SMC Discussion Areas

Hi All,

I am new to Soda Machines.com. I recently obtained my first soda machine (a VMC Pepsi 81) for the amazing price of $0. 

I am an engineering geologist and I have been monitoring drilling of caissons for a landslide repair in the Mount Olympus area near Hollywood, CA.  The general area consists of two hilltop houses, with incredible views, on about 20 acres. The Hollywood sign is visible from the property.

The closest structure to the landslide repair is a detached garage. Apparently the homeowner is a rock hound. There were several buckets of various rocks and minerals stored behind the garage. While checking out the rocks I noticed an old rusty soda machine. I thought it was kind of cool so I told the driller (Dennis) to check it out.  I told Dennis that I had always wanted an old bottle dispensing soda machine.  Dennis told me that I should ask the homeowner if he would be willing to sell it. I thought to myself, “That thing looks like it’s in bad shape, do I really want this thing?”

The next morning the homeowner (Barry, a Doctor in Beverly Hills) was leaving for work. Dennis saw Barry and asked him if he was going to restore the soda machine.  Barry said something along the lines of “That old thing, if you want it you can have it.” Dennis told him “Actually I don’t have room for it on my truck, but Cameron here would like to have it.” Barry told me “Go ahead and take it.” I told him “Wow, thank you very much.”

After Barry offered me the machine I thought to myself, “Do I really want this thing; it probably doesn’t work and needs a lot of TLC.” I told Dennis that I was thinking of not taking it. He told me that if I didn’t take it, he would come back later that afternoon and take it himself. After he told me that, I decided to go ahead and load it into my Tahoe. The machine was very heavy and the base was full of dirt and black widow spider webs. I brushed it off and cleaned out as much dirt as I could.

When I got home that night I started researching the machine. I made some calls to various soda machine restoration specialists and soon learned the true rarity and potential value of my machine.

I have decided to have the machine fully restored. This last Saturday, July 4, I dropped off the machine with Glen Boyd at Ideal Sunroof & Soda in Ventura. Glen has recently restored another VMC Pepsi 81 and has photos on his web site oldcokemachines.com, under restoration services.  Glen was able to get my machine working while I was there. The compressor and condenser fan still worked and some of the refrigeration coils iced up. The light in the door also still worked and the drain pan area was also in good shape, not to rusty.

I am very exited to see the final product. I can’t believe my luck. I am planning on keeping the machine, hopefully for many years to come. 
Cameron

So it is your machine!
I will be doing the coin mechanism on it for you.
Glen is a very nice guy and does great work - he is also a member here. When he is done, you will have a restored Pepsi VMC-81 for about the price of an unrestored Pepsi VMC-81!
Great find and great story! Congrats!!  :biggrin:

Pictures are a must. You have to have them...don't you?

Wow what a great story!!! Thank you for sharing. You had amazing luck with that. I have owned over a hundred machines and never had the luck to get a Pepsi 81. You also picked the right guy to do the restoration. Glen is a great guy and he does fantastic work. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Just beware that this is the most addicting hobby in the world. You may think you only need one machine but you will soon find that machines start to follow you home more and more every month. This may be an addicting hobby but at least is can be a profitable hobby. Great score on your first machine and welcome to the site. Please stick around and make sure to post lots of pictures of your machine!

Yes, pictures please!

Sounds like a great score for you!

My best score on a jobsite  was a lady that paid me $50 to "haul away" her old oak roll top desk (on which my laptop now sits) because it was too big for her lake cabin.

Under the bottom drawer I found check stubs from 1903.

Collecture,

The coin mechanism on the last VMC Pepsi 81 you did for Glen looks great. I cant wait to see your handywork in person.  

I will post some photos as soon as possible.

Cameron

Here are some photos taken at Glen's shop.

More photos!

More photos!

That doesn't look too bad at all. A little surface rust but it doesn't look like anything serious. I wish I could get a deal half that good!  :biggrin:

Uhh..Josh ...Half as good?... Half of $0 is still $0... I don't think you can do better unless its a Pepsi 81 AND a RC 81 :biggrin:
And we remember all your deals!... Heck you're still finding deal and you where on the other side of the world!

Welcome.... Glen is great! Helped me out on a Dole Dispenser for parts a couple years back!
Great machine!....This will be just the beginning for you! :happydrinkers:

Amazing! And I loved the story too.

Just think, you may have just saved that machine from the scrap yard.

Great find. Amazing!

Congrats, Ive only owned one pepsi 81 over the years and bought it for around $3,200.00 unrestored. You did real good!

Joey

Wow, what an awesome find. As the others have said, Glen does great work, you won't be let down!

It's a good thing that your 81 spent it's life in California or you would have more problems than just surface rust! Here in the Midwest, that poor machine would have more than likely been in terrible shape.

Excellent story, can't wait to see the finished product! :biggrin:

 Nice !!!!!

                  Glen will do it right !!

Cameron,

Welcome to the site!  Unbelievable find.  You will be happy with the results.

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

Awesome Story and Incredible Find... Lucky Guy!  Now don't expect ALL of your other machines to come to you that easy!,, Yes I did say more machines, it's very addicting and now once Glen gets done with it, your gonna want a shiney restored Coke 81 to put next to it... I'm sure Glen can help you out with that too!   :biggrin:
Congrats and welcome to the board.

Great story with a good ending :smile: you save a part of history.
Like everyone has told you, Glen Does do great work and that 81 will look
better that it did when came out of the factory .

And welcome to the site we all would like you to stay around
for a long time , And tell us about that next machine that followed you home
from a job site or that you ran across :smile:.

Pat

Awesome find for your very first machine! And for $0 wow

just a great story cameron,

need to buy a lottery ticket this week too, your luck may continue

regards

GP in England

Congratulations!  I wish I could see the pictures, but the 1st page of the thread blanks out on me! :censored: :darn: :censored:

Wayne

got the same problem mate.... Very frustrating.. If you log out you can read the entries but can't see the piccies...

Dave

ditto on page one issues, but I congratualte you anyway, and hope glen or yourlsef post pics after he does his magic

        This machine is extremely straight with absolutely no beltline rust as most 81's
have on the lower back area. In fact, no rust-thru at all despite the massive surface rust.
        The coin door and bezel are bent and I am willing to bet that was a result of a fall during the 1994 Northridge earthquake just because of the location this machine was found.
        A thorough examination reveals that this 81 had very few hours usage in it's prior
life and was probably a nice original before it was set outside in the hot sun.
        Even though Cameron is new to this hobby, he very wisely brought this machine home and then got it out of the house before his wife returned from her vacation.    :hopefull:
        And for those who can't see the pic's on page 1, I will post a few for members and the
last pic is for Cameron who didn't see the little birds nest in his cap catcher.  :biggrin:
        Again I echo the rest of the group.........NICE FIND!

WOW !!!    Great story - what a way to get into the hobby... Congrats and thanks for the pictures !!!

Thanks, Dawg!  GREAT SCORE, CAMERON!!!

Congrats, Cameron!  Like the others have said, GREAT FIND!  Can't wait to see the finished product from MoonDawg, I know it will be nice!  And welcome to the group.   :happydrinkers:

So is the machine going back all blue or are you going to two tone it?

Joey

I wanted to thank everyone for their feedback :biggrin: I can't wait to see the restored machine. I decided to go with the two-tone look (white on top with red letters and blue on the bottom).

I think I am catching the soda machine collector's bug :Oo: Glen showed me a photo of a private collection of machines that included the Pepsi, Seven Up, RC and Dr. Pepper VMC 81's and a Coke Vendo 81 all side by side. I would love to have such a collection some day. Hopefully my good luck will continue :hopefull:

Thanks!

Cameron

Congrats on a GREAT find and welcome to the site!

Great find! Congrats! That is just soooooo cool!

Thanks for reposting the pics Glen. I don't see anything on page 1.

That's a great story.  It just goes to show the stuff is still out there!

Great find!  I don't think you'll be that lucky with the entire 81 collection.


I have pictures on the first page.  Why do some of us have them and some do not?

Welcome to the site!! Great find and good move on having Glen and Tom restore the machine.
It will be a show stopper. Very cool the door light and compressor worked after all the years of storage.
Leading contender for the find of the year :-)

Per why pages display for some and not others, nasty bug in the system that hopefully will correct with the next upgrade.

Creighton

This machine is definitely a candidate for the 2010 calendar.  Great story, great before pics and great after pics to come!  And I am a Coke guy!

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

Just by that statement alone, is testimony that YOU ARE HOOKED MY FRIEND!!! Congrats on a great find,, definately the Best find of the year so far... !!!! :hopefull:

Great find, especially at that price!!!

I have a nice rejector just like it. You would need two minor part changes from your old one.
Already some chrome plating from the factory and no rust. 

If you need it it will cost you more than the old machine cost  :biggrin:

BG

Ok everyone, here it is.  Glen and Tom have done a wonderful job and the machine looks fantastic :biggrin:

The machine works great. There was a small issue with the coin mech but Tom promptly sent me a replacement.

I have definitely been bitten by the soda machine collector's bug :Oo: Glen is currently helping me with the restoration of my Coke Vendo 39. I am currently looking for a new cabinet for the 39.

Again, thank you very much Glen and Tom!!!

Cheers :happydrinkers:

More photos :biggrin:

One more Photo 8)

What an amazing looking machine. Glen you did a fantastic job. Cameron you got a great deal and a great machine. I'm happy to hear that you are getting more machines. Just be careful. It can get out of hand quickly :)

Wow.... Fantastic just fantastic...

Looks great! I love that this was started back in July and here we are with an updated thread in Oct. It is like finding $ in your jacket that you forgot about.

Nice machine.  Very nice job Glenn.

WOW!  Looks great!

Wow!

Great story and Great Looking machine, As always Glen does great work, and you'll be able to enjoy that machine for years to come!
Congrats!

It turned out great!

Congrats

Way to bring a beautiful classic back to life!

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

turned out great, congratulations

        Before and after pic's are so enjoyable, especially for people who are skeptical when they see a neglected machine for the first time.

         Thanks for the comments everyone!   Glad to see you're happy Cam.

Nice Looking job !!! What would something like the cost to do? If you don't mind telling?

Matt,

I did a lot of research before I chose to have the machine restored by Glen and Tom. I received quotes from several restoration specialists ranging anywhere from 3K-5K for a full restoration (not including shipping). I had a couple people refer me to Glen and I am glad they did. I also liked knowing that Glen's shop is only an hour from my house. Roundtrip shipping from the west coast to the east coast could easily run $500+.

I have found professionally restored Pepsi 81s listed on line for between 7K-9K. Knowing the rarity and value of this machine I felt that my 4K was a good investment.

What did you use to separate the colors? Stainless or plastic?

       Plastic. Don't think anyone has ever developed real stainless dividing trim yet!

Sleepwalk is selling 4 feet of plastic moulding for a $50 bid
AND
If you want to send him your dented ORIGINAL chrome trim, then he'll even trade you!
HA-HA!  :laugh:  :laugh:

Original 81 trim has been selling for about $100+

So glad you are happy with everything Cameron! It looks great!

If you can even find it I'd guess? I've never seen it for sale before... the guys on the anitquities site claim that they use new stianess steel that they make, but of course never return an email when I have asked if I could buy a set...
If anyone is looking to get your original trim fixed, dents removed and polished, there is a place in WI here that does a fantastic job.. it's expensive but it's amazing when done! it's Called Vintage Vehicles out of Wauwatosa WI. Google them.

Great job guys. That is very nice.
Creighton

Current auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230386048256&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Past auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320410876709&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Glen - Outstanding job and can you show us more before pictures? Also, I am interested in the 81 trim, but I don't want to get in a bidding war with anyone on this board. If you are intersted also, please let me know so we can work something out.

The plastic looks good and works well. I don't mind the plastic on my machines at all.

Cameron, your machine looks great!  Outstanding investment!

Glen, beautiful job!  I still must say I'm partial to the solid blue Pepsi machines rather than the two-tone, but if I ever strayed from original, I'd have Glen do it!

Thanks for the pics!

Me too! Even though I am a Coke guy!

Glen, Very nice work hats off to you :smile:.
And Cameron you will have something to enjoy for years . :smile:

Yeah Glen, very nice work. This might even make Sleepwalk proud, ah, maybe not. I forgot he didn't do it.

GREAT work, Glen.  Congrats Cameron on a real beauty.

Yeah Glen,,, is yours a "PROFESSIONAL" restoration... hmmm

No seriously looks great and as "PROFESSIONAL" as they come in my opionion...

Yes but he doesnt have the feedback on ebay to back up his PROFESSIONAL Restorations. Great work Glen it looks awesome!

Joey

After several years of enjoyment I am ready to part with my restored Pepsi 81. I also have a restored Coke 81D for sale. If interested in purchase please let me know. Both machines are currently listed on ebay. Free local pick up in Los Angeles area.
Cameron
Igsandstone@yahoo.com