Repairing Bally's 1976 NIGHT RIDER E.M. Pinball Machine - Let's Save This Sucker!

[@felixscamp]

Oh how I miss e/m pinballs. Satisfying noises from all parts of the machine when they are working,I loved them when I worked on them many years ago.

[@LyonsArcade]

They're very cool, we like working on them!

[@williamkapp1110]

You crack me up. Pay no attention to the bed wetters that complain. I know what you intend when using your tools. Keep up the good work.

[@miguelrios4602]

Nice, step by step and logical way of getting these old butes back up and running. Thanks!

[@rtcharger7484]

Great Stuff will Help, Maintain my ,Night rider For Years to Come.. & Help other local guys, for a beer or 2 while playing old EM's...

[@WildHareLLC]

Night Rider EM pinball machine is from 1976 and the movie Smokey and the Bandit is from 1977, So the game predates the movie Smokey and the Bandit by one year. Seems Bally got lucky with a "tie in". The TV Show Movin' On and movie White Line Fever were very popular at the time this game was made as way the CB culture. The cop car is a 1975 Plymouth Duster, You can tell by the emblem in the Grill. I have owned my 1st car a,1974 360 Plymouth Duster from 1984. I always wanted to get Night Rider just do to the fact it has the Duster on the back glass with the snorkel scoop. I thought snorkel scoop was the coolest thing in 1985 and wanted to put one on my Duster.

[@LyonsArcade]

I thought I had read the pinball was first.... I think everybody had the same idea at the same time in this instance :)

[@WildHareLLC]

@@LyonsArcade Yes pinball 1st then Smokey and the Bandit. But the other TV show Movin' On and White Line Fever were big hits predating the pinball machine.

[@DavidWilliams-rn6uq]

Oh man, Movin’ On - loved that show! I had completely forgotten about it!

[@amgugten]

That machine was sitting in the back on many of your videos. Great to see you bringing it back to life. Will watch this tonight. Giving it a thumbs up right now. Repaired a Night Rider EM myself and got it fully working. Was my first EM experience and a lot of fun.

[@LyonsArcade]

Very nice Mark… we’ll get this one going soon enough!

[@sixtoes2313]

Hope everyone had a good turkey day.

[@LyonsArcade]

We did! Thank you

[@lurkersmith810]

I'm looking forward to a video on the Capt. Fantastic game. I dropped many a quarter in one of those back in the day, and one is now in my living room, even though I don't have room for a pinball machine!

[@LyonsArcade]

It’s a great game , very fun!

[@walterclement4861]

Hey Walt here. I remember this machine very well. I only played the solid state version and the E.M . version is very rare just like Gottlieb's E.M . releases of Charlie's Angels and Close Encounters . Night Rider is a very fun machine and put many quarters in it. A great game and addition to any home game room or collection.

[@walterclement4861]

Oh and a few more things that I need to mention. When cleaning the contact switches on a pinball machine, never use a metal file , sandpaper or anything abrasive because these methods can wear away and can cause serious damage I have always used a gun barrel brush ,the smallest diameter one that you can find. A couple of twist, depending on how bad the point is dirty and blackened because I have had to use up to 3 on a couple of machines in the past . This method gets the contact point back to it's original factory look and operation.Remember to always check the gap between switches after cleaning to make sure they are properly gapped as they were before cleaning

[@douglasquaid4518]

hey Walt you forgot Cleopatra and solar ride

[@walterclement4861]

@@douglasquaid4518 Thanks. I didn't know about those games being released in E. M. format .Bally Mata Hari was also in that form too. I think the reason why the big 3 did this was to get rid of all their E.M spare parts.

[@walterclement4861]

@@douglasquaid4518 William's had a Grand Prix S.S prototype too, but it never went further

[@Zepphd2]

My Dad turned me to Brasso. They used in during his time in the Army (60’s) to polish pins on their uniforms. Great stuff!

[@samuelcolvin4994]

I absolutely LOVE that you gave the guy on the backglass Buttheads voice for the "uhhh hey baby" line🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@TurnFullCircle]

Hi, i know nothing about electronics, but for some strange reason i find your videos totally fascinating. Your delivery is always entertaining and informative - and the end results are wonderful….all the best ……cheers.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Chris, that's very nice of you to say... we appreciate you hanging out with us man see you on the next video!

[@naytch2003]

Ronnie is the man

[@mdouglaswray]

Great stuff. LOVE the tech/artistic angles - I never knew about the back glass paintings!

[@LyonsArcade]

The backglass stuff is really cool. We're gonna fix this one tomorrow....

[@jamesdye4603]

Very interested in these old EM machines. A friend of mine has one he wants to get working again. He says it's called "Surfer Girl" but that's all I know until he digs it out of his basement and I get a look at it.

[@LyonsArcade]

I'll bet that's a 76 Gottlieb Surfer, those are cool games. Nice theme...

[@MRNBricks]

Making us wait this long to see this fixed was just mean! 😀

[@richjacka1]

I am going to try a little airbrush experiment on a backglass I have. Have you tried airbrushing?

[@THEOLYMPIAGUY360]

This games as ancient as me. Love the art reminds me of something I would of been coloring when I was a kid.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thanks for watching Todd, we're gonna give this one a little tune up :)

[@THEOLYMPIAGUY360]

@@LyonsArcade Thank you , I’ve been watching for years now. Got to catch up, I guess KZbin unsubscribe me. Last thing I remember watching was When you fixed Doc. Emmett Brown’s clock tower. 🤣

[@markjackson1444]

Great to be back in electro-mechanical land. Very good videos Ron. …. Saving Pinball - machine by machine.

[@LyonsArcade]

Trying to !

[@WildHareLLC]

Looks like you have Capt. Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy with the unedited no star backglass. Hard to tell from the video. But it sure looks like you have the original glass before bally did the star edit. Something cool to look at in another video

[@LyonsArcade]

We will be repairing that one in a week or so, see you then!

[@theawfulmrbird]

east bound and down loaded up and truckin

[@spshc]

You probably have done this but, you might ask an art restorer how to tackle the painting of the back glass. They have all kinds of techniques on art restoration that may apply here.

[@LyonsArcade]

They may want to get in contact with me, I have all kinds of techniques on backglass restorations that may apply in other areas lol I don't personally know any art restorers, but this is a silkscreened piece of glass, it's only worth about $300 if it's in perfect shape and it's a copy that was mass produced. I've never heard of an art restorer who restores art by repainting it, translucently, when 10 or 15% of it's missing and the item is only worth $300 and is mass produced but I suppose there could be some out there.

[@spshc]

@@LyonsArcade I didn't mean for an art restorer to work at fixing it that would be too expensive I meant that they may tell you a technique on mixing paint or using some sort of resin to make it as indistinguishable as possible. Here is an excellent art restorer that might help you out or direct you to someone that might: kzbin.infoabout

[@richardbrobeck2384]

They also sell small brushes that they call pipe cleaners used to cleaning smoking pipes ! That is what i use .

[@LyonsArcade]

They haven't made smoking pipes illegal yet, just illegal for about 25% of the population, LOL

[@memyopinionsche6610]

Ah man Captain fantastic right next to Knight Rider. Love that Pinball machine. As well as WIZARD.

[@memyopinionsche6610]

But I do know a little bit of history on Knight Rider. From what I gather the woman on the back glass is actually a high school friend of the designer of the pinball machine. I don't remember his name but they were good friends. So he decided to put her in the artwork.

[@simondempsey1]

Great Video Ron as always. It'll be interesting to see what faults it has when everythings back in.

[@BSKustomz]

When I was a kid I watched Smokey and the Bandit so many times we broke the tape from the rental store

[@LyonsArcade]

My dad ripped ours up, I think he didn't want us watching it , lol

[@BSKustomz]

@@LyonsArcade there's no way... No way, you came from his loins

[@vwbusguy]

I would buy a small air bruch and some model car paints, then thin some colour that you have mixed to the correct shade and colour for instance the skin colour and then thin it right down with thinners and just mist it over from the back of the glass after masking it off and build up the colour, this way you wont get that thick blocked out paint that stoppes the light wherever you brush on paint

[@samuelcolvin4994]

22:58 I thought I was the only one who did that, I see we both watched too much looney tunes as kids.

[@MrJaz8088]

I still have a Working Courier Gladiator, same CB Rig on the Back Box

[@kevtris]

Seeing this is pretty cool; in the mid 80's my friend's dad restored one of these and we played the hell out of it. It was the electromechanical version of it. One odd thing thing, I don't remember the over the top relays or buzzer. We rolled the score many times and got the satisfying knocker pop, but no buzzer or 100K lights. Either it didn't work, or there was a version of this machine without them? It was definitely the EM version though, we liked to watch the relays in back as they pulled in and out and sparked.

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

Great spinners!!!

[@GHILLIESARCADEANDMORE]

Dying and busting up over the reenactments of the comments from people you deal with

[@LyonsArcade]

People are crazy man, thanks for watching Ghillie!

[@OSXMan]

I'm somewhat artsy. I say instead of white, go with the skin tones, That would help her. That color is also in the paint on the side of the rig. You could do it only in those locations, but in pretty large swaths. I'm not familiar with painting on glass. But, the current paint is obviously very delicate. I'd consider spraying it clear, to try and arrest the decay. Anything is risky. I'd clear it, then use translucent paints to re-color it on top of that. Wow!

[@peter486]

Mouse trap in the background also :)

[@LyonsArcade]

That one is proving tough to fix!

[@pezjohnson]

Alright, I've been waiting for this one. I'll be paying a lot of attention to this. Mine is popping the 10amp fuse. Not quite sure where to start. Thanks for doing this one. "We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there"

[@LyonsArcade]

Let’s fix both of em!

[@ironhide0575]

For the back glass why not use a frost or white plastic cover they use on windows for privacy. For example - Coavas Window Privacy Film 78.7 x 23.6 Inches Frosted Window Clings for Glass Non-Adhesive Anti UV Removable Opaque Static Cling for Home Kitchen Shower and Office

[@FetKiller]

Hey Ron wow cant believe you got some sandpaper haters that's impressive -- good job -- love the impression of the know betters! Keep making these great videos !!

[@mikeclinton6494]

Had a problem with this same machine ball count stepper unit that was not returning to the home position. After trying everything else first. Sure enough ..... swollen nylon shaft .... probably from being oiled.

[@LuvADuc]

YEAH!!!!!!! Thank you Ron!!!!

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you for watching Chris, see you on the next one!

[@martywolfman]

Haha. i was starting to type a bunch of stuff about how I was glad you were finally getting to this after seeing it in other videos for over year, whilst you did the intro, and you went and stole my thunder, dammit! :D

[@LyonsArcade]

Gotcha 😀

[@samheijmans1082]

thanks Ronnie, as I said it was my first. Great video

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Sam, we appreciate you watching!

[@EsotericArctos]

Have you ever tried air-brushing the back-glass to get an ultra thin layer of paint to try and get it looking more even? Not sure how well it would work or if it would be even be worse. Just a thought I had as air-brushing can get really thin layers of paint.

[@rcfreeman]

Hey Ron have you ever tried Maribu Glass Art paint or Krylon stain glass paint for the translucent back glass? Maybe one of those might work well? Looking forward to this repair.

[@LyonsArcade]

The issue is you could paint something with that, but it wouldn't match what's left... there's a bunch of different ways you can paint it, but you can't paint it where the old paint matches the new paint. Thanks for watching RC Freeman we appreciate you always hanging out with us!

[@stevepearson7745]

Born in 78?!?! Just a young whippersnapper!

[@memyopinionsche6610]

When I heard Knight Rider I was thinking David hasselhoff Knight rider got a pinball machine! Oh it's truckers. Okay that makes more sense.

[@j-pinball3930]

Not sure if anybody addressed this, it is the same as a Six Million Dollar Man machine, except on the SMDM game it has a pop-up between the flippers.

[@LyonsArcade]

The top's a little different too but yes very similar, same designer. We talked about it on a recent Six Million Dollar Man video we did...

[@waynegram8907]

JOE CLASSIC< Instead of using a filer or sandpaper, can't you just spray Tarn X Cleaner as a rinse and wipe for all the switches, contacts, jones plugs? The Tarn X removes tarnish without removing the silver plating contact plating so it might be easier to clean. Also the Synthetic Grease I'm guessing might cause "galvanic corrosion" to get worse between metal to metal materials? I'm just taking a guess because I know metal to metal causes Galvanic Corrosion and the grease makes it worse over time I'm guessing. I know for pinball games when the audio is very noisy its recommended to use Brass screws, brass nuts, brass lock washers, brass washers to prevent Galvanic Corrosion and to get a solid ground to zero volts.

[@pauldzim]

He mentioned in another video that contact cleaner can make a mess because it runs down and gets dirt on other components and the cabinet.

[@waynegram8907]

@@pauldzim you use a Q tip or small whips and add Tarn X cleaner on them

[@gregoryschmidt1233]

Yay!

[@christhompson2006]

Have you had problems in the past with youtube when you talk about bore brushes? I was curious and did a search for bore brush videos and guns and there is no shortage of them.

[@LyonsArcade]

No, I haven't had any problems Comrade

[@shawnkenny_main]

Back glass repair painting What about Testors model paints they have Translucent colors available.

[@alanbennett2672]

Finally !! was waiting for this for a longtime :)

[@LyonsArcade]

Good things come to those who wait :)

[@dflood6111]

The yellow coil might be a spare. All but one of the coils are green but there is one yellow on the playing field which probably is a replacement unit.

[@Masterkill45588]

I wonder if they did it as a tie in with cw mcall song night rider which is a song about a trucker driving all night to get to Frisco

[@JendaLinda]

Remove all the bulbs behind the back glass, problem solved ;-)

[@LyonsArcade]

That would work :)

[@firemedicjm911]

Looks exactly like the Flip Flop head, Was it Brasso or Tarn-x that other guy uses on the plugs? I though it was Tarn-x.

[@frankgagliano9677]

Great video Ronnie, I remember seeing that Knight Rider when I was there. How much does that lower piece weigh, that thing looked heavy with all those switches on it? Can't wait to see the next video. Thanks Ronnie

[@neilh2669]

Now if we can only get video of Ronnie using the brush on a BOAR. 😉 That would be unbelievably exciting. g, d, & r

[@fred_derf]

I was thinking that this may have been made in response to the movie _Convoy_, but after some checking _Convoy_ came out two years after this machine. _Smokey and the Bandit_ came out the year after this machine as well. So in conclusion, I think this machine was just capitalizing on the CB Radio Craze of the 70s.

[@shawnderrick1952]

That's a nice Plymouth Duster doing a burnout.You're a " '78 model"? Well you juss a lil feller! Gotcha by six years and a day-ish,more or less.

[@Austin.D]

For some reason, I like to nickname Jones plugs Jonas plugs

[@naytch2003]

Burt Reynolds Jerry Reed Jackie Gleason and Sally field...Sally was quite a dish in her day😁

[@Vamptonius]

Not a single talking car anywhere in this video.

[@cammanson8926]

Ah,, long awaited, much appreciated!

[@demofilm]

i have seen worse ones. nice and clean no rats or other smelly stuff

[@fred_derf]

Finally! 😆

[@robertlipsett2535]

you referenced using a thin oil for lubeing metal to metal. I do not like the idea of introducing a liquid which will attract dirt into it and make a substance that has a lot of friction. I prefer to use a graphite powder on the cleaned surface which will lubricate but not combine and make a paste later.

[@LyonsArcade]

Ok

[@vincentramirez8303]

Some people don't even know what, finishing sandpaper? For real

[@Even-Steven]

Awww yeah, been waiting a while for this one!

[@scooter6472]

Awesome! Been patiently waiting for this one.

[@hinderikusbos1370]

You can airbrush to

[@InMyHead]

YAAAAAYYYYY FINALLY!!!!!!!!!

[@ovalteen4404]

I suppose one solution for the back glass might be to wait for a firm buyer and ask then whether to try to touch it up, or to add in the cost of a new one (or offer to leave it alone and let them deal with it as they please). Would be a shame to put all that work into it only for the buyer to say he's just going to get a brand new replacement. On the down side, you'd probably have to use a purchase agreement to make sure you're not wasting your time/money with whichever choice it was.

[@MasatoKay]

It's Optimus Prime!!

[@naytch2003]

Yodelayheehoo

[@naytch2003]

Snowman what's your 20 ☃️

[@naytch2003]

The Hoff would be proud people..oh wait that's knight rider lol

[@LyonsArcade]

They ripped this one off! :)

[@naytch2003]

@@LyonsArcade then there's the NZ post apocalyptic movie made in 1982 called battletruck

[@lascheque]

Finally :D

[@LyonsArcade]

The time has arrived!

[@pin-monkeypinball3548]

Yay night Rider finally! Lmao at the whiners. I call them "well actuallys". No matter what you say there is always someone that will chime in with their 2 cents "well actually... " They must be heard and there's no telling them any different. I posted a video the other day about removing nicotine stains from your game with various cleaners and some f,er posts that "not even worth watching. No noticeable difference etc. Waste of time." Which I had stated in the video that there was quite a difference but my camera isn't doing it justice. After seeing his FB profile, I posted the same thing about his profile pic in the gym lol. Thanks Ron. Keep up the good work. Ryan.

[@patmcnally6]

How about BJ and the Bear. And Convoy

[@naytch2003]

Bj McKay and his best friend Bear?..loved that show!!!

[@naytch2003]

New dreams and better scenes...and best of all I don't pay...property tax...🤣

[@MarcHord-mk5ff]

Spdt relay

[@naytch2003]

Woooo first

[@LyonsArcade]

You were first!

[@naytch2003]

@@LyonsArcade had serious accident at work today slipped over on wet diamond plated floor and slammed my back into a trailer drawbar

[@timitbiscuit3620]

Nazi was the word you were looking for when referencing the tube. But i guess we are stuck with Google's censoring ways

[@dh-_1011]

She has freckles, c’mon man!

[@lileveretteyoakumiii]

Yodelayheehoo

[@naytch2003]

I said it first🤣