1960 Wunder! aka German Europiccola

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Tom@Steve'sEspresso
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#1: Post by Tom@Steve'sEspresso »

Howdy boys and girls.
So, I'm at work today, and in the middle of a procedure a friend texts me saying she found a vintage Europiccola on CL. I look at the ad and it says Wunder. Wunder?? A quick reference to signor Ceccarelli's site says RARE! So firstly, I promptly "lost my sh!t" then texted my friend back to say GET THAT. She returned txt saying "I can't call, I'm working." ARE YOU JOKING?? Well so am I!! So I immediately called the seller at my first available moment to lay claim and say that I'd buy it. Then my friend txted me saying that she offered X but seller said No. By this time I dialed her directly and spoke to her. "Mah I just called the guy and I'm getting it after work." We laughed and hung up. Back to work.

Then I'm thinking...I need cash! Oh sweet geezums I hope the bank is still open when I finish, and will we finish in time??! We did and it was.
I wrangled another friend to ride the 20ish miles in Phoenix rush hour traffic to meet the seller, at a gas station, and here it is.




I referred to DrGary's thread from '14 re: his early Europiccola that is minus the serial number. This machine is also without a serial, though I think it has the same vague 1 that DrG mentions is stamped on his. Mine is almost undetectable. I had also forgotten to check the element casting for a date stamp, and upon further inspection the element is stamped 10 59 !

Tomorrow I am on call for pm Jury duty, so I may tinker just a bit with the Wunder and order some parts and the sleeve tool. The seller said that it heated up nicely when he tested it, with water...I asked him. The steam valve stem is bent, as is the wand. And the boiler looks pretty clean otherwise.

We chatted a bit with the seller and I asked him if he knew any back story to this machine specifically and in general. In general he did know of the Pavonis but not the Wunder. He had just listed the machine after finding it at Goodwill earlier today. I said to him that I wouldn't ask him what he paid. We laughed. And then he told me, and we laughed some more.He also added that he knew that the machine would sell to a coffee person.

The funny thing is, I have been wanting an earlier vintage Pavoni than my '72 for a while, and had been considering one that signor Ceccarreli has listed. Then RINGRING, the text message came through the lead walls today. I'm in shock still.

That's all for now kids. I'm exhausted. More to come so stay tuned.

Tom
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TomC
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#2: Post by TomC »

Congrats! Looks pretty good for its age too.
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drgary
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#3: Post by drgary »

Oh wow. How wunderful. Congratulations!
Gary
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What I WOULD do for a good cup of coffee!

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grog
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#4: Post by grog »

Very cool. It has '1 60' on both the metal tag on front and stamped underneath. Wonder if that's when it was built, which would make sense with a 10 59 element.
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max
Posts: 376
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#5: Post by max »

Tom@Steve'sEspresso wrote:Howdy boys and girls.
So, I'm at work today, and in the middle of a procedure a friend texts me saying she found a vintage Europiccola on CL. I look at the ad and it says Wunder. Wunder?? A quick reference to signor Ceccarelli's site says RARE! So firstly, I promptly "lost my sh!t" then texted my friend back to say GET THAT. She returned txt saying "I can't call, I'm working." ARE YOU JOKING?? Well so am I!! So I immediately called the seller at my first available moment to lay claim and say that I'd buy it.
I think this is the only appropriate reaction :lol: Congratulations!

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dumpshot
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#6: Post by dumpshot »

Tom@Steve'sEspresso wrote: and order some parts and the sleeve tool.
I have the sleeve tool! You are welcome to use it if it isn't too late.

Congrats again. That is awesome.
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LaCrema
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#7: Post by LaCrema »

Tom@Steve'sEspresso wrote:He had just listed the machine after finding it at Goodwill earlier today. I said to him that I wouldn't ask him what he paid. We laughed. And then he told me, and we laughed some more. He also added that he knew that the machine would sell to a coffee person.
:lol:

Reading that made my day! I love it when the seller kinda knew he had a good find but didn't kill the price to ruin your day, what luck.... Good Job! :)
"Outside the box Barista."

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Tom@Steve'sEspresso (original poster)
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#8: Post by Tom@Steve'sEspresso (original poster) »

It brings me pleasure to update this thread to say that the machine is in fine working order after taking my time over these past weeks trying to get the sleeve tool to fit properly. I spent altogether probably 4 hours of work with a hand file to get the tool slimmed down enough to make a nice fit into the sleeve. Though once the sleeve was out the remainder of the work was straightforward and quick.

As expected, the sleeve and piston were fairly dirty; and the piston circlip had simply melted into rust. That was probably the most difficult task, just clearing the corrosion away. But everything cleaned up well enough in the end.

Now for the unfortunate discoveries: it seems like someone in the past had the grand idea of using some sort of tool to grip the machine around the boiler, as there are two minor abrasions in the chrome 180 degrees from each other. So now I am contemplating whether or not to re chrome. If I do, then both machines will be redone. The base though, will stay unretouched obviously. The other discovery is that the steam wand stem was bent at the base of the knob. My solution there is to swap the stem from my '72 to this machine, and the new assembly that will arrive soon goes to the '72. I don't want to wreck the original knob, so until a clear solution to straighten that bend presents itself the original parts get put aside. And somehow, probably in the same event that bent the steam valve, the boiler cap has a slight almost undetectable flat spot in the threads causing a rub in the threads while being tightened\loosened.... another remedy to ponder.

And interestingly, the original portafilter is a bit deeper than that of the '72. You'll see in the pics. But I am using a bottomless one from Paul Pratt anyhow. Today was the day I pulled the first shots, and they were good. But I found myself working quickly to make 2 drinks and get the machine unplugged, as working a machine without a sight glass caused just a bit of anxiety!






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drgary
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#9: Post by drgary »

Congratulations, Tom!

A thread file of the right size should help you fix the boiler cap threads. To determine shot count, you could fill your Wunder to the fill line, which is where the top and bottom part of the boiler are joined together. Then empty the water into a measuring cup. Fill that amount into your other machine and see how many shots you pull before you are low on the sightglass. I think I can comfortably pull four shots, maybe five on my equivalent 1961 Europiccola also made by the original workshop (probably Nea Lux), and then rebadged. Our machines are identical, I think, other than the badge, and that includes the switch. If you are unable to straighten the bend in the steam arm you could swap in a current version one, which will look and function the same, and preserve the original part for posterity. BTW, your title refers to your Wunder as a German Europiccola. I think it is actually a rebadged Caferina. You will find it identical to those except for the badge, considering the lack of serial number and the earlier switch.
Gary
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What I WOULD do for a good cup of coffee!

danaleighton
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#10: Post by danaleighton »

Cool. Looks identical to the '59 Caferina I had. So the rebranding saga continues... Co-Fer, Caferina, Wunder. Is the heating element stamped with a <DP> on the bottom?
Dana Leighton
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