Yesterday I rescued a 2005 copper/brass Elektra Mcal from a hillbilly from what was to be a certain death. I'm a grown woman but I think a tear escaped when I saw the condition. It's missing all the expensive parts: eagle, drip tray & cover, the steam wand has a bend that defies common sense, loose knobs and for sure toasted gaskets and seals. The dude (off CL) proudly scooped out some Nabob from the plastic tub (the grounds were so old they gave up and committed suicide) and slopped it into the portafilter basket - sans tamping (what's that, he asked in a smoker's voice). He filled the boiler with nasty crap tap water. Despite all this abuse for who knows how long, it reached 1.5 bars. I was able to pull something as well as steam some milk. That was probably the biggest surprise. Thought I'd share my rescue mission with y'all. Believe me, the photos make it look better than it appears. Good thing I got it under $200 'cuz I'm gonna need all that extra dough to get it back to it's once glorious self. Guess Stefano has a heads up on an order coming his way soon.

Hello there,
check the wear under the lever spacer (top plate)
looks pretty run down but I cannot quite see well on this pic
perhaps you can email me a better one

Good luck with the restoration. Love the copper and brass combination. A great looking lever.

Congratulations. Was this a SF or BC find?

-phillip

Phillip,
This was a Vancouver, BC find. Usually I find these kind of deals around the Bay Area.

In that case, enjoy a 49th Parallel espresso for me, and one at Cafe Artigiano.

I will next time I'm over there, fella Canuck...

stefano65 wrote:Hello there,
check the wear under the lever spacer (top plate)
looks pretty run down but I cannot quite see well on this pic
perhaps you can email me a better one

Stefano, do these photos help?
C

yep looks good (or not tooo bad)
I was concerned from the previous picture to be worn down way too far ( I referring to the bras "lip" where the lever pivots