Gottlieb Genie Restore

[Strangeways]

One of my Favorite Restores 


One of my older restores, but a restore that I totally enjoyed. As with every machine, they all have a story. The end product is a really nice example of a Genie - But the journey involved THREE Genies to get there.

Here's the story - A collector friend of mine always told me that when he can finally get his hands on a Genie, he will commission me to restore a beautiful example - No expense spared. Everything had to be close to 10/10.

His FIRST phone call came when he bought a Genie from the UK ! He sent me pictures, and the backglass was absolutely perfect. Reds were still "red" ! That took two months to get to Australia. Not only was the Backglass perfect, but the body was very good as well. Great start ! The only problem with the game was the door was heavily damaged during freight and the playfield has some wear spots. Not good enough !

The next machine was another eBay purchase - Closer to home. It was from NSW. Looked good in the auction pictures, but it had nothing that was really useful other than a complete door !

The FINAL Genie, was from Melton in Victoria. It had a VERY nice playfield - with the exception of the ball arch area - which is always an issue on Genies (except Wottos).

So we had THREE Genies !

The plan was to make one VERY Nice Genie out of the three. So far, we had a very nice playfield (Melton), a great Door (from NSW) and a fantastic playfield and Cabinet (from the UK).

Please note - This restore was finished 2 - 3 years ago - But I wanted to document it here as Genie is such a cool game, and there was a LOT of work put into this machine in terms of $$ and time.


Starting Point - Pictures

Backglass - Looks GREAT - I was really pleased when this showed up. Look at those Reds !





This is the third machine purchased, from Melton. The backglass and body are average, but the playfield is really nice - protected by contact (mylar), with the exception of the ball arch area.





Playfield is a great starting point. Looks fine - BUT - I was asked to make it look BETTER !




Ball arch area. A bit later one I will will repair this section..





This machine is completed, and has worked like a charm since pick up - But I really enjoyed this restore - So I'll pace through it !

[Strangeways]

The first step in this restoration was to identify what parts we could source to make this Genie stand out from the rest. First step was to order a Pascal Pi-1 X4 and place a huge order with Pinball Resource. As you can see - No expense was spared ;





While the parts were in transit, the machine was stripped. The body was cleaned with nifti, inside and out. The siderails were removed and regrained using 360 Grit Wet/Dry and Windex. Legs were cleaned and polished. The power supply was also cleaned and any repairs were done - which was minimal. I replaced the fuses as all of them were the incorrect value.

















The backglass surround was faded and needed to be repainted. The owner decided to have a friend of his repaint the surround. The color match was perfect !

[Mr Pinbologist]

Just one word comes to mind... SWEEEET!!

I just cant get over how good that cab and chrome look

and that backglass... theres something about the backglass art on this game that just does it for me
I've never played one of these before and its definitely one i would buy if the opportunity came up.

Cant wait to see the rest of the thread.. looking forward to it

[ddstoys]

Looking Good Nino i cant believe how good the cabinet came up and the reds in the BG are awsome

[illawarra_steelers]

Hey Nino,

You can add the Rollerball Genie to zero wear on the top of the playfield.

Excellent game and was played lots on location growing up, a fair bit going on that playfield!

[Strangeways]

Headbox

Everything is stripped out of the Head and washed with nifti and water. Once dry, I used the buffing wheel to polish up all the removed parts. For the stainless steel backing, I use Windex. All the screws etc are tumbled, and if need be buffed. The lightbox board is cleaned and all the sockets are individually cleaned internally.




Close up of the door locking assembly





Lightbox is also cleaned and installed





Front Door


Few tricks here. The door frame is washed with Windex and a tooth brush. If it is a bit dull, I use brasso and another toothbrush to get it looking a bit brighter. Then use a piece of thin cardboard, with a thin rag and run it along each individual groove. I don't buff up the frame as it is not meant to have a high shine. I use windex and 360 wet/dry sandpaper with the grain to re grain the door parts - as in the door skin. I've just popped in into position to see how it will look





Inside the door, I use windex to wash all the parts and brasso for the shine. Takes time, but looks great when done. Here's a progress picture.





Here's what the inside of the door should look like when done.





The Headbox Border

The owner had the headbox surround matched and repainted. Came up real nice. I cleaned and polished the fittings and installed it. Very straight forward.





The displays were cleaned and installed, and that REALLY NICE backglass in CAREFULLY fitted. As you can see - it is an absolute ripper..











Progress picture - All the fittings are in place, so the cabinet is mostly complete and looks great. Next is the total rebuild of the playfield.




 

[ddstoys]

Nino your coin doors look bloody awsome.  and the head box looks so good 

[Strangeways]

Nino your coin doors look bloody awsome.  and the head box looks so good 

Remember - This Genie is using the best parts from three different games - So it will look great !

(it is almost like I'm cheating) 

[GORGAR 1]

Now thats a nice Genie looks like most Genies have that wear up the top. Great work Nino.

Peter

[Pinfan]

Nino your garage looked a little empty during that restore....   

I had the privilege to see and play this machine...

Finished up looking quite nice. One lucky owner... 

[ddstoys]

Nino your coin doors look bloody awsome.  and the head box looks so good 

Remember - This Genie is using the best parts from three different games - So it will look great !

(it is almost like I'm cheating) 

 Even if you didnt have 3 machines to choose the best from you would still make this baby shine im sure 

[Strangeways]

Time to tackle the playfield - Top and bottom. With all restores I do, all the moving parts are stripped and cleaned. No shortcuts and as a result, it can be tedious - but in the end, you know you have "snappy" flippers, bumpers, slings and drop targets.

The Drop Target banks were completely rebuilt and even polished. New targets with mylar covering them will last for another 20 years. A couple hours of work will give you these results ;





Flipper Rebuild kits were ordered and installed - Three kits in total. The pawls are the only part retained for the 3 inch flippers. They have gone through the tumbler and the new plunger and links are installed.





Lower flipper kits installed - with new coils. The old coils were the incorrect type. Notice the additional set of contacts for the top flippers. These have to be ordered separately from the kits and they will need adjustment to work 100%





Upper Flipper kits are custom. The kits are basically the standard EM kits for AC coils - The EM kit flipper kit. The coil stops are the DC stops. You need to tell PBR that you intend to use the kit for the Genie machine so they can add the correct stops.





All the moving parts are rebuilt. New coil stops and coils, where required. The wiring loom is cleaned up a little and any potential problems are sorted out now - as this playfield is VERY heavy.





The topside of the playfield - We agreed that the playfield should have the mylar intact. It was in GREAT condition, and the risks of removal were far too great. The was no wear other than the ball arch. I did however, tidy up the mylar by using an exacto knife to trim the edges and shellite to clean up the adhesive. I was VERY pleased with the results.











Reassembly

How much fun was this ? ALL the parts were basically new - so every step of this process was great fun. The colors on this playfield are simply awesome. It didn't take too long to reassemble.














All coming together nicely !

[ddstoys]

The colors are so bright all the playfields ive seen have been dull and stuffed

[goodolddays]

Looking fantastic Nino ! I am looking forward to hearing how you fixed the wear on the ball arch as I really should do the same with Lady Luck, though its not as bad as that Genie.

[ROLLERBALL]

I grabbed a decal for the top of my Genie....cant remember the guy i got it from..in the States...Wotto put me onto him...Fantastic Decal...very hard to tell its a decal..and hard wearing...