U-pop-it popcorn machine restoration project

[BrianB]

This is a project that myself and Mcarter are working on together. I'm restoring the guts (electrical and mechanical) and he's taking car of all of the body work plus hunting down any hard to find parts.

Here's some photo's of a U-Pop-It popcorn vending machine. These popcorn machine were typically found at gas stations sitting next to Soda Pop machine and vended fresh popcorn for 10 cents.

The neat thing about this machine is that it actually makes the popcorn while you watch! You drop in 10 cents and then the magic begins, First a little red anodized cup motors over to a large hopper that contains kernels of corn. The hopper dumps enough corn into the to just about fill it to the brim.

While this is happening the popping basket temp. is coming up to temperature to pop the corn. The cup then motors back over to the basket, opens a small door in the top and dumps the corn.

This is probably the coolest part: After the door closes the drive motor begins to shake the basket back and forth rapidly to ensure that the corn doesn't burn and that every kernel gets popped. The grand finale is when the basket begins to elevate in the rear to dump the popcorn into a paper bag!

The first two photo's of what they look like when the were fresh off the assembly line:

[BrianB]

Here's some pic's of the machine that we are restoring:

[BrianB]

Some more

[BrianB]

Some more:

[BrianB]

Even more:

[BrianB]

The last...for now!

[Lulu]

Wow!!  That's a neat machine.  I'd never seen one before.  That's a keeper.

[motor8463]

Brian,  Cool machine, I'm prpbably too young to remember those.  What kind of patches are on the back wall of the garage?

Chuck

[MCarter]

Those would be all Fire Patchs.

[www.memorylanerestorations.com]

Hi Brian, That is one machine I have not restored. way cool! Love to find one someday. Good luck on the restoration. If I come across any info, I'll pass it along.