#109 Night Rider - The Classic Pinball Podcast

TL;DR

Dave's Knight Rider restoration and ROM software enhance Bally's bridge game; George shares moving woes and ball care warnings.

Summary

Key Claims

• Knight Rider was manufactured in both electromechanical and solid-state versions, with 4,155 EM units made in November 1976 and 7,000 SS units in February 1977.

  high confidence · Dave, citing manufacturing data during game discussion

• Knight Rider was Bally's bridge game from EM to solid state, explaining why the original track mode is simple due to early solid-state programming limitations.

  high confidence · Dave, explaining game design philosophy

• Scott Home's ROM software improves Knight Rider by increasing max bonus from 15,000 to 19,000, making drop target hits worth 500 points (vs. 50) after reset, and displaying highest score on final ball.

  high confidence · Dave, describing custom ROM features

• Dave spent 60-100 hours on the Knight Rider restoration, including playfield swap, buffing all metal components, rebuilding pop-bumpers/flippers/kickers, electronics work, and chime unit rebuild.

  high confidence · Dave, detailing restoration scope

• Evaporust pitted and destroyed pinballs when left soaking for extended periods (1.5 weeks), turning shiny Titan balls black and unsuitable for use.

  high confidence · Dave, warning against Evaporust on pinballs

• Zep Acid Toilet Bowl Cleaner can arrest and reverse alkaline corrosion on circuit boards by neutralizing pH (alkaline corrosion ~8 pH vs. cleaner ~2 pH).

  medium confidence · Dave, explaining circuit board repair chemistry

• George relocated from New Hampshire to Virginia, moving 12 pinball games in 4 hours with help from Jack, then hiring professional movers to unload everything from the U-Haul in 2 hours.

  high confidence · George, discussing relocation logistics

• Moving pinball games long distances causes physical damage (toppling, bruising) due to road potholes and truck bouncing, requiring careful transport planning.

  high confidence · George and Dave, discussing travel experience

Notable Quotes

• “It's a fuel injection suicide machine. It's a rocker, it's a roller, it's a Knight Rider.”

  George @ early in episode — Iconic Knight Rider theme song reference; sets playful tone for the episode

• “Nothing beats a real set of knockers, you know, than going along with it.”

  Dave @ during mod discussion — Humorous comment about keeping original flasher hardware for the back glass knocker

• “The evaporust ate the frickin' balls.”

  Dave @ during PSA segment — Dramatic conclusion to cautionary tale about chemical damage to pinballs

• “Games do not like to travel in a U-Haul 500 miles.”

  George @ relocation discussion — Key insight into practical challenges of moving pinball collections

• “With this software, you get, when you get the bank of targets down, like say you get the right targets down, all five of them, when they pop back up, instead of 50 points each, they're now worth 500 points each.”

  Dave @ ROM software explanation — Concrete example of how custom software improves game depth and scoring

• “It's the way the customer had it originally, so I'm just going to leave it this way... because it's pretty much it's an EM, you know so.”

  Dave @ game settings discussion — Demonstrates restoration philosophy: respecting original configuration choices

• “I am the Knight Rider. I'm a fuel injected suicide machine.”

  Knight Rider machine @ during gameplay — Custom sound mod Dave installed; demonstrates personalization of restoration

• “You know, on a regular ROM set, it's hard to break 100,000 on this game.”

  Dave @ software impact discussion — Illustrates gap between factory and enhanced ROM in terms of game accessibility and fun

Entities

Signals

• ?

  restoration_signal: Dave performs comprehensive playfield restoration including CPR replacement playfield, metal buffing to mirror finish, all-new pop-bumper/flipper/kicker parts, drop target rebuilds, board repairs, MPU replacement, and chime unit restoration.

  high · Dave's detailed breakdown of 60-100 hour restoration scope and specific components replaced

• ?

  product_concern: Evaporust causes significant pitting and blackening of pinballs when left soaking for extended periods (1.5+ weeks), destroying $50+ worth of high-end Titan balls; Zep Acid Toilet Bowl Cleaner also poses risk if container leaks onto balls.

  high · Dave's detailed PSA recounting exact damage and consequences; experiential evidence from shop incident

• ?

  operational_signal: Dave maintains substantial restoration queue with 60-100 hour typical project timelines; prioritizes work based on customer needs and available capacity; works on multiple games in rotation.

  high · Dave discussing Knight Rider being queued for 3+ years while other work took priority; mention of 70 games in collection with many in restoration queue

• ?

  design_philosophy: Dave's restoration approach prioritizes maintaining original specifications and components where possible, avoiding unnecessary modifications unless repair is required; contrasts with service-oriented quick-disconnect approach used by some restorers.

  high · Dave's discussion of working with original rails, resisting new wood replacements, and his critique of quick-disconnects for ease of field service

• ?

  code_update: Scott Home created improved ROM software for Knight Rider that enhances bonus progression (15k→19k max), increases drop target value multiplier (50→500 points post-reset), adds track mode, implements smarter scoring to prevent point loss, and displays high score on final ball.