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I have always found it interesting reading posts from new board members about picking up there first machine. They are great to read because it reminds me of the first machine I picked up.  

What was your first machine?  And how did you stumble across it?


I will start, hope to see others share as well...

My First Machine:

I was driving to work searching craigslists and randomly decided to search the words; "pop machine"  One ad popped up it was about one hour South from me  so I decided to call on it.  When I called the seller he said that it worked great!  ( Famous Last Words)  I decided to borrow one of my friends trucks to make the trip when I got there the guy had it outside of his shop said he had it for a few years and hadn't done nothing with it.  So I bought and he loaded it with his forklift.

Well I got it home and spent the entire weekend looking for the manual. Over the next few months I spent several nights trying to figure out what was wrong it.  ( Before I knew of the site)  I called the manufacturer Crane MMS, formally known as Dixie Narco.  I spoke with one of the serviceman who had worked for the company for 35 years. He sent me a bunch of old manuals, and some troubleshooting tips.  About 3 months later I had it working.

Well since than I have had 14 machines....umm.... oops!  :biggrin:

  

My first machine was a generic Ideal 35 slider chest that I bought for $90 in the early 90s. It was missing the rack and coin-mech (of course), but had the cap catcher and worked well. My first upright machine was a Vendo 83 with a Selectivend conversion into a slant shelf machine (although I didn't know it at the time). This was sometime in '93. I knew the plate said it was a V-83, but it didn't look like any I was seeing in pictures. It was pretty nice with the aluminum on the front. I had just left college and was living in a one bedroom second floor apt. I bought the machine from an antique mall in Fairfax, VA and had some friends help me haul that thing up the steps with a handtruck.

Cavalier 96, bought for $1,000 from a Sharper Image that was closing it's doors.

40 years ago - 1972 - VMC-27 tabletop with enclosed stand - local garage sale for $15 - I was 12.
I made 4 three-block round trips with the wheelbarrow because my parents would not go get it with the station wagon. Set it up in the garage - my father let me bring it in the house when he didn't see any condensation on the ground. In High School, I used to fill it with Coors in the can. It was the only beer that would fit!

My Vendo O1C-182. It was at the Golf course I worked at when I was a kid and when they bought a new one the auto parts store in town bought it where it remained in use for the last 20 years until a fire damaged the store and I saw the machine sitting outside the building and asked what they were going to do with it. they said I could have it and they loaded it on their trailer and dropped it off at my house, no charge.

There is a couple in norcal that buy estates. Once a year they clear out what hasn't sold. Line starts forming at 4am. Didn't know I wanted a Coke machine but the RT-V56 for $75.00 looked like a fun project. Missing compressor/stack/shelves and the crank handle. Thanks to the board all of that was sorted in short order. 7 other soda machines 10 or so other coin-op toys.
Creighton
 

The v56 in my profile pict was my first. I wanted a soda machine since I was a kid and I always loved the slant shelf machines.  After finding this site and help from you all on a good price i found one on craigs list for $250. I ended up driving to Idaho to pick it up. It was well worth the trip.

Although growing up we had machines all around us that my dad brought home from the plant, just to use as coolers.. I remember having a v81 in the garage, all stripped down to keep pop and beer cold and we also had some chest coolers throughout the years however I was not into collecting then.
my first machine that reallly got it started was a V39.. again an uneducated buy but found it thought it was cool and it all started from there..

Vendo 63.

Bought it for too much ($300), and it had a bad door.  Bought another one that had a good door for $125.  Took them apart and it sat for 2 years in pieces.  Finally, had a local body shop paint the body for me.  Problem is, I didn't take pictures and had no idea how humpty dumpty went back together.  Luckily, I found JohnnieG through a local coin op place that referred him.  JohnnieG put it back together, painted the inside with hammertone, rebuilt the coin mech, and even wired a hidden button for free vend.  Awesome job. Thanks JohnnieG!!!  I owe you!!!

Used the machine trouble-free for years until I sold it last year for way too much money thanks to Moondawg and the Vendo company wanting it for their 50 year Anniversary party in Japan.  Cost them more to ship it to Japan than they paid for the machine!

Here is my first one and just finished it today, well I still need to put a price decal on it. But I am proud of it and it will supply my family, friends and I with cold beers for a long time I hope.

My first was an Ideal 55 Slider. 

I went to a jobsite of a residence that was just demolished and there were a bunch of older Coke chest type machines lined up along the side of the property.  I asked what the deal was with them.  The superintendant stated that the old house was loaded with them and the property developer just wanted rid of them.  Whatever was left at the end of the week was going to the scrap guy.  He asked me if I wanted one & the smallest one went right into the back of my truck.

He told me that I should have been there a few days earlier; the demo guys took all the real nice ones   :Oo:

It was the early style stoner theater like the one Curtis restored for Roadman. Mine just isnt nearly as pretty!! It hit craigs list and I jumped on it before I even knew you had to.

My first was a Westinghouse.  Bought it in 1981 $65.00.  Sold it a few years ago.  Sold the Wurlitzer, my third machine, in 2005.  Still have the VMC72, my second machine.  Bought that one in1984 for $150.00.  Still have the kids.....wait...those are white boys.  Are you sure they are mine....they're costing me money....maybe I should sell them too. :biggrin:

That area now has machines in it, and I have one kid in college and one in high school.  It's funny how things change.

My very first machine was a little square top 7up (vendolator 56)... the 5&10 store I worked at asked me to haul it to the dumpster.
I hauled it past the dumpster to my truck... took it to a friends house... didn't know what I was gonna do with it but thought it
was cool... went away to college when I came back that spring... friend had moved and left the machine in the house :wow:

Later on I picked up a rare (well I thought it was at the time) Westinghouse Master... being used to keep worms in for an old
farmer.. bought it for $25.. thought I surely had the only one left in the world! Wow... seems you can shake a tree and one falls out..
those are everywhere... but was still a great find and got me into collecting... I've had several... traded/sold several... and still
enjoy looking... but would be nice to score something... say... oh I don't know... a Quikold?

Cavalier C-51 Pepsi convert.  Restored it back to Coke

The 51 turned out nice. 8)

My first machine was an ideal 55 Pepsi embossed that I traded a dr pepper sign for,  I am not sure who got the better deal but we both left happy..

Mine was a Vendo 110, it was a really good machine to start with. I took it down to bare and there was no rust at all. Basically all I had to do was re-paint everything. Served me well for atleast 5 years.
  TFJ