So, what happened to the Sinbad? Well, it had its share of love, but unfortunately I couldn't go very far:

I first ran the preliminary checks, as outlined in the ever useful Gottlieb sys1 pinrepair guide. All the coils were ok, though there was two blown fuses ("playboard" in the cabinet, and "bank setup" under playfield). That was the least of my problems, see below ;-)

A new machine has joined the project: a very nice 1978 Solid State Gottlieb Sinbad.

It seems in fairly good shape, save for a little electronic problem somewhere which, according to its previous owner, permanently powers one of the reset coils. Stay tuned!