The Spacarb 4-D-51 hot and cold drink vendor was manufactured in the mid 40’s to early 50’s. As with any other drink vending machine from its time, not many of these have survived.

The vending options are listed as any combination of carbonated drink, non-carbonated (or “still”) drink and hot drink, adding up to a total of 4 dispensing choices. It could dispense into either 600 10oz. cups or 1000 7oz. cups.

The brochure states that the machine “serves 3 syrup flavors and club soda”. Evidently the syrup and carbonated water were combined just prior to the drink being dispensed. Spacarb describes itself as “America’s oldest manufacturer and operator of automated beverage dispensers.”

Manufactured by:
Spacarb, Inc.
311-317 East 23rd St.
New York, NY

Have you ever seen or had any experience using one of these drink dispensers? Blog-in and let us know.

The Delf Triple-Selector Soda Machine

The Fully-Automatic Delf Triple-Selector Vendor dispensed bottled soft drinks and was capable of vending up to 3 different flavors. This model machine, made in the late 1940’s to early 50’s was touted as being a smaller model, but with a large capacity. It had an overall 121-bottle vending capacity but had a unique way of vending them. It utilized 3 horizontal vending conveyors that vended 37 bottles. This machine could vend 6 to 12 oz. bottles of soda. There was a stainless steel interior lining and storage available inside the machine to hold 48 additional bottles.

Manufactured by:
Atlas Tool & Manufacturing Co.
5147 Natural Bridge Blvd.
St. Louis, MO

Dimensions: 73”H x 24.5”W x 25”D

Blog-in and tell us if you’ve ever seen one of these machines, or maybe you also have one in your collection.

Atlas ColSnac Ice Cream Vendor

The 1950’s Atlas ColSnac Ice Cream Vendor allowed merchandisers to sell ice cream bars on a stick at locations other than the grocery store. These would have been placed at locations such as filling stations, pharmacies and similar venues. As the ad says, “ColSnac gives you the opportunity to open up a vast new market…”, in addition to the business that the proprietor was already engaged in. With a coin slot and built-in change-maker, these units would have been self-serve so the customer could help themselves to an icy cold ice cream.

Manufactured by:
Atlas Tool & Mfg. Co.
5147 Natural Bridge Blvd.
St. Louis, Missouri

Maybe you’ve come across one of these over the years. Blog in and let us know.

The Wurlitzer 1100 Jukebox was produced from 1947 to 1949. The look of the 1100 is indicative of the move away from 1940’s art deco design to the more modern look favored in the 1950’s. This was one of the first models where the glass dome over the record player is larger and can be opened up. The 1100 is a 24-selection jukebox that plays 78-RPM shellac records. Artists you can hear on records of the time are the great performers like Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James and Judy Garland. The domed glass front allows you to watch the arm lift the record onto the turntable. As the jukebox plays, brilliant multi-colored lights rotate within the pilasters, creating an impressive light show. The extensive chrome reflects the lights as the jukebox plays.

Dimensions: 57 7/8”H x 30 1/2”W x 27 1/4”D
Weight: 355 lbs.

Manufactured by:
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Co.
North Tonawanda, NY

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

View the video of the Wurlitzer 1100

The Cavalier C-27 Coca-Cola Dry Vendor

Designed as a smaller, indoor Coca-Cola vendor, the Cavalier C-27 was produced from the late-1940’s to the mid-1950’s. It was intended for use in offices and reception rooms where there was limited traffic. It was easy to operate; you inserted the proper change, turned the crank and a cold bottle of Coca-Cola was dispensed. There was a small red light beside the coin slot to let you know when the machine was empty. The original handle design was referred to as a “ship wheel handle”. Later versions of this model had a “star” handle. Examples of the original ship handle version are rare and hard to find.

This Coca-Cola vending machine could vend for 5 or 6 cents per bottle. It was equipped with a crown catcher and a slug rejecter and was able to be fitted for a changer.

Dimensions:
22”D x 18”W x 41”H

Weight: 175 lbs.

Manufactured by:

Cavalier Corporation

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Acton Manufacturing is responsible for some very collectible items. The Acton Standard picnic cooler is fairly common, but finding one in mint condition with the box is hard to do. The Acton Junior or “6-Pack” is probably one of the most desirable Coca-Cola picnic coolers for collectors. Acton also made the “Low Boy”, another hard-to-find and collectable picnic cooler. But without a doubt the hardest to find, most desirable Acton item is the Coolerette stand. It was a stand they manufactured that was made to hold the Standard cooler, turning it into a low volume vendor.

Included here is an old Acton magazine ad as well as pictures of a few Acton items we restored at Vintagevending.com.

The F. L. Jacobs Company, A Soda Machine Company

F. L. Jacobs originally specialized in manufacturing home appliances like the Jacobs Launderall washing machine out of Detroit, Michigan. They began manufacturing soda vending machines for Coca-Cola in the 1940’s from a plant in Indianapolis, Indiana. Their machines have a unique shape referred to by collectors as the “mailbox” shape. They are believed to be one of the few manufacturers that the Coca-Cola Company authorized to continue making Coca-Cola soda vending machines in limited quantities through the course of WWII. Like all machines made in that time, they had large capacities for serving the workers in the wartime factories. One of these was the enormous J-144. It weighed 580 lbs. without any soda in it and measured 65”H x 34”W x 35”D.

In contrast, the smallest, most sought-after and fortunately, most common of Jacobs soda machines is the Jacobs 26. The 26 was produced in the late 1940’s and measures 54”H x 19”W x 26”D. Like all Jacobs machines, it has the classic mailbox shape. This design is to accommodate the interior drum from which the soda is vended. The drum rotates to dispense the bottles. Like all the Jacobs Coca-Cola models, it vends from the narrow side of the machine and the bottles are loaded from the wider side.

Other postwar machines include the Jacobs 50 and 56 manufactured in the early 1950’s. The Jacobs 50 was a 50-bottle model that used decals to advertise Pepsi-Cola. On the other hand, the model 56 is a slicker looking machine, with an illuminated Pepsi-Cola soda “cap” on the door. Collectors have given this model the name “Pepsi Light-Up”. The Jacobs 56 was made for only two years, from 1952 to 1953. Due to its short production time and the scarcity of models with the “cap” intact, this is one of the most sought-after soda machines and is a rare model to find today.

In addition to the models already mentioned, Jacobs made the model 35, produced in the late 1940’s to the early 1950’s. It is identical to the 26, except that the drum was redesigned to hold nine additional bottles and there was room in the machine to cool 41. Jacobs also produced what turned out to be their final model, the 108, proclaiming it the “fastest loading medium cooler made”. The F. L. Jacobs Company moved to Traverse City, Michigan around 1950. Unfortunately, there weren’t to be any more Jacobs soda machines coming down the production line. It seems that in 1951 the F. L. Jacobs Company was encouraged by the U.S. Department of Justice to repay $15 million “in excess profits from producing necessities and munitions of war during World War II”. They voluntarily paid back the money, and it obviously put a strain on the company. They closed their doors in 1953.

F. L. Jacobs Company

1100 W. 21st Street

Indianapolis, Indiana

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.

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.

Originally starting as a sawmill, the Tennessee Furniture Company of Chattanooga opened in 1865. It began as an offshoot of the sawmill, in order to sell off the flawed pieces of wood that wouldn’t have sold otherwise. Gaston Raoul was the second owner of the furniture company. He bought an additional enterprise, the Odorless Refrigeration Company, in 1905, which enabled the Tennessee Furniture Company to rapidly become the largest manufacturer of ice coolers in the country. They chose the name “Cavalier” in 1923 for their line of cedar hope chests and soda coolers but they continued to make furniture in the division known as the Tennessee Furniture Company until 1960.

In 1935, during the Depression, the Cavalier division of the Tennessee Furniture Company began a long-standing relationship with the Coca-Cola Company. Under the name “Cavalier”, they made soda machines, coolers and picnic chests to the exacting specifications of the Coca-Cola Company. In 1938 the company name was officially changed to the Cavalier Corporation. Some of the early coolers made by Cavalier include the Junior, Standard, Master and Giant model chest coolers. Cavalier made products exclusively for Coca-Cola right through the 1960’s. In 1958 Cavalier advertising proclaimed they had sold “more than half a million coolers since 1935”.

Post-WWII most vendor manufacturers were focusing on the production of upright machines, but Cavalier continued to concentrate on coolers. In 1945 they introduced the model FD-2, or the dry office cooler. It was designed for low-traffic areas like offices and retail stores. Cavalier joined other manufacturers in producing upright coin-operated vending machines in 1953 when they introduced the C-51. It had a very similar appearance to the Vendo-39; only it was larger and able to vend 51 bottles, as opposed to the Vendo’s 39 bottles.

One of the most popular Cavalier models of vending machine is the CS-72 that was produced from 1958 to 1959. This is still a very desirable machine, since it is able to vend up to nine different flavors of soda. It holds eight bottles on nine slant shelves, instead of using a conveyor system that was capable of vending only one type of soft drink. This innovative model was the first to be designed without the crank handle on the outside. Instead, once the money is deposited, the “Have a Coke” lens lights up, indicating the door is ready to be opened and a bottle of soda pulled out. Cavalier was responsible for many “firsts” in the vending market. The Cavalier Corporation was also the first to introduce a vending machine that was able to dispense either bottles or cans of soda. This was the “square-corner” C-55D vendor introduced in 1959. In the 1960’s Cavalier was taken over by the Seeburg Corporation. In turn, Seeburg was taken over by a succession of companies. In 1987 the Cavalier division filed for bankruptcy and was spun off as an employee-owned company. In August of 2000 the plant was closed for good.

Cavalier Corporation

1105 East Tenth Street

Chattanooga, Tennessee

The Old Vintage Vending Warehouse

I found this old photo of our warehouse from about 8 years ago, while searching our server for blog ideas. To most people it might look like just a pile of junk. But if you are a soda machine or vending machine collector, you’ll appreciate the machines in this photo.

There are two Jacob’s 56 Pepsi Light-Ups, arguably the most rare Pepsi machine ever. It also shows three rare Vendo Milk Machines and the super-rare Vendo Hot Foods Machine. Tucked in between is a VMC Pepsi 27 and behind them all and a little hard to see, are a bunch of Coca-Cola Mills soda machines.

Hope you like it.

Coca-Cola Cavalier 72 Soda Vending Machine

The Cavalier 72 is a round-top model Coca-Cola vending machine that was introduced in 1958. It was built by one of the largest manufacturers of soda vending machines for the Coca-Cola Company, the Cavalier Corporation. This machine is one that we restored at Vintage Vending.

Every soda machine we restored at Vintage Vending followed the same process. First the machine was completely disassembled and all painted parts were sandblasted. All other parts were re-chromed, powder-coated, repainted or cleaned. The coin mechanism was re-plated and rebuilt. Automotive bodywork was performed on all of the sandblasted parts. The machine was painted with PPG automotive paint. Then the machine was reassembled with a new refrigeration compressor and all electrical was replaced.

This machine was restored with the original color scheme. As was popular in the late 1950’s, this machine is predominately white. It is a slant-shelf machine that holds up to 72 bottles, 8 bottles on each of its 9 shelves. These shelves can be adjusted to accommodate bottles ranging from 6 to 12 ounce sizes. This also allows for the vending of up to 9 different flavors. There’s space to pre-cool 17 bottles. Collectors appreciate this machine’s versatility, making it a very desirable model and one of the most popular Coke machines.

The Cavalier 72 also has great style with its small profile and rounded corners. In addition, after depositing your money, the “Have a Coke” lens on the bottle door lights up, indicating that you can pull a soda out. There’s no need to pull down a handle to dispense the soda, as the slanted shelves and gravity make the bottles readily available. Older soda machines were equipped with mechanical coin mechanisms. Because the Cavalier 72 has an electro-mechanical coin mechanism, this machine also allows you to set the price of the sodas up to $1.00, making this vendor an option for use today in a restaurant or store.

Dimensions:
67” high x 24 3/4” wide x 21 7/8”
deep
Weight: 256 lbs.

Manufactured by:

The Cavalier Corporation

Chattanooga, Tennessee

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.

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.

New Coca-Cola in Italy and Egypt Blog Post.

There’s a new blog at Retroplanet.com with some really great photos from the 1940’s showing sales and distribution of Coca-Cola in both Italy and Cairo, Egypt. Check out the blog, and also stop by the Retroplanet PDF Library to see lots of additional photos, not included in the blog.

1950’s Vendo Milk Machine

The 1950’s Vendo Milk Machine is very rare and highly sought after by collectors. We were lucky enough to find 4 of these at one time. So instead of restoring them all in the traditional blue they originally came in, we decided to have some fun.

As you can see, this particular machine was done in a cow motif with a customized milk sign. As with all of our restorations, this machine was redone both inside and out to make it fully functional.

The Vendo Milk Machine was one of a series of three upright machines put out by Vendo in the mid 50’s. Also available was the Vendo Hot Food Vender. It was very similar to the milk machine but vended small cans of hot food. I believe Vendo did away with it because it was a fire hazard. The last machine of the three was the Vendo Ice Cream Machine. Although all three machines are rare, the ice cream version is the hardest to find. We owned several milk machines and one hot food vendor, but never even saw an ice cream machine.

If you are searching for one of these machines to collect, the one you want is the early, smaller machine from 1950’s. Vendo came out with all kinds of upright milk and ice cream machines later on, but these machines are nowhere near as collectible as the original three. The exception to that is the Vendo Dairy-Vend ice cream vender, a chest style ice cream machine that we will blog about soon.

Parts for these machines are not available so you will need to find a complete machine or a second one you can use for parts. Happy hunting and blog in and let us know how you make out.

Dimensions:
58”H x 27”W x 16”D

New Soda Fountain Blog at Retroplanet.com

Check out the new Bastian-Blessing Soda Fountain blog at Retroplanet.com. It features photos and facts about one of the finest soda fountain manufacturers. There are additional photos in our RetroPlanet PDF Library. Be sure to take a look and send us your feedback, memories or anything you’d like to share. You could even send us a link to your photos of vintage soda fountains.

1954 Seeburg HF100R Jukebox — “The R”

The Seeburg HF 100R Jukebox was produced from 1954 to 1955 and is one of the most sought-after of all the 50’s jukeboxes. This model was made in 1954 and features the chrome accents and visible Select-O-Matic system that was, and still is, so popular among collectors of jukeboxes from the Silver Age. It holds 50 records and is capable of playing up to 100 selections at a time. There are 5 speakers with a high-fidelity sound and a lightning bolt design across the speaker grill. The glass lid is larger on this model than on previous models, to allow for greater visibility of the mechanism. The lid lifts easily to change the records or selection titles. A 25-watt fluorescent lamp illuminates the mechanism, the speaker grill and ornaments and backlights the selection titles. The 100R accepts nickels, dimes and quarters: a nickel for one selection, a dime for 2 and a quarter for 6 plays.

Dimensions:
59”H x 35 1/2”W x 27”D

Weight: 325 lbs.

Manufactured by:

J. P. Seeburg Company

Chicago. Illinois

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

Cronstroms Picnic Cooler

Here is a picture of a generic Cronstroms picnic cooler we restored a while back. Picnic coolers are pretty easy to restore, if you find them in decent shape. We painted this one a nice 50’s green and decorated it with original Florida travel decals. Original travel decals are easily available. Do a search on eBay for “vintage travel decals” and you will find them for every state, many cities and tourist spots.

When complete, picnic coolers make a great addition to your vacation home decor, gameroom or to show with your antique auto at car shows.

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.

The Cavalier Coca-Cola vending machine was designed by Cavalier to compete directly with the Vendo 39. It vends 51 cold bottles of Coca-Cola and pre-cools 36 bottles, which is a greater volume than the 39 vended, 20 cooled of the Vendo 39. Other features you can see listed in this brochure are that it’s easy to load, has an all-metal construction, chrome-plated hardware and a large crown catcher. Each bottle travels on a belt in its own aluminum tube, so the bottles are not rubbing together as they are stored and dispensed.

These soda machines were made from the early 1950’s to the late 1950’s, but they were not as popular as their competition.

Dimensions:

24 ¾” wide x 20 ¼” deep x 64 9/16” high
Weight:
360 lbs.

Manufactured by:

Cavalier Corporation

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Have you seen a Cavalier 51? Please blog-in with your feedback/comments.

The Wurlitzer 1015 Jukebox was introduced in 1946, after WWII ended and building materials became available again. The 1015 brought the Wurlitzer Company great success, allowing it to rebound from near-bankruptcy brought on by the Depression. The 1015 pushed Wurlitzer forward as the leader of jukebox manufacturing, with 56,000 units being sold in less than 2 years. This was the Golden Age of jukebox production. And the 1015 wasn’t just a huge hit in the United States, but also appeared anywhere Americans went, following GIs all over the globe.

Also called the “1015-Bubbler”, this juke is arguably the most popular jukebox of all time. It was conceptualized by the famous designer Paul Fuller (who was chief designer with the Wurlitzer Company from 1935-1948). The ornate design of 1940’s jukeboxes has been referred to as “gothic” or having a “cathedral” look, but this juke has more of an art deco influence. With its illuminated, color-changing pilasters, 8 bubble tubes, shiny chrome and domed top, it is reflective of the positive, uplifted attitude of the post-war nation. The coin-operated 1015 plays 78-RPM records and has push-button Multi-Selector technology, allowing selected records to be played.

The model 1015 was produced from 1946 to 1947, and was so popular that many of them were utilized right into the 50’s. This longevity is responsible for the 1015’s association with the 1950’s sock-hop era. By 1954 the 45-RPM records were becoming so popular that the Wurlitzer factory introduced conversion kits for their jukeboxes so they could play them. In addition, the Wurlitzer 1015 was such a popular model of jukebox that in 1986 Wurlitzer celebrated the 40th anniversary of the 1015 by manufacturing it once again and dubbing it the “One More Time”. It had the classic design of the 1015 with all the latest technology, including the ability to play CDs.

Through the years, there have been many Wurlitzer 1015s that appeared in background shots of TV shows and films like “Cheers”, “Friends”, “Back to the Future” and “On the Waterfront”.

Dimensions:
60”H x 32”W x 24 1/4”D

Weight: 355 lbs.

Manufactured by:

The Rudolph Wurlitzer Co.

North Tonawanda, NY

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.

Coca-Cola Vendo 44 Soda Vending Machine

The most desirable Coca-Cola soda machine ever made, the Vendo 44 was produced exclusively for the Coca-Cola Company from 1956 to 1959. The very narrow width of this machine has made it a highly collectible machine for both the veteran collector as well as newcomers to the hobby. These machines, when new, were very popular with storeowners because they didn’t take up a lot of floor space. They were always painted what has become the classic Coca-Cola red and white. It can vend 44 8-ounce bottles, and pre-cools 9. The Vendo 44 that appears here is a machine that we restored at Vintage Vending.

Every soda machine we restored at Vintage Vending followed the same process. First the machine was completely disassembled and all painted parts were sandblasted. All other parts were re-chromed, powder-coated, repainted or cleaned. The coin mechanism was re-plated and rebuilt. Automotive bodywork was performed on all of the sandblasted parts. The machine was painted with PPG automotive paint. Then the machine was reassembled with a new refrigeration compressor and all electrical was replaced. Also, this machine has been modified to vend 12-ounce cans in addition to bottles.

Dimensions:
57 1/2” high x 16” wide x 15 1/2” deep

Weight: 225 lbs.

Manufactured by:

The Vendo Company

Kansas City, Missouri

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.

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.

1950 Seeburg M100B Jukebox — “The B”

This jukebox was not only a revolutionary new phonograph for Seeburg, but also for the jukebox industry. It was the first Select-O-Matic coin-operated phonograph that played only 45-RPM records. It allowed for 100 selections from 50 records. It played only the newly introduced, high-quality, unbreakable, 7-inch vinyl 45-RPM records. This phonograph made Seeburg the sales leader in the jukebox building business. The 100B was built for two years, from 1950 to 1951 and introduced the Silver Age of Jukeboxes. Whereas the jukeboxes from the 1940’s used catalin plastic (a resin that had a tendency to yellow), resulting in the term “Golden Age”, the Seeburg jukes of the 1950’s were decorated with chrome. For this reason they were referred to as the jukes of the Silver Age.

Another feature of the Seeburg M100B is the visible record mechanism. A nickel plays one selection, 2 plays for a dime or 6 plays for a quarter. Once the coins are inserted, you can watch the Select-O-Matic mechanism travel down to your record selection, the record is placed vertically onto the turntable, and the vertical arm plays the record. Then you can watch the lights and listen to the great sound of your Seeburg 100B.

Dimensions: 54”H x 34”W x 28”D
Weight: 310 lbs.
Manufactured by:
J. P. Seeburg Company

Chicago. Illinois

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.

The Jacobs 56 Pepsi-Cola Vending Machine

The Jacobs 56 Pepsi-Cola Vending Machine is one of the most sought-after Pepsi machines ever made. Serious collectors consider it the “Holy Grail” of all soda machines. Having been manufactured for only two years, between 1952 and 1953, makes this a very rare machine. We are proud to have restored several of these machines, and you can see one of them in our Retro Museum at Retroplanet.com.

Collectors know this vendor as the “Pepsi Light-Up”. This is because the Pepsi “cap”, or logo on the front lights up, by way of two bulbs located behind it. Above the cap, to either side, are a red and blue (or sometimes green) lens. The red lens indicates when the machine is empty, and the blue reads “nickels only”. This machine vends 56 bottles of Pepsi and can vend bottle sizes from 10 to 12 ounces. It also has the capacity to pre-cool 37 bottles. This model, unlike the Jacobs Coca-Cola machines, uses slant-shelves to vend the sodas.

The shape of the machine is typical of Jacobs soda machines. They have a rounded top, resembling a mailbox. This makes for a very unique and appealing appearance. So in addition to its rarity, these machines are also very desirable for their style. It can be difficult to find an original Jacobs 56 that has the Pepsi “cap” intact and in good condition which can complicate the restoration of one of these models.

Every soda machine we restored at Vintage Vending followed the same process. First the machine was completely disassembled and all painted parts were sandblasted. All other parts were re-chromed, powder-coated, repainted or cleaned. The coin mechanism was re-plated and rebuilt. Automotive bodywork was performed on all of the sandblasted parts. The machine was painted with PPG automotive paint. Then the machine was reassembled with a new refrigeration compressor and all electrical was replaced.

Dimensions: 61” high x 27” wide x 21 ½” deep
Weight: 280 lbs.

Manufactured by:

F. L. Jacobs

Traverse City, Michigan

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.

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.

The 7UP VMC 81 soda vending machine is one of the most collectible models among soda machine collectors. It had a more limited production than its Coca-Cola counterpart, the Vendo 81 and is therefore harder to find. It was manufactured from the mid- to late-1950’s.

As the name indicates, this machine vends 81 bottles and pre-cools 17. It has 9 shelves that would allow vending of up to 9 different flavor choices. It can accommodate bottle sizes from 6 ½ to 12 ounces.

This is one of the VMC 81s that we restored at Vintage Vending. The original VMC 81s were produced as solid white machines, but we used the more popular green and white combination when restoring our machine.

Every soda machine we restored at Vintage Vending followed the same process. First the machine was completely disassembled and all painted parts were sandblasted. All other parts were re-chromed, powder-coated, repainted or cleaned. The coin mechanism was re-plated and rebuilt. Automotive bodywork was performed on all of the sandblasted parts. The machine was painted with PPG automotive paint. Then the machine was reassembled with a new refrigeration compressor and all electrical was replaced.

Dimensions: 58” high x 27” wide x 16” deep

Weight: 286 lbs.

Manufactured by:

The Vendolator Manufacturing Company
Fresno, California

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.

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.

1960 Coca-Cola Vendo Soda Machines

This is a Vendo Company brochure announcing their available soda vending machine line for the year in 1960. Note the Vendo 44, which was introduced in 1956, was still being manufactured. This was a very popular model, and tens of thousands of these were manufactured.

As the Vendo soda machines were modernized and improved, they were also getting larger, as you can see in this photo of a Vendo V-304-4 Multi-Drink model. This machine was capable of vending 304 regular or king (10 oz.) bottles, as well as cooling an additional 36 bottles. It could vend up to 4 different beverages. With its large capacity, this vendor was designed for high-traffic areas.

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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.

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Mobil Oil
“At the Sign of Friendly Service”

In 1870 the oil tycoon, John D. Rockefeller and his partner, Henry Morrison Flagler incorporated the Standard Oil Company. By 1878 Standard Oil had control of $33 million of the total $35 million refining business in the United States and in 1882 Rockefeller reorganized his company into the Standard Oil Trust. This was the first “trust” in business history in the United States. In 1890, the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed, in a reaction to this trust, making it illegal for any company to run a monopoly.

In 1892 the Standard Oil Trust was sued, and as a result the trust was dissolved. It was divided into 34 smaller companies. One of the companies to be broken out was the Standard Oil Company of New York that used a Pegasus for a logo. Another of the resulting “Baby Standard Oils” was the Vacuum Oil Company that sold petrol using the brand name of Mobilgas. The two companies merged, combining the Pegasus, or flying horse symbol, and the Mobilgas name.

In 1955 the company name changed to Socony Mobil Oil, and in 1966 it became the Mobil Oil Corporation. Exxon and Mobil merged in 1999, creating the Exxon Mobil Corporation.

Historical events worth noting:

● In 1903 the Wright brothers used fuel from Jersey Standard and lubricants from Mobiloil in their airplane during their historic flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

● In 1927 Charles Lindbergh used Mobiloil in the “Spirit of St. Louis” during his solo flight across the Atlantic.

● In 1928 Amelia Earhart used Mobiloil in her airplane, “Friendship”, when she made her historic solo flight across the Atlantic.

● In 1958 the first trans-Atlantic flight, made by Pan American Airways from New York to London, used fuel produced by Mobil.

ExxonMobil

5959 Las Colinas Blvd.
Irving, Texas

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Coca-Cola Vending Machine Conversion Kits

Beginning in the 1950’s, the trend among soda machines was to offer vendors with multiple flavor selections. What was to be done with all of the single-selection soda dispensing machines already in use? The Selectivend Corporation came up with a solution. They introduced conversion kits for the more popular Coca-Cola Vendo machines. The conversion kits could be installed, changing a single-selection machine to a multivendor, able to dispense up to twelve different flavors.

Some of the models that kits were available for include the Vendo V39, V144, V216 and the V83. This idea may have been innovative, but it never really caught on, as the conversions were pretty involved, and once done, the machines were most likely very troublesome.

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Gulf Oil “Stop at the Sign of the Orange Disc”

Gulf Oil was established in 1901 by a group of investors after a discovery of oil at Spindletop, Texas. The largest investor in the company was William Larimer Mellon, who became the head of the corporation and continued in that position for 45 years. In 1907 several oil companies combined to form the Gulf Oil Corporation.

Gulf Oil opened up the first ever drive-in service station in 1911. In addition to offering complimentary road maps, Gulf was a pioneer in the early days of product branding by selling gasoline from gas pumps with their logo on them. It not only helped to create a brand identity, it also assured the customer that the gas they were purchasing was a quality product. This was at a time when many businesses were offering gasoline of an inconsistent quality, or that was possibly even contaminated.

In 1917, the Gulf Oil tanker fleet went into military service during WWI. In 1928 Gulfpride Oil was first introduced. Gulf Oil had become a major US corporation by the early 1930’s. In 1934, with British Petroleum (BP) as an equal partner, Gulf formed the Kuwait Oil Company.

Gulf Oil continued to grow and expand into new ventures. In addition to oil refineries and exploration, Gulf Oil produced plastics, and agricultural, industrial and household chemicals. In the 1960’s the Gulf logo was redesigned to make it easier to identify. Around 1970 Gulf Oil reached the peak of its success. But a downturn occurred in 1974 when the Kuwait National Assembly acquired 60% of the Kuwait Oil Company, with Gulf Oil and BP sharing the remaining 40%. By 1974 Kuwait had total ownership.

Gulf Oil merged with the Standard Oil Company in 1984 to protect itself from a buyout. The newly formed company became known as Chevron. This was the largest corporate merger to have occurred up until that time. In 1985 Chevron sold Gulf’s gas stations, a refinery and some of their international operations to BP and Cumberland Farms of Canton, Massachusetts. Both still use the Gulf name on their gas stations, as do some independently owned stations. The Gulf Oil Limited Partnership in Massachusetts bought the rights t