1978 Bally Black Jack SS

This Black Jack was my first basket case pin. I had no idea what I was getting myself into and if I did, I might not have bought it. But in the end, boy did I learn a great deal on how to do this (and what not to do) and the investment was quite small.

I found this in a consignment shop. The owner wanted $300 and stated “it turns on but doesn’t start a game”. The reality was that yes, the GI lamps light when power is applied but the MPU doesn’t boot so nothing happens (dark score displays). There were no keys, either. They wouldn’t let me drill open the locks to look inside and at least confirm it had a complete board set unless I paid for the machine. The floor was falling out and it’s obvious by the severe planking damage that it had been exposed to the elements for while. So I rolled the dice…we settled on $100 and I drilled out the locks.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a complete board set, albeit a Stern SDB. There was moderate playfield wear, a live spider’s nest on the SDB, dormant mud dauber nests in the backbox and the lower cab, and don’t get me started on the condition of the cab.

After I got it home, I found 5 quarters jammed (stuck) in the coin mechs, so I really got the pin for $98.75, lol.