I BUY BROKEN PINBALL MACHINES

in the Central Florida / Orlando,Tampa, Daytona Florida areas - Contact me here -
Looking to play pinball in Orlando? Pinball Locations
I buy older, broken arcade machines, restore them, and occasionally sell some. This is a hobby - believe me - I could never recover the hours invested ( typically 30 or more per machine ). All machines accept coins and can operate on location unless noted.

Contact Me If You Wish To Buy or Sell A Pinball Machine or older arcade game. I may not want it myself but I may know someone who does.
I'm no longer selling an machines but I've posted a link to machines for sale on Craigslist in Florida. Pinball Machines For Sale in Florida.
I sold 6 last year and regretted it. Too much work goes into restoring them and I'd prefer to keep them these days. I am, as always, documenting the restorations and repairs.

Pinball Projects - Some For Sale

New Projects:
INDER Seven Winner
Bally Alladin's Castle
Gottlieb Pinball Pool
Williams De-Icer
Gottlieb Domino
Gottlieb Spirit of 76
Gottlieb Jumping Jack
Bally Power Play
Older Projects:
Atari Atarians
Bally BallyHoo Sold
Bally Mr. and Mrs. Pacman Sold
Bally Nip It Sold
Bally Circus Sold
Gottlieb Airport - Sold
Gottlieb Bronco Sold
Gottlieb Thoro Bred - in progress
Gottlieb Incredible Hulk - Sold
Gottlieb Top Card - SCRAPPED Sold
Stern Rawhide
Williams Trizone Sold
Williams Jive Time Sold
Williams Suspense - in progress
Williams 8 Ball - Sold

Non - Pinball Projects

Chicago Coin Commando Machine Gun Sold
Midway Sea Raider Sold
Atari Asteroids Cocktail? Sold
Jenning's model 400 Slot Machine Sold From Sands Casino - Atlantic City New Jersey

Non - Game Articles

General Pinball Repair Tips
Pinball Stepper Repair.
Dead Dell Optiplex GX1 HP145SNF Power Supply
Making New Playfield Plastics.

Other things on this site...

My Trip To The Silverball Pinball Museum Asbury Park, New Jersey

news:

Old News

May 2010
Went back to Jersey for a little famliy time recently and stopped by the Silverball Museum in Asbury. Woo Hoo! I've posted photos and a few comments - Silverball Museum - Asbury Park
July 25, 2010
Superauctions is coming back in August ( http://superauctions.com/EntertainmentAuctionsAuctionCalendar.html )
AUGUST 28, 2010
Orlando, Florida
Live On-Site Amusement Equipment Consignment Auction
Location: Central Florida Fairgrounds, Exhibit Hall,
4603 West Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL 32808
Location Website: http://www.centralfloridafair.com
Equipment Drop Off Schedule: Friday, August 27 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Public Preview: Saturday, August 28 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Auction Start Time: 10:15 AM
Removal Schedule: Saturday, August 28 throughout the day up to 9:00 PM

The last one I attended was about a month ago. Went there to meet a friend and pickup a Bonanza Rifle. I've been wanting a rifle for a while - I seriously regret selling the Sea Raider and the Commando. In any case the auction was fairly typical. Only 3 machines I was interested in. An old Lawman, a William's Satin Doll, and something else I forgot. In any case they were beat up - I'd give no more than $100 for any of them so stopped bidding right there. I think the guy who dragged them there bought the back home with him. Oh, well. If memory serves me I think I saw it pop up on Craigslist a week or so later.
The better news is that I'm on the prowl again for old machines. I got a bug up my butt to actually consider opening up a vintage pinball arcade if I can get my otherwise lurid affairs in orders. I found some great machines recently - An INDER Seven Winner (rare), a Williams Pot O Gold (cool), and a few others I'll be ranting about here. The sad ones in the pile were a pair from the coast - a Bally Aladdin's Castle and a Gottlieb Texan. At one point the guy wanted $400 each for these - I think I advised him to try Ebay. These are in bad shape and may get parted out depending on my mood.
On the upside I got my rifle. A Bonanza gun in reasonably terrible shape prime for restoration. It's missing the audio tape (dang it) and it got a little wet on the ride from the coast. Funny thing... had in in the pickup on it's back.. NEVER THOUGHT to check the gun.. it wasn't mounted securely and eventually crashed in the backglass barrel first. Amazingly no damage to the backglass. Luck was on my side.

Used parts I'm looking for:
Chicago Coin / Stern score reel wipers (rawhide)
Gottlieb lockdown bar end caps - Gottlieb Thoro-Bred

I've been around pinball my entire life. I was born in the 60's and my experience with pinball is it's a fun game. Pinball originated as a gambling machine ( bingo ) but evolved to skirt laws. It's no wonder many people in the 60's and even the 70's thought all pinballs were gambling machines.

In any case pinball evolved to pure entertainment with the help of companies like Gottlieb, Williams, and Chicago Coin. I mainly played Gottlieb machines through the 60's and 70's in my father's arcades.

They were awesome machines - you had to learn flipper skills and coordinate your actions to hit targets in certain sequences to score more and get extra balls or free games. Games like Lawman, Royal Flush, Subway, Diamond Jack, Aloha!, and others. In fact there was a 'Score Board' and 'Register' in my basement when I was only 6!. Yes - I was born to pinball!.

Then came the 80's... Video games, Pacman, et al. Pinball was on the run. The simple fact that a video game required less maintenance than a pinball and made more money sealed pinball's fate. Pinball tried to comeback, and succeeded slightly, with Williams domination with games like 'Firepower' and 'Pinbot'. Multi layering soon followed. The games became more and more complicated and confusing. Too much flash, not enough player appeal. Most games were so poorly maintained that you couldn't play them if you wanted to. It's rare to find a 'Terminator' pinball in playable condition on the route. But who cared - video was king and pinball was a liability. Today, only 'Stern' remains as the sole pinball manufacturer.

I've owned many pinballs over my life and sold most. I've worked in the industry but have to admit working in an industry you enjoy is not smart. Now that I've been away from it for 15 years I can now enjoy pinball without thinking about 'the take' and worrying more about my high score!

On the upside since I've been collecting machines again it was funny hearing my wife, who never used to play pinball, commenting on all the weak flippers and broken features on the 'Terminator' and 'Simpsons' machines at local arcades. Perhaps I've saved at least one soul!!!

Great Pinball Links!

Pinball Life - Great prices and service on a limited number of common pinball parts ( displays, balls, rubbers, etc. ).
Marco Specialties - parts
Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum - Marvin has machines I've played years ago.
Ni-Wumpf - Replacement Gottlieb(r) CPU
IPDB - The Internet Pinball Database.
Pinball Perfection - What a cool place if you're near Pittsburgh.
The Silverball Museum in Asbury Park New Jersey

These guys do local repair. Let me know if you get a machine fixed by them.

Pinball Crazy - in home / in ship pinball repair.