Vendo 80 update

[90grad]

All,

Yesterday, I met the guy with the Vendo 80.  He was a nice man who is getting ready to sell his towing business and move to Florida.  He's got a little bit of everything in his shop, to include a very tall, very old, Shell gas pump.  This was one with the glass top which filled up with gas and then was pumped out.  I know nothing about those, but it reminded me of the ones from the movies of the 1930's.

Anyway, the Vendo 80 was sitting there.  I played very naive. I wasn't trying to be nasty, but I didn't want to tip my hat.  I told him I had never seen a Vendo 80 before, which is true, as I have only seen pictures.  I did not have my camera with me, as he was supposed to send them to me and I screwed up, forgetting mine (bonehead play of the year).  Most of what I am going to describe was just me making mental notes about what I saw. The date stamp was April 1955.  It was red and white.  Here's a breakdown of the condition:

Exterior: Cabinet was nice and straight.  There was a slight amount of surface rust (just the beginning, probably would rub right off) above the Coca Cola logo on the front door.  None of the louvres were bent, and there were no major scrapes.  The coin door had a small dent in the bezel, which also had minor chrome pitting.  At some point, he lost the key, so there was the familiar hasp drilled into the coin door.  Why oh why do people do that?!?!?! '>

Coin Door Interior Area: The interior area of the coin door looked good.  The cap catcher and coin box were there.  The coin mech was present.  I pushed down on the coin return, looking like I was just playing with it.  However, it was pretty stiff.  The mech was very clean, with no evidence of rust.  The bulbs for the sold out/exact change(?) indicators were present.

Cabinet Interior:  This looked really good.  There was no rust and very, very minimal discoloration at the bottom of the tub.  All four rollers were there and they did spin.  The vending motor and chain looked good.  The evaporator looked great, as did all the refrigeration lines.  The wiring from the vending motor was definitely starting to disintegrate (mainly the casing, the wires were probably okay).

Compressor Area:  There was a lot of rust here.  Every component had surface rust.  There didn't see to be any belt-line rust.  I didn't want to stick my head in there and let the guy see I half knew what I was looking at.  However, like I said above, the bottom of the tub looked great.  The condensor fan motor did spin freely with my hand.  The cardboard shroud on the condensor was falling apart and initially impeded the fan blade.  The wiring was in real rough shape.  I didn't see a drip pan or jar.

Operability:  I asked the guy if it ran and he said he didn't know.  I was going to see if we could plug it in, but judging by the wiring, that wouldn't have been a good idea.  It has been sitting for about 20 years (inside a auto garage).  I don't know where it sat prior to that.  He does have the manual.

Price:  He said he wanted $500 for it and I said I'd talk to the boss and get back to him.  He's headed south for a week, so I'll talk to him after the holidays.

My questions:

1. The vending motor concerns me regarding possible replacement.  Is there one? (Nevermind, Funtronics sells them for $70).

2. There was a big relay-type box where the Jones plug receptacle is located.  Is this reproduced?

3. I don't wanna pay $500 for this.  First, I would get shot, as we really can't afford that right now.  Second, I wouldn't keep this machine if I did buy it.  I was looking to get it, clean it up and sell it for a little profit.  When I talk to the guy, I was going to tell him I can't afford the $500 (which is true) and then the couple hundred in parts required, due to the holidays coming up, kids needing shoes, no heat in the house, blah, blah, blah.  Get ready to laugh, but I was going to offer him like $200 for it to see how bad he wants it out of there.  Crazy?  Maybe.  

Thoughts?

Thanks!

[coke_and_stuff]

personally the way you described it I would pay $500.00 for it. but thats just me and on another note im known for talking people down.

Joey

[Lulu]

Wayne,

You ought to find out what he wants for that gas pump.  Those go for big bucks and you might be able to turn a nice profit to off set the price of the Vendo 80.  Just a thought. . .
Good luck!!

[90grad]

LuAnn,

I thought about that, but he knows the gas pump is worth $$.

[Eric]

That pump un-restored would go for about $900-$1000 (that's the prices I seen at 3
auctions this past summer here in Missouri, One was rusted out on a side and it brought $925!)
I'd try a combo for both the pump and the machine. Check eBay or see if you can find a buyer for the pump so you can get your money back fast... Getting rid of both at one time might be worth the hassle for him to get them out of the way.
As far as a price.... Man... I haven't wheel'd & deal'd enough to know what to say... like
you said if he knows the pump is worth big bucks..... Hmmmmm anyone else here think of a good
price for the pair?...
And check prices on the 80 on eBay..... If anything buy it to turn and make some money
I bet it would bring more than $500 on eBay.....

Keep us posted and good luick...
Eric

[MoonDawg]

The gravity feed gas pump is neat.  A pump fills the glass tank to as many gallons as the customer wished to buy.  Insert the nozzle into your gas tank and pull the trigger and watch the gas drain in.
       Wayne, $500.00 is a good price. E-bay is not the best way to sell because buyer is usually facing $300.00 extra for shipping.  Best if you could sell locally, and have the machine cooling and vending when the customer arrives.  
       Since you could sit on this for a while, so you may want to promise the wife you will sell something else.  You found a sweet machine priced right, stay on it!

[coke_and_stuff]

also check out www.oldgas.com for possibly info on the pump, and pricing.

Joey

[joesquid]

Wayne,
$500 isn't bad for a Vendo 80 but here are a couple of items to consider:
1.  The vend motor offered by Funtronics is an open case model.  It looks nothing like the original.
2.  The relay box near the Jones socket.  It houses the vend relay.  Is the whole thing missing?  The relay can be purchased from Funtronics but I don't believe it comes with the contactor frame to which the original relay is mounted.
I've had good luck getting these parts from Byal Brothers out of Indiana. (765)-675-8999.  Ask for Randy.

[90grad]

Eric,

The relay box is there.  I have no idea if the machine is functional or not, since we couldn't plug it in.  I'll talk to the guy next week and see about the price.  Basically, I can't afford the $500 right now.

[Creighton]

Just tell him that with the holidays and all, I can only pay $x.x. Leave your number and see what happens. Won't be out money you shouldn't spend could get a deal. Never hurts to try :-)
Creighton