1954 AMI Jukebox

[BrianB]

It must be the season for 50's vintage AMI's to rear their heads! I have an opportunity to score a 1954 AMI Jukebox. That's how the seller had it listed with no pictures of course. I'm pretty confident that it's and "F" seing as how he was confident of the year and that it played 120 selections. The only wierd thing is that he also mentioned that it was a "Series 800". Not to sure about that!

He says it works like a champ and doesn't have any major problems and he's willing to make a deal off of the original asking price, he just wants it gone ASAP! He lives about an hour away so I guess it wouldn't hurt to go take a look at it.

I know how most feel about 50's AMI boxes. They definitely aren't my favorite when it comes to looks but for a good working vintage juke I might not nbe able to help myself!

[Kilroy]

I really think AMI's are heading the way  of squaretops, the Wurly's and seeburgs are getting too pricey, so people will start looking for a  cheaper ( price wise) alternative. 
From what i've reqad, AMI's can really kick out the volume, and are easy to work  on., they have a cool factor about them ,okay, not as flashy, but still you can look at one and know it wouldn't be out of place  next to a round top in the game room, and hey, they have the visible mech.   Listening to  the tune is  good, watching the record  load and play is even better.

Definately worth a look if the price is good

[Ken Layton]

That vintage of Rowe-Ami jukebox has an easy-to-rebuild amplifier.

[BrianB]

Ken,

Thanks for the info, that good news to hear. I just talked with the owner and he's super-motivated to deal which hopefully will translate into a good deal for me! 

He moved from a house to an apartment and is wants to move it out of the way to get some furniture in there. I personally would sacrifice a sofa for a juke!!

I'll let everybody know what happens.

[TomFromJersey]

Brian
  The series 800 is the mechanism inside the Juke. Shouldn't be more than a couple hundred bucks for a model F.

[mrsoda]

tom knows  his jukes and there value. He has  lots of  dealings with this stuff, good  guy to ask anything jukebox

[BrianB]

Thanks Tom!

I feel like I got a decent deal then. For a working AMI F-120 minus the coin mech I paid $260 and only had to drive 45 mins each way so gas wasn't really an issue.

when the guy told me it played 120 selections and was a 1954 vintage AMI I figured that it must be an "F". I don't have any experience with AMI's in particular, I'm more of a Seeburg guy. He didn't have any pictures on his Craigslist listing so I was going off of his written info.

I talked to him on the phone to let him know that I wanted to take a look at it and I asked him to repeat the vitals for the juke and he mentioned it was a Model 800 which threw me a bit.

When I got there I saw the nomeclature plate inside on the mech. Felt better about that.

I'll post some pic's later!

[mrsoda]

nice buy brian, love to see someone get a good deal jeff

[BrianB]

Welp, got the AMI "F" homes with no problems. Gave it a quick once over to familiarize myself with it and to see if there was anything noticable missing. Other than the coin mech and a few small fasteners the only other thing that it's missing is the turntable cover.

The previous owner decided that the original orange paint job wasn't up to snuff so they decided to paint the entire thing black and decorate it with magazine and newspaper clipping. Very 60's-ish looking! The main door light was out and only need a new starter to get it going.

At first the mech wouldn't select. After replacing a blown fuse it began to select and play a record but wouldn't cancel, reject or replace the rejected/canceled record. Turns out a misadjusted switch blade was the culprit and it now runs through a complete cycle with no problems. I also removed and cleaned the volume control pot which mad a world of difference.

I'll more than likely refinish the exterior of the box and bring it back to it's original color and re-cap the amp and then call it day.

Anybody happen to have a "F" manual handy? I know that Victory and Ebay sells them but I'm all about being a "cheap-o"

[loman4ec]

Where are the pictures??