These machines were manufactured sometime in the late 1950s. The Cavalier 96 is a popular machine today because it was made with adjustable shelves that allow a variety of bottle sizes to be vended. Bottles ranging in size from 6.5 ounces to 10 ounces are able to fit into the machine. It’s also possible to change the amount charged per bottle; the machine can be set to charge up to $1.00 per bottle.

Vintage soda vending machines are great to use in your home or office since you can fill your drink box with your favorite bottled beverage. With a 96-bottle capacity, the 96 is a good size vendor to have in your home. It makes for a fun and functional piece that’s also a real conversation starter.

Dimensions:
67”H x 24 3/4”W x 21 7/8”D

Manufactured by:
Cavalier Corporation
1105 East Tenth Street
Chattanooga, Tennessee

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

Introduced in 1959, the 17-inch tabletops were the most common models. Their cabinets came in a variety of colors. These models were called the Princess and the Debutante. The Predicta Princess was available in a 17”inch or 21-inch B&W screen.

Many people collect the Predicta for its unique appearance, but from its early days was known as being a difficult television to repair. There are reproduction Predicta televisions being manufactured today with color TV screens. These are being sold under the Predicta Telstar name. Shown here is the Princess model, made to resemble the original 1959 TV.

Measures: 25.5”H x 26”W x 20”D

Manufactured by:
Philco Corporation
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The vintage photo above is of a Coca-Cola Dispenser Service delivery truck. This is a great old photo, not only of the 1919 Ford Model T truck, but it also shows a variety of vintage Coca-Cola bottle dispensers. These coolers were probably destined for Mom and Pop stores throughout the neighborhood.

The dark colored cooler on the rear of the truck is a Glascock Standard. This is the red and green chest cooler that Glascock manufactured from the late 1920s through the 1930s. It was the first standardized icebox that was manufactured for the Coca-Cola Company. The space under the cooler could accommodate up to 4 cases of bottles of Coke, in addition to the 72 bottles that fit in the ice-filled cooler.

As far as the other Coca-Cola coolers on the truck, if you can identify any of them, please send us your comments.

This illustration is from an old advertisement in our archives for a Coca-Cola water cooler/bottle vendor combination. Based on the Coke logo and the styling of the unit, it most likely dates from about 1920 to 1930. This innovative vendor is a water cooler with a cooling box to hold bottles of Coca-Cola. It’s really a clever marketing piece, since even if you prefer a cup of water, the Coca-Cola ad and the tempting cold bottles are right there, promoting the soft drink product. This stand was probably designed for use in an office.

Produced: 1920 to 1930

This is an assortment of Park-O-Meter parking meters. They were manufactured by the Magee-Hale Park-O-Meter Company. The founder of this company, Carl C. Magee, is recognized as the first person to receive a patent for a paying parking meter. His patent was issued in 1938. Magee’s invention of the parking meters was the result of a request by the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce to solve their downtown-parking problem. People were parking in the parking spaces for too long, including people who worked downtown that parked in the spots all day. This resulted in lost income for the local merchants. Paying for a parking spot assured that people would move once their time was expired on the meter. In addition, the meters earned significant revenue for the town of Oklahoma City.

The meters pictured here allowed 2 hours of parking for a nickel. They were manufactured in the 1950s and have been restored and painted in different colors. A great reuse of one of these meters would be as a conversation piece in a gameroom or office.

These items are not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

These photos are of the restoration process we went through with a fire department call box. It came to us in pretty bad shape and required sandblasting, repair work, wiring and repainting. The manufacturer is unknown, but the style strongly resembles that of Gamewell fire boxes of the 1940s and 1950s. Gamewell Corp. of Massachusetts has been a major manufacturer of fire and police call boxes since 1879.

The box was missing the upper door that would originally have had a pull down alarm, but this was remedied by adding the telephone with a light above. The vintage wall phone is also from the 1950s. The finished product is a functional telephone stand as well as a great conversation piece. This is a great example of how vintage items can be restored and repurposed to use in your home or office today as a truly unique decorating touch.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby.

We know that this is a Vendo V-240 case vending machine, but have not seen any more information on this machine. It looks like a model designed specifically for factories and other large places and was probably produced in very small numbers. It was a very large machine, capable of dispensing 10 cases of soda, or 240 bottles.

The way this machine dispensed soft drinks is unique too. Rather than starting out with bottles being loaded into a drum or onto shelves, the entire case of soda was loaded into the machine. As you can see in this diagram, the conveyor transported the whole case around the interior of the machine as each case was emptied. The motion resembles that of a Ferris wheel. Once a bottle was released, gravity would take over and the bottle would drop into the chute.

As clever as this design is, it obviously didn’t catch on, as this is the only machine like this that I have seen. Please let us know if you’ve seen one of these.

This is a gas pump that we restored at Vintage Vending years ago. It is a twin pump model called the Tokheim 350-P. Manufactured from 1956 to 1960, this pump was made by the Tokheim Corporation of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There is a large “face” on each side, allowing gas to be pumped from both sides as well as offering two different brands of gasoline on each side.

Restoration consisted of stripping, repairing and painting with our auto body restoration process. It was clear-coated and detailed with the Sky Chief and Fire-Chief Texaco brands.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby.

These are photos of a U.S. mailbox that we restored some years ago. It dates to the late 1950s or some time in the early to mid-1960s. The manufacturer is unknown, but the style of the box is very much like the early designs conceived of by Postmaster David C. Owens in the early 1900s. The original boxes Owens designed were made of cast iron and were produced until the 1940s. Because of the resemblance to those boxes, this style box has become known as an Owens-style mailbox. This particular box is made of a sheet metal and is modeled on the earlier Owens design.

The machine featured in these photos is a Mills 47-N. It was manufactured from 1939 to 1945 and has a 104-bottle vending capacity. It has the distinctive cathedral top and two-tone (red and green) paint. This machine was made by the Mills Novelty Company of Chicago, Illinois, the largest manufacturer of coin-operated machines until they closed in 1953.

The first police call boxes were created in 1883 for the city of Washington, D.C. They made it possible for both the public and the police to contact the local police station in the event of an emergency. The idea quickly caught on across the U.S. and call boxes were installed in other large cities. Police walkie-talkies eventually made call boxes unnecessary in most cities by the late 1960s.

This aluminum call box was manufactured by The Gamewell Company of New York in the mid-1900s. The original Detroit police call boxes were painted a solid blue. This one has been redone with a striking black, white and gold color combination, as well as the modern-day slogan, “No Drugs” painted on the side. Inside is a wall-style telephone. Northern Electric made this particular model called the Uniphone sometime in the 1940’s or 50’s.

Dimensions: 16”H x 11”W x 5”D
Produced: Mid-1900s

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

These photos are of two models of water cooler manufactured by the Westinghouse Electric Company some time in the 1940s. These are not simply water bubblers, like those commonly seen in public places. These models were designed to be used in a different setting, such as an office. They both have a freezer compartment for ice cube trays, as well as a refrigeration compartment to accommodate bottled soft drinks, with enough room to store bag lunches. One model even comes equipped with a bottle cap catcher. The design of these is very practical and machines like these must have appeared in many workplaces across the US.

Produced: 1940s
Manufactured by: Westinghouse Electric Company

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

Here are some before and after pictures of a 1930’s Steelcraft hook & ladder pedal car. As you can see from the before pictures, it was in decent shape for its age and was complete, except for the ladders. It was rusty but had no major dents, so the restoration was pretty straightforward. This was restored some years ago. Looking at the pictures now, I noticed we did not put the trim back on the side of the car. I am not sure why, but in any case, I think it came out just fine. And one other note: this pedal car was found in a basement in Methuen, MA.

Produced: late 1930s
Manufactured by: Steelcraft Co.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

Here is a fiberglass sign featuring the Howard Johnson’s Pie Man and Little Boy that we restored a few years back. These once graced the entrance to every Ho Jo’s in the country. Restoration is pretty straightforward; a very light sand or bead blast, body filling, sanding, priming, sanding again and finally, painting. This is really a great piece of Americana when it’s all finished.

To learn more about the history of Howard Johnson’s read our blog about it on Retroplanet.com.

http://www.retroplanet.com/blog/character-of-the-week/simple-simon-and-the-pieman/

Sometimes I can’t recall where some of the things came to us from years ago when we were in the restoration business. Take for example, this Dallas Country Club 13th hole golf ball washer. This probably came to us as part of a larger collection we purchased. In any case, it was a neat little item as well an easy restoration. The work consisted of some light sandblasting, some textured red powder coating and some hand lettering. When you’re finished, you have a neat little piece of golfing memorabilia.

Here is a theater ticket-shredding machine from the 1930s that we restored. Stands like these were positioned in a theater lobby and manned by a ticket-taker, or usher. They collected admission tickets to shred them as the patrons entered the theater. The tickets were dropped into the top of the machine and then the ticket-taker turned the wheel on the side of the stand to grind them up. The reason behind destroying the tickets was so they couldn’t be used by another patron to gain entrance to the show, and perhaps also, to avoid ticket resale by the usher. In theaters today they tear the ticket in half and ask you to hold onto the remaining stub so you can prove you paid to get in.

We restored this machine to reflect the art deco design trend that was so popular in the 1930s. The art deco style is reflected in the graphics and type style, as well as the chrome details on the stand.

Produced: Late 1930s

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

The Modern Tool & Die Company was started in 1932 by three men: Theo Moll, Emil Jochum and Erwin Gerhard. A new division was added in 1953 called Midwest Industries. They made their first pressed steel pedal car in 1956 and rapidly built a reputation for high-quality craftsmanship. The pedal car they produced was the Studebaker Jet Hawk sedan. It was based on the actual 1956 Studebaker Hawk car series (there was a Golden Hawk, Flight Hawk, Sky Hawk, Powerhawk and a Silver Hawk).

There were only three car styles made based on the single chassis stamping of the Studebaker pedal car. The sedan style was called the Jet Hawk and originally came with tail fins and a large hood ornament. The Sportster and Strato-Jet were produced from the same body with modifications to the paint and graphics.

Slight modifications to the body were made over the next few years including adding a platform to the rear to adapt the car to a hook-and-ladder fire engine model. Another change was to make the grille more flat and minor adjustments were made to the hood to create a new appearance.

Because of the short production period of these cars, and the fact that they were never mass-produced, they are not that easy to find examples of. This is a Studebaker Strato-Jet that we restored. The colors are not original, but rather, this is a custom paint job with airbrushed flames and grille.

Dimensions: 37”L
Produced: 1956 to 1962

Manufactured by:
Midwest Industries
Willard, Ohio

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in our museum for viewing, information and to further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also just want to share the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

In the 1930s the Good Humor ice cream company saw the need to be able to sell ice cream where people spent their time in the good weather—outdoors. Their solution was to send out a fleet of ice cream vending tricycles. They went directly to Schwinn and asked them if they were interested in designing something for them. Schwinn turned them down, but not before directing them to Worksman, a small bicycle manufacturer in New York that was already producing something like that. Worksman was busy producing Good Humor ice cream vending trikes for 40 years. They still manufacture all sorts of recreation and vending bicycles today.

This 1950s ice cream tricycle is one that we restored. As you can see by the old paint, there was a generic brand of ice cream painted on it originally. All of the trike’s components are the original pieces. Everything was stripped, repaired and repainted. The restoration was completed with a custom paint job and new wide whitewall tires.

Produced: 1950s
Dimensions: 100″L x 25″W x 40″H

Manufactured by:
Worksman Cycles
Queens, New York

Here is a Vendo coin changer painted in Pepsi colors and fastened to a custom-made stand with custom graphics. Vendo put out the coin changer so you could get nickels in place of a quarter or a dime, primarily so you could buy a Coke from one of their soda machines. You would find them mostly painted in Coca-Cola red, but they could also be found in a generic color scheme. Not sure they were available in Pepsi colors, we just decided to paint one Pepsi blue for a change.

The Coca-Cola Company certainly made an effort to get their name out wherever they could, as evidenced by these brochure pages for a Coca-Cola school zone sign. On this page dating to 1966, the sign was categorized as “outside advertising” and was probably suggested safety and marketing equipment directed at storeowners in the vicinity of schools. These signs would not have been used by the local highway department. The text says they were “redesigned to conform with city and state regulations, which prohibit the use of signs similar to official regulatory signs”. They were an opportunity to advertise while also projecting a “good neighbor” image.
The sign itself was constructed of half-inch plywood with a laminated surface sheet, with a front and a back as you can see here. The sign bolts onto a rust proofed base designed to make the sign stable. The graphics are reflective and, interestingly, the copy says that if the sign is accidentally left out at night it will provide “additional advertising value”.

We restored the base of this Coca-Cola school zone sign. The plywood placard was in nice shape already.

Dimensions: 16”W x 50”H
Base diameter: 24”

This late 1950s Cavalier CS-96 soda machine is a one-of-kind vending machine. On it we did a custom restoration for a college fraternity. The colors are inspired by their fraternity insignia and rather than dispensing soda, the shelves were adjusted so vending long neck beer bottles is no problem.

The Cavalier 96 is popular today because it was originally constructed with the adjustable shelves and also allowed varying amounts to be charged for dispensing. It is possible to charge up $1.00 per bottle and bottles from 6.5 ounces to 10 ounces are able to fit in the machine.

It’s a good example of how vintage soda vending machines can still be used in your home or office. Even if you keep the Coca-Cola embossing, you can fill your drink box with any bottled beverage that will fit for a fun and functional conversation piece in your home.

Please note we are no longer in the restoration business.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

Found this interesting picture in one of the old magazines we have around here. The Middletown, Ohio Coca-Cola Bottling Company has their float ready for the Old Fashioned Days celebration. Looks like they took one of their Coca-Cola Company Ford pick-ups and decked it out in all things Coke. What I find most interesting is the size of that six-pack and I wonder if it survived? Is it in someone’s garage or warehouse or did it get tossed and is it gone forever? What the heck is that thing made out of? Were they mass-produced, and if so did any survive?

Here is a New York City Fire Department call box we restored some years back. Not sure, but I would have to guess it was from the 1920’s or 30’s given what the insides looked like. You can still see these poles all over NYC, but the cool front doors and insides have been replaced with modern and efficient communication equipment.

What made this restoration somewhat challenging was its weight of roughly 400 pounds. Also, it was covered with many years of paint that needed to be removed. Once the paint was stripped, hundreds of little pits were revealed in the cast iron. It took hours and hours of filling these holes with Bondo that was applied by fingertip. Sanding before paint was also a very time-consuming process, especially trying to get into all the ornate details.

The lesson here is that it’s easy to underestimate the work involved when you first look at an item for restoration. It may not turn out to be as easy as you think. Sandblasting and throwing a coat of paint on an item can turn into a hundred hours if you want it done right.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

Here is an interesting brochure we came across featuring the V-17 “Office Vendo Top”.

I have never seen one of these and I doubt it was ever manufactured, given this is just a drawing. What’s interesting is that the Vend Top is on what is clearly a Cavalier Office Cooler, but the top appears to be from Vendo given it’s name of “V-17 Office Vendo Top”. Vendo always named its models by how many bottles they would vend, preceded by a “V”. For example, Vendo-81, Vendo 110, Vendo 39 and so on.

If anyone has any information on this, please blog-in and let us know. If it does exist, some photos would be great.

This is a Coca-Cola Stadium Vendor that we restored. Many collectors refer to these as “bottle carriers” but they were more than that. These were not used simply to transport bottles of Coca-Cola. They were used at baseball games and other events where there were large crowds. A hawker would circulate through the crowd and shout out that he had refreshing, cold soft drinks to sell.

You can imagine that these stadium vendors could get pretty heavy after a while. They were loaded up with glass Coca-Cola bottles and plenty of ice to keep them cold. In addition, this stadium vendor had a unique feature of also have designated spaces for both paper cups and straws. This particular stadium vendor was made some time in the 1950s.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

This is a Marx Lightning Express 3000 Train that we restored. It was made in the 1950s by Louis Marx & Co. as a ride on toy for children. It’s made of steel, and in the 1950s, Marx was the leading manufacturer of metal toys in the world.

The front of our train engine is different than the original. It’s the same as that found on the Marx Pioneer Express model and to this we added an airbrushed headlight. And this train has been painted a shiny red, where the original toy was shades of grey with red accents. It’s a great bit of nostalgia for anyone who remembers toys from this era.

Dimensions: 12”H x 27”L

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

We owned these three interesting and rare clocks many years ago and just wanted to share the photos with you. They were manufactured by Swihart Products of Elwood, Indiana.

They are referred to as the rocking logo clock because the logos on top rock back and forth. In addition to that cool feature, they are also neon clocks. We do not know much more about them so if you do, please blog in and let us know.

These items are not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration.

The Zenith movie projector was manufactured by the Safety Projector Company of Duluth, Minnesota. Old projectors make great decor for a home theater room. We restored this one years ago with an Art Deco color scheme. The projector did not work and was just cosmetically restored. Not sure, but I would guess this was from the 1930’s.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

This is the second part of our blog on the Victor Kooler Grill. Be sure to check out Part One where we give you a little history of this unique Coca-Cola cooler also known as the “Hot Dogger”.

Our restoration of the Victor Kooler Grill was probably one of the most challenging and time consuming restorations we had ever undertaken. According to the owner at the time, the cooler was found in a shed that pool chemicals were stored in. This left a lot of the parts in pretty tough shape because of the corrosive effect of years of being around chemicals.

As you can see from the ‘before’ picture, the stainless steel was in bad shape and it all needed to be remade or restored in some way. It was missing some parts like the hot dog grill itself and all of the signage. We also installed all new refrigeration equipment.

The Kooler Grill is essentially a three-door Victor with about a foot added to accommodate the grill, sink and bun warmer. Approximately the remaining two-thirds comprises the refrigerated section. As you can see by these photos we took the machine totally apart.

If not for all of the corroded and missing parts it would have been pretty much a straightforward restoration. The process was to take it apart, sandblast, execute bodywork, paint, reassemble and update the electrical and refrigeration systems. Of course, cleaning and remaking a lot of the stainless pieces including the distinctive arch, slowed down the process.

I understand that this cooler has changed hands a couple of times since the restoration and recently sold for a huge amount of money. So keep your eyes open, I am sure there are more of these sitting around somewhere collecting dust waiting to be found and restored. I hope you enjoyed our blogs and the photos of this unique machine.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

This was a very interesting dispenser put out by the Glasco Corporation. First introduced in 1956, it was a stadium or event vendor that was used to vend cold cups of Coca-Cola. The stainless steel tank was pre-chilled and was able to keep the Coke cold for at least 2 hours. This was considered a pre-mix dispenser, since it contained both syrup and carbonated water. Each soft drink dispenser was capable of dispensing 40 servings in as little as 10 minutes. The cup holder was able to hold up to 50 7-ounce paper cups.

This ad claims that 49,811 cups were sold by 12 roaming vendors at a large stadium event. We owned one of these years ago but never restored it. Just one of the many items I wish we still owned.

Weight: 19 lbs. without product, 35.5 lbs. when full

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

Today’s blog is part one of a two-part blog about the Victor Coca-Cola Kooler Grill. In part one this week, we’d like to introduce you to the one-of-a-kind Victor Kooler Grill and outline it’s history and uses.

This was one of the most unique coolers ever to be made. The Victor Coca-Cola Kooler Grill was a soft drink cooler and hot dog grill all in one. It was extremely functional and eye-catching as well. They were made exclusively for the Coca-Cola Company. They were manufactured in 1954 and there were only 50 of them produced. Only 9 of them are known to be still in existence today.

They were designed to serve as fully functioning snack bars. The built-in bun steamer and chili pot were standard equipment. As were the stainless steel hot dog rollers on the Roll-a-Grill. There is a cutting board, a stainless steel countertop and chrome trim throughout. The grill is set behind plexi-glass so patrons could watch the hot dogs while they sizzled. The cash register was made to match the rest of the cooler. There were optional accessories that were also available. These included a rack for empty bottles, a cup dispenser, a wastebasket and a drop-in pre-mix soft drink dispenser. It’s a very large machine, taking up more than 18 square feet of floor space. As if this weren’t enough to attract attention, atop the grill is a distinctive arch made of stainless steel tubing. Sitting atop the arch is an illuminated sign made up of a horizontal tube reading “grilled hot dogs” and a round halo sign with the Coca-Cola logo that lights up and revolves.

This Kooler Grill was a groundbreaker in both product merchandising and food service. Next week we’ll discuss the restoration we did of one of these unique Coca-Cola coolers.

Dimensions: 90 5/8”W x 31 9/16”D x 88 5/8”H
Vending capacity: 510 bottles and 510 hot dogs
Weight: Approximately 895 lbs.

Manufactured by:
Victor
Hagerstown, Maryland

Watch the Coca-Cola Kooler Grill Video

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

The tank was one of the cars in an amusement park ride for kids that went round and round and is most likely from the 1950’s. It sat five children and they all had their own noise making crank machine guns. Safe to say in this politically correct world of today they are not making many kiddie tank amusement rides with guns. One amazing thing about this piece was when we went to restore it we found it 100% complete. None of the chrome accents or trim pieces or even the name tag were missing which was surprising considering all the years of use and that there is so much of it.

We changed the paint scheme when we restored it but it was a pretty straightforward restoration. Take apart, sandblast, bodywork, clean or send out accent pieces for chrome, recover the seats, paint and then put it back together.

The real time consuming part was hand painting all of the camouflage after the base color of paint was laid down but I think all that time was worth it. Hope you like it.

View the video of this restored Patton Tank Kiddie Ride

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

Custom Chevy Progress Picnic Cooler

We restored this generic Progress picnic cooler as an accessory for a 1957 Chevy show car. Painted the same color as the car, it was set out next to it during cruise nights. This was a fantasy piece; Progress never made a Chevrolet picnic cooler.

The Chevrolet gold emblem was probably purchased from a supplier of reproduction Chevy parts like Danchuk Manufacturing, Inc.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

Carta Blanca beer is produced by a Mexican brewery that has been in business since the late 1800’s. So it is no surprise that they know how to market their products, and in the 1950’s that included colorful coolers.

We restored this cooler about 6 years ago. It was in very tough shape, but they are rare, so we decided to put the necessary work into bringing it back. Check out the embossing and the de-bossing all over this cooler. Front, back, inside and outside the lid. We went with a bright yellow paint scheme and added the pinstriping to the sides. This cooler still resides at the Retroplanet.com offices.

We also restored a slightly different version in red, look for it in a future blog.

Manufacturer – Unknown
Size – 22”W X 14.5”D X 39 ”H

View the video of this restored Carta Blanca Cerveza Ice Chest

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

This photo is of a page from The Coca-Cola Company’s 1957 catalog featuring commemorative Coca-Cola jewelry, made by the L. G. Balfour Company. Since the turn of the century, The Coca-Cola Company has believed in creating employee incentive and rewarding loyalty with acknowledgment that may have come in the form of merchandise, gift cards or discount vouchers. As seen by these catalog pages, in 1957 Coca-Cola turned to the L.G. Balfour Company of Attleboro, MA to create gifts with their insignia. Balfour has been making quality jewelry since 1913. Lloyd Garfield Balfour originally started the company to make items for fraternities and sororities on college campuses. During WWI the US Government hired them to make military insignia for the Armed Forces. When the war was over, Balfour created new product lines including a wide array of company service awards. The Coca-Cola Company awarded pins to their employees after completing every five years of service up to what appears to be 50 years according to the catalog. The pins were 10K gold and included enamel and/or genuine precious stones. The last pin shown is in a classic Coke bottle shape and is listed as a “Pledge Pin” for the modest price of $1.50. At the bottom of the catalog page you can see they also offered a genuine Rolex watch for the phenomenal 1957 price of $50.75.

The next page of the catalog illustrates a wide array of additional items awarded by The Coca-Cola Company and made by Balfour. Included are a makeup compact, bracelets, a necklace, tie clips, a keychain, a money clip, a lighter and a belt buckle. Noted is the option of having the item made with a “50th Anniversary mounting, Coca-Cola Bottle mounting, or Coca-Cola (logo) mounting”.

This 1962 catalog page shows that Bulova also made merchandising items for The Coca-Cola Company. These products were also directed at the management at Coca-Cola as gifts and awards for their employees. Each quality watch bears the Coca-Cola logo painted in red on the watch face. The ad states, “With these beautiful watches Bulova helps you say ‘Thank You’ in an unforgettable way”. I’m sure the lucky recipients were very happy to receive these gifts and also very proud to wear them.

The Jewett Bevador Giant Circular Cooler

The Bevador cooler is a beast, but yet a very interesting item! With the dome top it measures 7’ 6” tall and weighs in at 1050 pounds. It was produced in the 1950’s by the Jewett Refrigerator Co. of Buffalo, NY. Inside the cooler are seven revolving adjustable shelves. The door has five feet of white neon tubes between the glass. We owned one of these and considered restoring it several times but never got around to it. I have seen them restored as Coke bottles, but our idea was to take off the top and restore it like the 1960’s Coca-Cola Diamond pattern can. The one we owned was just in too bad a shape to do anything with so we sold it ‘as is’.

I believe the company is still in business and manufactures blood refrigeration cabinets. I’m not 100% sure, so if anyone has any information please blog-in and let us know.

Jewett Refrigerator Co.
94-98 Pearl Street
Buffalo, NY

The iPump iMac Computer Gas Pump

At Vintage Vending we first put an Apple iMac computer in an original gas pump in 1999. The idea was to create a workstation for a car collector’s garage or a kiosk for an automobile dealer. The one pictured here we did for ourselves to use at trade-shows and in our retail store. With the iMac you could surf the web, listen to iTunes or show photos with an iPhoto slideshow.

To pull this alteration off, we took an original Gilbarco 96 gas pump and mounted the computer where the faceplate would have been. Then we custom finished the opening for a nice clean look. The faceplate became the screensaver. To access the keyboard we built a slide out drawer and mounted a mousepad to the right side of the pump. We also added extra speakers and a cooling fan in the back. As with all of our restorations, it was finished inside and out.

We hope you like it and if you have any interest in owning one we still have one available painted in Chevy colors.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

Hobart Coffee Grinder

Here are some “before” and “after” photos of a Hobart coffee grinder we restored. Coffee grinders have been around for a very long time and come in all kind of styles and shapes. They range from commercial models you would find in supermarkets and restaurants to home hand crank grinders. I have always liked the commercial deco-style ones like this Hobart, so when I found one at an antique store we restored it. When complete they make great kitchen, restaurant and coffee shop decor.

1959 Cadillac Car Couch

We restored hundreds and hundreds of items over the years—but only one car couch. Car couches are typically made by cutting off the back quarter of a very distinct collectible car. The secret, however, is that it usually comes from the less collectible four-door model of that car or one that has severe front-end damage.

What makes this 1959 Cadillac couch different from most car couches is that it was done in reverse. When car couches are made, the seat is usually placed inside where the trunk formerly was. But the customer who commissioned this piece wanted it done differently, making the restoration a bit of a challenge. The couch was to go in their basement recreation room, so they wanted to be able to see the tail light fins when you walked down the stairs, but have the seating facing away. It would be freestanding in the middle of the room. This would be the opposite of most car couches you see that are made to go against a wall.

This was a pretty involved project with lots of welding, fabrication, bodywork, paint, upholstery & chroming. We have included a few pictures of the process in addition to the finished piece. Also check out the two hassocks we made to compliment the piece. This is definitely one item I would love to still own.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby.

To view more pictures of the completed restoration visit the Retroplanet.com Museum.

Official Coca-Cola Company Uniforms

Are you in the mood for a little nostalgia? These photos are of vintage brochures advertising various styles of Riverside uniforms made for the employees of the Coca-Cola Company. The Riverside Manufacturing Company has been in business since 1911, and still makes corporate uniforms today out of Moultrie, Georgia.

Similar to the example we saw in an earlier blog about standardized painting of Coca-Cola trucks, it was also important to the Coca-Cola Company that their employees have a ‘uniform’ look. They understood the value of a standardized look and the customer loyalty and sales that were generated by this attention to detail. All the coordinated elements (advertising, soda machines, trucks, employee uniforms) combined to create a total corporate identity. In addition, this uniformity made the employees themselves feel better, as it created a sense of a democracy and working together as a team, as opposed to emphasizing a workplace hierarchy.

Coca-Cola still has their employees wear uniforms today, but they are a far cry from the crisp, military styles of the past. Where today you will see drivers and delivery people wearing a polo shirt or casual button-down shirt paired with a baseball-style cap, in the 1940’s and 50’s the uniforms were designed to look very similar to those worn by military personnel. This applied to both men and the women. The uniform for the men consisted of a crisp long or short-sleeve shirt and slacks with a military style cap. The women’s uniform was a dress resembling those worn by nurses during WWII with a cap to complete a polished, professional appearance. In addition to creating a sense of professionalism, the uniforms also created an authoritative air. Because, after all, Coke had a lot of fierce competition, all vying for the bulk of the soft drink market. Standardized trucks and uniforms were an effective way to give a trustworthy and dependable appearance to the man delivering “The Pause That Refreshes” and to give Coca-Cola the upper hand in the marketplace.

Riverside Manufacturing Company
Corporate Office
301 Riverside Drive

Moultrie, Georgia

A Big Bob’s Big Boy

We were always on the lookout for unrestored fiberglass Bob’s Big Boy statues when we where in the restoration business. So when we were offered one at a good price about seven years ago, we said “Sure, we’ll take it”. But when the truck showed up with the delivery, it was a bit of a surprise. It seems the guy who was working for me at the time didn’t think to ask how big it was when buying it. In all fairness to him, we did not know there was a larger version of good old Bob. The two we had restored to that point were about eight feet tall, but this one was north of fourteen feet. He was so big I think they had to cut off the hamburger to ship him. In any case, we never restored him. It was just too much work. Someone ended up buying him unrestored and I am sure he is still out there smiling away somewhere.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

1950’s Lusse Bumper Car Restoration

It’s hard to imagine that there is anyone alive that hasn’t ridden a bumper car at one time or another. Still one of the most popular rides at amusement parks today, bumper cars date back to 1920, when the first bumper car ride was invented by Max and Harold Stoehrer of Methuen, Massachusetts. Their invention was called the Dodgem. These rides that allowed people to bump into each other were so popular that others decided to get in on the action, and profits. Two cousins, Joseph and Robert Lusse of Philadelphia owned a machine shop that supplied rollercoaster parts to Philadelphia Toboggan (now the oldest rollercoaster manufacturing company still in business in the world). In 1922 the Lusses filed their first patent for a bumper car. Over the years, they filed a total of 9 patents for bumper cars, or as they called them, Lusse Skooters.

“Bumper car” is a term referring to an electric-powered ride that has a rubber surround, allowing the riders to crash into each other. The cars sit on a metal floor and have a pole on them, allowing the cars to draw electricity from a grid on the ceiling of the ride. Each car has a wheel for steering and an accelerator pedal to get it moving.

This Lusse Brothers Skooter is from the early 1950’s. We restored a total of 3 bumper cars over the years, including the stripping, repair work and painting of the cars. For more pictures of the finished Lusse, visit the RetroPlanet.com Museum.

Manufactured by:

Lusse Brothers Inc.

2809 North Fairhill Street

Philadelphia, PA

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby.

What do you do when you have a couple of undesirable, enormous and basically worthless Vendo 144 soda machines? You turn them into restroom doors. These are photos of the restrooms that were in our retail store in Salem, NH. We took two Vendo 144 doors and restored them to like new condition and bolted them to a couple of solid doors. If you try this, keep in mind that they are heavy and you may have to reinforce the doorjamb and hinges. But the extra work is worth it; the doors always received great compliments and a second look from everyone who saw them.

1950’s Esso Tiger Advertising Statue “Put a Tiger In Your Tank”

These pictures and video are of the Esso Tiger we restored a few years back and that still guards the Retroplanet.com world headquarters. The pictures show the ‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’ stages. At Vintage Vending we restored 3 of these over the years. This one is the smaller of the two sizes that were used by Esso, and is different then most Tigers because of the embossed Esso logo on the back leg.

The Tiger is fiberglass so the restoration process entailed stripping the old paint, fiberglass repair work, primer, sanding, a basecoat of paint, airbrushing the details and then clear coat to finish.

Here are a couple of tips if you decide to restore one.
1. If you sandblast—be very careful. Use a media that is not that abrasive; you do not want to break through that outer layer of fiberglass. I believe we used crushed walnut shells.
2. Also, do your best to find one with its tail. Many are missing theirs and they’re not the easiest things to duplicate.

All in all, it is not a hard restoration, especially if you have access to a good airbrush artist. Good luck.

Pictorial Decalcomanias, or Diner Signs

Although a little hard to read, the photo title reads “Dual Purpose Pictorial Decalcomanias”. In other words, decals. These images were transferred using heat to a non-porous surface, such as glass or ceramic. The process is an offset process, meaning the image is reversed when placed onto the surface. The first patent issued for use of this process was in 1951, although ceramic decals were in use as early as the beginning of the 20th century. These images were most likely marketed to and used by small restaurants and diners in the 1950’s. (We know the Sprite Boy stopped being used by the Coca-Cola Company in 1961. And he appears at the bottom of the photo, behind the Coke bottle.)

The text on the photo says, “These colorful designs, shown here on 16” plain discs, can be used on signs, inside or outside windows, or on any smooth surface.” Based on the rather large size of these decals, they were probably used for signs and windows. All of the images shown here are food items, with the exception of the last one, which is of a bowling ball and pins. Why bowling, you may ask? Perhaps to broaden the appeal of the signs to bowling alleys with lunch counters.

What do you think? Blog-in with your feedback/comments.

“Ride the Champion” — Kiddie Horse Ride

Children’s coin-operated rides first appeared on the scene in the late 1940’s. At that time, cowboys were all the rage, and the most famous of all was Gene Autry. For every child aspiring to be a cowboy, there was the coin-operated ride named after Autry’s horse, “Champion”. We restored this 1950’s “Ride the Champion” Kiddie Ride here at Vintage Vending. It was working when we got it. It was stripped and repainted. The base was powder-coated and the horse was airbrushed and then clear-coated. The sign was fabricated metal that was meticulously hand painted. We no longer own this whimsical piece, but we’re sure kids still get a great deal of enjoyment from it.

These very popular rides for kids are still being manufactured and used today.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby. To view more pictures of the completed restoration visit the RetroPlanet.com Museum.

Auto-Lite Spark Plug Automotive Parts Store Counter Display

This was a great little Auto-Lite spark plug counter display we restored. It looked a little rough on the outside, but inside the case was pretty clean. Most importantly, it had all the original spark plugs and the curved glass was not broken.

It was a pretty basic restoration: take apart, sandblast, bodywork, prime, sand, paint, reassemble, apply decals and it was done.

I think it is safe to say they don’t make displays like this anymore, and I am happy to say I have this piece in my collection.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby.

“Coca-Cola Truck and Car Paint Schemes” at Retroplanet.com

Standardization of the Coca-Cola identity is discussed at the Retroplanet.com blog, “Coca-Cola Truck and Car Paint Schemes”. Click on http://www.retroplanet.com/blog/category/vintage-vending-archives/ to see the Standardization Bulletins issued by the Standardization Committee of Bottlers of Coca-Cola in 1948 and 1957. They’re very interesting!

Unknown Ice Cream Machine

Here are some pictures of an unknown ice cream machine. Don’t know much about it, but it appears to be from the late fifties. It is a five-selection, short cabinet design machine. One of the pictures appears to be from a trade show, along with some other interesting vending machines. If anyone has any info please blog in and let us know.

Refrigerated Apples Vending Machine

I never realized there was such a market for fruit vending machines back in the day. This cool-looking machine is the third fruit vendor that we have come across a photo or literature on. It appears to be a 1950’s machine and was probably rare even back then. If you have ever seen one of these or have any information on it we would love to hear from you.

Canteen Hot Dog and Hamburger Vending Machine

This isn’t a great picture, but it’s all we have on this one. This vending machine with “Canteen” across the top appears to be some sort of a hot food vendor. The graphics on the mirror look to be a hamburger and a hot dog. This is an unusual machine, to say the least. Any information you may have on this would be appreciated.

Vendo Bottle Decapper

The Vendo Coca-Cola Bottle Decapper soda machine was manufactured between 1948 and 1949. It was very innovative for the time. A very large vending machine, it automatically opened a bottle of Coke, dispensed it into a cup, and then vended the cup to the customer without them ever coming into contact with the bottle. It could vend 194 bottles of Coke, and dispensed them into 6 oz. cups. These machines predated the “pre-mix” dispensers. Being very expensive models, only 251 of them were sold, making them very rare today.

Manufactured by:
Vendo Company
7209 N. Ingram Ave.
Fresno, CA

Dimensions: 78 in. high x 46 in. wide x 19 in. deep
Weight: 825 lbs.

Are you fortunate enough to own one of these Decapper models? Or perhaps you have something interesting to add. Blog in and let us know.

1950’s Vend-Rite Purity Pretzel Stix Vendor

The 1950’s Purity Pretzel Stix vending machine was marketed as a companion unit to be placed beside existing drink vendors. Starting in 1948, Vend-Rite Manufacturing created machines that dispensed products from other companies, as in this case, pretzels. They also made, and are still making, machines that dispense Kleenex, Tide and various food products.

Manufactured by:
Vend-Rite Manufacturing Co.
6029 W. 31st St.
Cicero, IL

Send us your feedback for this blog. This company is still making vending machines today. What interesting items have you seen that they dispense?

“From tree to thee” was the slogan for the Frigid Fruit Companies cold fruit vending machine. Another pretty cool and unusual fruit vending machine that unfortunately we do not have much info on.

The Little Fisk Tire Boy Fiberglass Statue

“Time to Re-Tire” was the slogan coined for Fisk Tires when they started using The Little Fisk Tire Boy around 1910. Not sure how old this fiberglass statue was when we restored it about 6 years ago, but like other fiberglass restorations it entailed stripping the old paint, fiberglass repair work, primer, sanding, base coat of paint, airbrushing the details and then clear coat to finish. Don’t remember how big it was, but I’m guessing around 5 feet tall. Hope you like him.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

“Two full years of Research, Development and Location Testing Stand Behind the World’s Finest…Hot Coffee Vendor”

The brochure sings the praises of this sleek vending machine. Probably made in the 1950’s, it was marketed as a hot coffee vending machine that could easily be converted to a hot soup vending machine (“Instantly convertible on location”).

Other features listed on the sales brochure:
• Economical in cost, servicing and operation.
• Powdered ingredients in constant quantities, maintained at constant temperature to
give full-bodied drinks of constant flavor.
• No expensive refrigeration.
• Sanitary construction.
• Complete rinsing of mixing bowl.
• Every safety feature.

Coffee and soup machines are still around today, but the designs are not as dynamic as the old ones, like the one we are featuring here. Have you ever happened to see one like this? Email and let us know.

Manufactured by:
American National Dispensing Co., Inc.
Fourth St. and Cannon Ave.
Lansdale, PA