1974 Chicago Coin Hi Flyer 2-Player Pinball Machine - Hot Air Balloon Graphics!!

1974 Chicago Coin Hi Flyer 2-Player Pinball Machine:

If you're looking for a pinball machine to add to your gameroom that is AFFORDABLE, make sure you keep reading!  And if you like hot air balloons, this machine offers an added bonus.  If you look at the graphics on the backglass, playfield plastics, and cabinet sides, the theme of this machine becomes very apparent!  There are graphics of hot air balloons EVERYWHERE!  Because this machine allows two people to compete against each other, it is also a great candidate for some family or friendly competition.  It also offers pretty nice overall cosmetics, especially the playfield.  Maybe the best adjective to use for it, though, is affordable!

This machine is mechanically unshopped and will need to be gone through in order to be 100% working.  It is playing, a bit slowly, although not at 100%.  It has been sitting idle for a while in my storage.  The biggest hang-up is that the outhole kicker doesn’t kick the ball back to the plunger lane when it drains.  If you manually move the ball through the cycle, it does play through on the playfield with points scoring, flippers working, functions seeming to all work correctly, etc., but when the ball drains, it won’t get kicked back to the plunger lane.  A few of the score reels are a little sticky and will need to be cleaned and the reset cycle at the start of a game doesn’t reset all of them to zero prior to going into game mode.  So, as you can tell, it will need some attention in cleaning and adjusting contacts, but it is showing some good signs of life, now.  The machine does appear to be mechanically complete and untampered with so you should be able to bring this one back to a full and fruitful life with what seems like it shouldn't be a huge amount of effort.

The original backglass is in fairly nice shape but does have some imperfections to mention.  There is some noticeable chipping of the paint, mainly in the two people in the lower right corner, but also to a lesser extent in the name, in the guy in the center flying the balloon, in the guys in the lower portion and in a few spots along the far bottom edge.  There is also an area above and to the left of the two larger people where the paint cracked and lifted, leaving a small area of missing paint.  The back of this glass has been sealed to prevent any further damage, but at this point, the past imperfections are already in place.  I’ve seen a lot worse, but it could also be better.  The bulk of the graphics and lettering are still in great shape, though.  All of the colors are nice and bright with no sign of any fading.  With a little bit of touchup on the backside this glass couls be made to look better, but it is still presentable, as the photos show.

The playfield paint is in excellent shape!  There is NO WEAR anywhere on the playfield and only a few VERY small nicks in the paint.  Unless you look VERY close, you will say that this playfield is PERFECT.  Although it isn’t, it isn’t too far away, either!  If you want me to be REAL picky, I’d say that there is the start of some VERY FAINT woodgrain cracking that you can start to see in the lighter solid colored areas but that wouldn’t even be fair to say.  There are a couple other small nicks/chips in spots with a little bit of chipping paint immediately next to a couple of the plastic inserts, but again, not fair to even mention.  There will be NO disappointments with this playfield, it looks that good.  All colors are GREAT with no sign of any fading.  All of the playfield plastics are in great shape with bright colors.  There are no cracks/breaks in any of them.  Hot air balloon graphics abound!  The theme is unmistakable, that's for sure.  The three round pop bumper caps are also in nice shape with no cracks/breaks and nice graphics on their tops.  The lower metal playfield apron is also in excellent shape with only a couple VERY small nicks/scratches, but barely noticeable.  There are original instruction and score cards in place.

Playfield features include two rollover buttons at the top, two rollover lanes below them, three round pop bumpers, four single drop targets scattered around the playfield, a spinner gate in the center, a set of two rollover lanes on each side at the bottom, and various other rubber contact points that award scoring.  This machine offers a couple of unique features.  As bonus values are collected, they are awarded at the end of each ball in play, but after each third and fifth ball, they are doubled.  Once you down all four drop targets, the spinner value increases from 100 to 1000 and it lights the extra ball lanes.  You can win one extra ball (same player shoots again) during each ball in play.  You can win replays by achieving certain scoring levels as well as matching your last two score digits to a random number that lights on the backglass at the end of each game.

The cabinet paint appears to be original and is in pretty nice shape.  There are a few of the normal minor scratches and nicks but nothing to be too concerned about.  It presents itself very well but is short of perfect.  The colors are nice and bright with no sign of any fading.  The graphics continue the overall theme with hot air balloons on all sides of the bottom cabinet and backbox.  The coin door and entry plate are straight with a little bit of surface rust but not real bad.  They are in pretty nice shape but may be great candidates to sand down and spraypaint hammertone silver, which would make them look like new.  There are locks/keys for both the coin door and the original metal backbox door.  The quarter coin mechs are missing but the machine does appear to be on free play.  Other than the coin mechs, though, which are easy to replace, it seems like all wiring and hardware is still in place on the backside of the door so you should be able to convert this back to coin play, if you want.  The surface of the four "chrome" legs has seen better days, to the point of it being a better option to sand them down and spray paint them to make them look like new.  Most, if not all of the chrome surfacing is gone at this point, replaced by rust!

Payment for the machine is to be received within seven days of the end of the auction.  Credit cards are accepted through Paypal.  Provided it is paid for at the end of the auction, I can hold the machine for as long as you need so you can make arrangements to either pick it up or have it shipped.  If picked up, ONLY cash will be accepted, or a Paypal payment must be made prior to pickup.  Whatever pickup/shipping method works best for you, I'll try to accommodate your needs, but payment is still to be received within seven days of the end of the auction.

If you need shipping, I would recommend you contact Michelle Bianchi, Precision Transportation Agent, mbianchi at precision-nal dot com, 630-352-3312 (toll free 877-432-2646) for a quote.  Available shipping options include door to door service including all of the loading, unloading, blanket-wrapping, shrink-wrapping, etc.  When shipping multiple machines, the "per machine" cost is SIGNIFICANTLY reduced, so make sure you look at my other auctions and/or ask me what other machines I have available right now!  I have also worked with a few other shipping companies and can help steer you in the right direction.  My preference is to work with a company that provides door to door service which includes all loading, unloading, shrink-wrapping, blanket-wrapping, etc.  In rough numbers, it generally costs about $325-350 in total to ship a single machine to the east coast from here and about $375-400 to the west coast.  Although I am not able to crate or palletize the machine myself, I can help to arrange for outside crating and international shipping, with you paying all of the associated costs.

Calling all people who are looking for an AFFORDABLE machine!  This may be the machine for you!  Remember, you are going to have to spend a little time cleaning and adjusting contacts in order to play a full and correct game, but you can start to play it now since it is already showing some good mechanical signs of life.  This machine offers a GREAT hot air balloon theme and has pretty nice overall cosmetics that won’t embarrass you when placed in your gameroom.  Add in the fact that it allows TWO PLAYERS to compete against each other in a single game and it makes an even better candidate for your gameroom.  Don't miss out on machines that are priced to sell!  They are getting harder and harder to find.