Gottlieb’s Mustang

A message arrives from pinball technician, and dear friend, Gary Makota. He knows the Team loves documenting pinball culture, even if we don’t do it often enough, and invites us over to a customer’s home, with their permission of course, to take in a problem machine he’ll be working to fix. This person’s ’70s era game has been acting up and needs a little loving care and we’ll be on the scene to document it all.

The Man: Gary Makota. He’s been repairing pinballs, classic video games and even old jukeboxes longer than some of owners of these vintage machines have been alive. With razor sharp instincts coming from experience, it seems no problem is too big, no problem too obscure, no gremlin too elusive…he can find it and make it right. We’ve seen that many times in person.

The Machine: Gottlieb’s Mustang, a two player Electro-Mechanical (so no computer circuits) from 1977. It’s was built just as the industry started the transition to Solid State machines, ones with brains, logic and memory, more reliable electronics replacing (often troublesome) mechanical steppers, switches and reels in the scoring system. Going “SS” decreased the number of moving parts in a pinball significantly and by 1979 all were made this way.

A “Nishijin Super Deluxe” from the 1970s.

The machine’s layout is symmetrical, one half mirroring the other. It’s a fairly typical Gottlieb of the era, with a fairly straightforward rule set, a playfield with nice flow, fun to play, easy to figure out, but not so simple as to become boring. A notable feature is the three posts mid-field protected by drop targets, a most devious design. Once the “drops” are triggered and out the way, the posts are exposed and are the cause of much frustration and many a drained ball due to unpredictable shots rebounded back towards the flippers or outlanes at high speed.

There were just over two thousand Gottlieb Mustangs made. There’s a similar four player game, called Bronco, with the same playfield but slightly different artwork, made about the same time. Some nine thousand of them were produced. A good run in the 1970s was 3-10k, a stupendous run, something over 10k. By the way, 21k was the biggest run ever, but today a couple thousand would be considered good

Cowboy and Old West themes were popular for pinballs in the 1970s.

You author recalls playing this machine (or perhaps Bronco) back in the day. And I wasn’t very good at it either.

Gottlieb was one of the big three pinball makers back when Mustang was made (Bally and Williams being the others) and for some years held top position. Any of these firms, all of who are now defunct by the way, might produce some five to ten titles per year on average. Gottlieb’s of that era tend to be highly collectible and parts are generally easy to find.

Notice the hand scrawled high scores on the back box. Modern machines keep a tally of these and the names or initials of those who reached them, but back then this would have been a way to announce one’s mastery of the game. Purists might see this as the desecration of a temple whereas others might just accept for what it is, a marker speaking of the passion with which hardcore pinheads play. It’s part of the machine’s history.

The machine in given the once over by Gary. Some pesky scoring and reset issues are addressed – pretty routine stuff. Then there’s an general inspection and tune up followed by a good cleaning and waxing. What was a temperamental sluggish game is reborn and plays as good as it did when it left Gottlieb’s Chicago factory so many decades ago. The ball flies around and bumpers and flippers are powerful and fast…as the Pinball Gods intended. Now it’s time for some test games. Pick me, pick me! A few games followed by a few more tweaks and it’s settled in. And it plays beautifully.

It’s my turn Connie!

This Mustang, by the way, probably spent its first few years in an arcade, bowling alley or some pool halls, before being retired (due to loosing popularity or becoming unreliable – they took a beating in the field). Most machines at that point, back then, were retired and scrapped, or stripped of usable parts, with only a small percentage being held onto or to sold to collectors. As such, old school pins, EM machines especially, and doubly so ones in good shape, aren’t terribly common overall.

And our subject, Gottlieb’s Mustang.

Certain titles (and once a run was done, they made no more), those whose design, theme and flow resonated well with players, or those with small production runs (sometimes as low as a hundred to two) are most sought after. I doubt you’d ever have trouble selling a Mustang (or Bronco).

If you’re looking to acquire a pin, online classifieds are a good start. Local clubs can point you in the right direction and can offer good advice. Get to know them. Then find a reputable tech, befriend him and put him on speed dial. It’s a guarantee, your machine will act up. That’s how it goes.

Also seen, a 1970s era “Nishijin Super Deluxe” Pachinko machine from Japan. Think of it as sort of a vertical pinball – shoot the ball to the top in hope it’ll hit a scoring pocket on the way down, that’ll award more balls to play. Back in their home country they are typically used for gambling in Pachinko Parlours.

Have a game acting up that could use some attention? Go here…Gary Makota on Facebook or here…Gary Makota Pinball Repair.

Tilt: if a player shakes the cabinet too violently or tries to move it, the machine will tilt and the ball in play will end. There are several mechanisms in the cabinet that sense this, including the one seen in photos, a ball on a angled rail that if the cabinet is lifted rolls towards a switch which then triggers a tilt.

Keeping the theme…
Card Whiz – another Late Model “EM” fixed.
Pinball Art – Overdeveloped Gals.
Keeping the Faith – Worshipping at the Temple of Pin.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date: January, 2018.
Location: Calgary, AB.
Article references and thanks: Joe Patafie, Gary Makota Pinball Repair, IPDB – Internet Pinball Database, PachinkoPlanet.com.

A maze of wires…

Tech Gary Makota’s on the scene.

The score reels get some attention.

Colour coding helps simplify wiring issues.

A clean and wax.

Ride’m Cowgirl!

Checking out a problem area.

A “Playfield Plastic” – the name’s Tex Ma’am.

A rare peak at the back side of a backglass.

Ever since I was a young boy…

High scores over the years.

Tilt!

Her Majesty looks forward to playing.

We found a fun prop.

Backglass art is always interesting.

Tracking down a gremlin…

Sherlock Holmes looking for pinball clues.

Mirror, mirror…

Aren’t we creative?

The underside is a fascinating place.

Shouldn’t they be hanging from a rear view mirror?

So many wires going so many places.

One of the tilt mechanisms.

Fuses are easy access inside the cabinet.

Mustang dates from 1977.

A few test plays – note posts behind drops, a devious feature.

A fine machine all fixed up.