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Hello all.... I've been reading the forum everyday, for over a month now, and thought I'd try posting.... We've had a V44 for about 15 years, it's been sitting in a corner waiting for a restoration. I realize that I could probably buy a decent machine for the same or less money than I'm going to put in to this one, but I enjoy the restoration process more than sitting looking at the finished product, so here goes...

The machine had been turned into a refrigerator about 20 years ago (apparently a common practice   :darn:) and all the internals, coin door and mech had been discarded.... here's how it looked when I bought it for next to nothing...

the bondo on the bottom of the front door was so thick, you couldn't see the Vendo embossing....

so I started by stripping out the refrigeration equipment, which worked fine...

....and then stripped down the cabinet, removed the galvanized tub (which had also been painted)...and sandblasted the cabinet and door..

more...

I then stripped all teh galvanized pieces with Poly Strippa, and did a mockup with the new stack I received from Fun Tronics (nice piece)... I then did all the hammer and dolly work on the cabinet and door, and then primed the two pieces...

next is paint, which we're doing at a buddy's shop 'cause mine doesn't have the room to make a temporary booth without having to back one of the cars out, and it's snowing and about 3F outside right now... white is going on first.... then, it's waiting for more parts  :smile:

Chris

Looking great... that machine is lucky you found it... will be nice to see a great model brought back!...
keep the images coming!

thanks Eric, I think this one will be a lot of fun to do...

Chris

That looks well on its way! Looking good.

What is the chest you have pictured under your username?

Thanks... the chest is a Cornelius SVM-48E3 that I found in three feet of snow in the woods north of Lake Superior in 1988... it needed both fan motors and the top sign, but other than that, with a good cleaning it's been running since...

Chris

Could you post a picture of it so we can see it ?

Looks like you are doing a great job on the 44. Can't wait to see pictures of it when you get it done. When you get it all done send Janet before and after pictures and we will try and post it on our web sight.  :happydrinkers:
Rod

Good luck with your Vendo 44. I think those are really neat machines.

Where are you located? I see Lake Superior? are you a NW Wisconsin guy? or Northern MN?..
I'm in NW Wisconsin as well!
Looks great, cant wait to see it finished and welcome to the Group!

Thanks everyone for the comments.... here are 4 pics of the Cornelius. We were living in Northern Ontario at the time, 20+ years ago, and this machine was in the woods next to a hunt camp that was beside a friend of mines house, east of Thunder Bay....  (now we live in Alberta)

Rod, thanks for the comments, I'll send some pictures to Janet when it's done...


I forgot to mention... apparently the 44 was changed in to a fridge because it had been hit by a car while sitting in a garage.... that's why there was so much filler on the main door...
 
Chris

I'm not familiar with that cornelius. is it just light reflected on the top or does it havea light up top?
that would really cool if that top lights up? wow

Welcome to the forum and you're on the right track with the 44. I myself live in Ontario. I've come across hundreds of those Cornelius' but have never seen one with a lid  like that. That's pretty cool.

Signguy, thanks... it's a fluorescent light in the top, the switch sticks out of the lid on the right hand side, the power cord is visible in the tag picture... When I purchased the fan motors from Coke in Toronto (1989), the guy on the parts counter asked me if I was sure of the model number, as he had only ever seen one other, and that was supposedly in the Coke offices in Toronto.... I believe it's a Canadian only model, as you can see on the tag that it's only got the CSA approval on it... the parts guy said that the units were used in remote places with low turnover as it only holds 48 bottles in the rack. There is room for another 24 or so down below in a little pre-cool area next to the condensor...

Thanks for the welcome Crazzy Canuck (and everybody else)... here's a pic inside the cornelius...   

Chris 

So there's no mech and it's a free vend? If there's no mech it probably was only their (coke's) offices then.

Whoa ! Love that light up lid. Thanks for posting the pics.  8)

Chris,

Welcome to the group.  :happydrinkers: I like that Cornelius with the lighted top and the 44 looks great.  The 44 is high on my list but I have yet to find one that fits the fun budget!

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

Thanks Tim ( I think this one will exceed the fun budget by the time I'm done  :laugh: ) and thanks Chedki....

Crazy, when I got the machine it was missing the coin box and mech, but you couldn't remove product as the arm was frozen... I diconnected the pin that held the arm to put it in free vend, but it defintely looks like it was used to vend... the coin slot on top will accept coins up to a quarter... here's a picture of the right side... (the earlier pic of the inside has the door open and the slider moved to the right to show the lower cool area, and the position for loading bottles)

Chris

here's a better picture of the top of the machine....

Okay. I understand now. I see a white switch/button on the top, I take it that's for turning off/on the light in the lid. I like it.

Exactly.... by the way, Happy New Year from a missplaced Torontonian...

Thankyou. Happy New Year from a Trentonian :happydrinkers:

That chest cooler is really neat. The light up lid is unique.

         Welcome to the group Chris. That Cornelius looks so cool, thanks for the pic's.
         I'm in California now but originally from Calgary. Where are you?

Thanks MoonDawg... we're in Calgary.... with the minus 22c last night, I think I'd prefer California...

(Thanks halehouse)

Calgary, now that brings me back to my younger years!  Spent time there when I was younger, and absolutely loved it there!  I'd live almost anywhere in BC, Alberta, or Newfoundland in a heartbeat!

-22c = -7 F  Cold anyway you look at it =)

Kilroy's right...or you could just sum it up by saying...

"colder than a mother in law's kiss"

Speaking of cold...
just checked the outside temp.. -16 degrees right now... no wind chill.. at least not yet!
No hott tubbing outside tonight! :oh:

Can you say turtle John :laugh:

sorry for the cold guys but it was in the lows 60s yesterday at the coast and will be in the mid 60s today.

  :censored:  Five more winters and I'll be on the coast... (GreginTex, trade ya for Texas straight up)

back from paint today.....

....and at the risk of hijacking my own thread (again)... I dug this out of the crawl space today.... it hasn't seen the light in 10 years.... still in a moving box, a little worse for wear, but I think I can get it looking good again... appears that the left valve took a whack in a move and need straightening...  :darn:

Chris

Got a little more progress to share....Painted the embossed portions of the door by hand last night, second coat today....

Chris

Nice job so far, Chris!  Lettering looks good! 

As crazy as it sounds, I'd be amiable to the trade (Texas for Alberta)!

Forget the pain on the embossing, I wanna see that picture in the background. LOL

lol  Great minds think alike. I noticed that too.

I'm sure there's a pop machine on this poster somewhere...   :biggrin:

GreginTex, it's snowin' and -14c or 6f right now, with a low of -23c or -9f tonight.... I think that there's more than soda in your machines... LOL

chris

I just found one of those Cornelius chest by me today. Light up lid etc. Might bring to Chicago in the spring

Crazzy, have you got a picture?

here's what I ended up doing this weekend... instullation, liner, chrome trim and breaker strips... went with styrofoam (waterproof) instead of fiberglass.... while it ended up fine, pain in the rear to shape...found out the hard way that the sides are 1 1/2 inches but the back is only an inch...sealed with tape on the seams... I thought I'd try the foam cause I can't stand how itchy you get from the pink fiberglass...

here are some pictures of the progress...

Chris  

one last one...

Looking good!

This one has a bevelled/sloped lid and is not flat. This is the only pic I have right now.

Crazzy, looks like the same machine as mine... the picture angle that I took makes mine look flat, but it's the same, take a look at the side shot where you can see the light switch....same machine... is it yours yet?...   any idea what coin mech is in it?

Chris

(Thanks RC)

Hopefully tomorrow. Scoop it on my way to a job out of province

cool.... curious as to the coin mech, mines been missing since I got it... also what kind of plate is on the coin bezel... mine's missing, just the two screws sticking out..

I have a feeling I'm gonna be in the same boat as you as the ad states side panel is missing.

hopefully it's just the small acess panel on the left side of the machine, mine's missing too...

here's pictures of the two sides...

Thanks. Crossing my fingers. In the one side pic, is that a key in the top

Yup, on the right side, the key is on the top of the panel... it's the access to the mech, and to open the side of the machine to slide the slider to the right to load the machine... good luck, hope it turns out well, the machine looks like it's in  great shape...

so... crazzy, any luck?

Chris

Tried getting a hold of the guy today but no luck. He sent me an e-mail earlier and still has it. Thank goodness my job got put off till tomorrow night.

Any more news Crazzy?

I can pick it up but I myself don't really want it. No room in the house as it is and already picking a 1/2 dozen machines in Chicago in the Spring.
 Was planning on buying it to flip. If anyone else is interested I'll buy it and bring to Chicago in April.

Been doing a little more work on the 44.... installed the drain tube, then the cleaned up refrigeration unit, coin door, door locks, drip tray, vend stack... it's starting to look like a coke machine again... lot's of minor adjustments, tack welds, cutting and fitting, but it's starting to come together....

....and here's how it looked an hour ago... still need finish the inner door, liner, etc, paint the coin door, order decals from Fun Tronics, and find a bezel.... anybody have one out there?

Thanks,

Chris

 :happydrinkers: Looking good! :happydrinkers:

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

I just sent a bezel off to be chromed. Should have it back in two weeks. Give me a call and Janet can give you the info on it.
Rod
Fun-Tronics
217-857-1759

Man Looks Great !!!

      Wish I had extra Cash  just to restore 1 ofthe 18 machines I have That Need It  :oh:

Thanks everybody... Thanks for the bezel info Rod! I'll phone Janet today   :happydrinkers:

Thanks to Rod and Janet I now have located all the parts I need to finish... Fun Tronics rocks....

a little more progress to report...  installed the inner and outer chute, cap catcher, and the mechanism that connects the coin mech to the vend stack... lots of adjusting there, but now vends effortlessly... next is the chute hinge and flap, inner linner and gaskets... once it's all complete, I'll break it down and paint the coin door, install the decals and the bezel coming from FunTronics, and she's done....

Chris

Looks Good!

Just a quick update... Gasket and inner liner installed, coin door and handle plate on front of coin mech removed and getting painted this weeked.. I'll post more pics this week...

Chris

Been a little slow with the pictures lately... here's how it looks tonight... waiting on the last few parts to arrive, and she'll be done..

Chris

Thanks for the photos, great work bringing that machine back. 

Very Nice!! Good for another 50 years. Congrats.
Creighton

Excellent work!  :happydrinkers:

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

WoW !!
You did a great job. Hope the bezel works out for you. Let me know.

Looks great,, it's very rewarding to bring a machine back to life isn't it... :happydrinkers:

Thanks for all the comments and compliments guys... Appreciate everyone help and advice... can't wait to get the bezel, Rod... I hope to finish this one this weekend... I think when it's done, it's going to be too nice to run...  :laugh:

Chris

Is the vending stack in that machine a reproduction?  If so what did it run and will it vend both bottles and cans?

Thanks!

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

Tim,

it's a repro that I got from Funtronics, made completely of stainless steel. I've gone over this thing carefully, and it's very high quality, both in construction, welding, fit and operation..... just lubricate the moving parts with white lithium and it vends cans right out of the box, and will vend the old style small bottles with the addition of the included clear vinyl sleeves... I did try vending the newer 8 oz bottles which as you know are smaller in diameter than the old ones... it seemed to handle them ok, but did give a double vend every so often... I think that issue could be resolved by installing a split piece of hose over top of the sleeves to make the diameter of the shafts even wider, but I haven't tried that yet... I'm still trying to decide how we are going to use the machine when I'm finished, we might just plug it in every once in a while, as we're using the V63 for daily use...I honestly don't remember exactly what I paid for it, but around $800 seems right... it was the last one they had in stock, but that was before Christmas....

Chris

FINISHED! Rod, the bezel worked out just fine, thanks very much.... do you still want me to send you some before and after shots with higher res for your page?

Chris

one more...

Chris:
Looks great and glad that everything worked out for you. Yes please send the pictures and I will try and post them on our sight.  Fill it up and enjoy it.  :happydrinkers: