Fixing Bally's Beautiful 1973 "Circus" Pinball Machine For A Customer, Let's Check It Out! #1

[@fred_derf]

I'm ten years older than that machine, I wish I looked half as good as the bottom of that playfield looks. Hell I wish I looked as good as the bottom of the cabinet... :) This is going to be a great repair, thank Ron.

[@LyonsArcade]

haha Fred you look good from here buddy, don't worry about it. Everyday above ground is a good day, that's what I say, no matter what kind of shape you're in, lol Thanks for watching man, we'll get this sucker going!

[@derofromdown-under2832]

I used to play that machine when I was a teenager. It was situated in a local billiard hall... 10/10 for this vid...

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you for watching Dero!

[@rcfreeman]

Enjoyed hearing you mention my 4 Million B.C. (1971), you beautifully restored I might add. She is getting lots of play. Can't wait to watch this machine come to life.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you RC glad we got it 'right' finally! Thanks for watching, we'll see you on the next video!!!

[@davidg-m1768]

I really like the change to plugging it in and seeing what the owner may have faced - can’t go too far wrong with that on an EM. It really wasn’t too bad, if they only knew.

[@LyonsArcade]

I'm going to try and remember to do that on each game.... thanks for watching David!

[@thebigroy]

Had it as a kid in my basement in the 80s. Lots of good memories

[@erzahler1930]

Gotta love the artwork! On all of these pinball games is some unique artwork. Of course, the artists worked for the manufacturer, but they never really received the credit that was due them.

[@cthlhu]

Another great video! Absolutely love these old EMs and it just warms my heart to see them getting back to making noise and playing! You are doing the lords work lol

[@LyonsArcade]

I’m trying man! Thanks for watching!!!

[@MichaelWhitley-n9y]

Nice game, Bally made alot of nice pinball machines.

[@dablakh0l193]

I had an old one like that that had mouse leavings in it. It was a Strikes and Spares from the early 70s. This mouse was determined, and he chewed through a lot of the wiring in the back. I ended up having to replace about half of it. I also found out that mouse urine is very corrosive on certain parts. I had to take an emery board to almost every contact in the bottom in order to get it to run again. Now, if I help friends with theirs, I cringe if I see mouse nests in the cabinet. Luckily, yours doesn't seem to have as much destruction to it as mine had, Good luck with it, and I look forward to watching you resurrect it.

[@roryvonbrutt7302]

This mouse must've been well fed, just acted like a teenager tearing shit up ‼️®™️ lol

[@LyonsArcade]

It may be a climate thing, we get plenty of mice in them down here but they usually don't' destroy too much of it, maybe they don't stay in the cabinets as long or something? I don't know.

[@-abacchus]

I do believe 'Randy' is the rat that once resided in that machine. Back in the 70's Rat Randy was known for his late night 'Paper Piece Partys', which he called 'Randy Relay Ruckus' - True story!

[@InMyHead]

I think i played this at the Pinball Museum in Asheville before. Pretty fun game. I love these old EMs man. Looking forward to this one.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thanks Brant!!

[@MRNBricks]

You know, I’ve been fixing one of these machines up all summer and documenting on my channel. If you’re bored, check it out. But I don’t have a lot of time to work on it, so it’s a slow process. This weekend, I just sprayed the base layer of clear coat and did paint touch ups (though the video hasn’t posted yet). Thanks for keeping these old ladies going.

[@LyonsArcade]

Man I didn't even know! I'm going to check yours out too, looks like you've got lots of cool stuff in there :)

[@Brak0777]

Dude! I own the two player version, Big Show. I played this when I was 8 years old in my home town. Great memories!! I wish I had the Circus because that's the one I played...🥺. However grateful for Big Show.

[@alexmurdoch1391]

Love the sounds of an EM pinball machine.

[@LyonsArcade]

Nothing quite like it.... a cash register is like it a little bit but not quite. Thanks for watching Alex!

[@gilbertpfaffsr1822]

Nice! I remember this machine.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Gilbert, we appreciate you watching!

[@jogosProgramEletronica]

Electromechanical machines are my favorites for their logic and creativity

[@LyonsArcade]

Yeah I really like working on them, it's fun to track down why they're not working. Cleaning all the switches takes forever though!

[@jogosProgramEletronica]

@@LyonsArcade yes paradise has its price.

[@victorsvarietychannel2459]

I've settled in to liking your EM repairs the best. 👍👍

[@LyonsArcade]

I as well :) Thanks for watching Vic!

[@rlosangeleskings]

Wow!!! One of the first pinball machines I ever played... Can't wait to see it working again...

[@LyonsArcade]

We're gonna get it going :) Thanks for watching RazzillaReview!

[@pezjohnson]

Great start to this series. Looking forward to Night Rider if you happen to do that one. I just picked one up (EM version). It's blowing fuses. I'm sure I'll get it running after getting more time to look at it and cleaning it. Thanks for the video.

[@LyonsArcade]

The Night Rider Rides Again :) Thanks for watching Pez!

[@fred_derf]

pezjohnson, writes _"It's blowing fuses."_ Remove the fuse and stick a nail or something in its place, with no fuse there is nothing to blow. Note: I'm joking! Don't do this! It will wreck your system and possibly even start a fire, burn your house down, and kill your family. If a fuse is blowing there's something wrong, find it and fix it.

[@pezjohnson]

@@fred_derf no worries, I knew better ;)

[@izzynutz2000]

Many years ago I used to be a Carnie.. and in the carnival world there is a ride called a Tilt A Whirl,, which is manufactured by Selner manufacturing.. anyway they used to put clowns on the tubs that you would ride in and that clown used to freak me out when I was a kid it was a scary looking thing and even as I got older and went into the business it's still bothered me and always made me feel like it was looking at me..😵 So I've kind of always been uneasy around clowns... But I dig this because it's an EM pinball machine and I like EM'S

[@LyonsArcade]

Man I used to love the Tilt a Whirl, that may be the best carnival ride ever... it's the first one I can ever remember riding! I always liked the Scrambler too. Thanks for watching as always Izzynutz!!!!

[@izzynutz2000]

@@LyonsArcade yep some of my favorites too we had a ground-mounted scrambler from Big Eli and the first year I worked there that was one of the rides that we had to set up tear down it was a crew of five of us I did that stuff for 7 years till I fell off a skydiver and injured my back now I find old carnival equipment and get it into the hands of people that can restore them.... Being that I'm 10 mi away from gibbtown down here in Florida it has proved to be pretty lucky

[@time1800]

I have 5 EM slots 2 consoles a kenney and a bally form around 40s a stand up bally conversion with the lions head and 2 4 reels that came from the pond. I found tamale corn husk to be a good nondestructive contact cleaner.

[@LyonsArcade]

Huh, I never heard that about Tamale corn husk but I'll have to try that. That's something I never even thought about...

[@time1800]

@@LyonsArcade Zoltar sees bags of corn husks in your future! They work great tear in to nice strips and flexible.

[@time1800]

Joe also thin 1/16 cuts of oak work nice.

[@simondempsey1]

Considering its sat a long time, i'm surprised it worked as well as it did. So hopefully not to much work for you Ron. Cant wait to see you add your touch and get it back to its former glory.

[@Newberntrains]

lol i wasnt expecting it to even have general illumination much less work the flippers and other relays

[@LyonsArcade]

Unfortunately even if most of the stuff is working you still end up having to go through everything to get it reliable :) Thanks for watching Simon!!!

[@EsotericArctos]

Looking forward to this one. Mentioning that G word likely will hit KZbin filters... :) Love your work. This looks like it will come up pretty nice. That back-glass is amazing for a machine of this age. The rats must have not been in too long. There wasn't the usual corrosion and distinct damage (and smell) from rat pee.

[@LyonsArcade]

Someone else was talking about the rats, I'm learning about their psychology working on these games, lol . I honestly believe they eat things in order. The first thing they eat is the paper, they won't eat anything else until they eat all the paper. Then, they eat the wax strings that hold the wire bundles together... but they won't eat that until all the paper's gone, lol. Then after that, they start eating on the wires. The lack of a TON of rat droppings I think probably means they didn't stay long, who knows why.... I'm thinking perhaps in different climates they act differently... maybe up north where it's colder longer, they stay inside things like this longer and cause more damage, but to be honest I don't get a ton of them that have heavy rat damage, you've seen what we've ran into...a couple have been fairly heavily damaged but in general it's always minor stuff like this. We picked up a jukebox yesterday, same story... the mice or rats ate some paper in it, but didn't really go crazy, i'm thinking it might be a temperature thing but who knows. Others in other parts of the world or the country have told me they've seen tons of rat damage but it's usually not too bad for us.... You're a real laid back guy Brendan you always take all my silly jokes in stride, I appreciate you hanging out with us man, thanks for watching!!!

[@robertlipsett2535]

@@LyonsArcade do you know of anything that you can place Inside a game to keep mice out that is not human offensive

[@MrButtonpresser]

Randy the Rat woz here! Nice unit, classic era pinnie!

[@LyonsArcade]

It sure is, thank you for watching MrButtonpresser!

[@Even-Steven]

"somebody hid their gun in it..." 🤣 Now that brings me to ask, Ron - what's the craziest thing you found in a machine you've worked on? Thanks as always!

[@LyonsArcade]

MONEY. People forget to take their money out often. Thank you for watching Steven!

[@briangarvin8867]

You are a blessed ‘Extra Curricular’ saint and craftsman!!

[@LyonsArcade]

Why how nice of you to say! Thank you for watching Brian!

[@gregoryschmidt1233]

I was just thinking, "I hope Ron gets another EM project soon." :)

[@LyonsArcade]

We get a whole bunch of EM's in I really like them, I basically like working on anything we haven't worked on before, I had this same title years ago but don't remember it much so I was happy to see another one come in. Thanks for watching Gregory!!!

[@scottgm321]

Glad you and the clown didn’t get hantavirus. I can’t believe how lucky you got. All the “will it run” videos I watch have all the wires and spark plug wires eaten by rats. I look forward to this series.

[@LyonsArcade]

The rats eat the paper first, they were still dining before they got to the wires :) Thank you for watching Scott!!!

[@MaggieD0123]

Randy carved that crap into the header 9 years to the day before I was born.

[@LyonsArcade]

And here you are just a few years later watching it :) Thank you for watching SpicyMeatball!!!

[@SpearM3064]

Hmm, this one is in beautiful shape, given its age, though who knows what shape it would be in if it had been left in storage much longer. I'm not gonna jinx it by saying something like "Oh, this one's gonna be easy" (because if I say that, it won't be)... so I'll just say good luck. I always find EM repairs fascinating because they did so much with just relays and switches (and miles of wiring).

[@LyonsArcade]

Yeah they're real marvels! We're going to repaint part of the playfield and wax it, I think this one is going to clean up really nice! Thanks for watching SpearM like usual!!!

[@doublebulbing]

close up photos with macro 1:1 lens of small sections of the play field and then use photo stitching software to make one full high quality image of each game playfield you get in. That would be super cool to preserve the designs and to share with the internet

[@LyonsArcade]

There are some pretty good pictures of them floating around but none to that level, it would be pretty cool though!

[@johnneilokowitz2682]

Looking forward to the next video

[@bzhmaddog]

So much for innovation deeproot pinball

[@LyonsArcade]

Welcome back to the 70's :)

[@dvv45]

Love the look!

[@LyonsArcade]

Yeah I really like this one....

[@musgawp]

Yep, sure I’ve played that one. Happy Days. Good luck.

[@harryhall5092]

I had one that had dead bumble bees in it, They evidently went in through the coin return and pushed the flap back, well they couldn't get out because the flap would not push out the other way. They were doomed in their bee trap!!!

[@LyonsArcade]

The pinball machine got the last laugh!!! Thanks for watching Harry!!!

[@superuser63]

I had a Bally Circus, here in Denmark. My favorite game. Should never have sold it. Sold it to get the money for a wide Atari Electronic Middle Earth flipper game. Should have kept them both.

[@LyonsArcade]

This one is kind of in that sweet spot of the early 70's, they already had the 3" flippers and still have the charm of the older games too, I like it a lot! Thanks for watching Henrik!!!!

[@cmgoldst]

I have the same Bally Circus machine that has sat for at least 15 years. Do you think you could restore it to playing condition? You mentioned in the video needing a key to open the front. I do not have a key to open it. Is that a dealbreaker? RU still able to fix it? Seems like it’s in similar condition to the one you worked on in this video. Thanks!

[@LyonsArcade]

We can fix it, we can break into the front door and put a new lock on it. Shoot us an email or call and you can bring it by sometime, we're a little backed up right now though but that's what we do is repair them and get them going again for people.

[@yardarm5]

Thanks, have you seen a pinball game named Big Hit? Baseball theme .

[@LyonsArcade]

I just looked it up, I've never seen that one but it looks great! Love the Gottlieb stuff!!!

[@scottreich1420]

I cant wait to see this video until its conclusion

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Scott, we appreciate you watching man!

[@stevebutler7951]

I'm having trouble with the playing field lights on this same machine. The coin door and the scoreboard lights are working. I have looked at the schematics and having trouble pinpointing the issue. Any advice where I might need to look?

[@donoteatmikezila]

Come on Randy you're killing me.

[@LyonsArcade]

Randy was a little bad-ass apparently back in the day. Carving up the games. Thanks for watching ALLCAPS!!!

[@EricPenn1147]

5 balls per play, 2 plays 25c.... WOW!

[@00Mandy00]

Patina is a good thing.

[@pauz2175]

You ever work on a 1970 Williams 3 jokers? I have a friend who owns one. I’ve been trying for years to get that thing 100% bug free. It’s possessed. If you have a link to working on one I’d sure appreciate it.

[@LyonsArcade]

I have never worked on a 3 Jokers, but they are all very similar, the closest one to that I have videos of is a Williams Stardust... if you have any specific questions about it I can probably figure it out if you email me. Here's a video of the Stardust.... kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZWUfGdmhp2ae68

[@davesnothere7427]

Bug 'em at the front desk.

[@dmtcb]

hey!!!! cant wait to watch this!!!! :)

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Elvis Moore! We need Moore Elvis!!!! Long Live The King!!!! See you on the next one buddy.

[@mre9789]

So, I would guess that the chewed up paper in the bottom box was the schematics? That pinball looks like the mouse peed on it a few times.

[@LyonsArcade]

Yes it was the schematics all torn apart by mice! Thanks for watching Mr E!

[@DonnyHooterHoot]

I don't think the falling cover would kill you, just terribly maim you.

[@Austin.D]

Those EM machines are so cool are they more or less easy to work on then the ones that use circuit boards from the 80s or 90s Ron?

[@LyonsArcade]

These take longer because usually you have to mess with everything, but they're cheaper to work on than the newer ones, and simpler, because it's all just switches and nothing usually needs replaced. Thanks for watching Austin!

[@samheijmans1082]

nice video again. when do you get to the night rider. it stands for quite long time in your videos. It was my first EM.

[@LyonsArcade]

It's coming up, some of them have to wait while we fix other customer's games. We may have already fixed it and don't have the videos live yet :) Thanks for watching Sam!!!

[@AvengerII]

Where did all that paper inside come from to begin with?!? I've NEVER seen anything like that!

[@LyonsArcade]

It seems as if the schematics were inside the cabinet, and the mice tore it into little pieces and moved it all over the place. Thank you for watching AvengerII!

[@AvengerII]

@@LyonsArcade So, that was the diagram with the layout/schematics for the electrical parts in the cabinet that was chewed?!? Man, I learn about electronics online than what they taught in school! They did a SHIT job teaching me about circuits and pathways in Physics. Never made a damn bit of sense to me! i still managed to pass with an A but I learned more fiddling with joystick controllers (the large arcade sticks from Mad Catz and Hori) as well as modding older containers (Dreamcast Agetec cases) to fit new electronics (replacement PCBS; multi-console and next-gen). The most nerve-wracking skill I had to learn by far was soldering. Very, very dangerous. I've been burned a few times and learned to be wary of those toaster ovens in rod form. Those tiny points on PCB's are a pain to solder to unless you use a magnifying glass along with a clip stand. Those stands are worth the $20-$25 they cost at the computer store and make your life 20times easier. Of course, now they make the PCB's so that you DON'T have to solder (they're all screw terminals) but the best retro-console/PC/PCB board board out there still has to have soldered to unless you use it solely for PC/PS3 gaming... Of course, I also learned 2.2V LED's burn out quickly when you try to power them with 4.5V of AA batteries! LOL The LED's (2.2V) do seem to tolerate 3V (2 AA's) fine, though. Must be resistance resistance in the wiring. Apparently, the billion pieces of wire I soldered together still allow electricity to pass through without burning things out. I have an LED in my first Agetec mod that is still working 10 years later that's powered by 3V. I just use the LED in the joysticks as a cheap way to illuminate artwork that's laser-printed (burned) onto the plexis. Nice little customization and allowed me to reuse the old start button switch (apart I DIDN'T have to buy from the computer store!).

[@00Mandy00]

It’s nothing, just the schematics.😆

[@waynegram8907]

JOES CLASSIC, What is the difference between the Lock relay compared to the HOLD relay? I'm not sure what the Hold relay does because the Lock relay turns on the power the game and all the relays and switches, if the lock relay is not shut closed the whole game has no power. The Hold relays is doing what? The RESET relay is on the score motor? because the Reset relay is checking if the ballcount unit is at player one/ball 1, checking all score reels are back at zero, checking if the score motor is at home position, checking the Bonus unit is back at zero. I get that part but what I don't get is how the RESET relay is checking all these separate units because it must have some relationship with the score motors logic to turn OFF the Reset relay because all conditions of each Unit would have to be OPEN switches for the Reset relay to be turned OFF so there must be some logic that is turning off the reset relays power.

[@mr9c1driver59]

Have this same machine in my parents basement. Tried to play it during Thanksgiving but after you hit the reset button it makes a click but the scores don't reset. Bummer, have to look it over I guess.

[@demofilm]

What a classic ! I personally don’t like clowns for some reason. But i always appreciate the design and time it took to make these

[@LyonsArcade]

You probably saw Stephen King's IT when you were younger :) Thanks for watching!

[@martindewaele4354]

i have a problem but Cant Found where they problem is.maybe you can help me on it. the problem is, the lichts extra bals when lit stays on also the re extra bals target lite stays on, so my question is. Is it a game setting or a re problem?

[@Newberntrains]

ron you and the owner got so lucky those little rodent jerks love wire insulation. wonder if bally put a coating on the wires to deter rodents knowing the bars and arcades might have afterhour residents who live in the machine

[@LyonsArcade]

I think they eat the stuff in order, so they don't start in on the wires until the paper is all gone :) It's like when you go to McDonalds and always order the same thing.....

[@Columbiastargazer]

That messed up Pinball is the reason the Clown is crying on the inside

[@LyonsArcade]

The tears of a clown. Thank you for watching BC Stargazer!!!

[@bhuff123]

How many videos are you going to make on fixing this machine is it going to be 5?

[@LyonsArcade]

Six! We are now doing videos 3 times a week, and this thing needs lots of love, we have to repaint some of the playfield too. Thank you for watching Clark!!!

[@lileveretteyoakumiii]

Yodel ay hee hoo

[@LyonsArcade]

Yodelay Hee Hoo where have you been Lil Everette????

[@lileveretteyoakumiii]

@@LyonsArcade Long story

[@naytch2003]

I have a good friend from Germany who mentioned to me that the late German Yodeller Mr Franzl Lang(I have his record and torture my neighbors with it lol), anyway he mentioned that there's a big discussion over in Germany as to whether his music was a breach of the Geneva convention lol maybe the Nazis played them in the concentration camps to torture the POWs😆

[@KoolKman]

Teddy loves clowns..BUT hates rats!

[@LyonsArcade]

Some people hate both! Thank you for watching Teddy!

[@theythinkitsallrover8106]

I saw a mouse!!!!

[@LyonsArcade]

He’s prob elsewhere in the building now

[@theythinkitsallrover8106]

@@LyonsArcade I swear I saw a fake mouse lol

[@Silent-Lucidity]

Clowns went down with John Gacy (infamous serial killer from Chicago). He ruined them single handedly!

[@Indiskret1]

Filthy clowns... I like it! 😆

[@LyonsArcade]

Wait till we clean 'em, just wait.

[@roryvonbrutt7302]

It's corny and it's fascinating, kind of sounds like a Seinfeld quote, " they're real and they're spectacular " ‼️®™️ LOL

[@LyonsArcade]

I need to watch all the Seinfeld episodes one of these days, haven't' seen it in years....

[@roryvonbrutt7302]

@@LyonsArcade ....So much entertainment ‼️®™️

[@stonyrerootkit8922]

Has any body else noticed that there are NO Images or depictions of Attractive Women or 'BABES' on the Play field or BackGlass? Unusual, at least! Some one dropped the ball on that design feature!! 🆖🛂🚔🌋😭😰😈👹💥💢💦

[@elitster]

Tis the season Halloween and clowns 🤡

[@LyonsArcade]

I didn't think about that, we're moving right up to the right time of the year :) Thanks for watching Eric!

[@rickygibson3754]

HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO RAMBLE ABOUT THE REEL /FIX THE MACHINE

[@LyonsArcade]

Ricky, kiss my foot

[@marinkagreen9415]

Coulrophobia…🎈🤡

[@LyonsArcade]

Ahhh, tha'ts what it's called. I blame Stephen King.

[@marinkagreen9415]

@@LyonsArcade Me too!

[@macdaddyns]

IT Lives, why do I get creeped out by clowns ? Oh yes now I remember.... Stephen King

[@LyonsArcade]

Yup he pretty much single handedly did that !

[@Zerbey]

I think the real clown here was your rat, he had himself all kinds of fun.

[@ArtStoneUS]

From a playing perspective, it looks pretty uninteresting. A few targets to hit, but mostly just random motion until the ball drains.

[@LyonsArcade]

Yeah, you probably wouldn't' have any fun. I'm going to have a lot of fun, but hey, you do you Art :) There's probably all kinds of games you wouldn't have any fun at just by looking at them.

[@67L-88]

Mice make a giant mess but the mouse urine will corrode most metals and make even bigger problems.

[@LyonsArcade]

Ain't that the truth. Thanks for watching Ruckwarts1!

[@ACatKrom]

can't you just grab the lock with a pair of pliers and spin the entire thing??

[@LyonsArcade]

No it's keyed into a hole, it won't spin. Thanks for watching ACatKrom!

[@ACatKrom]

@@LyonsArcade ahh, most the locks like that I've ever seen, just had a flat spot on one side and spun pretty easy without doing damage

[@memyopinionsche6610]

I don't hate clowns I just don't trust anyone with a painted on smile. Other than ICP the joker or Sweet tooth from twisted metal. I just not a fan. Plus I worked at a McDonald's and every once awhile Ronald McDonald would show up. Inside coming out from inside a red van with the golden M logo. And me with my weird imagination I could just imagine him doing a shot of whiskey and a line of cocaine. And saying....sniff....sniff. OK LET'S DO THIS! HI BOYS AND GIRLS REDDY TO HAVE FUN. I'm thinking he's got ulterior motives. Clowns are definitely not my thing.

[@memyopinionsche6610]

And the pirate you never hear about anymore. why cuz he got whacked and now sleeping with a mcfishes.

[@pastalover21]

Damn your google reviews are brutal, don’t take no shit do yah?

[@LyonsArcade]

Fuck 'em. I just went and checked, the last guy to leave us a review gave us 2 stars, I check his other reviews, he literally left the local psychiatric hospital a 1 star review. These people are crazy man, and frankly, our business goes UP when we get bad reviews! You wouldn't think it's like that, but people like finding businesses that are real instead of the typical p.c. fake nonsense. I hope you understand, thanks for watching Andrew!!!

[@pastalover21]

@@LyonsArcade Absolutely, don’t need to pander to people that are just looking to get attention. As always, appreciate the videos!