A lot of collectors are on the hunt for Gottlieb pinball parts in particular, especially as replacements for old and outdated components on their Gottlieb machines. The history of Gottlieb spans several noteworthy eras of pinball technology, and the company was regularly at the forefront of new mechanical developments. The following is just a smattering of the innovations Gottlieb helped pioneer.

Starting in 1947, Gottlieb produced manual loading pinball machines and continued manufacturing these all the way through 1967. Many of these titles, including Humpty Dumpty and Cinderella, employed "reverse flippers" in addition to the main flippers at the bottom of the playfield. These early games also featured "kick out" holes, a development that has remained a critical aspect of modern-day pinball as well.

Finding Gottlieb Pinball Parts Today

Nowadays, were you to restore your old Gottlieb amusement devices, you'd be looking at a complex and expensive repair job--at least if you were to hire someone else. Consequently, the only way to return an old Gottlieb machine to its once-grand condition is to service it yourself, but that requires having the right Gottlieb pinball parts at the ready.

Some pinball repair shops are likely to carry the coils and bumpers you'd need to restore games like Ali-Baba and Alice in Wonderland, but you'll still need to service the machines (i.e. install the parts) yourself. Start your quest by locating a reputable dealer who can supply you with these components at a reasonable price. It's unlikely that you'll find a company whose service repair people will fix your Gottlieb machines for anything less than the actual cost of the game, which isn't exactly a great value proposition.