Help! Good price for Seeburg 100C ?

Yes, this machine is shown in the opening credits of Happy Days. The
machine at Arnold's drive-in is a couple of years newer (100G).

I would think that the tie in with the tv show would make that model
worth a LOT more, even in fixer-upper shape. Just like the Waltons TV
show made a certain model Zenith radio very pricey!

Check out Ebay. Seeburg C's are fairly common there. Here is one that might
be in similar condition as yours. My guess is it will close between
$800-1200+

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...9153 772&rd=1

Ebay values can be a bit skewed but it is a great way to guage public
interest

Good luck!
Mike

If it is in good shape $600.00 is way to cheap.

wrote:
I'm looking for some advice for my mother. She's been offered a trade
for her Seeburg juke box: $600 in home repair services, + the guy will
come and get the juke box out of her basement (located in SE Mass. USA)
and take it to his home. Is this a good deal?

The good thing: it's a known "buyer," who'll take it now, as opposed
to it sitting for another many years in her basement waiting for
another buyer... And the guy will move it, too. It gets it out of the
cluttered house.

The bad thing: we don't know the actual worth on it... Skimming
through archived newsgroup postings, and looking at some units on eBay,
based on the condition of her unit, I think it's fair deal, but I want
to get a gut-check from some people who are in-the-know.

The juke box is a Seeburg. The plate on the back says it's a Model
100C, Serial # 22185. The top cover says "Seeburg 100 Select-O-Matic".
It holds 50 45rpm records, so a total of 100 songs (1 on each side).
She thinks it's a 1957, but she says she could be off a year or two.

It has a plate on it saying that "nickels will be returned." It takes
quarters. Originally it would play 3 songs for a quarter, but it
decided on its own to switch to 2 songs for a quarter...

My mother says that the juke box shown during the opening of the TV
show "Happy Days" looks like her juke box, but whenever they'd show the
juke box in the diner in the show, it was a different model...

The last record changeout was done around 1972. I've taken one of the
records for my own music collection, but the remaining 49 records are
still in there, and their dust jackets are stored inside...

It is known to need a 5 Amp fuse.

It had a cover over the mechanism, but that is currently AWOL (hiding
somewhere else in the basement...)

It powers on, some bulbs/buttons light up but others do not (like
"select"). The turntable rotates (it probably thinks it is in the
middle of playing a record), but the mechanism which goes side to side
to pick up the records is not moving.

The juke box, since it has been sitting unused in the basement so long,
has enough dirt/dust on it that "you could plant potatoes on it" (as my
mother puts it).

The known history on the unit: In 1969 my father was holding a New
Year's Eve party at a hall, but he couldn't get a live band, so he
bought this juke box second-hand for $75. 3 songs for a quarter. He
and some friends rigged it to return the quarter to you, so it would
essentially play for free (perpetually use the same quarter), and it is
still set up this way.

After the party it lived for a few years on a screened porch. My
mother thinks that the temperature it was subjected to caused
"inflation" as the juke box changed on its own from 3 plays/quarter to
2 plays/quarter.

Around 1980 (give or take a few years), my parents built onto the
house, and created a basement, where the juke box was moved to, and
still resides...

I know that as a kid in the '80s I used to play the juke box often, it
was fun. But I don't think it's been in working order since the
'90s...

Please let me know over the weekend (May 13-15, 2005), if at all
possible, if the $600+handling for the Seeburg jukebox is a good deal.


--
Ken In Texas
http://www.pinballrebel.com
Custom Pinball Cards, Jukeboxes, Drive In's

"Never ask a man if he's from Texas.
If he is, he'll tell you on his own.
If he ain't, no need to embarrass him."

OK, we dusted off the top a bit, and took a bunch of photos:
http://homepage.mac.com/tvandinter/PhotoAlbum3.html
If you need a higher resolution version of any of the photos (I think
the originals are 1600x1200), I can send them to you.

Nearly all of the mechanism covers are not screwed on, and may have
been removed for some of the photos. (They are being stored in the
cabinet, with a glass jar filled with little screws, along with some of
the records and their dust jackets.) One of the blue mechanism covers
is currently missing somewhere (it was thought to be in a storage room,
but that room has just been cleaned and it wasn't found there, so
unknown where/when/if it'll be found...), but all of the yellow covers
appear to be there (everything matches and looks like it has a home to
go to). We thought that the Lubrication Chart label on the back of the
large yellow cover of the back of the mechanism looked pretty neat and
helpful...

The cabinet feels pretty sturdy, and doesn't show any weathering or
rot. There is some flaking on the rear near a locked panel opening,
though, looks like someone used a tool to "help" open a panel door.
The wheels still move pretty freely, despite the amount of dust that is
in the basement...

We did turn the unit on for the photos. The light along the right side
of the base came on, but the one on the left did not. There was a hum,
and a bit of a crackle when we touched the needle. The turntable was
spinning away, but the mechanism wasn't moving. Most of the gearing
looks good, but there are some exposed/severed wires behind the
mechanism that I don't know where they go to/come from. After a few
minutes of the jukebox on and taking photos, some smoke started coming
out of the unit somewhere (we didn't find the source), so we unplugged
it and gave my mother instructions to not plug it in again.

The power cord is quite long (I'm guessing 10'), is 2-prong. I didn't
check it throroghly, but there is black electrical tape wrapped around
the cord in a few places.

Our current thought is to either keep it and wait for a better price
from someone, or to find out what is a good price and see if the
handyman will match it. What price should we expect for this Seeburg
M100C, and would that include moving it out of her basement? She's
located in Mass., USA, on the southeast coast.

BTW: could someone explain how the Popularity Meter worked? was this
something the owner set manually, or did the jukebox keep a score of
how often a record was played so the owner knew what disks should be
changed out?

Based on what I see in the pictures and the fact that you plugged it in and
it smoked, I would say that if the guy will give you $600.00 in credit for
it and move it out himself you should take his offer.
I should have told you to NOT plug it in, because chances are that you fried
the power transformer, which is an expensive part.
I would offer you between $750.00 and $1,000.00 for the juke if I was local
to you, but I would spend $500.00 or more getting a moving company to get it
out of the basement and ship it to me.
If it was restored it would be work about $3,000.00, but it will require
probably $800.00 worth of parts and a TON of labor to restore it.
Good luck with it!
Keith

wrote in message
oups.com...
OK, we dusted off the top a bit, and took a bunch of photos:
http://homepage.mac.com/tvandinter/PhotoAlbum3.html
If you need a higher resolution version of any of the photos (I think
the originals are 1600x1200), I can send them to you.

Nearly all of the mechanism covers are not screwed on, and may have
been removed for some of the photos. (They are being stored in the
cabinet, with a glass jar filled with little screws, along with some of
the records and their dust jackets.) One of the blue mechanism covers
is currently missing somewhere (it was thought to be in a storage room,
but that room has just been cleaned and it wasn't found there, so
unknown where/when/if it'll be found...), but all of the yellow covers
appear to be there (everything matches and looks like it has a home to
go to). We thought that the Lubrication Chart label on the back of the
large yellow cover of the back of the mechanism looked pretty neat and
helpful...

The cabinet feels pretty sturdy, and doesn't show any weathering or
rot. There is some flaking on the rear near a locked panel opening,
though, looks like someone used a tool to "help" open a panel door.
The wheels still move pretty freely, despite the amount of dust that is
in the basement...

We did turn the unit on for the photos. The light along the right side
of the base came on, but the one on the left did not. There was a hum,
and a bit of a crackle when we touched the needle. The turntable was
spinning away, but the mechanism wasn't moving. Most of the gearing
looks good, but there are some exposed/severed wires behind the
mechanism that I don't know where they go to/come from. After a few
minutes of the jukebox on and taking photos, some smoke started coming
out of the unit somewhere (we didn't find the source), so we unplugged
it and gave my mother instructions to not plug it in again.

The power cord is quite long (I'm guessing 10'), is 2-prong. I didn't
check it throroghly, but there is black electrical tape wrapped around
the cord in a few places.

Our current thought is to either keep it and wait for a better price
from someone, or to find out what is a good price and see if the
handyman will match it. What price should we expect for this Seeburg
M100C, and would that include moving it out of her basement? She's
located in Mass., USA, on the southeast coast.

BTW: could someone explain how the Popularity Meter worked? was this
something the owner set manually, or did the jukebox keep a score of
how often a record was played so the owner knew what disks should be
changed out?




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On 5/15/05 7:00 AM, in article ,
"Keith Stelter" wrote:

Based on what I see in the pictures and the fact that you plugged it in and
it smoked, I would say that if the guy will give you $600.00 in credit for
it and move it out himself you should take his offer.
I should have told you to NOT plug it in, because chances are that you fried
the power transformer, which is an expensive part.

It may not be that bad. Lots of things can smoke in those Seeburgs (like a
bad florescent ballast)and the power transformers tend to be pretty robust.
But getting back to the box. It is VERY rough. I still don't see the mech
cover and would like to know if it is there. The whole thing is covered in
cigarette tar and there's considerable corrosion too. Also, the cartridge is
an old blackhead which will have to be replaced.

I would offer you between $750.00 and $1,000.00 for the juke if I was local
to you, but I would spend $500.00 or more getting a moving company to get it
out of the basement and ship it to me.
I personally think $600 is more than fair.

If it was restored it would be work about $3,000.00, but it will require
probably $800.00 worth of parts and a TON of labor to restore it.

Yup. It needs more than most, hence the low value-especially without
pictures of the insides.

On 14 May 2005 23:22:09 -0700, " wrote:


BTW: could someone explain how the Popularity Meter worked? was this
something the owner set manually, or did the jukebox keep a score of
how often a record was played so the owner knew what disks should be
changed out?

The latter. It kept a running total of how often each selection was
played.

HTH,

Mike

Oops, the 'C' came with the blackhead cart, not the redhead. Even if it's
good, it would grind stereo records into dust.

Ken D.

"Ken Doyle" wrote:
If the cartridge has been upgraded to play stereo
records without chewing them up, it's worth a couple of hundred more than
if
it has the original mono redhead cartridge.
Yes, this machine is shown in the opening credits of Happy Days. The
machine at Arnold's drive-in is a couple of years newer (100G).

John Stone wrote:

It may not be that bad. Lots of things can smoke in those Seeburgs
(like a
bad florescent ballast)and the power transformers tend to be pretty
robust.
But getting back to the box. It is VERY rough. I still don't see the
mech
cover and would like to know if it is there. The whole thing is
covered in
cigarette tar and there's considerable corrosion too. Also, the
cartridge is
an old blackhead which will have to be replaced.

Yup. It needs more than most, hence the low value-especially without
pictures of the insides.

What should I open and how, and could you describe what you're looking
for? I suppose I could make another trip down to my mother's for more
photos... (it's over an hour drive one way, so I would want to get
everything in one go.)

I think $600 is way too cheap for that jukebox.Though I do hope that
the smoke you saw was coming from something other than a transformer.I
paid $865 for this C on ebay.Compare to yours and you'll see what I
mean:http://www.geocities.com/wurlyman215...rgCbefore.html
Note the missing grill tubes,no animation with metal pilasters,missing
clear stripper plate(the clear part with 2 brushes by your tonearm.Also
mine had one of the yellow covers broken,no diffuser behind the
titleboard.Also mine had the main blue mech cover missing.I paid over
$125 for a nice original cover(still needed repainting)If you find that
blue cover that will help a lot.The main problem is not a lot of people
are fond of moving jukeboxes out of basements.Stairs and heavy items
don't go too good together.That might detract from what you will get
for it.One thing you have that is totally unusable is the blackhead
cartridge unless someone wants to play only original mono 45s.It will
grind stereo 45s to dust.Mine came with the redhead which you can get
compatible needles for but I converted to a 345-03 Pickering(expensive
but sounds real nice)Some people use later model tonearms with stereo
cartridges.At least I can sell the redhead.Try to find someone to buy
the blackhead.(they got to be a real originality wacko and love to
replace records often)
As to the popularity meter it is at the top of the mech under a cover
that swings down.There's a disk for each of the 50 records regardless
of which side is selected.A popularity solenoid moves the wheel each
time the record is played.Keeps track of the records played.

wrote:
I'm looking for some advice for my mother. She's been offered a
trade
for her Seeburg juke box: $600 in home repair services, + the guy
will
come and get the juke box out of her basement (located in SE Mass.
USA)
and take it to his home. Is this a good deal?

The good thing: it's a known "buyer," who'll take it now, as opposed
to it sitting for another many years in her basement waiting for
another buyer... And the guy will move it, too. It gets it out of
the
cluttered house.

The bad thing: we don't know the actual worth on it... Skimming
through archived newsgroup postings, and looking at some units on
eBay,
based on the condition of her unit, I think it's fair deal, but I
want
to get a gut-check from some people who are in-the-know.

The juke box is a Seeburg. The plate on the back says it's a Model
100C, Serial # 22185. The top cover says "Seeburg 100
Select-O-Matic".
It holds 50 45rpm records, so a total of 100 songs (1 on each side).
She thinks it's a 1957, but she says she could be off a year or two.

It has a plate on it saying that "nickels will be returned." It
takes
quarters. Originally it would play 3 songs for a quarter, but it
decided on its own to switch to 2 songs for a quarter...

My mother says that the juke box shown during the opening of the TV
show "Happy Days" looks like her juke box, but whenever they'd show
the
juke box in the diner in the show, it was a different model...

The last record changeout was done around 1972. I've taken one of
the
records for my own music collection, but the remaining 49 records are
still in there, and their dust jackets are stored inside...

It is known to need a 5 Amp fuse.

It had a cover over the mechanism, but that is currently AWOL (hiding
somewhere else in the basement...)

It powers on, some bulbs/buttons light up but others do not (like
"select"). The turntable rotates (it probably thinks it is in the
middle of playing a record), but the mechanism which goes side to
side
to pick up the records is not moving.

The juke box, since it has been sitting unused in the basement so
long,
has enough dirt/dust on it that "you could plant potatoes on it" (as
my
mother puts it).

The known history on the unit: In 1969 my father was holding a New
Year's Eve party at a hall, but he couldn't get a live band, so he
bought this juke box second-hand for $75. 3 songs for a quarter. He
and some friends rigged it to return the quarter to you, so it would
essentially play for free (perpetually use the same quarter), and it
is
still set up this way.

After the party it lived for a few years on a screened porch. My
mother thinks that the temperature it was subjected to caused
"inflation" as the juke box changed on its own from 3 plays/quarter
to
2 plays/quarter.

Around 1980 (give or take a few years), my parents built onto the
house, and created a basement, where the juke box was moved to, and
still resides...

I know that as a kid in the '80s I used to play the juke box often,
it
was fun. But I don't think it's been in working order since the
'90s...

Please let me know over the weekend (May 13-15, 2005), if at all
possible, if the $600+handling for the Seeburg jukebox is a good
deal.