Okay, here's the loooooong story...
About 4 years ago, I heard from a guy at work that a family-owned hardware store not 10 miles from my house used to have an old soda machine. The guy worked there when he was a teenager. My boss at the time had a teenage son who was working there. I knew the kid. So, I stopped in after work (I pass the place EVERY day and have bought stuff there - great store) and talked to my boss's son (Kyle). Kyle tells me there is a machine in the storage shed and it's been there for years. He takes me back, and buried under rags, boxes, corregated plastic is a 1957 Vendo 110. The machine has minor surface rust on the paint, especially the white, but it was complete. It had been in the storage shed for about 30 years.
Then, I talked to the store owner, and he said he would not sell it. His father and grandfather (both now deceased) got the machine originally from Coca Cola. He said he thought about getting it out of there and redoing it. I stopped in there every few months or so - no dice. My contact at work (the guy who worked there as a teenager) told me the store owner's mother once sold her late husband's 1/2-complete hot rod car because her son (the store owner) had always said he was going to do something with it and never did. So, I got the idea she might sell the machine to me. I went in there one evening, but she said she would have to talk to her son -
. So, I let the thing drop.
Over the past 2 years, I've gotten to know the store owner pretty well due to some business dealings. He's a very straight-up guy and is quite nice. He has seen how much I love these machines and am just a collector. So, a few months ago, he told me he would let me buy the machine off of him.
For the record, our business relationship was purely business. I am confident he let me get the machine because he considers me his friend. In no way did I decide to do business with his company to influence his decision. His hardware company handles MANY commercial contracts with my organization, and he and I were paired on one of them. His company was the only place in the area that handles the type of work we needed.
That said, yesterday, he and I were finishing up another project we were both involved with, and he said I could stop by today and pick it up. I asked him how much he wanted for it (the answer is at the end of this message)......
So, I go there today with my wife. The owner had the machine pulled out of the storage shed. It has surface rust, but it isn't bad. He didn't have the keys, but I got the numbers off the locks and can order the keys from Funtronics. The belt area looks good and I could see the underside of the belt when I had it in the truck. Very small areas of surface rust, but no rot. The paint is faded, but I planned on getting this redone. I have a friend who is an expert woodworker, so he can redo the wood framing if necessary. I can handle the electrical and interior stuff. It's a large coin door model, with a change-giving mech.
When I get the replacement keys, I will post interior shots. For now, here are 3 of the outside.
Oh yeah, the price.............................. $10 (yep, ten bucks)!
