Hi guys,
Before I begin, forgive me if you found some spelling mistakes, english is not my mother tongue!
I recently bought an old
1961 Cavalier C55-D and I totally fell in love with it. After doing a couple of fix, I realized that everything is working except the cooling system. I decided to remove the compressor and all the other components to have a closer look at the problem. At this moment I tell myself, why not disassemble the whole thing and make a complete restoration? So here I am, 2 hours later with all the parts removed and ready to restore!
I decided to share the evolution of the restoration with members of this forum, so I hope you'll enjoy it!
I will certainly have questions since it's my first machine and that i'm new to this world! If anyone can offer me any advice, suggestion or ideas, I would be extremely grateful.
Restoration JournalDecember 12th 2015 - Bought the Cavalier C55-D for 250$. It's in good condition, but the frame is dented and need some love.
December 13th 2015 - I realized that the coin return bezel is missing. Found one by miracle when looking in a forum conversation from 2013.
January 6th 2016 - No electricity in the door panel... After investigation, I found an unplugged cable, burned lights and a broken relay. Problem fixed
January 7th 2016 - I received a Coinco change mechanism that I bought for 15$, but it's not working properly. It need maintenance, so I set the machine to Free Vend.
January 8th 2016 - I adjusted the machine to vend 12oz bottles. I can't explain the feeling I had when I saw the first beer dropped from there!!!
January 9th 2016 - The C55-D was plugged for the night, but beers are still warm. I tried to found why the machine is not cooling, but with no result.
January 12th 2016 - I decided to remove the compressor and all the components from the machine. Didn't find the issue and I started a post to investigate the problem with members of SMC Discussions Area (
http://soda-machines.com/discussions/index.php/topic,20998.0.html)
January 13th 2016 - I started this post to share my restoration project with the SMC community.
January 14th 2016 - After looking on the internet and this forum for suggestions, I'm thinking of buying a new R134a refrigerant compressor.
January 15th 2016 - I disassembled the machine entirely to clean every corner of it and to remove rust.
January 16th 2016 - I unbent the frame and removed some dents. I'm really satisfy of the result... Especially because it's the first time I'm doing this!
January 17th 2016 - I took photos of all the lettering to replicate it in vector with illustrator! I will then cut it on white vinyl to make stickers or stencils for paint. I'm a professional wrap installer + graphic designer, so this will be the easiest part!
January 19th 2016 - I started to remove rust on the other parts. Check the image below to see the difference with the bottle opener... Simply amazing!
January 20th 2016 - I've cleaned the bottom trims and wrapped it with a waste of 3M Brushed Titanium and Avery Conform Gold Chrome that I had! Oh yeah, and for the gold trim, I made a replica with a steel sheet.
January 22th 2016 - The vending door was in 3 pieces, so I've glued the plastic parts together to fix it. I then cut the same shape in a steel sheet, wrapped it in 3M Brushed Titanium and placed it over that part. Looks like new now!
March 15th 2016 : I received my brand new compressor.
August 23th 2016 : I sent the frame for sandblasting.
September 28th 2016 : I repaired some dents and put Bondo where the frame had some small bumps.
October 7th 2016 : I put primer and paint the whole machine in matte black.
October 16th 2016 : I wrapped the exterior with 3M Gloss Envy Green and put the custom lettering on it.
October 17th 2016 : I placed styrofoam and mineral insulation inside the frame.
October 18th 2016 : I painted all the chrome parts in silver metallic cause I hate chrome!
October 19th 2016 : I reassembled the machine and cleaned all the electric circuit/wires.
October 20th 2016 : I bypassed the machine to set it to free vent with new cables and switch.
October 21th 2016 : A refrigerating system specialist came to set-up the new coolling system.
October 25th 2016 :Ta-dam! The machine is finished and working like a charm!Video :
https://www.facebook.com/yemmons/videos/10157563580020177/?l=7983893366564424046
