Monday, 2 February 2015

Restoration: Expressway

See my last post for more explanation on this. On Saturday I visited the Bally Expressway pinball machine, which is stored in the garage of Ray Wilkinson in Bath. I wanted to visit to see it in person before going any further and to meet the family.

Although it does need quite a lot of work I am pretty eager to get it to my desk space in Bristol to begin looking into it further. So this is going ahead. My aim is to restore it to a good working order and to protect it against further damage and wear after it's 15 years in storage. The machine will still belong to the family.

Full documentation of the current state of the machine will be the first stage after we arrange transportation to Bristol.
Ray was working on his bike in the garage when we arrived. The garage is like a treasure trove - there is also an old jukebox.
Getting a look at the machine
Inspecting the backglass - from a distance looks fine....
Close up, we can see some peeling of the screenprint. This is common and especially since it has been stored in a garage. The plan would be to clear coat the inside to protect against further peeling.
The cabinet lock seems to have been removed - but at least we can get a view inside. Looks better than I expected - but just pretty dirty, dusty and spider webs. The cabinet may have been damp in places - this could cause further problems. Check the play counter though - has had a good few plays in it's day.
View inside of the backbox - same here pretty dirty. Possibly damp.
Playfield with a little wear - everything needs a good clean and sort out. Next to the bumpers looks like has been protected with some sort of sticky paper instead of mylar - this needs to be removed with care if it is indeed sticky back.
A bonus I was not expecting: the full schematic that goes with the machine. This includes a diagram of all the switches and a parts list. I have scanned this - find below.

Schamatics & manual



Download
Bally Expressway Manual / Notes (PDF)


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