1962 Faema President 2-group and Faema grinder restoration

[boom1]

Hi there gents

A couple of weeks ago I made an amazing discovery. I found a Faema President 2-group lever machine and Faema grinder sitting quietly in a second-hand shop in Knysna, South Africa. At first I had my doubts about buying it and wanted to sell it off to one of my friends, but every time I went back to the shop I simply couldn't help but to feel sorry for it! Back at home I'd be convinced that it's not worth it, but as soon as I see the machine again my eyes just wouldn't turn away. In the end, I ended up with an enormously heavy but absolutely beautiful peace of coffee making history. After having transported her to my university town Potchefstroom (she took up ALL the space in my car!), the machine is now standing in my living room, waiting for a complete restoration.



I have never in my life done anything like this. I decided to join your site since my fellow coffee nut friends, although very supportive, are as clueless as I am!! I have lots of questions and am prepared for a really rough time, but in the end I know it will be worth it! The restoration project will be a looong one since I'm in no rush to complete it and I really want to do a proper job.

Here are some pics of the machine:

[boom1]

Can someone plese help me with the model of this grinder. It is a Faema, but I can't find the model anywhere. Please excuse some of the pics since I have already started taking it apart. Unfortunitely I got stuck when I discovered that one of the screws was in a really awkward place and I couldn't get it out. I suppose I'll have to drill. The motor is still working, but the blades are obviously in bad shape. It also REALLY heavy!

[boom1]

So far I have taken of the rear of the machine to polish and clean all the steel. I'm using Brasso and Silvo for the brass and chrome. Is it possible for me to just sandblast the rear of the panels? There's some surface rust and some weird green mold stuff that's almost impossible to remove unless you scrape it off with a screwdriver. Will sandblasting do the trick and what do I need to re-coat it with to prevent further rust? I don't want to re-chrome since I want to keep the original feel of an old workhorse machine. Also don't have enough money!
Can I place chromed parts in citric acid???

Here is a pic of the difference between the original unpolished chrome and a polished panel:



Below is a pic of the piston spring and gasket. Can I still use these springs or do I need new ones? The spring has some surface rust and doesn't feel as springy as some other lever machines I have worked on. Also, can I place the spring and gaskets etc in citric acid? Don't know where I'm going to get new gaskets though! Transport costs to South Africa can be a bit expensive.

[Paul]

hi,

short on time, some thoughts for you:
-don't put chrome in citric if you don't want to replate
-use a scotchbrite pad on the green stuff on panel interior
-fit new spring and seals, buy from pedro lara in sydney: http://www.coffeeparts.com/faema/fae11.html
-take gr apart using a c wrench on the nut just above the piston. clean piston in citric.
-matching urania grinder rare and valuable. maybe list on ebay and send to europe?

pm me if you would like any disassembly info or parts leads.

[Paul_Pratt]

Wow, Paul is understating the grinder. I have only ever seen 1 other. Ultra rare and stunning. Looks like it has the original hopper.

The machine is lovely too, but the grinder is an incredible find.

Paul

[Paul]

ummm. no, no, no. what i meant to say is the grinder is rubbish. send it down to me any i'll flick you some springs and seals or something

sigh. I am a terrible liar. fwiw, a grinder just like this easily fetched 1200euro last year in france.

[boom1]

WOW! I never knew it was THAT scarce and valuable! Now I feel a little better about spending all my savings! hehe. However, to me it's not about the money or the value of the find. I just really want the machine to have a good home and to make the best espressos to all of its customers, as it has been doing for the last 46 years. You cannot put a price on that! Thanks for that link with the parts for sale. I checked it out and it seems as if I will have to spend about R2000 ($280 US) to get new springs, gaskets, water levers, baskets and steam wands. That's almost as much as the machine and grinder cost me in the first place, but as I said, you can't put a price tag on beauty!! I'll have the boiler gaskets made in SA.

Paul Pratt, you're really scaring me with your stories about the boiler end plates! I love the work you did on your E61. You should finish your Lambro restoration!

Oh yes, should I have the boiler and end plates sandblasted or will a citric acid bath take care of the exterior as well? It seems as if it has been painted at some time and I would like to strip all of that off to get that beautiful brass look. Should I then coat the brass (boiler and panels) with something to prevent further rust?

[Paul_Pratt]

$280? Even if that was a typo at $2800 it is still a bargain. Something around $280 would be the best deal of the century for the machine and grinder.

The boiler end plates on yours are the same as my E61 2 group and shouldn't be that bad. The boilers with the bolts exposed aren't that hard. The ones where the bolt threads into the boilers are awful. I would clean with some strong detergent and then citric acid which will remove the limescale. After that just leave the brass and copper exposed.

You should shop around for the correct gaskets etc...I do know though that shipping to SA is expensive. All faema stuff is still available so you should try and get the original parts which will make the rebuild easier. We can suggest parts places for you.

[Paul]

You may want to install a pressurestat/pressure switch and replace the honking great lead weight on top of the boiler for a new safety valve. With respect to the boiler, my process is degrease -> paint strip -> citric acid bath -> polish. This gets the most grubby fella looking shiny new. I would sandblast the frame but really nothing else.

The neat things about old faema's is the availability of repro parts. You can even still get the stickers. This machine has, in my humble opinion, the best designed leva groups. It'll make great coffee when you're done.

[boom1]

For $2800 I can pay for a year's tuition at university in SA! Exchange rates suck! Well, I just got bored of studying and decided to take the element out. For someone who knows absolutely nothing about boilers, this really didn't look too bad! The element came right out with no real mineral buildup and the boiler looks quite clean. Just more of that green mold stuff!!

I don't know if I want to install a pressurestat and safety valve. I really want to keep it as original as possible. It has worked for over 40 years, so why change now? Is it really that unsafe?? I'd actually love to hear that lead weight pop when the pressure gets too high, but if there's a change of me blowing myself up, I'd rather install the valves. It also sounds like a real challenge if I have to operate the machine by manually adjusting the heat in order to get the pressure just right. I'd feel like a real 1970s barista!

I'll post pics of the boiler later on. The website is giving me a little trouble!

[Paul]

I understand what you mean regarding modifications. I take the view that installing a pstat and safety valve make the machine easier to use and are easily reversible. I do it to all of my old machines. Reusing the original setup, assuming the switch is still safe, is not inherantly unsafe. Do replace all the wiring as a matter of course.

I am curious about how this machine came to be in your part of the world. Do you know any history of it? Have you ever seen other vintage machines in SA?

fwiw, the lead weight setup is called an emmissions valve. It will gently constantly hiss.

[boom1]

All the wiring will be changed, but I first want to start up the machine once it's fixed and work with it a while before installing modifications. I'm tempted to switch it on over the weekend and try to pull a couple of shots (if it doesn't explode in my face!)

About the history of the machine: The pawn shop said they bought it from a recently closed down hotel in Woeschter (spelling) called the Brandwag ("Firewatch") Hotel. That's all I know but I really wish there was more! Apparently the 1970-1990 coffee trade in SA was quite big, so there should be some vintage machines lying around. I know of an espresso machine repair shop who has a few 4 and 5 group old lever machines and an E61, but I don't know if they're still working.

Right now I just want to get the exterior nice and shiny so that I at least have something to look at while I work on the plumbing and boiler. I really want to get rid of the rust and mild on the back of the plates to get that nice brass look...scrub scrub scrub

[boom1]

Hi guys

I have taken apart the entire machine over the weekend. It was one hell of a mission and took a whole morning of hard work. Unfortunately I broke the sight glass and one of the boiler rings, but I heard some good news today. I found a Faema parts supplier in SA who also told me that he used to know the original designer of the Faema E61 and is still in contact with his son. Small world eh? He assured me that he will be able to source me all the parts I need! There is hope!
I'm still struggling to upload images, so I'll post as soon it starts working...any ideas?

[Paul]

great stuff Neil. A thought; if you haven't taken apart the group body's yet, be careful undo-ing the three bolts. They are weak and it is very easy to break off the heads.

edit - duh , scratch all that. I scrolled down too fast and didn't notice you'd past this without problems. Carry on

[boom1]

I still cannot upload pics, so for the time being I will be following the restoration at www.baristaunderground.com.

[djmonkeyhater]

can you make viewing it not require a password?

just wondering.

[boom1]

Hi djmonkey

We are working on opening the posts to unregistered viewers. I spoke to one of the webmasters today and he said he will look into it. Thank you for the suggestion.

Does anyone know why I can't post any images? As soon as I upload an image, the website freezes and later times out...

[coffeefrog]

We are working on opening the posts to unregistered viewers.

We?

Excellent, a new (well, lightly trafficked: 2 direct links in Google, lots from stumbleupon) coffee site with some high-interest content that wants my email address because IT had problems with spammers. Actually it appears from a tiny bit of Googling that the site was hacked last July, which is an even better reason to not hand over my email address.

The "permission denied" PHP error on the "for sale" page is a very bad look given the history of the site, and it doesn't link back to HB (the only website link under "links" points to WMF? huh?).

Configuring anonymous read access to a forum is just not that hard guys.

[boom1]

Sorry, I misread what the webmaster told me:

"Russian spammers trying to get access with bots"

So you're more than welcome to register!! I will keep trying to post images to this site...

[boom1]

Hi guys!

I have finally finished with the exterior of the machine. The groups haven't been worked on yet, so they might look a bit dull. The grinder is also just there for show and still needs lots of attention, as does the interior of the machine.