TZ Restoration

[pinball god]

I noticed the smirk I know it could be finished by Sunday night knowing you!!!

[MartyJ]

More progress today.  Sorry Rob, waiting on some parts so won't be ready by tomorrow night...

Playfield was removed from cabinet and cleaned, polished and waxed.  Very happy with overall condition of it.

Cabinet has had a light clean to get rid of the dirt and smells...

[GORGAR 1]

Looks great Marty keep up the great resto these things do get a thrashing over the years that's for sure when I recently did a flipper rebuild on my ToM the flipper bushes had snapped that's probally cause of the thousands of games it had played they where really built to last I reckon :)

Peter

[MartyJ]

Bit more progress over weekend.  All topside metal components have been cleaned and tumbled.

Metal ramps have all been repaired and strengthened where required.

Topside re-assembly is nearly done, just waiting on some more parts.  All plastic posts are new.  The old ones were beginning to get brittle so not even worth cleaning them.

Below is a quick shot of the inserts.  Years of filth and never been cleaned.  All have been cleaned and are like new.  Standard on games that I shop.


Topside:



All lamp boards were removed and cleaned.  All header pins re-flowed, all diodes checked.  Again a must do...

[MartyJ]

Work continuing on the underside of the playfield.  Rather than just 'checking' coil sleeves, all are replaced without question.  To my surprise, most were reasonably clean - again another sign of a fairly low play machine.

Have hit a small hurdle along the way.  The kicker assembly (P/N A-16434) has had an in-house repair by an inexperienced tech / business / operator at some stage.  This is what happens when you MIG weld mild steel at this thickness with a cheap gasless MIG or Bunnings special.  Is such a dirty weld, destroys and warps the metal around it and the did not even get good penetration.  Very much a 'rough as guts' repair.  Unfortunately I've seen repairs time after time like this locally and even on top side components / scoops.    

Due to how the metal has warped, I think this may be beyond repair.

[Strangeways]

Those "in house" repairs were crude while the game was still earning money for the operator. I don't think anyone really takes the time to do a PROPER repair, or replace the assemblies that are broken or badly repaired. The method you are using is much cleaner and more professional.

Keep up the good work 

[el_timbo86]

Already looks like a completely different machine to the one we inspected last week Marty,

Fantastic work, and sweet scoop repairs too 

Timbo

[vinito]

Due to how the metal has warped, I think this may be beyond repair.

Meh. Metal is a little like Play-Dough and nothing is beyond repair given enough labor time. But yea, unless it's unreasonably expensive or not available, even making a new one would be preferable than repairing that mess.

I've MIG welded and even stick welded stuff that thin plenty of times, but you do have to set the machine right and wiggle things around correctly at least. Looks like the guy just had it set too hot and/or lingered too long in the wrong spots. TIG is the proper way of course, mainly (in my opinion) because if you want you can set the machine so low it will barely light a cigarette so thin material is a no biggie.

Things are coming along. Looks like it will be a beauty when you're done.

[MartyJ]

Just playing the waiting game on new parts.. Plastics and some minor mods still to arrive then it should be back in no time.



As with all my shopouts, new pop bumper wafers, bodies springs and lamp holders.  Caps were also replaced with new ones.


Again an important and often overlooked step - stand up targets cleaned and polished.  New foams added on all to make them like new.  All are tested as well.


Small modification from RTBB.  Took about 5 min to install and well worth it.


New slingshot switches.  The old ones had taken a beating.


New clock PCB assembly.  This is a two part board (same as original) so will fit into casing perfectly.  Opto's are removable so clock will not have to be disassembled to swap one out.

[TUF-427]

Great progress..

[pinball god]

This game will make mine look ordinary. Can't wait to play it mate. Hope to get the invite soon.

Btw I put the mini pf switch mod on mine last week and think its really neat, a design improvement in my opinion. Well done mate.

[MartyJ]

Always welcome Rob. As soon as I finish it I will invite you and a few of the locals around. No doubt you will put a high score on it. CV, Police force, Star wars and hopefully a minty FT will be ready as well...

[Caveoftreasures]

The machine is coming up nice Marty. Twilight Zone is always a great looking machine when shopped. Well done. 

[Jango]

wow... what a sensational job.  This machine looks superb.  Must give you allot of satisfaction mate.

[Strangeways]

Coming along nicely Marty. TZ is a title I never gave much attention to. The widebody format and the "clutter" of objects on the playfield often left me searching for where the ball had disappeared ! I played Greg's machine 6 months ago, and his game changed my mind - it is an incredible player. The lesson I learnt was that to truly appreciate a game this complex, you have to give it time and also be lucky enough to play a game that had been restored correctly and plays accordingly.

I'm sure this game will play perfectly, and I look forward to the pictures when finished