Ideal 55

[RustyGold]

New pick up.  Generic Ideal 55.  It was from an employee break room in a factory in Connecticut.  In 1990 the factory closed and it went to the owners son's house where it has been ever since.  He never plugged it in after it left the factory.  The cap catcher was filled with cork lined caps.  I sold a Glasco 50 about a year ago and kind of regretted it, so I have been keeping an eye out for a good deal.  Hopefully it cools!

[RustyGold]

when did they stop using cork lined caps?

[jholmgren]

Cool find, looks like it is in great condition.

[Slider-Bob]

Nice pickup!  Not sure on the cork question. 60's?

[RustyGold]

Thanks.  The Slider thing could get addicting.  It's also kind of nice to have a non-Coke branded machine. The coin mech is dated jan 1957. The mech looks new.  Not sure if they all usually do or what. 

[mygoose101]

Cool little machine.

[cohammer]

I would say if that's original paint it's in great condition I see a jeep in the reflection beside the coin mech . Might even be a yellow or mustard color .

[RustyGold]

I would say if that's original paint it's in great condition I see a jeep in the reflection beside the coin mech . Might even be a yellow or mustard color .

The paint is original.  No question about that.  The photos are compressed quite a bit due to the file size limits on this site.  Otherwise you could see all the imperfections patina.  
There is definitely a jeep in the back ground too......

[MoonDawg]

       Very nice condition. Did it ever have a decal on front?

[RustyGold]

      Did it ever have a decal on front?

There were no signs that a decal was on this machine.  When removing the crown catcher you can see that the paint has faded over time. The owner told me he thought it originally (before his dad put it in the factory) belonged to the Undina Soda Company in Higganum CT.  Most of the crowns found in it were Undina.  Who knows.  Maybe a soda cap collector will pay me for the rare caps found in the catcher and help pay for the machine.  Wouldn't that be cool

[emptynet]

Higganum, my wife grew up there, we are in Middletown. You never know what can be found in your own backyard. Nice find and good luck.

[Fire708]

Nice, looks like NOS from Picts.

[sc1101]

Very nice! It doesn't even look like it has a single ding or scratch on the front.

[RustyGold]

Very nice! It doesn't even look like it has a single ding or scratch on the front.

It has a few, but it clearly had an easy life.  The most aggravating thing is that it is in such nice original shape and perfectly complete, and yet there is a small belt line rust hole right on the front.  It looked like a bubble and I pushed on it (like an ass) and It poked through.  No signs of rust anywhere else.  The liner looking up from the bottom (compressor area) is clean and solid, and the tub from the inside is fine to.  I suppose some moisture got into the insulation space and made a small rust hole.  You can see it in this picture if you look near the cap catcher towards the bottom.

[MoonDawg]

        Are you going to add a main decal?        What I would do with the hole is add one of those small decals that looks like a bullet hole over it.

        I sold a 7up slider last month, the buyer loved it because it had a real bullet hole in the side. 

[cohammer]

Put a bullet decal on it and make up a good story about a gangster shoot out

[RustyGold]

       Are you going to add a main decal?        What I would do with the hole is add one of those small decals that looks like a bullet hole over it.

        I sold a 7up slider last month, the buyer loved it because it had a real bullet hole in the side.  

I like the bullet hole idea.  That would hide it perfectly.  I just need some ideas for vintage decals I could put on it to personalize it.

You know, ultimately I'm going to just hit it with some POR 15 and cover it up with a decal and use this machine.  The original paint looks so good, I would never restore this machine.    New wiring and decal of some sort and call it a day.    
The reason I bought this was more about finding a nice original machine than anything else.  My new focus is on the Survivors.  Machines that look great, but your not afraid to use and enjoy.  I'm also a bargain hunter, so its takes along time to find nice originals that are also good deals.