Detroit pinball scene - where are you??

[FHF]

I've been in Detroit for 36 hours and all I found was a WCS! Rob, I am crying for you right now!! Well, technically I'm in royal oak...

[Rob]

[eric]

I grew up in Metro Detroit and go back to visit a few times a year. Crazy Carl's in Walled Lake is definitely the best place to check out. Machines are operated by Clay Harrell (pinrepair.com, This Old Pinball, Pinball Ninja, et. al.) and are usually in tip top shape. DMDs, lots of EMs, and a bowler too. The last time I was at Pinball Pete's the maintenance left something to be desired, though Ann Arbor is a really cool town and there are a lot more non-pinball things to do than in Walled Lake or Royal Oak. There are a lot of pinball enthusiasts in SE Michigan, but like most places besides Portland it seems the majority of machines are in private collections

[bounceback]

i think i'm going to be in royal oak at the end of the month for the start of tour, so if you find anything, let me know.

[FHF]

Nice! I found this pretty cool place in Royal Oak called Gusoline Alley http://www.myspace.com/gusolinealley

The only machine there is Junkyard, but it's a pretty sweet bar. They have Bell's Two-Hearted Ale on tap, which is some seriously tasty stuff! Definitely worth dropping by if you are in the area.

[FHF]

There was also a WCS at this place called Berkley Front http://www.myspace.com/theberkleyfront

It looks like they have a pretty good beer selection too. I went by one afternoon, but they didn't open till 4

[eric]

Bell's is awesome! Dragonmead, Jolly Pumpkin, and Founders are also stellar MI breweries.

[bounceback]

bells is one of my favorite breweries. i miss not being able to get it on the west coast. i lived in michigan for a few months and drank fuckloads of bell's. i'm in royal oak for about 4 days, hopefully i'll be able to track down those machines. thanks for the tips.

[Rob]

Just in case any of you come to or around the Detroit area, I've been making a pinball map in the last few days. There's hardly anything in downtown Detroit... I can't wait until I have my car in this city.

[Isaac]

You should talk to ROM about adding your Michigan data to the PPM.

[Rob]

We're talking, & I'm making a spreadsheet with this data. I want to make sure that there will be enough people in the are to keep the pinball map maintained before we take the next steps with this project. I haven't met anyone from the Detroit / Michigan crew face-to-face, and it's hard to tell how many people actually play in bars vs how many just play the home circuit.

Hopefully this will be eventually added to the Pinball Map, but I want to make sure that it can be kept up-to-date and continue to be useful.

[FHF]

[FHF]

Hey ROB, not sure if you are aware of this... or still in Detroit? Pretty sure it's 26 WPPR boints to the winner!

Abel Electronics in cooperation with the MI pinball expo want to
announce a launch party for the Rolling Stones pinball on Friday,
March 11 from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Come out and visit us at 27201
Harper ave, St. Clair Shores, MI 48081. (586-777-8232) We open at
9:00 am. Rolling Stones pinball will be available to practice on
between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm March 11 for .50 a game. This will be a
IFPA sanctioned event and WPPR's boints will be awarded as well as a
first place trophy. More details on tournament format to follow.

[Rob]

I'll be there. Thanks for the heads-up. I missed the machine at Autorama last weekend, so it will be good to finally have a crack at it.

[Opto]

Rob - please tell me you got your Eight Ball Deluxe going! If you haven't . . . tell us how many flashes you're getting on the MPU, and maybe we can help you get it going.

Also - could you post a picture or two for us to oggle at?

[Rob]

I've been waiting to order a flipper rebuild to get the EBD fully functional... I need to get off my lazy ass and do something about that. I'll post some pictures and do another once-over of the machine this weekend when I have a bit more time.

[Opto]

Seize the day Rob . . . seize the day.

Since you're rebuilding the flippers, you might consider going "non-linear" - http://www.pbresource.com/rebuildkit.html#KT-BFLIP03

There's an age old debate on the subject here - http://groups.google.com/group/rec.game ... er&lnk=ol&

[Rob]

Thanks for the tip! Quick question (slightly off-topic):
If I were to go non-linear, should I order the older stock flippers or the newer stock?
(Should I go with the KT-BFLIP03 or the KT-WFLIP05?)
(And, if I went with the KT-BLIP03, would I have to order 2 kits in order to replace the upper flipper?)

[Opto]

You'd buy the "03" set - Bally Hi-Deal 5/75 To Space Invaders 4/80.

You'd have to buy one full kit and a "left side only" kit.

[eric]

+1 vote for non-linear.