by SLOT DYNASTY » Thu May 12, 2016 6:26 pm
OK Richard, here's my two-cents worth!
It is an original machine, that has had some semi-restoration work. The castings have had some polish work & repaint.
The gooseneck is original, and appears to have been replated, but has a gap, and does not fit down tightly into the top
casting. I doubt very much that it is a recast, because there is much more in the way of intricate areas of the two-piece
casting below, that you cant see, and it would take way more time that it is worth, to clean-up a recast, drill & tap holes,
etc., than it is worth. The award card is a decent original, although someone has pasted a paper over the payouts, and it
may come off by wetting, and floating-off the small piece. The reel strips are repros, and not the best quality. The large
back door, is a very poor repro, with a lot of cleanup to be done, inside & out, with extra holes, and may not fit properly.
The small back door is original, but has been broken & semi-repaired. Both locks are low quality replacements. Original
coin box. The mechanism is really cruddy, and most likely needs some cleanup of old grease, completely lubed, and some
springs replaced. If it were me, I would pass, because of all the issues, unless the price was more in the $800 range. The
starting price is not WAY-out-of-line, if it were in better shape, without the issues. Other than the work that has to be
performed on the back doors, the thing that bothers me the most, is why that gooseneck does not fit properly. I see one
half-assed, incorrect flathead machine screw, not cinched, but the gooseneck should match flush, even before the two
correct philister-head screws are installed.
Last, but not least, there is that famous of all words in the description. This machine IS NOT "RARE"! There are tons of them
in existence. They say it works, but if you really want to take the chance, being as you live a short distance from it, I would
play-the-hell-out-of-it, and most of all, get the price down, as I see several hours of labor to make it presentable.
Bill