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Just got this what looks to be a really nice original Vendo V81-D in the shop for some repairs, it's super clean & in need of a new compressor and rewiring, also some minor bits n pieces need replacing. we'll see as it proceeds forward what I run into.

Like the Vernor's Quikold/1400 chest cooler earlier, this is a repair and not a restoration project,  the job here is to get it back up & running, rewiring it for safety, and of course get it vending reliably again for my customer.  but obviously there's no rust issues to deal with.

Please keep us posted with your progress. Nice looking machine!

Wow.. nice survivor! Will be watching the progress..

Thanks, and it will be joined shortly by a Vendo V39 that I’m picking up from a customer today, also in for a Refurb to get it up and running again as well...

Here we go...the late to teh party V39,

As you can see, it's an older restoration of an early production model, it has the two side-vents, the embossed "ICE COLD" along with the embossed ribbed accent lin running along the bottom then vertically up through the coin-door, obviously it has been two-toned & some after market chrome dividing trim added.  it's in good shape, but the paint job is just a cosmetic restoration as the insides, electrical & mechanics haven't even been touched, let alone cleaned. I'll post some inside pics in a bit...

The 81 hasn't been re shot at some point? I'm only saying that because there are no decals anywhere.

The “change return “ & “don’t Deposit coin if bottles not visible” decals are just ghosts of their former selves , just a dim shadow & it looks like the Coca Cola logo has been retouched along the way & typical scuffing around the crank area. The Vendo lower script is rubbed through, ( gone really) possible an Ill attempt at buffing it out maybe?   Eh... it isn't  a 100 pointer for sure.  But it’s here for a Refurb not a Resto

Some follow up pictures of the tear down, first & obviously it's in need of a new wiring harness to go along with a replacement compressor, it's dry-rot at it's finest.

and sometime ago someone replaced the condenser's fan motor, but that didn't fix the dead compressor.  :smile:   the compressor's locked up solid & tripping the overload, but maybe if we try a shot of freon it'll start cooling again...  :tounge:

well  found out why it wouldn't vend, turns out in the past someone had inserted some ridged blue-board insulation & a piece of it migrated to below the vend-link arm & jammed the mechanism from rotating fully, easy enough to fix, I also took out the vending stack (rack) & lubed all the links, it's working nice nice & smooth now. the condensate drain tubing had become detached from the liner & fallen into the lower chassis area, so I had to reattach it back in place with some good old 60/40 PB/SN acid core plumbing solder, good to go now.

The 15-Cent coinmechs slug-rejector needed a good soaking in my ultrasonic cleaner, after that it works nicely, the correct change only flag will be replaced with other decals supplied by Funtronics. the only thing about this coinmech is it's a 15-Cent non-change giver and it will only accept one dime + one nickel.   last time I ran into one of these was on an Vendo Large model 3-select Ice-Cream machine.

I also removed the broken & non-functional coinmechs ceramic heater resister & nipped ( removed) the unneeded 120 volt wiring that used to supply juice to it.  it's a shock hazard and safety concern anyway.

So as shown in the picture, in route to the stuck vending link issue,  the liner is in the state of decay & way too brittle to be of further use, ( it was held in place with hot-glue & some old wood paneling on the back-side) so it & the main door and latch gaskets will be replaced with stock from Funtronics.  the vent panel can be reused as well as the round link-adjustment point cover (round-hole)

and the liner was damaged in the past & hot glued together again when someone attempted to repair the non working bottle port florescent lamp, as you can see, it has an incorrect 2-wire on/off switch in place of the proper 4-wire push-to start switch, the wiring harness is spliced wrong too, so I have some more electrical repairs to attend to.   Oh & the past Thomas Edison didn't fix the light problem, but on the bright side ( see what I did there) every thing is still good from the buld to the ballast, so a correct switch will fix it up.

Thanks for the updates - great pics & some fun with your Thomas Edison humor   :smile:

Finishing up some wiring mods for the door electrics, for something a little different I've been wanting to try, I've added a 10 watt LED S6 bulb & socket just behind the "use correct change onle" flag, this will give a glowing halo effect to the plexiglass window that displays the label, ( not yet mounted) and since there's no sold out mechanism mechanical link to worry about this will work fine, I've reporpused the wiring strain-relief from the old (removed) coinmech ceramic heater assy. & used it to pass the circuit through the door to the lamp socket.

Next up was straightening out the funky bottle port light, I decided to go with a self-starter (F/4 size) for the florescent port lamp which will eliminate the need for the manual push to start switch originally used on this machine, plus the ballast had a handy dandy wiring diagram printed right on it for reference ( not that I needed one  :upside:) I fab'd up a small angled bracket to mount the starters socket inside the door cavity [A] and used a piece of 2" PVC tubing to provide a bit of protection from direct contact with the insulation, I will add a removable hole cover on the liner itself to facilitate future replacement when necessary without the need to remove the whole dam liner to get to it. the old incorrect switch [C] is seen dangling in the foreground awaiting removal & replacement with a new push-button style on/off switch

Well I wired it up & temporarily substituted a wire nut for the on/off switch ( which I misplaced somewhere around the shop...  :veryangry:) a fresh F13/T5- 21" lamp and ....let there be light!

As my Mom used to say, "you'll find it were ever you left it last"...and I did!    :blush:  the door port wiring is complete.

Coming along nicely ! ! !
Thanks for documenting your process!

I agree with Jim - thanks for documenting and sharing your intuitiveness with us!

Thanks for your feedback....


here's the re-pop coin bezel & the vinyl "correct change only" flag Decal with the new plexiglass window installed on the coindoor,  all were purchased from Funtronics, word of warning thought on the Decal. be sure to check your alignment of how the flag (Decal) sits it the window before sticking it in place, if you assume to align the top of the decal with the top of the metal flag you will find that the words are sitting too high up once the door is closed & will be obscured by the top white masking of the plexi-window.

My back-light mod for the sold out window looks nice as desired, I just have to fab a black mask to "frame" the decal & block the view around the sides/edges of the flag for a cleaner more refined look.

here's a comparison side by side of the reproduction plexiglass window VS the OEM piece, the old owner attempted to clean the original window & found out that the masking wiped right off... my son took note & suggested using white electrical tape to re-mask the back side, & it turned out very nice!   making a mental note to use this trick on future projects with the same problem / damage...  also mind that the original window is a bit yellowed from age & obviously scratched & scuffed up

OK, I've finalized the wiring for the sold-out window LED light mod....looks real nice! positioning the lamp below the window using an old offset door lock latch-tab under the one cup-screw that retains the coin-bezel holds it in the right spot to illuminate the window & decal without casting any weird shadows, as you can see I routed the lamp sockets wire along the top of the inside coin-door so it won't interfere with either the door opening or the coin-path, I reused the old heater wire grommet as seen under the coin mechs duck-bill & out the back door & tapped into the door wiring harness for the ballast for bottle port light, this light will stay on 24/7 while the rewired bottle port lamp is now controlled by it's push-button on/off switch & is rewired for the prieviously install self-starter shown earlier...

I know some might say why bother with adding a lamp for the sold-out window. I basically just listened & worked with the customers whimsy to bring their little vision to life & besides it's fun & not your standard repair it & shove it out the door.  

another nice thing about the 10-watt LED bulb is it produces no heat or U.V light to damage either the windows back side silk screened masking or yellow the decal over time.

now to re-insulate the door & install the replacement liner & main door gasket as well as reinstall the refrigeration & a new toe-kick panel

Nice

Very nice JohnieG - well thought out & articulated & of course the great pics!

Very nice machine

thanks for the feedback...I've been off a bit on the rebuild schedule due to work issues here's the new Funtonics liner and the replacement door & latch gaskets in place, not shown is the fresh insulation inside the main door & for the newbies remember to use the very short screws to secure the liner along the left side of the bottle door opening as the Florescent lamp is locate just on the other side & long screws will impact the lamps glass tube & shatter it or even if it doesn't break it will make it impossible to remove the lamp again.

here's a before & after shot of the old damaged original liner, and not to worry folks I also have repop labels for the new liner too.

Nice tip about using the shorter screws on the lamp side. I purchased a stainless steel screw set from Soda Jerk; I'll be sure and double check what screws the kit designates for this side of the liner. Each pkg of screws is labeled as to what they are for and where they go. 

yeah, I learned the hard way earlier on in my quest to repair classic soda machines , I ran a self tapping 3/4" screw right into the lamp & "POOF" glass everywhere!

I added some door-edge trim to the coindoor to help [A: dress it up a bit] & [B: prevent the newly installed sold out flags lamp from leaking light along the edge of the coindoor] be aware that you may have to adjust your coindoor latch shims one way or the other as the trim adds a bit of thickness to the gap between the coindoor & maindoor, I had to add a shim to the top & bottom latch hooks on this one.

I've cleaned & lubricated the bottle rack & added an LED light along the inside edge of the rack between it & the left side liner to help illuminate the bottles, it adds a nice touch. I first had this idea back in 2008 when I was converting a Vendo V63 from a bottle rack to a can rack & I was bugged that the thrift-vend model didn't have a bottle port light... here's the link to that discussion thread...

http://soda-machines.com/discussions/index.php/topic,8208.0.html (http://soda-machines.com/discussions/index.php/topic,8208.0.html)

OH & that box you see in the bottom of the tank? it's a old lead battery I use for a counter-weight to prevent the machine from tipping over when the main door is opened with the compressor deck removed. yep it can flop right over, been there done that ... learned my lesson

johnieG - thanks for the update! I liked the door trim idea - I'm saving this idea for my 81's. Also, it appears that you kept the fluorescent bulb in the bottle door and then added the LED's???