Jennings pace conversion machine

[Denny]

Is this machine a hand loaded jackpot or is it incomplete? Seller responded saying "it's not a hand loaded jackpot" or said anything about it being incomplete.

[oldslotman]

I see no other way for the jackpot to load other than by hand. Pace conversion of a Jennings machine. The conversion added the jackpots.

[Denny]

Thanks for the reply Oldslotman.

But isn't there supposed to be a coin tube that drops the coins from the jackpot down to the coin tray?
I don't see that. Seller should have put in his / her description that it is missing coin tube or whatever else on eBay. Machine was supposedly restored. Never said anything about a working jackpot.

[oldslotman]

The coin drop for the jackpot into the coin tray should be cast in the front casting.

[sm1116]

From what I can see the mech has a jackpot tripping
Lever on the front lower right. This is not an "auto load" jackpot
It is a "hand load " jackpot and should work

[nvmos2]

sm1116;

I am not familiar with this Pace jackpot front, but
I find it hard to believe that this is supposed to be a hand load jackpot.
In order to load it, the location would have to open it up, remove the mech, and feed coins into the top of the jackpot from the inside.
This would mean the machine would be on location with 1 (or 2) empty jackpot windows awaiting maintenance;
I doubt if the operators would tolerate that.

It looks to me that this machine is missing the coin chute that feeds coins from the top of the payout tube into the jackpots and then overflows into cash box when jackpots are full.
There is something missing off the inside of the front casting; you can see 2 empty screw holes at the top corners of the jackpot (probably where the coin chute should attach).
Also, the guide at the top of the payout tube looks unprofessional/home-made; looks like someone just cut it out of tin and it's only attached with one screw (right screw missing).
(BTW: what is that white square just to the right of the plum on the 3rd wheel????)

My opinion; when Pace did this revamp it was designed to automatically keep the jackpots full from coins fed off the top of payout tube.
This restoration is missing the proper coin chutes;
You can get away with that on a "restored"machine for home use/display since the jackpot is hit so seldom,
but operators wouldn't want that on location "back in the day."
Surely there is someone here familiar with this Pace front who can say for sure.

[Midcoast Vintage]

the white square appears to be some sort of fastening device to the pay disc, but, there is another one at the top.
very strange.
NOW, about the jackpot mystery.
this is is either a marriage, or a bastardized / incomplete machine.
there are jackpot parts missing at the top, and, there is no jackpot overflow or filler tube on the mech.
the second tube that is there, funnels the overflow from the coin slide tube directly into the cash box.
the way the machine is now, the house or operator will have to fill the jackpots by hand every time a jackpot has been won.
the jackpot mechanism on this is basically the same as on a pace comet.
the machine was probably put together as it is, and dumped through an auction.
so much for integrity.
the parts to complete the machine can probably be obtained from john hamernik in milwaukee, wi.
his dad art specialized in pace machines, and had literally tons of original pace parts.

[terick2104]

Would you happen to have a phone # for John Hammernick?

[RameGoom]

Woo Hoo! I can finally contribute some useful info with my Jennings machine!

Looks like the jackpot loading mechanism is missing. I have one of these machines and it's almost identical. Here are some details:

[nvmos2]

Excellent photos, RameGroom; they confirm what I suspected and Midcoast pointed out;
the flebay machine is missing parts off the Pace front and the jackpots would have to be hand loaded from the inside.
Whoever restored it painted the case to look exactly like the machine in Slot Machines on Parade, page 71,
but either was unable/didn't make the effort to obtain the parts to restore the workings to original revamped configuration, or simply "restored" it to its "as found" condition.

Ramegroom's photos also show that reels 1 and 2 are attached to the hub with spokes as usual, but the 3rd reel is attached to the payout disk with metal strips.
I've seen this before, but it didn't dawn on me what i was looking at.