One Of Our Most Challenging Repairs Yet - Gottlieb "Spirit Of 76" Pinball Machine Left Outside!

[@pinball541]

I was born on July 14th, 1976!🇺🇲 Hello from Phoenix Arizona❕🔥

[@LyonsArcade]

Hello in Phoenix! And Happy Early Birthday :)

[@pinball541]

@@LyonsArcade - Thanks Ron & Joe!

[@naytch2003]

1976..my first year at school 😁

[@haactgaming9687]

I was able to see a few days from that year!

[@rickpatton8281]

"It's broke" He's not wrong....lol

[@markjackson1444]

Great start on this winner from Gottlieb. As I was 12 in 1965 and 22 in 1975, I feel real lucky to have played most pinball machines made in this decade. The last half of the 60s was really swinging, and the first half of the 70s was the height of ‘groovy’ and everything was ‘far out’. This machine fits right in, and I remember playing this back in the day. It looks fantastic and it plays pretty good too. No wonder Gottlieb were in no hurry to go digital. They were kings of the world when this pinball came out. Looking forward to watching you rescue this playfield. It needs a lot of help, … but it’s come to the right place. Thanks for posting and sharing with all pinheads.

[@LyonsArcade]

We're going to do a Gottlieb Pinball Pool after this one and I'm going to talk about how Gottlieb went from top of the stack to dead in the water in like two years! It's crazy if you think about it, they were KILLING IT with the EM's and everybody even at the time knew they were the best, then a short couple years later everybody thinks they're the worst. Crazy times!

[@markjackson1444]

Sounds great, …with your sweet southern drawl.

[@JamesUK-je4ew]

Sir, such a true philosophy at the end, and great way to look at things. Looking forward to the next part. Regards “PoundTown”

[@toolate1776]

Thank you for these videos👍. It’s a real pleasure to see these old Gottlieb come back to life.

[@vstags]

Great philosophy

[@kenlanier2131]

Ronnie, I think I got it figured out. After a couple of hours of watching the video it finally caught my eye and I realized the problem. It's BROKE. :) That never gets old. Thanks for the video.

[@kd6tas]

I'm 59 about to turn 60. I played one of those when it was new. It was a popular machine at our local miniature golf course arcade. Having no kickers made for nice gameplay. In my experience kickers make the ball go side to side. When the ball is going side to side it tends to end up in one of the side drains. With no kickers you get more gameplay per ball, in my opinion. Good value is part of what made that machine popular. The shot making was relatively easy too. The way I remember it, all you had to do was concentrate on the drop targets. Each time you got them all they would reset. Eventually the bonus would max out and the extra ball and special would light. In a word, if you were at a level where you could trap the ball and shoot aimed shots, you'd enjoy this machine.

[@seanjesso9817]

"""" Just want to say ,,,You sure have a HART for your work """"" People should Great full for Your work,,,,, Buy the way watching your show people can learn so much ,,,, Thank You """"

[@LyonsArcade]

When I see a Canadian Flag and Hart I only think of one thing. NATALYA

[@naytch2003]

​@@LyonsArcadeBest there is Best there was Best there ever will be!!!

[@Robin-bq4pt]

Nice i got one of those too, was stored near by a carport, squirrels lived inside...

[@wdavem]

Good video! Since I call myself a repair tech, I hold myself responsible for most mistakes I make... which means I have to tell people about the bad ones to put pressure on myself. But it HAS to be ok to be imperfect. Most recently I scratched a roller in a professional Video Tape Recorder in which I was knee deep. Problem was I didn't protect the rollers with painter's tape as I took the mechanism further and further apart looking for a foreign object causing a jam. I didn't know this mechanism well, had no service manual access, but I know what I'm doing! "just lift the sub assembly little more and you'll find it, it's just a foreign object". NOPE! Saw the scratch on the roller and realized my brain was in fact in the off position. It's ok! This time there's a parts machine just like it already on the bench. The scratched roller then goes into the parts machine because it's bearings are still happy. It then gets put in a drill one day and gets polished, no parts lost. I could put it in the box of shame but I go easier on myself the I did when I started long ago.

[@Cool_Retro]

I remember seeing several Bicentennial themed pinball machines in 1976-1977. One of my favorites for sure.

[@pauldzim]

I think that's Davey Crockett on the backglass. He was the one with the funny hat I think 😄

[@LyonsArcade]

Killed him a Bar, when he was only 3

[@whiskyguzzler982]

At 29:27 I have the exact same issue with a Target Alpha. Several elements are so locked up from stiff lube that I had to work them loose with alcohol and then put it back together with some 3-in-1.

[@tommylakindasorta3068]

As an unlicensed non-professional, I concur. This machine is broke.

[@miguelrios4602]

Hey Ronnie! Love the video and your prospective. I don’t know what I’m doing; you don’t know what you’re doing. We’re all just doing what we can do! It is what it is people. :) I own this title by way of an old tech who got it from a woman who won it as some kind of raffle prize from The Silverball Museum in Asbury Park,NJ. Back in the day ‘75-‘82 I used to go there as it was an arcade haven. Just wondering if coincidentally I passed this machine in its heyday. Thanks again for the video, brother and catch you on the next one!

[@TheLomdr]

Yeah, I turned on my Pinbot on the day that we closed on the new house, though Williams games from that era have that one flaw with the lack of fuses for 2 of the bridge rectifiers that hasn't been fixed in the factory until...Fire of all games! AT the same time, I'm sure the number of un-fuse modded Pinbots are lesser nowadays, but we didn't have the machine on for more than a minute or 3

[@LyonsArcade]

I saw it do it twice in machines in the shop right in front of me. So it's definitely a problem... I also had a Williams Millionaire that it had done it previously, and I had to fix it.

[@TheLomdr]

@@LyonsArcade Yeah, I remember when you thought you were done with one of the Pinbots and then it caught fire during a power up sequence

[@rcfreeman]

"It's Broke" 😂 But we all know, after the video series, it won't be broke no more.

[@mram6311]

The good repair people realize they need the bad repair people to keep them in business.

[@johnmichael1979]

I remember playing this game "back in the day" when they were on location. Living on a farm and riding the bike into town .

[@AvengerII]

Notice how Joe is ALWAYS right when he says something is "broke"? Very smart guy. He'll never be wrong! 😁 We could all learn that from him!

[@ocsrc]

Looks pretty clean for the age

[@jz7490]

Great videos! Huge help with my Spirit. One question, at approx 6:16 in this video, do you know what this is? Mine is missing (bright shiny metal, finger pointing right at it. 6:16

[@TaxGuy]

Ah 1976, the best year in history. I was 12 and my only concern was where to ride my Schwinn Stingray. Often to the bowling alley to play pinball. I'm sure I played this guy when it was brand spanking new!

[@davidewhite69]

I was 13 in 76 and completely hooked on pinball, but not being an American I never saw this machine until in 1978 I went to England of all places, I have never seen one in Australia

[@_JellyDonut_]

It's a beaut Clark!

[@BaccarWozat]

"Fred G. Sanford... the G is for Gottlieb"

[@XDminecraftpro]

Hey Joe! I was cleaning out my grandfathers house after he passed and found one of these inside! It would appear to have all of the original wiring and has sat untouched for many many years. I have no use for it and as its not working I fear nobody will want it. Is there any chance you would be interested in it for repairing or parts?

[@waynegram8907]

All those stepper units use bakelite boards that are made out of "phenolic board"? the bakelite boards and phenolic boards look the same to me so I can't tell the differences

[@ejonesss]

it is ok if the video gets demonetized you charge customers for repairs, parts and sales so you can easily make up for it even by raising the prices. be glad your video is still up at all.

[@pogostix6097]

Honestly, considering it was left outside, it could be a lot worse in there. That would be a death sentence where I live, we get snow up to several feet most years, it would rust to bits and the wood would bloat and rot... thankfully it's also a bit too cold for Hantavirus... I bet it would light up like a Christmas tree if you shined a blacklight in there though. You're braver than I am! Mice and rats DO make me squeamish, and I DO have a compromised immune system, I'd be like "Nah, burn it. Send it off with a Viking Funeral." Thankfully you can't get germs via KZbin, I can watch you guys fix it up and deal with none of the poop :)

[@LyonsArcade]

This is all true :)

[@MrRTVtech]

I was around, 1970

[@ericbentsen1785]

Just what goes through a repairman's mind when they encounter a hunk o' junk like this? It's fascinating though.

[@scotthamby]

I have this game from a barn find. I think mine is past a point of repair

[@gallimead]

I think we all know, what is jamming, or wedged in that player unit... it's the RAT!!!

[@LyonsArcade]

WE'LL SEE SOON!

[@irieman442]

Amazing none of the wiring was chewed up. Maybe that cloth insulation isn't as tasty as the plastic!

[@cheeto4493]

Yeah, I've heard the new soy based plastic insulation is even worse. Car harnesses getting eaten up all over the place.

[@LyonsArcade]

I don't usually get a bunch of chewed up wire, but sometimes.

[@naytch2003]

Two beer or not two beer..🍻..What a question 🙄🤪

[@northtustinsteamworks5172]

Why would the score motor have a switch let alone switched off?!

[@LyonsArcade]

They call it a service switch I think it may help you test some stuff if it's turned off but I'm not sure, never messed with them in that way. Most of them had that, though.

[@AvengerII]

@1:10 -- It's the "Spirit of St. Louis" airplane flown by Charles Lindbergh, NOT "the Spirit of '76," Ron! Cunningham told me to correct you. The Fonz was busy fixing jukeboxes! The astronaut in the faceplate art looks to be wearing a Mercury astronaut pressure suit. Pressure suit is the correct term. The Mercury astronauts did NOT perform spacewalks. Those happened after the Voskhod and Gemini programs began a few years later. He might be modeled after John Glenn, one of our most famous astronauts. He's only eclipsed by Neil Armstrong in fame.

[@LyonsArcade]

Well clearly they must have performed space walks in a mercury suit you can see it RIGHT THERE ON THE BACKGLASS hellooooooooooo!

[@AvengerII]

@@LyonsArcade You're talking to someone that was a NASA nerd as a kid. Look it up -- NO SPACE WALKS during Mercury no matter what Bally/Midway, Stern, and Gottlieb pinball artists say! They hadn't developed the spacesuits and hardware for spacewalking yet. The suits the Mercury astronauts wore were to protect them in case the atmosphere inside the capsule leaked out. It was the same basic pressure suit test pilots wore; those suits wouldn't protect you from radiation and micrometeorites. There was no way for them to do a spacewalk from that Mercury vehicle. That capsule was cramped as it is and it would have been impractical to open the hatch in orbit. It was liked being stuffed back in your mother's belly and was tighter than a phonebooth! I think the average height of that first group of astronauts was 5' 8" or less. You're not going to fit anyone over 5' 11" in that capsule! Claustrophobic would be a good description for the Mercury capsule interior. The Gemini Program rehearsed the techniques they'd needed to perfect for the Moon and beyond. This includes spacewalks, docking with ships (they docked with rocket boosters in orbits) and rendevzous with other spacecraft which they did with Gemini 7 and 8 I believe. The core Gemini vehicle looked a lot like the Mercury capsule but it was stretched and significantly bigger to fit two people in. It was more like a cabin in a pirate ship with enough room to slap the guy next to you! You could spacewalk from a Gemini but it was still hazardous. They had procedures for "cutting the other guy off" in case he couldn't get back into the capsule! There was only so much oxygen supply for a spacewalk. So, something like the astronaut death scene in "You Only Live Twice" (a James Bond movie with THE BEST Bond actor, look it up!) was conceivable -- they just didn't have an industrialist working with renegade Asians to hijack national space programs. That's yet to come since Elon Musk is too busy trying to be a "legitimate businessman." Snap! We have no Lex Luthor yet!!! Gemini flights lasted upwards of 2 weeks and they had fuel cells to generate electricity to power their equipment. The breathable oxygen supply was also a lot bigger.

[@davidewhite69]

looks like a previous user taped something over the credit wheel?

[@MRNBricks]

‘Merica, people. Deal with it.

[@LyonsArcade]

LEE GREENWOOD FTW

[@wilholloway7876]

The plane is Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, not Spirit of 76.

[@scottbrady7499]

is it just me, or does this one have a bit of "deja vu" going on. ..or maybe one of the Spanish Sonic company machines had like some Patriots with a guy playing a Flute; go Ron's Recapacitance Realm

[@ovalteen4404]

In this case, it's hard to decide whether the previous repair "attempt" was incompetent, or just plain sadistic.

[@MichaelWhitley-n9y]

We call the AX, & BX the bitchy switches they have to be a just it just right or the machine will not play right.

[@DoctorDetroit100]

I trust your instincts Ron, but why do you think someone was mess in with the machine that didn't know what they were doing? Could just be our Rat Friend. There are no mistakes, Only Happy little accidents :)

[@1dave301]

My first failed marriage started in 1976.

[@LyonsArcade]

Was it quick and painful?

[@naytch2003]

Heyyyy Get Rhythm...when you get the blues 🎶 🎶

[@naytch2003]

Get a rock n roll feeling in your bone..put taps on ya toes and..get gone 🕺

[@lileveretteyoakumiii]

Yodelayheehoo

[@coreyf8019]

Promo`SM