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       I posted in a previous thread about an 81 I stumbled across during a pick up.  For those that didn't follow that, in a nutshell the owner also had an 81D in his house that he repainted at least 20 years ago and place high up on a shelf of sorts.  The thing is, I couldn't really inspect it because of its location, and his memory was fuzzy on its history and what parts it lacked in particular.  He said he just doesn't remember its condition prior to the repaint other than a large dent on the very top. However with all of this uncertainty I never got the impression he wasn't being truthful.  The Vendo 39 I purchased from him was a great buy and turned out to be a solid, straight machine and he didn't remember much about that either.  So with this, I am going to concentrate on what I do know.  It's an 81D.  Its been indoors for at least 20 years.  The body has high gloss paint, but the bodywork was far from professional.  Main door was wavy with small dings ( I assume the rest of the sheet metal looked like this).  Dust in the clear coat.  Amateur hour at best, but better than a backyard spray bomb restoration.  Interior condition unknown.  Completeness unknown.  Basically what you see in the picture is what we all know and nothing more.  
      He was at $2500 for it, but seemed like he was willing to deal.  I know this seems cheap for an 81, but its still a lot of money for a complete basket case if that what it turns out to be.  What would you be willing to risk if all you knew is what you can see here in this photo?

What I want to know, and maybe you can ask him.... how high is that shelf? and how did he bring it up there?

       I would feel safe offering $2k for just what I see.

does the price include him getting it down.it looks pretty high

I'm with Moondawg....2k and he has to get it down

You know, every time I see this picture I want to think that is one of those small toy models sitting on a fire place or book shelf. If you hadn't told me it was the real deal, I wouldn't have believed it. I bet there's a real interesting story behind how it got up there, and an even better one in getting it back down.  :biggrin:

And I thought it was a Christmas tree ornament. Especially with the green tree behind it. :laugh:

It's up about 8-9 feet in a recessed area above the family room.  It's a contemporary house that the guy built himself.  Something tells me that I'm not going to escape the task of getting it down from there. Which is okay I guess because I'd rather know that the thing didn't hit the ground hard or otherwise get damaged during the process.
I'm sure some of you may be thinking that this doesn't have to be a mystery Coke machine in the first place. All I need to do is inspect it and make him an offer. Which is true in the end, but until I can get down there and prop up a stepladder to it and nose around it for a few minutes this is all I have. With my lack of knowledge in all things antique soda machines I figured I would bounce it off of you to make sure that the money we have been talking is in the ballpark.  

I'm going to set my sights on $1500 and hope that he bites on that. If he does I should be in great shape for anything I decide to do with it like a full proper restoration or if I ever do decide to sell it.

at 1500-1800 your buying it at unrestored prices.. so your not out anything.

at 2k it's still a good deal , as it looks nice.. even it if needs a repaint.. but hard to tell.

Good luck!

        Go there with one or 2 friends, 2 step ladders, a rope and a blanket.
        Remove the trees so you can inspect the body.
        Turn it 90 degrees to open the door for inspection......... then pay the man!
        Cut the wire for the door light and lift the door up and off it's hinges.
        Hand it down followed by the shelves and bottle stack.
        Compressor removal is even an option, but with the rope and blanket you should be able to slide it down and onto a table.

great advice moondog

Thank you. I'm glad that the main door comes off so easily, and I will definitely take it off along with the bottle stack and shelves. 

Just so I understand more clearly, if you were to get this machine for $1500-$1800 you wouldn't need to be all over it with a magnet and a fine tooth comb because at that price pretty much anything that's an 81D would be worth it.  Does that sum it up?   Thanks again guys.

Be sure to call "Top man" before someone else does!

Without question!  8)  I'm going with one other guy when the times comes, so that leaves 3 of us uncluding the owner.  should be good.  I sure hope this door comes right off without any trouble. my luck would be that its stuck/seized/painted on there.  We will see  :laugh:

I'm looking at this and wondering if there is a coin mech behind that coin door.  The backing plate behind the handle doesnt look flush and square against the coin door.  Its pushed in a little.   I really hope its in there.  :hopefull:  I'll have him check on that i guess....

To me it looks like all the hard to find pieces are there, if you get it for 1500 thats a steal.  even at 2k i would be happy.  definitely remove door, shelves, and even bottle stack to reduce weight.  Good luck and keep us posted

Looks like the correct change window is missing ?? :Oo:

yes, and bottle opener as well.  No biggie on those, but the coin mech on the other hand... :down:

Looks to me the mech is gone. Just handle and backing plate. I'd bring the two ladders and two long stout boards. Boards in the middle of the ladders. Wrap the machine in plastic so it will slide. Two workers up top to lower and two workers on the ladders to guide it down. Another worker for video and 911 call :-) Ideal if you could get it torn down first. Good luck and be careful.
Creighton 

I'm afraid so too.  It just doesnt look right in the pictures.  My guess is that he took all of those parts off for the repaint and they never made it back on.
Speaking of 81D coin Mechs..... I was under the impression that these (large door) where all change giving coin mechs, but now I see a an 81D coin mech in the swap are of this site and it is described as a "non change giving" 81D coin mech.  Some large door coin mechs give change and some do not?

http://soda-machines.com/discussions/index.php/topic,19690.0.html (http://soda-machines.com/discussions/index.php/topic,19690.0.html)

>Some large door coin mechs give change and some do not?.
Correct. Non change givers just have a white plex plate in the "use correct change" window. It is Vendo so many variations.
Creighton

Thanks.  Survivors in barns are way easier to buy than these half restored livingroom ornaments.  :glare:

If the coin mechanism is missing how is the crank handle staying in place?

I think the coin mechanism is there.

The crank handle slides on to the coin mech and the handle is held on place with a clamp behind the backing plate

My .02 Cents

I hope your right  :smile:  Now that I look at it again, the handle seems to be at the exact angle that it should be if attached to the coin mech too.  The owner said he is going to get up there and look at it this week to get an idea if its all there.  After that we will talk on the phone about it, talk money and pick a time when I can get it.

  I think the mech is there, but the backing plate may be crooked? Handle is original and in the proper home position.
It would take a lot of work to mount that handle and plate with no mech........and the guy would certainly remember that!

      Practice removing the door on your 39, it's the same hinges as an 81. If it sticks, open the door at 90 degrees and tip the machine forward on it just enough to break it loose.

I agree on the coin mech, there has to be one there, if it's correct or not, is a different story.. but that handle would be hard to mount without one.

your still good if you can get that machine for under 2k

Just go and get it man... We need a happy ending. Lots of pictures showing you getting it down

Thanks to everyone here educating me, I feel pretty good about it and now I can move forward with it.  I didnt even know what an 81D was a couple weeks ago.  :biggrin:

go bring it home they are getting hard to come by.good luck  be careful

So... did you buy it??

B.

Not yet.  I was convinced I lost out on it until two days ago.  I am dealing with an unmotivated seller when it comes to this piece.  He fell off the radar for weeks and the deal was off as far as I was concerned.   This week I was able to reconnect with him and he said he was going to think about my offer.  I got an email a few days later saying it's a deal.  Am I buying a house or an 81D? 

I go get it tomorrow.  I need to think on my feet pretty quick if I start seeing missing parts or anything else funky.  I am thinking coin mech, cooling unit, bottle stack-shelves as what I'm looking for first.  I'll try not to sweat the little stuff.  The price should end up being sub 2K ( after talking to the owner about price) so I'm not looking for perfection by any means.

Oh and about how we are getting it down from that high shelf.......?  Ya that wall behind the coke machine is not a wall at all. It's a door.  So I guess we will just use the door and wheel it out on a hand truck.    :glare:

Be careful and good luck... We'll be waiting for the pics! :happydrinkers:

Good luck !

       LOL :biggrin: We were all waiting for something else.  :biggrin:

       I wouldn't be sweating anything. If you get it home and have second thoughts......................
       someone here will buy it from you.

did you pick it up??

I passed.  It was a different machine once I could get a good look at it.  A lot of bodywork and body filler and missing parts.  Coin mech was missing accepter and the rest of the mech was heavily painted.  The bottle door was just a skin and it was heavily corroded.  No frame or door glass.  A piece of plate glass was cut and glued in for display purposes.  The liner was cut open from the inside so the owner could push out a dent etc.  I still made him an offer on it though, but he was non negotiable so I moved on.
Glad I did though because an 81B popped up on CL the very next day.  It was just hours old when I saw the listing and it was local.  I grabbed it.  It looks all original.  Still needs a restoration of course and it has its issues for sure, but I feel much better about this one because I can see the actual condition.  It seems fairly solid.  It has a small rust hole on the back in the usual spot, but it looks like early stage stuff.  Missing shelves  :glare:.  I can always round those up over time.  has a buckle in the main door from a hit it took on the coin door.  It should straighten out nice with the right body man.  Liner looks good.  Compressor area looks good.  Very little rust there.  Other than the bottle shelves its mostly complete.  Needs a cap catcher, bottle door glass, bottle door light lens.  It should be a good winter project.   

AND you didn't kill yourself getting that other one down... which would have been a feat in itself..

Congrats on your B

Some pics.

More

and two more

        Oh no my friend, that one is also TOO nice to restore!  

        This truly defines the meaning of beginners luck. :happydrinkers:

Really?  I dunno.  It does have some rust popping in the back as you can see in the pictures.  It would be nice to blast it all away.  8)

Ha.. Way to go... look at the starting line up you have going there.. that's awesome.. (Looks like the ST is jealous as it has its back turned to the round tops)
Yeah agree with Moondawg too good of a survivor to mess with now... save that resto money for the next machine!  You did the right thing by passing
and getting this one! Wow - Congrats!!  :happydrinkers:

As far as rust... Don't do a full restoration.. just address the small problems around the beltline/back so they don't turn into bigger ones.... It's too good looking
of a machine, in my opinion.

agreed, too nice to do a full restoration.. do a refurbishment on it and enjoy that original look ...

there are products out there to stop the rust, and clean up the surface...

great original,,

refresh the insulation, gaskets,  wiring and clean it up real good!

If you restore that machine, I am calling the Vendo Cops on you!!  WAAAAAAAAAAY too nice of a machine to restore!!!
I would take a very nice original over a restored machine any day of the week!

Nice pick up!  Looks like you are on a nice roll....  (and both machines having a Bubble Up decal.... what are the odds? lol)

 :happydrinkers:

Thanks guys.  I'm still not sold on leaving it be. I have a survivor 39 for that!  :laugh: We'll see...

I have a question about the serial number.  Based on what I have learned about Vendo serial numbers, the date is coded as the prefix.  So if that's true than this 81B was made in 1959?  Not possible right?  

The second photo is the compressor ID plate

Don't think Rick has ever turned a D into a B.  Congratulations.

I am reasonably sure the 81B was only produced in  1956. Serial number listings  provided by Grand America Jukebox's web site  seems to support this


Year    Coca Cola Vendo 81 Serial Numbers

1955       1001 thru 11779
1956       11780 thru 21213
1957       21214 thru 33162
1958       33163 thru 37737
1959       Discontinue of "Round Corner" version

http://www.grandamericajukebox.com/page12.htm

Thanks.  It has to be a 56.  The compressor is a 56, and it's an 81B.  The year code on my machine is "9".  Whats an upside down 9?  ....Exactly.

Very nice machine and score.

There is no reason to waste money on a restoration.
Think you will find it will clean up as an outstanding original. Worth far more than a restored machine.

I would start with using a micro-fiber towel and hot water, Wipe down first just hot water. That gets the dust layer off.
Next: New MF towels and wipe down with Windex Original. Best I've found to get funky stink off machines.
I use a couple of Dawn soap drops heated in water. mix to wipe the exterior one more time.

Next scare up some Flitz polish. Not available local here anymore. May need to go to the web for that. It is outstanding.
I finish with Meguiars Ultimate Quik Wax.

At most $250 in stuff that will be handy for the next machine.
Creighton