# The Grasley Garage! Whirlwind Total Chaos cabinet is done and Ripley's Believe it or Not is back!

**Source:** Pinball Shenanigans  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2025-10-09  
**Duration:** 18m 12s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rwf0zRsaNxs

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## Analysis

Mike Dus visits Grazley Garage to document the completed Whirlwind Total Chaos cabinet restoration and the return of a Ripley's Believe it or Not machine. The Total Chaos cabinet features custom dark blue and black paint, yellow powder coating, new decals, and Padretti gaming art lights from a Fast Pinball kit, with the playfield swap still pending. The Ripley's machine, which Dutch traded his Frankenstein for, required NV RAM replacement, ROM reseeding, and trough fixes, plus removal of a problematic Bigfoot mod from Back Alley Creations that was interfering with the lock gate.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] The Whirlwind Total Chaos cabinet is fully painted and detailed, representing Jean's vision for the nicest Total Chaos in existence — _Kevin states 'Jean wanted this to be the nicest total chaos in existence' and describes extensive custom painting including carriage bolts, dark blue inside and out, black bottom and volts_
- [HIGH] The Ripley's machine had NV RAM issues causing false switch error readings (26 broken switches that weren't actually broken) — _Mike and Kevin discuss swapping the NV RAM after the game was reporting switch errors; they also reflowed optos and found the jam opto was causing constant jam detection_
- [HIGH] The Bigfoot mod from Back Alley Creations has a design flaw that forces the gate downward, preventing it from locking properly — _Kevin explains 'when this is on, it's actually forcing the gate downward so it'll never go into the lock' and notes Back Alley Creations is redesigning the molds to fix this_
- [HIGH] Ripley's Believe it or Not has two wizard modes: Atlantis (based on completing seven Moe modes and collecting Ripley's letters) and Frog Frenzy (based on collecting seven super jackpots) — _Kevin explains the two paths: 'one is based around Moe's, one's on multiball...Atlantis, you have to complete seven different modes' and the second requires 'seven super jackpots'_
- [HIGH] The Whirlwind Total Chaos cabinet topper has significant damage (cracks on front and back) requiring replacement — _Kevin shows the topper with visible cracks: 'Broken on the front and on the back...A little nicotini which can be painted, but that can't really be repaired'_

### Notable Quotes

> "Jean wanted this to be the nicest total chaos in existence. And nicest whirlwind that I Kevin ever did."
> — **Kevin**, ~2:15
> _Establishes the high-end restoration goals for the Total Chaos cabinet, indicating owner customization and pride in craftsmanship_

> "Finders keepers. I find one quarter in every machine and I'm taking that."
> — **Mike Dus**, ~0:15 and ~13:45
> _Running joke/catchphrase highlighting found money in machines during restoration work_

> "When this is on, it's actually forcing the gate downward so it'll never go into the lock."
> — **Kevin**, ~6:50
> _Identifies a specific mechanical design flaw in aftermarket Bigfoot mod affecting gameplay functionality_

> "You went bowling? Yeah. Sorry, I went bowling yesterday. I'm still doing these bowling turns."
> — **Mike Dus**, ~15:30
> _Light humor explaining poor flipper control during gameplay demonstration_

> "He put too many balls in his mouth. You can't make this up, ladies and gentlemen. That is Ripley's, believe it or not."
> — **Mike Dus**, ~24:15
> _Commentary on Ripley's theme authenticity during gameplay, highlighting the game's quirky content focus_

> "I'm willing to bet this game is not level."
> — **Dutch**, ~25:45
> _Observation about potential leveling issues affecting shot consistency during gameplay testing_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Kevin | person | Owner/operator of Grazley Garage restoration workshop; performed cabinet restoration work on Whirlwind Total Chaos |
| Dutch | person | Co-worker at Grazley Garage; traded his Frankenstein machine for the returning Ripley's Believe it or Not; participates in gameplay testing and technical diagnostics |
| Mike Dus | person | Host of Pinball Shenanigans video series; documents restoration projects at Grazley Garage and provides gameplay commentary |
| Jean | person | Owner of the Whirlwind Total Chaos machine being restored; specified custom paint colors and restoration standards |
| Grazley Garage | company | Pinball restoration workshop owned by Kevin; featured in Pinball Shenanigans video series; provides restoration services and maintains arcade machines |
| Whirlwind Total Chaos | game | Custom-modified Whirlwind pinball machine with Total Chaos code/theme; featuring dark blue and black custom paint, yellow powder coating, and Padretti gaming art lights from Fast Pinball kit |
| Ripley's Believe it or Not | game | Pinball machine restored at Grazley Garage; traded for Dutch's Frankenstein; required NV RAM replacement, ROM reseeding, trough fixes; features two wizard modes (Atlantis and Frog Frenzy) |
| Back Alley Creations | company | Pinball modification company that created the Bigfoot mod for Ripley's; mod has design flaw with gate mechanics; company is redesigning molds to fix issues |
| Fast Pinball | company | Supplier of Padretti gaming art lights and control kit used in Whirlwind Total Chaos restoration |
| Stroker Billiards | company | Pool hall/billiards establishment that donated pool table lights to Grazley Garage; Mike's former stomping ground |
| Pat Lawlor | person | Legendary pinball designer referenced for design philosophy; Ripley's game layout compared to his signature style with upper flipper and difficult shots |
| Keith Owen | person | Pinball content creator who made a 45-minute video guide for reaching Ripley's wizard mode |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Cabinet restoration and customization, Pinball machine technical repair (NV RAM, optos, ROM reseeding), Aftermarket modifications and design flaws
- **Secondary:** Gameplay testing and wizard modes, Pinball design philosophy and layout analysis, Restoration workshop documentation
- **Mentioned:** Machine trading within collector community

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.82) — Enthusiastic and celebratory tone throughout. Kevin and Mike show genuine pride in the Total Chaos restoration work. The Ripley's return is treated as a positive event despite gameplay difficulties during testing. Minor frustrations with mod design flaw and gameplay shots are expressed in good humor. Overall upbeat, community-focused content celebrating restoration craftsmanship.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Grazley Garage actively documents restoration projects in Pinball Shenanigans video series, showing detailed technical work, gameplay testing, and community-oriented machine restoration practices (confidence: high) — Mike and Kevin provide detailed walkthrough of restoration steps, gameplay mechanics explanations, and testing procedures in multi-part video documentation
- **[design_philosophy]** Back Alley Creations Bigfoot mod for Ripley's has a critical design flaw: the mod physically forces the lock gate downward, preventing the gate from engaging and blocking multiball lock functionality; company acknowledges issue and is redesigning molds (confidence: high) — Kevin: 'when this is on, it's actually forcing the gate downward so it'll never go into the lock...that's why they're remolding it...it's beefy...needs to be supported a little better...might need another bracket on the left side'
- **[market_signal]** Machine trading within collector community: Dutch traded his Frankenstein for returning Ripley's machine, indicating active secondary market circulation and collector willingness to trade machines (confidence: high) — Kevin: 'Dutch traded his uh his Frankenstein for a returning game...one that you guys have owned before and it has made its way back into the arcade with Dutch's old high score still on it'
- **[product_strategy]** Whirlwind Total Chaos cabinet received extensive cosmetic and technical upgrades including custom multi-stage painting (dark blue, black, yellow powder coating), new decals, Padretti gaming art lights, and custom hardware finishing (carriage bolt painting) (confidence: high) — Kevin details: 'fully painted the dark blue inside and out...Whole thing is painted. Um bottom is painted black. Volts are painted black...The yellow powder coating is installed...Coin doors flat black...painting all of the carriage bolts black'
- **[technology_signal]** Ripley's machine had significant electrical/software issues: NV RAM failure causing false switch error reports (26 switches reported broken when not actually broken), jam opto sensor malfunction causing constant jam detection, and trough issues requiring fixes (confidence: high) — Mike and Kevin discuss: 'it was saying there's like 26 switches broken, but they actually were not. So, we swapped the uh NV RAM out...We reflowed some optos...The game constantly thought the ball was jammed...Repin the connector'

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## Transcript

Oh, look at this.
Refflow again.
Ed Boon. See that? Finders keepers. I find one quarter in every machine and I'm taking that. I'm Mike Dus and this is Pinball Shenanigans. [Music] All right, back at the Grazley garage just for a quick little update. I came here to kind of help work on their new machine they just got in. Hey Kevin, what's going on? You're Kevin for the day.
I don't know what he says.
Yeah, he just says yo.
Uh, catchphrase.
Yeah. Insert catchphrase here. All right. So, uh, we got the tripod out again cuz we're going to show you a little something in a minute. But first, let's go uh check out some total chaos. Oh, last episode Kevin had accepted delivery of these cool pool table lights from Stroker Billiards. And I came here today and look what he presented me with. He got those two giant 10 ft lights just so he could make this for me. And the rest is basically garbage. But how effing cool is that? My old pool stomping grounds. And that's going to go somewhere in the basement. And also he gave me this too.
Cactus Canyon Radcel. Cactus Canyon Radcel cutout from the old garbage cabinet. So, the Grazley Boys gave me some cool
presents. The Grazley boy.
Oh, sorry. I forgot I'm Kevin. Yeah, that was
Yeah. Yeah, you're Kevin. Don't forget. All right. So, Kevin, tell me what you did to this machine.
Everything.
Yes.
There you go. Um,
okay. You're fired. You're not Kevin.
Yeah. Okay. Sorry, man.
No, you're not making a good Kevin. But, uh,
look, I didn't work on this thing. Dutch didn't work on this thing.
Dutch.
Okay. So,
not yet. The when it comes to the playfield, you might be, uh,
maybe
because
the cabinet is done, but the whole playfield still needs to get swapped.
So, what is there to say? Like the the new decals are on. Yep.
It's been fully painted the dark blue
inside and out
per Jean's request.
Whole thing is painted. Um bottom is painted black. Volts are painted black.
The leg levelers are either painted or came black.
I think you can think they were bought black.
The yellow powder coating is installed.
Yep.
Coin doors flat black. Looks great
as always.
As always. What else? Art blades are installed.
Those were supplied by Jean as well as translate which is not in there right now.
These are the Padretti gaming uh art lights.
Yeah. That come with the kit.
This kit here.
Yes.
With the fast pinball board set. And here's the other side.
Some cool characters.
Neat looking cabinet. I will I will give it that. Yeah, it's kind of, you know, there's can't be too many of these out there.
I can't imagine,
you know, like a handful. How many total chaos cabinet jobs?
How many How many Total Chaoses did they sell, period?
Right.
Let alone cabinet jobs for them.
Yeah. Jean wanted this to be the nicest total chaos in existence. And
nicest whirlwind that I Kevin ever did.
Yeah. because went through a lot of extra steps with
painting all of the carriage bolts black. You can see the uh carriage bolt painting zone over there.
Mhm.
But yeah, it's really really fun uh art.
I'm going to need a new topper though since the other one has some serious damage to it.
Yeah, let's see it.
Not sure where I left that.
Not sure what the MTV is all about. That's kind of random and rogue. Uh here is the topper. See, it don't quite match. It's a little
Well, here's the the problem being hidden by the towel.
It's uh
that's not too good.
Broken on the front and on the back.
It's cracked there.
A little nicotini which can be painted,
but that can't really be repaired. So, Jean may be uh possibly buying a new topper.
Yeah.
Oh, there's the translate there.
Oh, yeah. Right. Translate. But I think it looks awesome and powder coating matches nicely.
Do I get my job back as Kevin then?
All right, you're you're rehired. It looks like some clear lit flipper buttons
to me.
All right, Kevin, where are we going next? You got a new toy in your uh arcade.
Yep. Dutch traded his uh his Frankenstein for a returning game. actually
one that you guys have owned before and it has made its way back into the arcade with Dutch's old high score still on it, but it is no more. It is gone. We had to fix some weird uh issues on this thing. It was saying there's like 26 switches broken, but they actually were not. So, we swapped the uh NV RAM out. There it is. Please, please do not.
We uh receeded this game ROM and uh we had some trough issues, so might as well stick that back in there.
Still some hacky wiring in here. We're going to fix that.
Yeah, the um
that was
the ballast there is missing some I don't know what someone maybe they replaced the ballast
maybe, but I I know I didn't do that.
It's comes with a couple mods that it did not have when you uh sold it originally. We've got this temple mod
that comes with um this guy here too. Sticks on here.
And this was from Back Ali Creations, I think. Uh
I think so.
Kevin, I mean I think you said.
Yeah, earlier.
I don't know. I have dementia. So,
you are pretty old. You got the Bigfoot crossing sign, which he is right there. And you can see some of his footprints there. Yeah,
this is really packed with a lot of cool art everywhere.
You can't really get this mod much anymore cuz they're um they're redesigning the molds because when this is on, it's actually forcing the gate downward so it'll never go into the lock.
Yeah, it's a bit of a
We're going have to do some work to this. But
small design flaw.
Well, yeah,
that's why they're remolding it.
Yeah, this one actually looks neat, but it's needs to be supported a little better. I could use another bracket on the left side, but
it's beefy. Like the thing waves. Like it's got some weight to it. It
that thing's solid.
It's not 3D printed.
That is uh molded, right?
Yeah. Well, make that fixed.
Yep. So, this is going to get the full treatment.
We think we resolved bunch of the issues it was having. Um, we think these are Indiana Hilton Jones decals.
Those were there when we got the game.
They They fit. They're fine. I mean, they're supposed they're technically tombstone targets, but honestly, I never even thought anything of it cuz they're idols and there's idols in this game.
Yeah, it fits the theme. All right. Well, I think uh we should bust out that tripod and try a game and see. Every once in a while, a ball was kicking into the trough in the middle of the game. So,
and then sometimes it would just unload all of them.
Yeah, we reflowed some optos. And
I think it was the jam opto. The game constantly thought the ball was jammed.
Yeah. So maybe we resolved that. Repin the connector. Oh, look at this.
Refflow the gems.
Ed Boon. See that? Finders keepers. I find one quarter in every machine and I'm taking that
rat. All right, we're going to set up the tripod and uh play some Ripleys. Okay, that looks pretty good. So, uh, I think Keith Owen did a video of this many years ago, like a 45minute video to get to the wizard mode. You said there's two wizard modes.
Yeah. So, one is based around Moe's, one's on multiball. Um, Atlantis, you have to complete seven different modes. So,
these guys.
Yeah, these ones. And whenever you complete one, it will spot you a Ripley's letter. Once you get all seven, hit the very target. It will start Atlantis.
Uh-huh. And the second one, you have to collect seven super jackpots. So either you can get that through your award here or lit during multiball and you have to shoot up this upper side ramp up here that says super jackpot.
Very tight shot. Hard shot. And um once you get seven, it starts frog frenzy.
Frog frenzy. Okay. Well, we're going to try and get to both wizard modes in our first game playing a split flipper game. So we could be here for an hour or it could be a three-minute game. I feel like it's going to be a 3minute game where we achieve neither of those things.
I think you u the odds may be in that favor.
Okay, so here we go.
All right.
Welcome to auditorium.
Please work.
Yeah. No rogue balls, please.
All right, so Dutch is on the right.
I'm on the left.
Amazing.
That kick out of the scoop there is uh sketchy. Sometimes it'll go left flipper. Sometimes it'll do a right flipper
or gutter right in the center
or right down the middle.
Sorry, I went bowling yesterday. I'm still doing these bowling turns.
You went bowling?
Yeah.
Oh, okay. So, we want to go very target to start a mode.
Uh, yeah.
All right.
Or if we shoot at the head enough times, it'll do multiball.
Okay. Well, I'll be the very guy, you be the head guy because uh I can't hit the head from here.
I can hit the very target, though.
You can probably backhand it. Yeah, it's kind of it's a hard back hand though. What do we want to do?
Uh, let's work towards Yeah, you do a head.
Oh, whoops.
Shrunken head. [Music]
Oh, 3 million.
Wow. Next award.
It's like the camera. It's Bozo the dog.
Uh, okay. So, I'm going to go uh very Okay, that was early. Let's go a little bit later. Oh, nailed it. Yeah, that's a very hard shot.
Get it.
Can't. It's very Pat Lawlery with the layout. You know, you got the upper flipper.
I can't see it from where I'm standing, though.
So, the super jack. We're good.
Oh, okay. All right.
It's time to visit Africa.
All right. Multiball.
Yay.
Oh, good.
Come on, Mike. I got
Keep doing that.
Trap better.
Don't Don't like just hold it up.
Yeah. I was trying to live touch. Okay. We need a ramp.
Yeah. Okay. I find always finds a very hard shooting game.
Yeah. It's got some tight shots. That was horrible. Okay. Stop trying to live catch my
Okay, so just bounce pass. Whoa. I'll try the bounce pass. Okay, so now I need Gary again.
Give me an eye.
No, we need to hit a ramp coming.
Did we get an R letter?
No, we just got an I.
Yeah, for ripoff.
Oh, not for Ripley. Okay.
Algerian queen was 400 wives or some or husbands.
Oh, yeah. That wasn't like a
big foot. We need to strengthen that magnet a little bit.
Oh, it's supposed to suck it all the way back, right?
Yeah, like like the shadow.
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Rip off.
Oh, okay.
It is a ripoff. Cuz you're thinking you're getting three letters towards Ripley's there.
No, unfortunately not.
Okay,
there we go.
Making some progress here.
Oh, going to the temple.
2xing. Oh, very cool.
Just bounce past it.
Oh, yeah.
Uh-oh. Okay. What do we want?
Uh, hit the ramp. Right ramp.
Oh, yeah. Right ramp for uh
locks.
Locks. Okay.
Nice. 2x. Oh, we're good. Yeah. Sweet. I was wondering if it was going to give us that back. the pop bumpers change at the very back right of the uh
the game there. There's uh it says scramble temple code wake up idle amazing event.
Well, that's what the that's what that scoop does at the front when [Music]
probably safer to backhand that ramp. I'm going to pass it to you. Okay, we're not getting that one back.
Three idols collected.
I hope this is loud enough for you guys.
Uh the
I'm going to turn it up one.
Yeah. Okay. Let's Let's get the uh audio going here.
Yeah. Pump that music.
That's half the experience. So,
the music in this game is great. It's uh Graner.
Oh, is it? Oh, cool.
He's done awesome audio for so many games. You do road show from Fish Tales.
Road Show Fishtales. Uh he who they he co-did Indiana Hilton Jones, Twilight Zone, Adams Family.
Yeah, that guy.
Oh, so you're going uh I was I was
Oh, okay. Target four times to collect or rip these letters.
Now, can we stack this multiball with the mode?
This is not a multiball.
No, but if we start the multiball.
Oh, maybe.
Well, we'll find out. I was talking about this.
Yeah. Kickup score.
That's that thing. It is this thing.
I think you hit the idle with your finger.
Oh, I might have I was wondering why it screamed at me.
Oh, nice.
No, I didn't get it.
Oh, I hit the target above it. You heard the dude say so close. No.
Oh, yeah. I guess. That's uh ball three. We can uh leave this game hanging like that.
I feel like we should we might want to do a actual game
North America
like a non-split.
Yeah, this is going very poorly. We're not doing anything.
Yeah, it's true. But
it's not it's a good sample of Ripleys that people don't need to see a
This is not a long playing game.
An hour long game. They want to see an hour long game.
Gold of you to assume we're as good as the How do you like that?
Little uh mini snowman there.
Okay. What do we got?
Uh hit that right that left ramp. Only you can hit it. I can't hit it.
Left ramp. Okay. Go over under.
Over and out. Over and out.
Pinball. Over and out.
That needs to be achieved. Now what?
Give me an all.
Oo. Getting close. It's a ripoff.
Why don't we just go for regular multiball, though?
Yeah, let's do it. I I have been I just can't make that effing shot.
Well, me neither.
Easier for
Oh, no. It's coming back, isn't it?
That's trouble.
Don't do it. All right, we're on the right flipper here. Ed Boon. Check this out. [Music] He put too many balls in his mouth.
You can't make this up, ladies and gentlemen.
That is Ripley's, believe it or not.
If you could stick three pool balls in your mouth, why wouldn't you? I have some questions for you later, Mike. That did sick. Stroker villiards is my old stomping ground.
Got to get super. It's a vari. It feeds it. Oh, the bar feeds it. Okay.
Yeah, it feeds the upper flipper. [Music] There it is. Ah, it it like flew in one direction. I couldn't get it.
I'm willing to bet this game is not level.
Oh, there we go. Very very. And oh,
oh god.
Come on. Super.
I can't get it from this angle I'm standing at.
It's the It's the Pat Lawler difficulty just like whirlwind. That same shot. No. What? Oh,
it's not going to work. It's a It's a opto way far up.
Well, nonetheless, Ripleys is back. It's a fun game.
I don't know how many they made, but
I don't know.
They don't show up all that often. So, hey, look at that. Ed Boon. Good way to end the video.
The knocker work.
Free game.
There you are. No matter where you go,
there you are.

_(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 421d7fc3-5c08-43fd-9bf9-0b53084bae0c*