I started my Labor Day celebration by getting in the garage early and tearing down the SMC1 mechanism to wash. It looked a lot nastier than it actually was what with all the oil on it. When a mech gets over-oiled it attracts dust that turns to dirt and this one was a prime example.

Removing the rack on the SMC mechanisms is the hardest part of this particular tear-down. Seeburg used 1/4 inch hex head screws removed with an Allen wrench on all their mechanisms from 1950 to 1977. The SMC’s have the damned Philips headed screws in them. They’re made of aluminum and bind to the aluminum mechanism base. I’ve actually had to cut and grind them out at times. My method now is to use a hand impact driver with a foot long 3/8″ extension and an oversized Philips bit with my favorite hammer for persuasion. I got lucky and all four came out relatively easy. They get immediately tossed. I physically removed the motor and trip coil by cutting their leads. Motor leads about at about half length and the two trip wires a 1/16″ from their terminals. The clutch always comes out and that is when I saw someone had been through this mechanism before. The unmistakable sign of old Lubriplate grease was on the clutch gears. Seeburg never used Lubriplate. They recommend it but there wasn’t much else to recommend back then and they didn’t know that crap will dry out and harden. I use wheel bearing grease. The thrust plate will get a dab of a molybdenum grease. This mech was so nasty looking I took the tonearm assembly out as well. I had an ulterior motive as well. The turntable on the SMC1 model is painted black and has six chromed spots embedded in it. I was missing one and really hoping it was under the tonearm assembly. It was. I’ve found coins and needles and bugs there as well.

I’m currently using a wonderful cleaner called Oil Eater for mech washing.How wonderful?? I cleaned an oil pan with it once from an engine that broke a rod. Cleaned the pan then welded up the hole the piston rod made. This stuff breaks oil down so that it easily rinses off with water. It doesn’t discolor aluminum like some of the “purple” cleaners. If only more people knew about this cleaner. I usually mix it 50% with water but I have two gallons of Mean Green for some reason and have been using it as a cutting agent. I started with the mech, spraying my mix on and using a toothbrush to scrub with. The second time around I started getting excellent results with the oil and grease coming off easily. I just use the garden hose and liberally rinse the mech then hang it upside down on two milk crates to dry in the hot Texas sun. The rest of the parts got the same treatment. Sometime next week I’ll start re-assembling this mechanism and give it a spin in the SMC2.

You know you have a friend when he’ll let you help junk up his garage. Jeff’s garage is slap full but he will make room for one more when needed. I came across an SMC1 priced right that I couldn’t pass up and with my garage full Jeff is nice enough to let me store it there. If I ever get done with the SMC2 it’s next up.

I took both SMC2 MCU’s and a PCC over to Jeff’s Saturday morning to test them in the SMC1 and see how they acted. That was quickly nixed when I saw all the wires ripped out of one of the MCU connectors. I switched gears and took that harness out, the mechanism, the CPA, and the PCC. I will have the capacity now to swap out parts now with the SMC2 to narrow the problem I’m having with it down. The mech is filthy, someone over-oiled it religiously. I’ll have to repair the harness of course.

After extending the wires on a C speaker and wiring in a new plug I sat down with the SMC harness. This harness goes from the PCC to an amplifier plug-in near the coin mechanism from the mechanism, then on to the amp, the CPA, and the MCU. I’ve repaired many MCU connectors over the years. Battery acid damage usually was the reason. These SMCs would get stored with the memory batteries still in place. They would corrode and the acid travels. Just like on the old Bally pinball machines with the CPU board. There are a couple methods I use to inspect these pins. The first is for signs of corrosion. With battery acid damage it’s pretty easy-there’s green stuff. I will put a light behind the connector while holding it and look for flattened connectors from the front while peering through the connector as well. If you see one it is obvious. They have either lost their tension or broken off. I used to use the brown Bally .100 headers for the MCU but haven’t had those around for some time. Now I order the correct .100 headers from ebay and trim as needed. It took me a little over an hour to replace all three plugs and connectors. After crimping the connector I like to add a drop of solder for a bullet-proof connection.