Kurt's Klassic Pinball

Kurt's Klassic Pinball I repair and collect classic pinball machines. Electro Mechanical (EM) are my specialty, but I can repair Solid State (SS) as well. Located in Bettendorf Iowa.

I do service calls in a 35 mile radius and also repair at my location. Rates are the best.

This is my first time working on what is called a 'Pitch and Bat'. Very cool machine. This one is from 1962! And it i...
09/07/2026

This is my first time working on what is called a 'Pitch and Bat'. Very cool machine. This one is from 1962! And it is made by Chicago Coin - another game I am unfamiliar with. It is very similar to what I do know well - an EM pinball machine. I have got it working now about 91%. There are the usual glitches and puzzles to chase down. Lots of fun repair work and puzzles. The machine must have over a dozen 'Jones Plugs' that plug in components and 'boards'. It only needed a few replacement parts and one part needed JB Weld! Schematics were a great help as usual. Fun game. Sometimes you just have to jump in the deep end. Chicago coin made a solid machine.

Just putting the finishing touches on this gem from the 1970s. What a fun game. And fun to work on. The Special was n...
08/01/2026

Just putting the finishing touches on this gem from the 1970s. What a fun game. And fun to work on. The Special was not functioning at all. Tracked down that circuit and found 11 switches and a Relay that all had to operate properly of course. ONE switch was misadjusted and not behaving. I normally don't do cosmetics on machines but this one really needed it. The work I did is certainly not perfect - and can be removed if desired - BUT I think it is better than it was. Sometimes these old machines have paint that just 'wants' to separate from the playfield. Very challenging.

The Change Relay often breaks on a Williams machine. It is responsible for alternating feature lights and the match at ...
06/22/2026

The Change Relay often breaks on a Williams machine. It is responsible for alternating feature lights and the match at the end of the game. I modified the existing armature to replace the missing part that you can no longer get. Version 4.0 of mine has been working great for weeks now. Necessity is the mother of invention as they say. Also, this is how a Williams Stepper Unit should look when repaired. The contact rivets are raised which makes them difficult to clean. And the coil screws are almost always loose or missing.

I have been crazy busy fixing pinball machines, but I had to make time for this post. As one Space Mission is ending, t...
04/10/2026

I have been crazy busy fixing pinball machines, but I had to make time for this post. As one Space Mission is ending, tonight around 8:00ish, another one is starting. I have 3, yes THREE, Space Mission pinball machines to fix and clean up. Love those Williams games.

Fixed it finally. I don't know how I keep forgetting to take the 'before' pictures, but here are the after pictures. I...
02/02/2026

Fixed it finally. I don't know how I keep forgetting to take the 'before' pictures, but here are the after pictures. I have to think that if LEDs were available when Gottlieb made these machines - they certainly would have used them. Here is a great example. The original #44 bulb was placed between the opaque plastic of these two kickout holes. The result is simply a dimly lit area that you wouldn't be able to tell it was even lit if it was daylight or the room lighting was bright enough. So, I simply 'daisy-chained' two LEDs onto the existing sockets and positioned all the LEDs to either side of the kick-out holes. I soldered the wires directly to the additional two bulbs and used nano tape to secure them in place. I think it looks great.

Finished this old gem. I was very happy with how well it cleaned up. My secret cleaning fluid often works very well. ...
01/28/2026

Finished this old gem. I was very happy with how well it cleaned up. My secret cleaning fluid often works very well. Great shape for its age. Very cool artwork too. I found that if you aim for the center pop bumper, you get the best scores. It is very challenging to get the special. That makes it even more fun. I went through every switch, wire, etc. The usual. It will now shine on for many more years.

Sometimes you should step out of your comfort zone and try new things. I was fascinated by the inner workings of this o...
01/28/2026

Sometimes you should step out of your comfort zone and try new things. I was fascinated by the inner workings of this old crane machine. Lots of gears and grease. It needed some love and attention to make it work again. Working now!

Still working on the Jungle machine but had time for a housecall. Fixed a 1992 Williams GetAway. Such a fun great desi...
01/09/2026

Still working on the Jungle machine but had time for a housecall. Fixed a 1992 Williams GetAway. Such a fun great design. At the same location was able to get a Gottlieb PInball Pool looking and playing great. So satisfying to put a couple checkmarks in the Win column in such a short visit.

Starting a shop/repair on this 1972 four player version of Jungle. There are four other versions of this same game. I ...
12/31/2025

Starting a shop/repair on this 1972 four player version of Jungle. There are four other versions of this same game. I can tell already that the relay bank needs lots of attention.

Just finished Target Alpha. This one had some great puzzles to solve. The Bonus Unit would always skip a bonus target....
12/29/2025

Just finished Target Alpha. This one had some great puzzles to solve. The Bonus Unit would always skip a bonus target. I could get all 15 targets down and it would only give bonus for 14. It turns out that the Bonus Unit stepper was misaligned - off one rivet. I narrowed it down to the 5-bank drop target and the target closed to the bottom/right. There were several loose rivets and a bad ground as well. Finally, the backglass art was irrepairable. It was/is flaking horribly. I could look at it sideways and the paint would flake off. A replacement had to be ordered. This is one of the cleanest games I have worked on. Inside and out. Impressive.

Address

Bettendorf, IA
52722

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Kurt's Klassic Pinball posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Kurt's Klassic Pinball:

Shortcuts

Share

Category