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Just sharing a quick picture of the OC81 I picked up. When looking for machines, I buy for many different reasons. A nice original machine that I want to keep and display, a good local deal that I can flip to fund other investments, or something that is just so cool that you just want to own, even if it's not for very long. I'm not sure what my plans are for this machine. I found it fairly local where I could drive to see it and I made the deal then.

It's a very sharp machine, love the history as it was a early "Coca Cola Cowboy" machine. I bought it directly from the buyer who bought it from him about 15 years ago and the Chicagoland show. He loved the machine but is going through some health issues that forced him to sell. Every time I would see a OC81 machine like this, I always said if I had to design my own fantasy 81 this would be it. The embossing is perfect for the machine.

(http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/0/5/4/4/3/6/webimg/915428206_o.jpg)

Congrats Ray!
Very Nice lookin' machine!

oh man thats sweet, congrats!

It is beauty and I coach a soccer team that is called the Orange Crush so maybe I need to find one of these.....

Congratulations great addition to the collection

Great looking machine!

Nice addition to your collection, if at least just for a littles while.

Love It! I would bump the price to a dime. Would love to see how Jack did it.

      I traveled with Ray to inspect this machine a week ago.
      The welder was top notch! I was looking for a seam but found nothing.

      Now that Ray owns it, he asked if he could bring it into my shop for a cleaning.

      (You know the first thing I am going to do is remove the front door of his machine, lay it flat, remove the door liner and photograph the embossed letters from the inside).

       Pictures to follow! :happydrinkers:

Moondawg, 

Thanks for gumshoeing the inside of the door to evaluate how it was done. I have had a couple generic Ideal 35's in the past and wanted to do the same, but every body man I talked to had a different way to do it with no idea how it would turn out.

Bet the inside of the door will be just as clean and in primer... Can't wait to see though...
They do make nice machines.

Hopefully Jack was a little more attentive to functionality when this machine was done. Last machines I saw of his a few years back looked almost like Caesar's Palace machines. The coin mech was not touched and some were just a crank over with no slug rejector in it at all!

Spent a few hours on Saturday buffing and waxing this machine. I'll give Jack credit, he does restore a nice machine.

(http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/0/5/4/4/3/6/webimg/915692355_o.jpg)

(http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/0/5/4/4/3/6/webimg/915692361_o.jpg)

(http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/0/5/4/4/3/6/webimg/915692362_o.jpg)

Looks amazing Ray! Congrats!

In opening up the back of the main door I found this.....nothing. I'm not a paint or bodyman expert but I still trust my eyes for the most part and there is no weld evidence. None. The inside door is lightly primered with a little orange and off white overspray from the front. There isn't enough primer to hide anything. I will still never be convinced that this was a factory embossed machine made by VMC, unless a picture of a unrestored one shows up, but I will say Jack did even a better job on these machines then I thought. Now, if I had to guess how this process was done, I would guess he had them stamped somewhere?

(http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/0/5/4/4/3/6/webimg/915816655_o.jpg)

(http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/0/5/4/4/3/6/webimg/915816686_o.jpg)

(http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/0/5/4/4/3/6/webimg/915816704_o.jpg)

(http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/0/5/4/4/3/6/webimg/915816736_o.jpg)

jack told me a few years ago that he had a guy in canada that was stamping those doors out for him. That came straight from the horses mouth( i mean cowboys mouth).

looks the same as the photos he had shown me years ago... inside nice and clean but in primer in the photos...
either stamped out or a real good welder. wonder if someone has the original dies from that Orange Crush cooler.

Boy that is CLEAN>.. if it where welded you'd see it..
even if welded and then sanded smooth, you'd still see marks...
hmm
my guess is stamped...

or maybe...just MAYBE... .no I'll say stamped.

nice though!

Being born into the steel manufacturing industry, and having spent the last 26 years in the business... if the lettering were welded, you would find the evidence.....there is no way one could fully weld a sign like that onto a cut out opening without leaving a noticeable mark.
YES, if it were welded and then grinded down, there would be evidence of grinding, especially if there was not a finished coat of paint to hide it.

I can pretty much guarantee with certainty that this was stamped onto a generic machine, and a VERY good stamping job indeed.

I once had a deal for a restored 7up machine..... on the condition that I get to peel the liner.  Once I got there, the machine looked AWESOME.... not a fault with it.  I peeled the liner back, and BAM, welding lines, with just a primer of paint over it.  From the outside you would never of known (can't remember if the bubbles were incorrect as well, but I think I realized that after I knew it was stich welded).

Needles to say I didn't buy it (although looking back, at the time it was a lot of money for a fake 7up) BUT with the prices of todays machines, I should have bought it just to be able to look at it.   Let's just say it cost the same as what a crappy 81 D sells for today.

NICE OC machine though!!!!  Would look awesome in any of our man caves!

Or Woman Caves! Great score on the machine!

That is a great stamping job, bet you were thrilled when you pulled the liner off, looks great, that one is a keeper

The guy has balls the size of watermelons to not screw up that door. You got a great machine! Still think it needs a 10 cent decal to balance it all out.

Great machine and info !! I always figured they were welded. Serious investment to have them stamped. Glad no OC coolers killed. Interesting piece of soda machine history. Anybody know how many were made?
Thanks
Creighton

O.K. Now they just have to come up with an RC stamp.  Boy would that cause a frenzy.