"Quit talkin..... and start chalking!"
1981 Bally Eight Ball Deluxe Pinball Machine - Restoration

It's been about 2 years since my last pinball restoration, a 1965 Gottlieb Paradise. 

So I was eager to get started on a new machine. I've still got lots to do. But the most time consuming part is now completed. In February of 2003, I purchased from Dan Crouthamel in Pennsylvania via a for sale post, his Eight Ball Deluxe on rec.games.pinball. 

The machine was in overall good working condition, however the playfield needed some attention as well as some buffing and cleaning on the exterior of the machine. Since then I have been working on the machine regularly in my spare time and I've probably at this point got as much invested into this machine as it's worth. But it's fun, and that's what counts.

As you can see in the before pictures, the playfield was wearing out in the middle section of the playfield and between the flippers. Also some of the words and numbering on some of the inserts had worn away and there was some amature looking touchups on the field. 

The playfield restoration involved me sanding the playfield down to bare wood, spraying 3 coats of polyurathane, installing a Herb Silvers playfield overlay and then sealing the overlay and playfield with about 6 coats of Diamond Elite Varathane. As you can see the end result looks outstanding!

Not only was the playfield clearcoated, but I have installed the following new parts:
-new pop bumper bodies and skirts
-new drop targets
-new rubber ring kit
-new clear plastic set
-new silkscreened plastic set
-new shooter springs
-new ball
-new bulbs
-new instruction and pricing cards
-new pop bumper assemblies
-new playfield glass

At this point my restoration is near completion with just some minor touch ups remaining on the cabinet and tracking down a couple non-working feature lamps. 

Enjoy, thanks for reading! Craig Hassell

Last Updated: 5/28/2003