Now for the rest of story . . . .
I sat down to search the Detroit CL after dinner last night and ran a generic search for "candy machine" and the results brought back a listing for a "retro candy machine $100.00". I clicked on the listing (he already pulled the listing) and there before my eyes was a Stoner 180 with gum/mint wheel. The pictures were not the greatest so I figured there had to be some major problems with the machine. I immediately e-mailed the lister and told him I would be in the Detroit area on business on Friday morning and I wanted to see the machine
. After that I promptly dozed off on the couch and figured that someone probably already beat me to the punch. When I awoke at 1:30am I checked my e-mail and there was a response that he would call me in the AM--
had a hard time sleeping last night--the thrill of the search!
Drove down to see it this AM and it works except it is missing the coin mech and a few of the knobs are chipped. And of course, somewhere along the line somebody punched out the lock using a hammer and screwdriver and did some damage on the side where the lock used to be. Anyway, it is free-vending right now so I could stock it up with Goobers, Raisinettes, Chuckles, Clark Bars and Jujubes and it would be ready to go! This machine reminds me of the one that I used to see at the Vogue Theatre in Detroit when I was a kid and I had to have one for my TV room! For now it will have to wait until my son's and I finish the V-39 restoration.
I guess all my late night/early morning CL and EBay searches have paid off!
Three months in the hobby and three machines--my wife is getting a little worried about my new passion!
Everyone have great long weekend!
Tim
