KING KOOL RESTORATION
We will be doing a complete restoration of this 1973 Gottlieb King Kool. The picture above shows the machine as we got it. The game arrived in overall good shape. Of course at this stage, the cosmetics are the number one issue. It was found in a warehouse where it had spent the last 21 years. The bad news about warehouses; dust. The good news is that dust acts as a protector against moisture and sunlight and just about anything else that can kill a classic game. I never plug a game in before restoring it. As a dealer, all components must be cleaned, burnished, adjusted, etc so I never even bother with weather it plays or not. This job will take about 20-25 hours from start to finish.
When beginning a restoration, the first thing I do is pull out the shop vac. It can be a good idea to wear gloves and some type of dust mask. You would be amazed at what I have found inside some of these games. Once everything has been cleaned, it's time to get to work. It does not really matter where you start. I tend to start in the backbox. The work goes much faster in this part of the machine. It makes me feel like I'm on a roll. On Gottlieb multi-player games, the ball count unit is in the head. I remove the stepper pulling the assembly apart. Clean and burnish all contacts on the switch stacks behind the stepper. Check for free movement throughout the stepper cycle. Now is a good time to check plunger return spring tension. Once that is done, make a mark on the stepper and slider and remove the slider disk. I clean the points with fine steel wool. Once you are done, it looks like this:
After the ball count stepper has been done, I proceed to the match unit. The easiest way to do this is to remove it from the game. All Gottlieb Match units are connected by 2 busses. Unplug the busses and you can work on it at the bench. These units consist of a relay which turns two sets of wipers across a wiper board. I remove and clean each wiper board one at a time.
Unlike the ball count stepper, there is no need to mark the wipers in relation to the board before removal because they can only go in one way. Once again, I use fine steel wool to clean the wiper board and the wipers. Go easy and don't over burnish. However, all metal traces should be nice and bright when finished!
The most tedious aspect of older EM Pins has got to be score reels. If you ever wondered why the cost was more to restore a four player than a single player; score reels are the culprit. King Kool is a 2 player game so it wasn't too bad. Remove each reel from it's bracket one at a time. Gottlieb's use a white plastic clip on the lower left side.
One of the most common breakdowns is score reel switches. Each reel has a zero position switch, a carryover switch for power during the 1-9 scoring and an advance switch which applies power to the next reel up when it is in the 9th position. Bally and Williams games are the worst for this problem. Clean and burnish the switches. After you have done that, manually advance the reel through all digits and check for proper switch adjustment. While doing this, check for return spring tension. Make sure the reel advances smoothly without hanging up. The most common area for them to hang up is from 9 to 0. After you have done that, clean the reel while it is out. Be careful here. The black paint is delicate and you can damage it easily. I try cleaner on a small area. If the paint is still strong then I proceed with the cleaning. If it is not, use a product like WD40. Use sparing amount applied to the cleaning rag and not the reel itself. Once done, proceed to the next
The final area of attention is the relays. They can be removed from the housing by taking out the tension clip. Use a file to burnish each contact. Once again, do not over burnish. It is more tedious but use a business card or some other heavy stock paper if you think you might file too hard. All you are trying to do is remove the top layer of carbon. Once the contacts have been cleaned, push on the relay actuator and check for proper make/break of all contacts.
On to the guts we go! Now the fun really begins. For starters, remove the playfield. Some of you might find it easier to remove them entirely and work on the bench. I prefer to leave them in the game. I always start with the control bank. Single player Gottliebs very rarely have a control bank but multi-players do.
The picture above shows the control bank in an up position removed from the mounting bracket. Pay extra attention to this area. This is the one set up that Gottlieb could have probably done a better job with. The typical relays in this area are things such as "game over," and the reset relay. Once again, all contacts are burnished and adjusted. Manually engage each relay to check for proper making and breaking of all switches.
All those relays! Let's get after them. Remove each relay from the bracket by removing the tension clip. Once again, burnish each contact and check for proper adjustment. Gottliebs are notorious for burning Hold Relays and Tilt Hold Relays. Check them at this time. If the paper is brown and flaking or if it is gone completely, then replace it. Brown paper is very common and the relay probably is still good. Once all relays are done, go to the main score motor. Gottlieb has the simplest set up of all the manufacturers in this department. You can rotate the motor up 90 degrees by removing the tension clip under switch bank 4. After all contacts are done, move the motor manually and check for proper adjustment.
The Bells are our last step. They can be removed from the game through 4 screws. Why did Gottlieb have to use Flat Head Screws?? Prior to removal, take off the bell power wires. There is a common ground that goes into the 10 point bell and the three hot wires; one for each coil. Jot down the color codes for when you reinstall them. Remove the bells and solenoid plunger for each bell.
With all parts removed, clean the plungers with fine steel wool. Inspect each coil sleeve for excessive heat distortion. If you need to replace any of them, now is the time. Also, check the plunger stops for deterioration at this time. On some, they are so bad that they have broken down and are nothing more than sticky goo. If this is the case, clean all components and replace them. While all is apart, I clean the chimes themselves. Reinstall the bell assembly . Finally, visually inspect the coin door at this time. Look for any broken wires
Once the above was done to our King Kool, I plugged it in and tried to cycle it. This one was stuck in the tilt mode and would not play. The first problem ended up being a bad hold relay that was replaced and it still did not play. Even the experts overlook a few things. One of the switch stacks on the main motor had a bent actuator causing the switches to stick. Once fixed, the game cycled fine.