1st soda machine

[ercin13]

hello, newbie here. i recently hit a yard sale and picked this up for $50. after watching countless episodes of american pickers and pawn stars, i convinced myself i hit the jackpot. well after i did a little research, i found out i didnt. oh well you live and you learn. i did talk them down from $75.

i figured i would try and sell it for a small profit. as i keep looking at it on my porch, its starting to grow on me and im thinking about keeping it. the wife keeps telling me to sell sell sell but she did say tonight she thinks it would look good in my bar room. i think shes warming up to it too. lol.

just wanted to get some opinions from experienced collectors. whats its value as is and restored? im mechanically able to do a lot of things. what kind of level is it to take it apart and restore it? it cools great and needs a coin mechanism. do i need a coin mechanism if i am just using it for personal use? the model # is VFA56B-B. any history or other info on it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[ercin13]

[bubba]

You did good on the price.. I would probably hose that machine down with spray nine and a pressure washer. Then give it a good compound with a polisher followed by a coat of wax. Many of the scratches will come out or atleast clean up. I wouldn't sink a whole lot of money into restoring it at this point. The machine can free vend cans pretty easily, so the coin mech isn't needed for home use..

[MoonDawg]

       I agree with Ken. Refurbish, don't restore. That Pepsi sign will light up and look nice where it is.........and you have one of the few machines of that era that will vend cans.
       You did real good! Watch out though, this is only your first machine. More will follow.

[Pat Pixley]

Welcome to the site And congrates on the your first machine you did well  these are perfected for a bar area
and it is up to you  if you want to restore it  .
Myself i like the coin mech  I have a old butter dish I keep dime in  on top of my machine  and when friend or family come over
I always end up with a few extra dollars in the dish.
This would make for a nice coin mech in there  you can always change the price when friend or family come over, and they  work nice.

[halehouse]

It's a can machine, it cools, it has all the shelves, and a light up sign. You didn't lose anything at $50.

[oscar]

You can't even buy a used refrigerator for $50. You have a piece of vending history that will keep your beer cold. 

[ercin13]

thanks guys . appreciate your thoughts. i think you guys have me convinced to keep it.

 i didnt realize it was a can shelving. thought it was for bottles. i couldnt pull a can through the slots. i guess i need to find the release lever. if i keep it, it will probably be stocked with beers.lol. i fired it up this morning to let it run and the thermometer i stuck in there, read about 43 degrees. the fan shuts off and comes back on . i guess this normal. its very quiet.

whats the cheapest route on a coin mechanism? i read some other posts on the free vend trick, but i couldnt find a post for this model. is there a switch i can zip tie? also, anybody know what year it was made?

[bubba]

I did the same thing as Pat with the coin bucket on the machine.. My one machine is still set up this way, but the other one I just zip tied open so you can just pull.. At the bottom of the can stack, (the part on the left with all the levers to release the cans) is the vend solenoid. Remove the cover, being careful if its plugged in. The solenoid moves a pin to release the gates. I tied the pin back with a zip tie and the gate moves freely. I'll try to get a picture, but there is one posted on the site here somewhere...

[MoonDawg]

      To vend cans you need to use 2 hands. With your left hand, pull the flap open. A kicker will then push the product forward so you can retrieve it with your right hand.

[Pat Pixley]

Here is the listing on Ebay For that coin Mech . http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120578254714&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[collecture]

To vend cans you need to use 2 hands. With your left hand, pull the flap open. A kicker will then push the product forward so you can retrieve it with your right hand.

Or you can pull the flap with your right hand and retrieve the can with you left hand.   

[ercin13]

Or you can pull the flap with your right hand and retrieve the can with you left hand.   

good stuff.lol

[Creighton]

2nd and 3rd fingers pull flap up. Index finger and thumb pull can out. Other hand is used to steady oneself. Trust me on this :-)
Creighton

[MoonDawg]

2nd and 3rd fingers pull flap up. Index finger and thumb pull can out. Other hand is used to steady oneself.

      Ah yes...........these machines can vend lot's of beer too!   

[bubba]

      Ah yes...........these machines can vend lot's of beer too!   

56 Cans without refilling the shelves

[ercin13]

thanks again for everybodys replies.

hey bubba, im going to try your pressure wash idea. im a newbie to this and need some cleaning for dummies tips. i know these machines were designed to handle outside conditions but is there things i need to remove or tape off before washing. 1st i'll vaccuum and scrub. i have a pretty strong pressure washer and will start with low pressure and work my way up to see what it can handle.

i'll take the shelves out and the front sign. just curious about getting the electrical components, wiring and cooling system wet.

[bubba]

The only thing electric I remove is the coin mech, and thats already done for you.. I do take the shelves out to give more access to the box. I try to stay away from the condenser fan motor, but it usually ends up getting wet. You can put a bag over the plug for the coin mech to keep water out of that area. If the cardboard shroud is still around the condenser try to remove it.. Most machines I've gotten don't have the shroud anymore. I usually blast the motor below with compressed air when I'm done washing. When its still damp I start the compound and finish with wax. I usually let the machine sit for a day or 2 after cleaning to dry out any water that got where it shouldn't have.

[scalebowler]

Neat machine. Looks like the pepsi logo is upside down though. The red should be on the top.  Not that big of a deal though and at least it will be easier for you to turn it around if you decide to than it was on my machine (my machine had a tiny pepsi logo that was upside down and it bugged me so I ended up having to remove almost everything from the door just to get to it). Yours should be just some screws or something like that.

[ercin13]

Neat machine. Looks like the pepsi logo is upside down though. The red should be on the top.  Not that big of a deal though and at least it will be easier for you to turn it around if you decide to than it was on my machine (my machine had a tiny pepsi logo that was upside down and it bugged me so I ended up having to remove almost everything from the door just to get to it). Yours should be just some screws or something like that.

i would have never noticed it. thanks for the keen eye. i got it corrected. it was 8 screws and 4 brackets.

[rayg]

1st off Welcome aboard ! Great machine for $50.......half the fun of getting one is cleaning it up and tweaking it.  It's sort of like get a classic car (but allot cheaper LOL) that needs some TLC ...... it becomes a labor of love.