I came across a 80’s classic pinball machine that was very much broken down and was servicing as an alley dumpster behind some Detroit city apartment buildings. Surprisingly the back and playing field glass was in solid shape. As for the rest of the machine…
The game was the second to be manufactured by Data East, which is now under Stern Pinball, Inc. Titled Secret Service it featured a James Bond type theme and was technologically advanced for its time. Featuring Digital Stereo and synthesized speech, the game field contained three flippers, drop targets, captive ball holes, ramp, a bank of knock-down targets and ball capture and pop-up between the two main flippers.
It took me several months tearing this machine down to restore most of the parts, playing field, cabinet and lighting. I also had to get into and repair the unit’s main control board.
The photos below show the machine after it was restored.
