Pong Cocktail Cab (4 Player!)

[DeLuSioNal29]

I figured I'd share my unbelievable luck!

I was browsing Craig's list two days ago and came across a cocktail pong table for sale.  It said, "Make an offer".  So for kicks, I e-mailed the guy and offered $50.  He accepted!  He said that the game turned on but he could not get the joysticks or buttons to work and tried pressing them all and nothing happened.  He didn't know too much about arcade games.

I picked it up the next day and handed him the $50.  When I got home, I fired it up and pressed all the buttons, nothing happened.  Of course, I then plunked in a couple of quarters and then tried it.  Voila!  It worked perfectly.  All 4 joysticks, buttons, etc worked.  All the guy needed to do was put in quarters.   

Needless to say, it was in mint condition.  I simply used Windex to "repair" it by cleaning it up.  The guy had it covered with a plastic garbage bag, so it was pretty clean to begin with.

I'm really happy that I struck gold with this one.  However, I'm having trouble determining what version of pong I have.  I have attached pics of the machine.  Anyone?

I'm so excited!   

~ DeLuSioNaL

[severdhed]

wow...awesome find.  it is amazing how stupid people can actually be...it almost makes you feel sorry for them....almost.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I'm still trying to figure out what version of pong I have.

I did find a pic of my unit, but no description.  :-(

Anyone?

~ D

[IG-88]

They only made a million clones of these things. Have you "popped the hood"? There should be some kind of identifying marks/plate on the inside.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I haven't had the opportunity yet.  I did pop the hood, but only briefly to make sure that it was clean inside.  It was as clean as a whistle!

I did take a quick snapshot of the PCB, but nothing detailed yet.

But I will mess with it more tonight to see what markings I see.

~ D

[IG-88]

I got one of these too (mine has the knobs on the sides by your knees) I'll go see where the manufactoring plates are...

[DeLuSioNal29]

Well, did some more research, and the game is called, "Flim Flam" by Meadows Games.

I took a few more pics.  There was a butterfly nut inside the coin door near the top which, when removed, allowed the entire top to swing open to access the joysticks!     I was able to take a bit more detailed pics and I even got a pic of the metal plate that says, "Meadows Games, Sunnyvale, CA  Model:  FF-320  Serial No.:  09842

KLOV has it listed here:
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7826



~ DeLuSioNaL

[DeLuSioNal29]

So I've done more homework on this unit.  According to the wesite listed below, it's worth a pretty penny.  Mine is in near mint or excellent condition at the very least.   

http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=flim-flam-cocktail-table-model&page=detail&id=4326
New/Restored
$2,138
Excellent
$1,425
Good
$1,069
Fair
$713
Poor/Parts Missing
$357

Also, I posted a video of the unit here:


DeLuSioNaL29

[javeryh]

Very nice.  I can see that being a lot of fun with 4 people.   

[THE POKER BRAT]

i have a 4 plr pong unit myself..not working but complete,..heres a refrence pic,..

[Shortbus]

wow, what a deal, I hate people like you...kidding.

i found a similar 'goldmine' on craigslist not too long ago, a lady giving away a Golden Axe (tempest converted) Cabinet, said it didn't work and had some wood issues. Picked it up, got it home, fired it up, no picture, re-seated the circuit board and whamo, worked like a champ. So as I'm grinning ear to ear in my garage, I feel something all over my feet. Thing was infested with Termites, got that thing out of the garage asap, stripped out the parts and got the cabinet to the dump in pieces. Still a good deal considering I got a free 17" monitor, power supply, game PCB, Coin Door, Marquee, Bezel, speaker, and working marquee light. Now I need to build a cab to house it, and call the bug man to spray my garage.

Nice Deal, the craigslist thing is few and far between finding things like this, but they are out there, I check as soon as I get to work and several times throughout the day.

Good Deal, I loved Pong.....thanks for sharing.

[THE POKER BRAT]

theres a story about the TEMPEST INFESTATION"....its an old thread somewhere on this site or on klov,....try to find it,..lotsa pics to see! (it was a restoration thing...0

[DeLuSioNal29]

Glad you guys liked it. 

D