World Cup Soccer 94 ramp fix question

bongoben

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My father's WCS'94 is in great working condition except for one flaw. When shooting up the left ramp there is a hole at the top wall right where the ball would hit. He has taped over this which obviously doesn't help after only a few ball hits. Is there any easy way to do a fix on this? I was thinking of doing some bondo work on it although sanding down the bondo would be a pain on a curve like that. Or would it just be better to drop the cash on a new ramp?
 

Yeah, I've seen those. Would just rather not have to spend the $80 + shipping on a new one. But I suppose that's the cost of owning a pin. :)

Anyways, I attached a pic of the ramp from that auction. The red circle indicates where the hole is. I would say it's about the size of a nickle so the ball can't go through the hole. It just sometimes catches the edge and bounces straight back down the ramp (and usually drains). My idea with Bondo would be to shape some sort of plastic backing on the ball side of the ramp and bondo from the back. That way the Bondo should, ideally, form perfectly along the plastic backing so the actual ramp wouldn't have any issues then I wouldn't have to do really any sanding on the back side since that is obstructed from view anyways. But would the Bondo hold?
 

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I would almost think it would be easier and better in the long run to cut a small piece of thin sheet metal and form it to the curve up top there? It would be easier since you would have to remove this ramp to do your bondo work where as with the metal it will just be trial and error with the ramp in the machine when you are forming it. The ramps already have metal at the entrances to protect it so I don't think it would look too out of place.
 
I would almost think it would be easier and better in the long run to cut a small piece of thin sheet metal and form it to the curve up top there? It would be easier since you would have to remove this ramp to do your bondo work where as with the metal it will just be trial and error with the ramp in the machine when you are forming it. The ramps already have metal at the entrances to protect it so I don't think it would look too out of place.

This had crossed my mind... I'd hate to add screw holes to the metal/ramp... you think this could just be glued on (gorilla glue or super glue) and hold relatively well?
 
This had crossed my mind... I'd hate to add screw holes to the metal/ramp... you think this could just be glued on (gorilla glue or super glue) and hold relatively well?

I'd try some sort of glue before drilling screw holes but at least if this fails it is easily reverted back and you could try the bondo route or else ebay my friend ;)
 
I'd try some sort of glue before drilling screw holes but at least if this fails it is easily reverted back and you could try the bondo route or else ebay my friend ;)

I know... stupid ebay. Sheet Metal + Gorilla Glue would hopefully work perfectly and I think we'll give it a try. Ebay would be last resort. Besides the cost the time to install a piece of sheet metal would be a matter of minutes. Tearing apart the entire top half of the game to get that ramp out would be an annoying amount of time. :)
 
I would also avoid using any sort of screw unless it sat completely flash cause if the head sticks out a bit it can scratch or pitting can develop on the ball which will wear or possibly scratch and damage your play field over time. It is also a good idea to replace all the balls if you father hasn't done it already. It is relatively cheap to replace and helps keep your game in good shape which is why you see it in every ebay over haul kit.
 
It is also a good idea to replace all the balls if you father hasn't done it already. It is relatively cheap to replace and helps keep your game in good shape which is why you see it in every ebay over haul kit.

On that note... how often is it smart to replace the balls in a pin? My Pinbot gets probably 2 hours of play a week. The WCS'94 gets probably 1 to 2 hours of play everyday. Should the balls be replaced every 3, 6, 9 months? Once a year?
 
I guess it would depend on how much you play but I would inspect the balls now to see if they feel smooth or if you feel any sort of roughness or pitting to just spend the $5-6 to replace with brand new ones. That was one of the first things I did besides change the batteries for any machine I have added to my line up. Speaking of which have you or your father checked the batteries yet? Nothing worse than battery corrosion and PCB damage!
 
On that note... how often is it smart to replace the balls in a pin? My Pinbot gets probably 2 hours of play a week. The WCS'94 gets probably 1 to 2 hours of play everyday. Should the balls be replaced every 3, 6, 9 months? Once a year?

That game is infamous for the goalie trough to become bent to hell from balls slamming into it. Well, that impact certainly takes it's toll on the balls too.
From what you're saying every 3 months should suffice.
And FWIW, that is one of the WORST machines to re-rubber.
 
I guess it would depend on how much you play but I would inspect the balls now to see if they feel smooth or if you feel any sort of roughness or pitting to just spend the $5-6 to replace with brand new ones. That was one of the first things I did besides change the batteries for any machine I have added to my line up. Speaking of which have you or your father checked the batteries yet? Nothing worse than battery corrosion and PCB damage!

I'm religious about checking the batteries on my games every couple months. I've kept forgetting to order remote battery holders to install but with a couple upcoming orders we will have I need to be sure to remember this. I also have a metal post to replace in my Pinbot as well as picking up a bunch of new balls for our games.

That game is infamous for the goalie trough to become bent to hell from balls slamming into it. Well, that impact certainly takes it's toll on the balls too.
From what you're saying every 3 months should suffice.
And FWIW, that is one of the WORST machines to re-rubber.

Man... I agree 100% with doing any work at all on this game. When my dad picked it up the "backstop" to one of the "free kick" holes was really loose. It was the one on the left side. The only way I could get to it was by removing that end of the ramp, a couple plastics, and the wood piece that the magnet is attached to just to have enough room to get a screwdriver down there. There are a couple of rubbers on posts that should be replaced but we're just waiting for one to snap before we go about the headache of pulling parts out just to install the new rubber. What a pain. But it's a super fast, fun game when it's clean and working 100% so we keep our complaining to a minimum.
 
That game is infamous for the goalie trough to become bent to hell from balls slamming into it.

It was driving me nuts cause I was reading about that a few weeks ago and finally found it and pictures.

DSC_2974.jpg

DSC_2977.jpg

DSC_2979.jpg


You might want to check out aaarpinball.com and see the rest of his WCS94 write up and if you need a new goale trough they can be bought from Mike over at mad-amusements for $42.

http://mad-amusements.com/product.php?id_product=855
 
I would use thin stainless steel to patch the hole. File and sand the edges of the metal so there is very little lip on it. I would thing this would keep from nicking the ball up and making for some strange bounces that might damage another part of the ramp.

I would use a clear two part epoxy. If you get it wrong you can usually put it in very hot water and it will dissolve. Gorilla glue that I have expands and foams. Messy stuff. Maybe there is something better out there I don't know about.

Worse case, there is always ebay.

Wish I could find a WWF ramp on ebay for $80! Post pics of the repair when you get it done.
 
To follow up, for the time being we're going with the ghetto fix. I cut a strip out of a Diet Coke can that is about 3 inches long and as tall as the side of that ramp. formed it so it fit in nicely and we used gorilla glue to hold it in place. I had to wedge the piece of can in with folded up cardboard so when the glue expanded it would stay in place. The nice this with this location is the "diverter arm" right there actually doesnt sit flush with that side of the ramp so the ball won't catch the edge of the metal fix piece. So far it is working nicely and until we can find a decent price on a new ramp or until I want to take the time to pull it out, bondo, etc this will have to do. The best aprt is because of the round plastic of the guy doing the bicycle kick that sits about this section of the ramp you can't even tell anything was done back there. It's ghetto, but hidden... and it works. I can get pics later if anyone is at all interested.
 
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