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I get alot of comments on my machines, being reproductions, the quality of the restoration, and what goes into one. Also I feel this will help out alot of new people in the hobby to see what actually goes into a no expense spared restoration.

I bought this 81A at the Pomona Swap meet while I was in California in January. When I bought the machine it was missing the shelves, bottle door, coin mech and everything associated with the coin door and behind it.

I located a set of shelves, bottle door, and some other odds and ends from Marvin, Coin door, and bottle door hinge from Signguy, Coin mech was bought and restored from Collecture. I got lucky and scored a already chrome plated coin entry bezel off ebay as with the coin return cup, and a chrome plated press down handle. All the other small door hardware like the lockbar, lockbar brackets, coin box with bracket etc was salvaged off a rough Vendo 39 I had laying around. I did some wheeling and dealing on the cooling unit it was restored by Nostalgic Restorations.

This will be a ongoing thread until the machine is done, I figure it will take a few months 2-3. Im currently taking the machine apart and fixing alot of the problems myself. The bodywork and paint will be done by Nostalgic Restorations.

This is what the machine looked like when I bought it.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/sodamachinerevene008-1.jpg)

After all the parts were located

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/picsforwebsite260.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/picsforwebsite264.jpg)

The overall of the machine shows its true colors very rough, The front main door has severe rust in the bottom, and at the very top where the main door gasket attaches, also the lettering has what looks like a grinder hit it? Also the cabinet is very rusty with severe beltline rust, and rust around the vents, VERY ROUGH it literally falls apart and you can stick a screwdriver through it. Thankfully I was fortunate enough to get a very near rust and dent free cabinet from Marvin last weekend.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/cokemachinesebay008.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/cokemachinesebay009.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/cokemachinesebay007.jpg)

more to come...

After disassembling the front door, I sandblasted it as with a donor door removed from a Vendo 80. I took the Vendo 80 door and cut the bottom off. While sandblasting I found that this 81A has had work done to it before and found alot of body filler and previous repairs.

Rust through below the bottle door opening

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/cokemachines002-1.jpg)

The stamped lettering after the sandblasting

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/cokemachines004.jpg)

The damage at the very top of the main door

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/cokemachines005-1.jpg)

I wish that I would have taken some pictures of the Vendo 80 door before I cut it, This is what the front door looks like now after I tack welded the new lower portion in place.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/cokemachines001-1.jpg)

Inside of main door, Keep in mind this entire door will be gone over and the inside will be sandblasted once I get the repairs done.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/cokemachines006-1.jpg)

As this project goes further in the works I will update and post more info and pics in this thread.

Joey

This will be a good reference thread for a lot of people. Thanks Joey for taking the time to snap pics.

I look forward to the next installment/post.

Here are some more progress pics, Today I focused on fixing the rusty are on the top of the cabinet.

Picture of what I started with today
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/cokemachines005-1.jpg)

I cut the same area out of the Vendo 80 donor door
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/cokemachines001-2.jpg)

After its been welded into place, It will still need some more grinding but very close.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/cokemachines006-2.jpg)

Some pics of the very nice cabinet Marvin supplied me with.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/cokemachines002-2.jpg)

So Clean, that black stuff is tar
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/cokemachines003-1.jpg)

Vendo 80 Donor door
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/cokemachines004-1.jpg)

More to come as I get closer

Joey

Wow Joey! Thanks for taking the time and effort to let us see this project from start to finish. I have a beater 56RT with a lot less rust but nearly identical in what was missing. This will definitely inspire me to get going on mine!!

       Great welding work Joey. Don't stop now though...the letters on that 80 are
exactly the same size as an 81B  :biggrin:

And this has given me the idea of putting the photos during the restoration to a CD. If I end up selling, the buyer will have copy of the work and effort  involved.
Definitely keep this thread going with you milestones Joey

Thanks for the kind words guys, It will remain an A as Im weird and have a soft spot for them, I guess im really weird as its going to be all red and not two toned.

Joey

With the green bottle door medallion, you could make a fantasy 81C?  :Oo:

a 81C they dont exist ha ha!!!, If I did that owning a real one someday wouldnt be the same.

Joey

I put a sticky on this topic for now at least... I think its a good reference.. Maybe we could do this for other machines as well? Once its complete, maybe put it all into one post or file?...

I got a chance to get out to the shop tonight and work on the 81 again, Tonight I removed two tubs, one from the 81A thats being built, the other from a Vendo 80 parts machine. The bottom of the 81 tub is badly rotted, The 80 tub has a very clean bottom. I used a spot weld bit to drill out the existing spot welds. I will sandblast and tack weld the 80 bottom into the 81 tub. In the past I have drilled new holes in 80 tubs and converted them over to 81, in this case the 80 had a waterfountain installed at one time and it was easier to just drill out the bottom.

Bad pic but this is the spot weld bit that I used you can buy these at most automitive finish supply stores. I bought the one with the replacement teeth and it cost around $30.00. To use this you simply predrill the area with a normal bit to get a good starting point, then use the spot weld bit to drill through the actual weld itself. When finished you have a good area to weld where the old spot weld was located.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/ebaypictures010.jpg)

The bottom of the Vendo 80 tub.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/ebaypictures009.jpg)

The Vendo 81 tub after the rotten area was drilled out.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/ebaypictures007.jpg)

And last a pic of both bottoms top 81 bottom 80, tommorow weather allowing I will sandblast and weld the 80 bottom onto the 81 tub.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/ebaypictures011.jpg)

Joey

       Good idea Joey.
   
       Because the floor has a sloped drain channel it can't be re-made with a flat
sheet if metal but it would probably be worthwhile for someone to press out new
replacements. ( Josh?)  :laugh: I know I spend way too much time "fixing" this area.

It would be a good part to reproduce. I figure this is the best way to replace the rusty bottom without spending alot of money or wasting alot of time trying to build or repair the old bottom.

New bottom installed.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/ebaypictures012.jpg)

I also sandblasted the coin door and bottle door today, The bottle door looks brand new, the coin door had a bad twist and someone brazed the bottle opener mounting area in and it wasnt flush or a good job.

Before

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/ebaypictures013.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/ebaypictures014.jpg)

Twisted door

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/ebaypictures015.jpg)

After I cut it out I cleaned it up with a grinder. I then screwed it down to my bench so that when I tack welded it in place it would sit flat and not be warped. It worked out well.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/ebaypictures016.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/ebaypictures017.jpg)

All done! ready to be cleaned up and put in epoxy primer.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/coke_and_stuff/ebaypictures018.jpg)

Joey

Great looking work Joey. What kind of rig are you welding with?

Awesome work Joey!.... Gotta love this stuff... another brought back!
Glenn there was a guy making bottoms with the drain channel set up at Chicago...
I'll find that info and send it to you... I posted it somewhere already in another
(a thread about a rt 56)
he also made Vendo 44 racks and the 56rt bottle door with openings for glass...
anyway don't want to take away from Joey post here.....
Looking good as always Joey!.... And when's the show in Columbia?.....

The company is Soda Springs. They took over Home Arcade.

Do they have a website ? I'd like to see what parts they have for other machines.

Website is-www.sodaspr.com

Soda Springs
Sandwich, IL
Jim Rud
info@sodaspr.com

Now back to you Joey...... Got it painted yet? :smile:
You doing all the welding?

All the welding is being done by me, Not even close to paint yet. I will drop it off in a few weeks for Randy's magic.

Using a Lincoln Home Depot special welder, Mig with the gas bottle.

Joey

I took a look at the welder im using its a Lincoln weld pack 3200 HD. I bought it a few years ago and bought a gas bottle for it a few months ago. The gas bottle is defenatly the way to go!

Joey

Great job at welding. This is something I would like to try in the future. Was it difficult to get the hang of it?

Not that bad, More difficult learning yourself like I did, getting the temperature and wire speed right. To much heat you burn through, to little it puddles, to fast on the wire it pushed you away from the welding, to slow you cant feed it enough. I Cannot stick weld, Ive tried several times and I suck at that!

Joey

I have a buddy of mine that does welding as a part of his job. I was talking with him a couple days ago about soda pop machines and welding and the possibility of getting some formal training and he mentioned that a small MIG would be perfect. He said to definitely go with a reputable namebrand like Lincoln and to make sure that I would get my money's worth out of it to get a 240V vs. 120V so that I would be able to do more than just sheet metal. He also strongly suggested that I go with a gas, Co2, setup vs. flux core.

I will definitely try my hand at it!! Thanks for the info Joey and keep those pictures coming!

If anyone is interested I believe my dad recently bought a brand new Lincoln Mig 220v setup that can be used with or without gas. He already has a few Hobarts and I believe a Miller so its just sitting there collecting dust. He would probably sell it reasonable.

Joey

I just traded my big Miller Mig to work for a brand new Millermatic 180. Its an awesome machine for home and light commercial use. Its a 230v machine and uses gas of flux core wire..

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/millermatic_180_autoset/


When I was first learning to weld, my boss told me Mig was the last thing to learn as its the easiest and once you do it you will never want to do anything else. I learned on Oxy/Acetylene, then stick, then mig. I've played with tig a bit, but not a whole lot.

When I use my 110V mig I use flux core wire to eliminate to costs of shielded gas. Works good on small non structure welding jobs. On bigger jobs I use my Lincoln 220V mig welder with 75/25 gas mixture of Argon and CO2.

Haven't heard from you about this Joey.
How is it coming along?

Sadly this machine isnt going to be finished by me. I ended up selling it to help pay some unforseen medical bills last month.

Joey

Is everything alright with you and your family??

Everything is A Ok Good talking with you today Tom!

Joey

Ditto!

 :needphotos:

What happened to all the pages at the post's beginning??? Even if the machine was sold before being finished, it would help alot to still see those pic's?

 :jawdrop:

It never got finished, it was sold as a unfinished project.

Understood about the need to sell.

The pictures of past progress should still be available, for re-posting.

Otherwise, this entire post/thread needs to be removed.

Will you re-post the pic's?

 :needphotos:

highpockets003,
Welcome to the board. Please understand this is a very old post. Changes to the board format. The PC original photo stored on has passed away etc... May make it not possible to repost pictures. Hope you can understand.

Do you have a specific question on a Vendo 81A restoration? If so ask away and will attempt to assist.

Creighton

That's part of the purpose of those pictures - is to know what to ask about and not ask about. A picture is worth a 100 words, minimum. So, I won't know what questions I have until I can review the pictures.

Coke_and_stuff should still have the original files for re-posting.

 :darn:

If you are restoring one post YOUR pictures and we can help you.

This thread was basically just pictures of a machine that he was working on.  There was nothing specific about it...


There are 100's of threads just like this one available under the search tab!

Coke and Stuff may very well have the photo's. Bet he has about 4k others. Why not take the lead on mending your machine?
Creighton

I sent coke & stuff an email telling him I would spot him some space on one of my domains to store his pics. No response, yet.