If I didn't earn my "EM Restoration" Cub Scout badge for the completely destroyed Sure Shot that I resurrected last fall, I'll sure as heck accept it for this one.
A year-and-a-half ago, a member told me to get $100 cash and get to an address in Mississauga to pick up an EM project as fast as I could. His plate was full of projects so he passed the deal along to me (I still owe him a beer or two). The 2001 was sitting in a garage with no playfield glass, no keys and owners who just wanted the thing gone. It wasn't as rough as the Sure Shot, but it would prove to have some unique challenges of its own.
As you can see from the coin entry plate and the sticker on the apron, this game was a RE-IMPORT! The game arrived back onto North American soil from London, England sometime during it's 48 year life. I kept the decal on the lower apron for prosperity sake, and I Googled the English operator, but alas, they no longer exist.
I posted pictures last fall of the cabinet refinishing I did for 2001. I was extremely pleased how it turned out. Before Christmas, I tore down the top and bottom of the playfield for a good clean and tasteful touchups, and Drano offered to do some clear-coating work. The results of the clear-coat are stunning. I'm not a fan of a high gloss on these older playfields (sometimes it looks great, other times it looks out of place)--but you don't look a gift horse in the mouth when a professional quality clear is applied to one of your games pro-bono.
Everything was tumbled and cleaned, and of course some things needed to be replaced altogether (like drops and pop bumper plastic). Flippers were rebuilt. When I fired it up for the first time, there were obvious issues...no surprise as the game had been sitting in a garage for many years un-played. A good majority of the switches needed to be tightened, cleaned and re-gapped. I can count on one hand the number of relays that didn't need attention. Three creative wiring hacks needed to be removed, and their underlying issues addressed. It was a slow process, but with the direction of a couple EM gurus on Pinside and Clay's EM repair guide by my side, I finally got the thing back to working order.
The backglass remains one of the few things I have not addressed. I'm not sure I'm going to spring for a new one from Ron Webb ($275USD)...I may just touch up the one area around the credit window that has paint loss...or I may just leave it alone. I'm undecided. I did spring for a new set of plastics from Pinball Rescue Australia and they are professionally printed and could pass as originals. I'm impressed with Lee's quality of work.
The 20 drop targets are fun to chase. Its a real nudger's game. As for flipping, you are limited to trying to shoot for the gap on the left and right side of the standup target wall to get the ball back to the top of the playfield. Once there, its nudging and luck from the pop bumpers and upper slingshots that will down the targets further up the bank. And dig that massive, MASSIVE gap between the two-inch flippers. Woof.
I'll play the game for a bit and see where it falls in my EM lineup. It may make the trip to Allentown this year just to show off, if nothing else.
A year-and-a-half ago, a member told me to get $100 cash and get to an address in Mississauga to pick up an EM project as fast as I could. His plate was full of projects so he passed the deal along to me (I still owe him a beer or two). The 2001 was sitting in a garage with no playfield glass, no keys and owners who just wanted the thing gone. It wasn't as rough as the Sure Shot, but it would prove to have some unique challenges of its own.
As you can see from the coin entry plate and the sticker on the apron, this game was a RE-IMPORT! The game arrived back onto North American soil from London, England sometime during it's 48 year life. I kept the decal on the lower apron for prosperity sake, and I Googled the English operator, but alas, they no longer exist.
I posted pictures last fall of the cabinet refinishing I did for 2001. I was extremely pleased how it turned out. Before Christmas, I tore down the top and bottom of the playfield for a good clean and tasteful touchups, and Drano offered to do some clear-coating work. The results of the clear-coat are stunning. I'm not a fan of a high gloss on these older playfields (sometimes it looks great, other times it looks out of place)--but you don't look a gift horse in the mouth when a professional quality clear is applied to one of your games pro-bono.
Everything was tumbled and cleaned, and of course some things needed to be replaced altogether (like drops and pop bumper plastic). Flippers were rebuilt. When I fired it up for the first time, there were obvious issues...no surprise as the game had been sitting in a garage for many years un-played. A good majority of the switches needed to be tightened, cleaned and re-gapped. I can count on one hand the number of relays that didn't need attention. Three creative wiring hacks needed to be removed, and their underlying issues addressed. It was a slow process, but with the direction of a couple EM gurus on Pinside and Clay's EM repair guide by my side, I finally got the thing back to working order.
The backglass remains one of the few things I have not addressed. I'm not sure I'm going to spring for a new one from Ron Webb ($275USD)...I may just touch up the one area around the credit window that has paint loss...or I may just leave it alone. I'm undecided. I did spring for a new set of plastics from Pinball Rescue Australia and they are professionally printed and could pass as originals. I'm impressed with Lee's quality of work.
The 20 drop targets are fun to chase. Its a real nudger's game. As for flipping, you are limited to trying to shoot for the gap on the left and right side of the standup target wall to get the ball back to the top of the playfield. Once there, its nudging and luck from the pop bumpers and upper slingshots that will down the targets further up the bank. And dig that massive, MASSIVE gap between the two-inch flippers. Woof.
I'll play the game for a bit and see where it falls in my EM lineup. It may make the trip to Allentown this year just to show off, if nothing else.
