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Hi all!  I'm new to soda machines, and this site, so I thought I'd introduce myself.  I recently picked up a Cavalier CSS-8-64J (Built 7/73) from OfferUp. I’ve never had anything like this before, but I’m having fun getting into it and learning how it works. I know these aren’t the most in-demand machines, but I like it.

I got it pretty cheap because the guy didn’t have a key for it. Everything lit up that should as far as I could tell, there’s no rust, and it does get cold, so I went for it.

Of course the first thing I did was pick the tubular lock to get into it. I was hoping there’d be a number on the back end so I could try to track down a key, but there was nothing. So, I need a new lock. I downloaded the manuals and read through them. That’s how I learned there is actually a light in the door. Mine was burned out, which made that the only thing that didn’t work. I discovered what so many of you already know, that it’s very difficult to get that little bulb in or out.  I managed to get the old one out, but I had my son, with his smaller, 10-year-old fingers put in the new one. He wants to be my helper in getting this machine up and running, so it should be a fun project for us.  I put in a C7 LED bulb, but it isn’t very bright. I’m going to see if I can find a brighter LED for it.

The coin mechanism was jammed up with coins. Once I cleared the jam, it all works like it should. I collected 72 cents and a Chuck E. Cheese token. Ha!

The “Correct Change” and “Select A Drink” lamps work as they should too. Everything is very dirty/dusty (it’s been kept outdoors for at least a little while before I got it), but the paint is in pretty good shape. A few chips here and there. It does have the wood grain panel, which is sun bleached and peeling and trashed. No big deal there. I see the consensus here is to delete the wood grain, but I kinda like it. It’s right for the period, which is partly why I like this machine. I was three years old when this machine was built, so it reminds me of my childhood. It’s just for me (and my family of course), so at this point, I think I’m going to reapply wood grain. (My son said he likes it too 8) ). Based on others I’ve seen, I’m assuming the lower panel below the coin door had wood grain originally, but it has been removed and is a fairly clean black space now. I’ll probably make that area red to bring some more red to the front of the machine.

So, that’s me, introducing myself here. I have a couple of questions, but I’ll include those in separate posts in this thread.

(http://vegasvik.com/coke-img/machine-front.jpg)
(http://vegasvik.com/coke-img/heres-the-real-thing.jpg)

Questions:

I’m going to order a Cavalier badge decal. Were these always decals, or were they originally a metal/enamel nameplate of some kind?

Before I go prying and prodding, is there a trick to removing the bottle opener and change bezels from the coin door?

Welcome to the forum!  Great starter machine, sounds like you got a good deal on the machine, nice to get one that just has a few minor fixes.  I have had several of the same machines and they are great. 

The badge was a decal for the most part on these, you can pick them up here: http://www.fun-tronicsllc.com/index.php?crn=353&rn=1202&action=show_detail

The bezels have metal tabs that fold back around the metal of the door, I use a long shaft thin flathead screwdriver from the back side to get the tabs moving forward, usually you just need to get one side popped out and the other will slide out.  You don't want to move the metal tabs too much as they will crease and break off.

Welcome! Nice machine. Haven't done it but always thought it would be cool to use a nice real wood piece of vener to replace the contact paper.

Ask away on any questions. Soda machines tend to multiply so starting thinking about where to put the next one :-)
Creighton

Welcome to the site! That chuck e cheese token seems like pure profit :)

       If you open the main door you will be able to remove 2 screws that hold the light bulb socket in place.

       Welcome to the site but beware..........there are more machines coming your way!  :help:

       Thought you might like this machine that the Coca Cola company had us customize as a gift to an important client in Vegas.

Hello, and welcome to the site.

Congrats on the Cavalier. My first working machine was a Cavalier like yours, and I love the cooling system. Be careful with the electrical system, as far as I know it's pretty much all 120V@60Hz. Best to power down the machine when working on electricals.

A good check over the wiring before you run it full time would be a good idea.  NOTE: One potential problem area (but not the only one) is the rubber sheath that carries wires from the cabinet into the door to power the coin mech and lights. This sheath will often have a hard kink in it. (I don't know if this is a design issue, or something that develops over the years.) On our CSS-64, the rubber at this kink has worn in two. With the machine unplugged from electricity, you could check this area for wear, and see if you can tell if their are problems with the wires there. Things like worn or missing insulation on the wires.

I have not studied this problem on other brands, but I know it happens on Cavaliers.

I think the wood grain goes pretty good with this particular style of painting - sides predominantly red, with white stripe and decal.

You have a lighted marquee (Enjoy Coca-Cola sign in upper right corner), always a plus. From internet pictures, most of the Cavalier machines I have seen of this era have lighted marquees, but occasionally you will find on with just a painted metal (non-lighted) marquee. The lighted marquee uses a fluorescent ballast. Be careful with the ballast - it draws 120V directly from the wiring, and the windings may not be insulated. You can get bulbs for the light, I'm not entirely sure of their specification. I have a problem with the bulbs burning out in ours every couple of months, not sure what's wrong. I recommend you leave the machine unplugged for awhile when changing the bulb. Beyond the potential shock hazard from trying to change it while the machine is plugged in, a bad bulb left in the socket with the machine powered up can get hot enough to burn you when you touch it.

A machine like yours is a good way to get into soda machines. You can find good deals on them in working condition. Quite a few parts are available. Even if a part isn't handy new, you can find junk machines with good, compatible parts. They are much simpler in function than "punch-button" machine, making the vending system relatively easy to repair.

I myself am like you, a relative newbie when it comes to collecting soda machines. The members here have been extremely helpful.

I got a tremendous deal. He had it listed for about 4 months before I saw it. First was asking $90. Then $75. When I asked if he still had it, he said yes and I could have it for $60. I figured $60 would be worth it even if I ended up parting it out.


Thanks! That's where I found 'em! :-)


Thanks for the info!

I'm considering it. My dad suggested that too. We'll see.


Thanks! I know how that goes.  I think this will be it for a while. We're thinking of moving out of state, so we've been in purge mode lately. I got this because it was enough of a steal my wife will still speak to me. hehe...  On the other hand, I do keep looking. LOL!

Haha! You know it!

Thanks!  I tried to look for something like that. I only found one screw on the back side behind the light. I took it out and it seemed to have no effect, so I put it back. I'll spend more time investigating.

       
Neat! Good ol' Terrible's has been around here a long time. Originally a small chain of gas stations.

Thanks! I've been doing that since I'm not familiar with where everything goes and what condition things are in. So far things look pretty good, but I have no desire to get zapped. :-)  I'm thinking as I clean it up, I'll inspect the wiring as I come to it.


This?
(http://vegasvik.com/coke-img/kinked-tubing.jpg)

The tubing is all pretty dirty of course, and worn right here. Overall it appears to be in good shape, as well as the wires inside that I can see and have looked at. I was thinking of installing new tubing over the wires. I can't find any clear tubing like what it has now though.


Agreed.  :happydrinkers:


Good tip and good info! Thanks! I think I'm going to need it. As soon as I say everything works, the marquee light takes the day off. Well, not entirely. It's on very faintly. I'm assuming it's a dying tube.


Thank you!

Inside my coin door, next to the coin return is this rectangular area that looks like something was on it at one time.  Any ideas what it may have been?

(http://vegasvik.com/coke-img/whats-this-blank-space.jpg)

How difficult is it to remove the bottle gates?  They're all chipped to some degree, and I was thinking of having them powder coated.

(http://vegasvik.com/coke-img/bottle-gates.jpg)

Down in the bottom (I call it the engine room) is where it's the worst, as you might expect. Lots of dirt and debris in there. I'm going to pick out the large bits, vacuum it out, and then hit it with compressed air.  Is there any reason I can't hose it all off after that? Of course unplugged, and allowed to dry thoroughly after. It won't take long to dry around here. ;-)

Edit: Funny, I didn't notice this until seeing it in this photo. I'm missing a lock washer and screw there on the left mount.

(http://vegasvik.com/coke-img/engine-room.jpg)

Is that on the inside of the large door, near the bottom? Anyway, that looks very similar condition wise. The wires inside are the main thing.


I would say $60 is a fantastic deal on a cooling machine.

That is inside the coin door. You can see the wires near the bottom inside the large door in the pic I posted of the compressor.


It definitely cools, but it remains to be seen how cold it gets. I haven't run it for more than 20-30 continuous minutes. It got down into the 40's before I unplugged it. That was starting from about 100 (it's in the garage), so I'm hopeful it's good.  I need to check the thermostat too. I set it to "off". It kept running for a minute or two before shutting off. But it did shut off. It was about 75 degrees at that point.  I did notice that it holds the cold pretty well. I went out a couple of hours after unplugging it one night and felt inside the bottle door. It was actually still a little cool in there. Pretty remarkable for how hot it's been here. I was impressed with that.

Fine deal all around, you really can't go wrong for $60. Ours has been in the family for nearly 11 years. Needs some work though.

Ok,
Let me know what I have missed or I'm sure others will chine in. Pretty sure you are missing the entire coin mech. Does that imprint line up with where you would insert a Coin? Never have had your exact model so going on general procedures here.

First thing take pictures next is get everything clean. Unplug. A big and small paintbrush come in handy. Vacum and use the brushes to knock things loose. Next brushes and air compressor to blow out the crevice nasties. Outdoors with a couple of fans blowing everything away and a mask are not a bad idea. Don't want to intake any of that dust. May want to repeat this a couple of times. Then a damp towel to wipe off the wiring enclosures and such.

Not a good idea to spray water on electrical bits. The water will get into the darnest of places.

Check all of your wiring for any breaks in the clear tubing or the wires themselves. These need to be insulated from the metal frame. I always replace the main power cord. The ones with a CFI box on the wall plug end are best. Wise to have the machine as only user on a 30amp circuit breaker.

At this point safe to try the machine. You will want to have it filled with something. Cheap bottles of water work well. Set the thermostat on 4 or so. Do not change it with the machine plugged in and running. Have main door open and plug in. The fans should spin and compressor should kick on. Close door and put a small temp gauge in the bottle door where you can see it.

If the engine compartment sounds like it is humming along all good. Screeching, smoke, electrical arcing etc... Require unplugging and the finding source of same :-).

Everything will run for a couple of hours. Should see the temp reading come down. At setting 4 should stabilize around +/- 45 degrees. Top fan will run all the time. Bottom fan and compressor should kick in every twenty minutes or so to maintain the set temp.

Condensation will happen from the product getting cooled. You appear to have the tray but not sure the tube that runs from the bottom of the main product area to the tray is there. Check that and make sue the drain hole is clear. Do not want water draining out un-directed.

The lights are based on old starter, FS-2/ballest and flouresant tubes setup. LED is much better.

Taking apart the bottle stack is best left to another day. Just make sure everything is clean and not binding. Powder coating the wrong parts causes problems. This has turned into a very long tome. Regrets.

Best advice, Before/during and after take lots of pictures.

Creighton


    

LOL! No, you haven't missed anything. You're just seeing it wrong. That is the back side of the coin door. The coin mech is inside the door, but attached to the big door.

In this pic, the curious rectangle is to the left of the coin return.

(http://vegasvik.com/coke-img/inside-coin-door.jpg)

Second picture helps. Glad the coin mech is on the unit.
Creighton

I'm not sure what the spot is on your coin door, but I don't see a label. Cavalier's often have a label on the inside of the coin door that gives model number, serial number, manufacture date, etc. It repeats info on the ID tag on the left side of the machine exterior.

That spot usually had a foam/rubber pad where the adhesive residue is that would keep the coin box secure inside the door.  Not sure why there's a rectangle around it, but I'll take a look at some of my older photos and see if there's anything there.

I thought it had something to do with the coin box, but I wasn't sure what. I've never actually seen one of those pads, so they must not hold up very well over time. Can you get the same material to make a replacement?

You got a great deal and it will clean up nice. I have one like it and enjoy the smaller size of those. The marquee when lit up will surprise you how bright they are in a dark room. Enjoy they make fun little projects.