Reply #14 on: July 27, 2016, 09:19:52 AM »
Awesome result - Vinegar ?  ^^^

I guess you learn something new every day !
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