I got my 44 today!

[collecture]

Overall a nice machine!
Main door is dented in somewhat and it is bowed out in the center a little. Door liner a little cracked and broken
Coin mech is one of the cleanest originals I have ever seen.
Inside is very clean too.
I cannot find any rust on it at all!
Even with the dented door, I am still happy with the purchase price.

[collecture]

I thought the bottle chute was wire on these.
Anyone seen this type?

[Yarochrehc]

Woow! That coin mech. looks new, and the rest of the machines looks good as well. 

I have worked on a 44 that had the same chute.

[mznb1u]

Looks very nice and very clean!  It seems like you got a good price to boot!  Congrats! 

I stopped to see a guy today who has a Vendo 44 for sale and it turns out that he has 3!!!  All three were in great condition with no noticeable rust, vending and cooling!  I might have bought one but prices were a little high for me.

One is beautifully restored--he wants $4,000 for that one.
One is all original in good shape with nice original paint--he wants $3,000 for that.
One is original but had a bad repaint job sometime in the past--he wants $2,600 for that.

Talk about an embarrasment of riches!  It seems that he started collecting back in the early 90's and has accumulated many Coke and other collectibles.  He is a very nice guy so I am going to keep in touch with him.  I am talking to him about some of his other stuff.  Stay tuned!

  Tim 

[johnnyfizz]

Wow! That's a nice clean machine that you got yourself there.Maybe someday for me too.

[MoonDawg]

      Tom, we know that you favor machines that are as original as possible. That dent
can be fixed without a body shop.
      I have installed sunroofs in new cars for 25 years now and dents sometimes happen.
We used to have to send the car for body and paint work, but in the last few years
a remarkable new industry has emerged........  paintless dent removal  
      Since you need a new door liner anyway, order that and the door gasket then find this
guy in your local phone book. My guy charges me $75.00 and it takes him less than an hour.
      Very nice original 44 Tom.

[oscar]

Nice clean original. I think paintless dent removal would be a great idea for this machine too.
I think you got a very good deal.

[collecture]

Thanks guys!
Yes I do like originals. I have a lot of pans in the fire right now, but as soon as I get a chance I'll give them a shout.
The guy I bought it from said he had owned it for 20 or so years. He bought it up in Flagstaff, so I believe it is a true AZ 'dry climate' machine. That would account for how very little rust is on it. He said that the dents are how it was when he bought it and he just left it that way. When he moved into his current house, he had nowhere to put it, so it has been in his shed cover up for the last 5 years. He just finally decided to get rid of it.
Total cost to get it in my garage was $1,461.00  

[SIGNGUY]

Great find Tom,
Awesome looking machine,,, cant' believe  that coin mech...
My best original machine is my Vendo 44, it's as clean as your photos as well, simply amazing how preserved it was, story it was in a grocery store it's whole life, never saw outside and it shows.. Gotta love originals..

[GreginNM]

Looks great, Tom!  That should be a relatively easy project to get finished up and displayed inside with the others!  I'm glad the deal worked out for you.  You are right, that is one darn nice looking coin mech!