Picked up a Secret Service today. Now the fun begins!

kevg

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Picked up a Secret Service today. Now the fun begins!

Picked up a DE secret service today. A friend of mine got it as payment for a side job, so I bought it off him for $200. I paid too much, but I felt bad for him, as the job he did was worth way more than that. It was on location in a family eatery gameroom before spending the last 10 years in the basement of the restaurant getting covered in a nice coat of grease and kitchen smell. It powered up and played (sort of) for about 10 minutes before dying completely. In that short time we figured out the bottom 2 displays are dead, all 3 pop bumpers are locked up solid, both slingshots are stuck and about 20 other things that need fixing at first glance. The only thing that seemed to work with no problems was the ball eater! The playfield is REALLY dirty, but should clean up nice, there are no spots worn through the paint so that's a good thing and I was able to run the test mode before it died and found all the lights on the topper worked. This is going to be my first attempt at shopping out a pin myself so it should be an interesting time! I already picked up a complete NOS set of plastics off ebay, but that's the easy part!
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And one really bent leg!

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That's not a bad price.Sounds like you got alot of taking apart and cleaning in your future lol.That should take care of the frozen parts as well.How dead is dead?
 
That's not a bad price.Sounds like you got alot of taking apart and cleaning in your future lol.That should take care of the frozen parts as well.How dead is dead?

Well, got it back up and running last night. Bad ground and a blown fuse that I could have sworn I checked twice already. But, now for some reason every few minutes, all the G.I. lights click off for a second and come back on. That will be my next task, then I need to figure out if my 2 bottom displays are dead or just not getting power, and if so replace them. Then I can start on all the playfield fun. The guide on pinrepair.com has been REALLY helpful.
 
There is a relay in the GI circuit... they are SUPPOSED to click off and then back on every once in a while in attract...

...there is also some GI flashing that goes on during gameplay.

I just shopped mine out and got it up and running 100%. Mine came with a PinScore LED scoreboards... but I think i have the originals too (I can look)... if so, I'll check them out to see their condition if you'd like.

I also have a bunch of extra plastics (though you say you have some nos ones)...
 
Mine came with a PinScore LED scoreboards... but I think i have the originals too (I can look)... if so, I'll check them out to see their condition if you'd like.

I also have a bunch of extra plastics (though you say you have some nos ones)...

I definitely would be interested in the displays if they are working. Even though I bought the nos plastics, most of my originals are in great shape as well, so I may have a bunch extra as well.
 
The game is underrated in my opinion. It's a fun game... has good sound and an excellent light show. Sure...it has it's issues...

...it's loud (Data East)... the flippers feel slightly underpowered (especially the top right one)... and of course there is the Data East "humm"... at least mine has it.

BTW: OP - If you happen to end up with an extra CAPITAL building, I'm interested...even if it's slightly broken... mine is missing the entire left corner.
 
The flippers seem almost too powerful on mine, they launch the ball like crazy.

I need the large black plastic ramp for the upper left side, mine is cracked real bad and duct-taped which makes it useless, the ball won't even make it up. I'm sure this is going to be a long shot and I will probably have to home make something.
 
The flippers seem almost too powerful on mine, they launch the ball like crazy.

I need the large black plastic ramp for the upper left side, mine is cracked real bad and duct-taped which makes it useless, the ball won't even make it up. I'm sure this is going to be a long shot and I will probably have to home make something.

I suggested to Frizzlefried awhile back, if a ramp is cracked and there are no parts available you can use epoxy. Make sure it's the kind for plastic not metal. Ensure you're mixture is 50/50. If there is a large chunk of plastic missing cut a piece from soda or beer can. Epoxy the hell out of it. Let it dry for ~24 hours. Sand to make smooth if necessary. Then spray paint with the cloth spray paint you find at automtive stores. The cloth spray paint has a chemical reaction with plastic that is tough as nails and won't flake off on you.

OR

Another option is contacting Cliff Reinerd passionforpinball.com and see if he can make you a ramp protector (the answer is most likely yes). I would bet you can send him your ramp and he can then make a template and start selling these on his site and you'll most likely get a free bee out of the deal. I have cliffy protectors on all my games. Awesome stuff.
 
I think two large is a good price for a friend in need (the Secret Service). Since you are shopping it out yourself, it'll be a bargin when it's finished and another helpless victim rescued. :)
 
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