My 81 restoration

[bmw90w]

 Alright guys this is my first crack at a restore. I decided to keep the outside original (even though it was painted two tone). The paint is in good shape with only a few holes. I am doing the best job I can on everything else. I plan to restore the inside. I have all new gaskets,motors,thermostat,insulation,stainless screw screws, door liner, ballast, glass, the works. I plan to sure it up as best as possible. As you can see, the beltline rust was terrible and rusted through. I am going to sandblast it and then undercoat it. The refrigeration unit has been sanded and getting ready for paint. Then I am gong to completely rewire it. These are the before pics, I will post after pics when they are ready. I am sure I will have plenty of questions! Thanks everyone for the great advice so far. That helped me feel confident enough to tackle this.

[Pat Pixley]

Well it is a good start and keep us posted on the steps you take
and with the photos also.
 

[bmw90w]

Will do. I am going to try to do something a little different and hammertone the compressor area. There are so many imperfections, it is impossible to sand them all. Hammertone should hide them well. Plus it should look pretty cool! Ill post as soon as its painted.

[bmw90w]

Still in the process of sanding! My sandblaster didn't do how I wanted. The rust on this machine is terrible, so the prep work is out of this world. So far the compressor deck is ready for paint. I am still working on the inside of the machine. I got a new steel plate to put over the rusted piece under the liner. Once that is in and undercoated, I will post pics.

[bmw90w]

Okay finally a little more progress. I replaced all the wiring and the ballast. I took out the coin mech heater, and replaced the bottle door gasket. I am ready to get the compressor area painted and install the new fans. Pics coming in a few days. Here is a pic of the new ballast and the bottle door gasket. I was wondering why they didn't originally use flat head screws. I replaced them with the same size stainless steel screws, but the gasket kind of sticks up a little where the screws are. Does it ever lay down flat? Maybe with the weight of the bottle door it will stay flat? Ill post the rest of the pics once stuff gets finished. Thanks everyone for the help so far.

[coke_and_stuff]

Looks great so far, Nothing wrong with original machines just take care of the rust and you will be set. Any questions feel free to ask.

Joey

[Eric]

There are a couple guys that make a piece ( don't know what it's called at the moment) but
you basicly cut out the “shelf” or bottom of the cabinet that the tub/liner sits over (the rusted out bottom)
and you place this insert in there that has about an inch to 2 inch lip around that you tack into its place.

Signguy has some made bet he could hook you up... heck he could even tell you the correct name of the part....
check out his site and see his restoration you can see one there I believe.. that would be the best you could do for that area.... Joey is another who has just restored an 81 that has loads of info he would share....
best of luck on the resotration and keep us posted ...with pics of course!

[bmw90w]

Finally getting somewhere!! Here is the cabinet which just got finished tonight. I ofcourse took care of all the rust and installed a piece like you were talking about Eric. I sprayed it with primer, and then followed up with rubberized undercoating. This thing is rock solid now and shouldn't rust for 50 more years!! I also painted the compressor deck. Now I just have to wire in the new fans etc. The pics don't do the compressor area justice because of the flash. All things considered, I am very happy. I just have to finish the bottle stack, shelves and tub and I am finished. Thanks to all that have helped me to finish what I have so far. Ill post more when I am finished. 

[Kilroy]

Looking Good!

[bmw90w]

Does anyone have the piece of metal the thermostat screws into here? I accidentally threw mine away