Complete The Centaur that time forgot

[David_Vi]

I'm sure a few of you will remember that CENTAUR that popped up on eBay late last year?

As bids increased there was talk in the FB/ebay thread saying bidders must be off their rockers bidding on it (it reached £2600 I think?

I was after a Centaur for a while and with advice I knew my rough budget of 1400 considering the work required. I went for it and was outbid with it going up by over 1k more.


So I forgot about it... A week later the seller messaged me, saying the highest bidders were being awkward (and wouldn't commit to paying till they could collect if I remember correctly).
So he offered it to me for my highest bid, we exchanged a few messages and I felt it was too good to be true, even that it could be a scam.

I didn't believe it till we turned up to pick it up with help from @Jmac who was local and kindly offered to look after the cabinet (we had no transport and still thought it might be dodgy so didn't hire anything). Can't thank Jmac enough for helping us out and making sure we weren't murdered in a dark isolated house (and looking after it!)

We've had the backbox since late last year, sitting in the lounge acting as some awesome decor!



Yesterday the rest of Centaur arrived.

I'll let the pics do the talking...



You tell me, was I on crack for paying that much? I think the pf is pretty good, only a few areas of wear. The cab is really good except the back which is a disaster and crumbling away.

Luckily there's an awesome person called @AlanJ who is the man for these games, especially Centaur so has been a great advisor so far... Time will tell if Alan blocks me with all the stupid questions coming over the next few weeks (saying that I think he's used to it by now)


(I ask did I pay too much, when infact @Lecari and intended to go halves on the entire project. But Claire ended up paying for the purchase then said my half will be getting it up and running )

 

[VeeMonroe]

Well, the underside looks like my Fishy. And the topside looks like my Alien Poker...

And I've seen Centaur's go for £4k fully restored - it's a pretty popular pin. So, with current prices being where they are, I don't think you've been ripped off at £1.4k.

It does look like you're going to need to get busy with a tumbler, and are going to need to get comfortable with ordering small numbers of replacement parts from European retailers.

 

[stumblor]

Yiiiiikes! You don't mind a lost cause, do you mate?

Do it - YOLO:

Centaur Playfield – classicplayfields.com

classicplayfields.com

Centaur Custom Mirrored Backglass – classicplayfields.com

classicplayfields.com

Centaur Plastics – classicplayfields.com

classicplayfields.com

PS - are the boards ok?

 

[David_Vi]

Yiiiiikes! You don't mind a lost cause, do you mate?

Do it - YOLO:

Centaur Playfield – classicplayfields.com

classicplayfields.com

Centaur Custom Mirrored Backglass – classicplayfields.com

classicplayfields.com

Centaur Plastics – classicplayfields.com

classicplayfields.com

PS - are the boards ok?

I'm not someone who has the facilities or knowhow to do a proper restore of the cab or a playfield swap(yet), for me a game can have some wear but if the hardware, mechs and playfield are clean and working as intended so a game plays nice I'm happy.

I was tempted by a new PF when Alan had a spare before I knew I'd get the Centaur, but by then he'd sold it. I don't think it's something I'd tackle straight away though.
There's some wear on the playfield but it doesn't stick out too much thanks to the monochrome artwork of Centaur.

The backglass is in decent nick with only one bit of wear where one of the display trays sits.

I've already got a CPR plastic set

It didn't have the power and solenoid driver board so I've got repros from the Weebly site guy.
The lamp driver board works, it just needed one scr and one IC replaced!

I don't hold much hope for the S&T or the Say it Again board (people will put money on that being dead).
@myPinballs does repros of both.

This era of Ballys is new to me, luckly I've had Steve Brums Elektra for nearly a year which has helped me learn a little bit as faults appeared and enabled me to test centaurs lamp board. But I still having to learn a lot

 

[Ashbo]

Looks like the best project pin ever!! Very jealous, good score

 

[Fubar]

Great project you've got yourself there Dave, well done

 

[David_Vi]

I've been preparing for it since it was purchased, looking for parts, boards and what to expect. @Lecari got her Creech a few weeks after which became a huge distraction, as expected I did most of that project (but contrary to Claire's shop log, it is complete and out of the way).

I couldn't do much prep without the cab of playfield but I managed to clean up the backbox to a certain extent. New lock, tumbled and polished most of the metal parts (missed a few screws though ).
It's not attractive but for me a lot of Pinball is "out of sight and out of mind".
I love seeing the restores you guys do with the resprayed backboxes and cabs but as long as it's working and not disgusting I'm happy.
Of course I'd love to be able to go to those lengths but it isn't practical for me for a few reasons


Here's some pics from the existing boards and state of the backbox from last year.




It was a struggle to remove some of the display trays, even with help from evaporust. This meant a few got bent up (hence my wanted post a month or so ago asking for some, let me know if you have some spare).
I managed to clean them up with evaporust to a certain extent, they're functional enough.

I got a repro SDB minus the high voltage as I grabbed a set of of @AlanJ s red LED display kits.


Tested my soldering by popping them into Elektra


Installed into Centaurs backbox the display trays being bent or screwed in wonky is obvious (I had to fix some stripped holes due to the screws being rusted in).
I managed to adjust a lot of them but I think once fired up and at a distance the slighty wonky or not perfectly aligned displays won't be too obvious, if they are ill have another go or try to source unbent trays.




Here's the backbox open
with the boards in, demonstrating the best cleaning I could do
(That silver coated cardboard is weird)



That was my prep up until the cab arrived and the size of the task became apparent

 

[AlanJ]

Looking forward to this. Was a great buy at that price.

 

[myPinballs]

Great game, one of the best from the golden bally year My friend Martin did a great restoration on one of them that @AlanJ bought iirc. There's a thread about it the restoration on here I think somewhere. My favourite is 8ball deluxe though personally.

Also, This is on standby for you



And this:

 

[David_Vi]

It does look like you're going to need to get busy with a tumbler, and are going to need to get comfortable with ordering small numbers of replacement parts from European retailers.

I'm confident I can get most uncommon parts needed from Bestofpinball or Ministry of Pinball.
I've got a spreadsheet keeping track of parts and which shop they're available at for what price so I hopefully I don't do too many little orders.
Already did a starter order from Pinball Mania

Looking forward to this. Was a great buy at that price.

This is all your fault , I don't think I'd jump into a project like this without your expertise and experience of multiple Centaurs

Great game, one of the best from the golden bally year My friend Martin did a great restoration on one of them that @AlanJ bought iirc. There's a thread about it the restoration on here I think somewhere. My favourite is 8ball deluxe though personally.

Also, This is on standby for you

View attachment 195063

And this:

View attachment 195064

Appreciate it, we're definitely in on the reverb board. The S&T most likely, but ours might be fixable although part of me wants to just avoid the fuss and get your board so I have one less thing to worry about... Assuming someone else could repair and make use of our old S&T as I hate the thought of it being fixable and binned.

Unfortunately can't test anything yet as I can't get the head into the cab till its fixed. The back is falling apart, plus no t nuts or hinges to secure the backbox

 

[Phil Lee]

Fabulous! Just in the process of fixing a final new issues with my Centaur. Along with EBD a real grail 'going nowhere' pin for me - overjoyed to find one at the beginning of this year.
Same as you, I prefer a 'player' and like a bit of age related wear!
Playfield looks like it should clean up well, but machine definitely needs tlc - my boards were in ok condition - reflow and a few scrs and all good. I can see why you went with replacement boards! I made the Big Clive 'SIA' board replacement which works well..
'Destroy Centaur...rr..rr'

Happy to shoot any comparison pics etc..
Have fun human.

 

[David_Vi]

Fabulous! Just in the process of fixing a final new issues with my Centaur. Along with EBD a real grail 'going nowhere' pin for me - overjoyed to find one at the beginning of this year.
Same as you, I prefer a 'player' and like a bit of age related wear!
Playfield looks like it should clean up well, but machine definitely needs tlc - my boards were in ok condition - reflow and a few scrs and all good. I can see why you went with replacement boards! I made the Big Clive 'SIA' board replacement which works well..
'Destroy Centaur...rr..rr'

Happy to shoot any comparison pics etc..
Have fun human.

I thought ours was a good barn find, but yours was something else!

I've actually never played a Centaur (I may have played one game at PBR years ago and same at Electric circus but I didn't appreciate the classics at the time). I just know it's up my street and love the art package.

I wouldn't say I prefer players condition it's more I'm already overwhelmed by all the work involved that getting into cabinets and playfield swaps would be a step too far considering I've no previous experience.
My journey in pinball ownership started with things like asking @MajesticPinball to solder a wire back onto a lamp holder for me
3 years later I'm fixing boards and doing projects like this, but it's been gradual.

That said, with Centaur I do think some of the wear around the head and on the pf almost suits the game so isn't too bad.
For the most part I just want a game to play well and work as intended.

I've only got replacement boards for the ones that it didn't come with. It also seemed like a more bullet proof idea to get modern CPU/mpu and solenoid driver boards.

It's the sound boards I might have to replace rather than repair as it'll hurt my head

 

[stevebm1]

nice,I did a playfield swap on mine, believe me it's not for the fient harted,it took bloody ages,and had a few niggles I had to iron out to get it up and running

 

[Crewey]

For the most part I just want a game to play well and work as intended.

You're definitely highly skilled in that area mate, ToM and Diner at Pinfest played absolutely beautifully. Would love to see how well CFTBL plays now.
If you ever fancy a weekend in North Wales to sort mine out you're more than welcome

 

[David_Vi]

You're definitely highly skilled in that area mate, ToM and Diner at Pinfest played absolutely beautifully. Would love to see how well CFTBL plays now.
If you ever fancy a weekend in North Wales to sort mine out you're more than welcome

That means a lot thanks! I'm very particular about the tiny things. I'd need more than a weekend with my my OCD

Creech plays really nice! But it didn't at first. That was a few ball guide and switch adjustments
I really obsess over flipper buttons and how they feel, one of the most important but overlooked parts of pinball imo.
I'm glad someone notices my effort

 

[Phil Lee]

I thought ours was a good barn find, but yours was something else!

I've actually never played a Centaur (I may have played one game at PBR years ago and same at Electric circus but I didn't appreciate the classics at the time). I just know it's up my street and love the art package.

I wouldn't say I prefer players condition it's more I'm already overwhelmed by all the work involved that getting into cabinets and playfield swaps would be a step too far considering I've no previous experience.
My journey in pinball ownership started with things like asking @MajesticPinball to solder a wire back onto a lamp holder for me
3 years later I'm fixing boards and doing projects like this, but it's been gradual.

That said, with Centaur I do think some of the wear around the head and on the pf almost suits the game so isn't too bad.
For the most part I just want a game to play well and work as intended.

I've only got replacement boards for the ones that it didn't come with. It also seemed like a more bullet proof idea to get modern CPU/mpu and solenoid driver boards.

It's the sound boards I might have to replace rather than repair as it'll hurt my head

Yes, feeling most lucky on mine. Playfield is worn, but with minimal colours (!) I reckon it's an easy touch up to make it a 'good' player. I guess if a playfield came my way, I would consider to swap out and improve the machine, but my history with Centaur started in my Student Union in '81, means I value the originality too!
It's certainly a fun game, hoping the sound card is ok - and good luck with progress on bringing back to life.
Looking forward to seeing your progress - a great score!

 

[David_Vi]

I'm doing my best to clean up the coin door. First time taking one of these apart.



At first I just wanted to get a few bits off to clean and didn't mind it not being perfect on the inside as I found it a little daunting. I ended up with it near fully disassembled and all my remaining Evaporust put to work in the biggest containers I had to hand.
(More evaporust on order )




Things can be quite ghetto in the Pinhaus
Squeezing the coin door insert into a Really Useful box (tm).
(The parts were later submerged as much as possible then turned when required)





I've got the lockdown bar mech and a couple parts that are too long for the box and bowl in a bit of sealed pipe, but alas I need more Evaporust to arrive before they can get the treatment

 

[David_Vi]

As I have a ADHD brain I flitter between things as I see them, or my brain is occupied by another potential problem that I need to solve, even if logically it's not yet important.

For example I sat at the PC to look up various parts to compile into my parts spreadsheet. While looking at the playfield I decided to take off a few plastics so I could count the posts required.
Next thing you know I've removed all the posts and plastics


Does anyone know where to get these triangle rubbers? I assume they're an 80s Bally thing?


My brain then decided I would see how possible it is to clean a bit of the playfield for future reference

I was looking at this area and firstly thought the black on the 500 text was part of the artwork and a silly Bally design choice.


That's until I was looking at the CPR playfield on our drive to The Pinball Office this morning (ok I'm tempted by a new pf, but too much work for my current deadline).
I noticed it's white around that text and the 500's are perfectly readable
So yeah... It's dirt.



A few goes with foam cleaner has improved it vastly. Still needs work though.
I don't have much experience of cleaning up playfields that aren't cleared and worn to bare wood in places so I'd appreciate any advice.
What can I use in addition to foam cleaner to assist with this kind of dirt without causing anymore damage?

 

[Moonraker]

Those triangle rings are normal circle sling shot rubbers.

 

[David_Vi]

Those triangle rings are normal circle sling shot rubbers.

Was bit of a joke
There was a guy on a FB pinball group last year asking where to find replacement rubbers that are trapezoid shaped and seemed very serious.
I've never forgotten the great comments thread attached to it

 

[AlanJ]

If you want to know where to buy that left handed nut driver, just lmk

 

[David_Vi]

The coin door was very rusty on the inside, unfortunately I didn't take decent before photos.



This is my first time taking apart a Bally SS coindoor and I didn't expect to take the whole thing apart. I thought I'd be happy with most of it clean and the rust gone. But I ended up taking all of it apart

I soaked most of the parts in Evaporust and tumbled the smaller parts afterwards.
Like most of this project I haven't gone mad on it with polishing on the inside. It's just de-rusted and clean and I'm happy with that.

I grabbed a Bally Freeplay insert from Pinball mania but didn't want it in the middle as I didn't have two of the metal blanking plates I cut up one and cleaned one of the old playfield plastics and popped it in the far left slot.

I'm really happy with it!




Can I get a new Bally sticker for the diamond? Part of me thinks it might look better without it.

 

[Phil Lee]

I think Pinball Mania stock these.. I'm unsure if worth it or no..

 

[Phil Lee]

Good job with the insert. Looks great. You have old plastics.. looking for a pair of the lowest, smallest (and probably most often broken I guess) plastics.. I'm too cheap to buy a whole new set just for them!

 

[David_Vi]

Good job with the insert. Looks great. You have old plastics.. looking for a pair of the lowest, smallest (and probably most often broken I guess) plastics.. I'm too cheap to buy a whole new set just for them!

Those are absolutely destroyed on mine! Sorry I can't be of help.

I think you can get them without buying a set?

 

[Phil Lee]

No problem.. I will find some. thanks. I may make a set for now until I find some..
Looking at your coin door, ginna have to get some evaporust! Nice..

 

[David_Vi]

No problem.. I will find some. thanks. I may make a set for now until I find some..
Looking at your coin door, ginna have to get some evaporust! Nice..

It's great stuff! Non toxic and reusable. The only trouble is finding vessels big enough for the parts,

 

[AlanJ]

It's great stuff! Non toxic and reusable. The only trouble is finding vessels big enough for the parts,

You gotta a bath?

 

[David_Vi]

You gotta a bath?

Got an unused hot tub.... Could I just drop the playfield into it?

 

[StandUpAndFight]

Got an unused hot tub.... Could I just drop the playfield into it?

They do a gel version for bits too big to soak, don't know if it is any good though.