Hi Folks:

I just landed a vintage Elektra MCAL from eBay that looks like it's very serviceable but will also need to be totally broken down, cleaned up and serviced. I haven't had a chance to plug it in yet but can tell by the lever action that the gaskets are deteriorated and it needs to be lubed.

It arrived professionally boxed in every way -- except the packers didn't remove the water in the boiler! So the machine arrived wet and I probably paid for shipping two pounds of water. I would be surprised if the water froze and did damage, but you never know. Fortunately I got it at a good price. The seller says she's an original owner and the way it was listed showed she doesn't know much about these machines. I volunteered to take it mechanically "as-is" to acquire the machine and I think we each got a fair deal.

Here's how it looked with the bubble wrap just removed.



There are no deep scratches or bad wear spots in the finish. There are a couple of tiny spots of what look like copper corrosion and there's one slight dent. Mainly though the plating looks intact but I think the clearcoat may need removal and replacement if that's feasible. Please jump in with suggestions if you know about trying to do that. Even without touching the clearcoat, the machine will clean up and look attractive.

However, the bottom of the base has a plate that can rust, especially if it sits wet within the rubber base. Rust has started there but has not gone deep. The next photo shows crud that built up where the bottom sat in the rubber base. What looks like a lot of rust is soft crud and the copper finish itself looks okay.



Lvx tells me that the number on the bottom plate tells the year. I'll guess that this machine is pre-1991. The seller says it was bought and given to her new in 1996. That's plausible because some dealers like Williams-Sonoma can have these on a back shelf for years before offering them up.



Overall the machine still looks very good. The wooden handles show no wear at all. There's an odd, extra cast portafilter that I'll picture later but the brass portafilter appears to be in good shape. It has several baskets and the original plastic tamper and plastic dosing spoon. Other than a thorough cleanup needed including some tarnished hex bolts on top of the group, the lever action tells me this machine needs all gaskets replaced and it needs to be lubed. Residue on the boiler cap tells me it needs descaling. I intend to substitute a Teflon gasket for the stock one to achieve more temperature stability and will have to determine whether I replace the spring. There was some milk crud on the steam wand but the wand itself shows little wear. The owner said the machine had been used 10 times. That may well be true by the look of it -- but then it may have been left to sit, filled with water, and never properly cleaned.

My purchase price was negotiated with this possibility in mind, so I feel I've acquired a vintage MCAL at a price I can afford but that needs to be thoroughly cleaned up and serviced. A good day but much work to do.

So awesome. You lucky dog!

That looks gorgeous on your counters too, by the way. Can't wait to see it up and running. Already get your gaskets ordered?

I'll order gaskets soon but am thinking of a Teflon one group to boiler so still have to figure that out. These are very pretty, aren't they?

Very pretty indeed Gary.I just hope it not going to delay the Prestina even further?

kitt wrote:I just hope it not going to delay the Prestina even further?

Man, you guys are tough! Doug is already calling me a slacker! These restorations are kind of like landing several planes one after the other. I think I can get the MCAL well underway while waiting for parts for the Prestina. The MCAL needs only servicing, I think. Happily I've just been offered an original boiler gasket for the Prestina, which will save me lots of work.

Added: The Prestina project is like taking a course in restoration. Each step has challenges and is a problem-solving experience. I'm going to need to put pipe fittings together for example. Yes, Doug has a tutorial on that, but reading these things and doing them for the first time are very different matters.

Yeah, making that gasket from scratch then dealing with it if it fails would be a long PITA. Glad this one will be a quick fixer upper. I can't believe they shipped it with water inside. Couldn't they feel it shifting around inside? You'd think that would be the very first thing a shipper would check too.

TomC wrote:Couldn't they feel it shifting around inside? You'd think that would be the very first thing a shipper would check too.

Odd, but no. The machine is substantially heavier than the water partly filling the boiler. I wrote to make sure and empty it out but you see what happened. Glad this wasn't shipping from someplace cold.

Fedex was a whole other story. I told them I'd be here all day yesterday to receive it -- except for two hours in the afternoon. They assured me they'd tell the courier and refused to make promises. Sure enough the courier hit the bullseye, splitting the hours I was away. Next time, UPS, I guess!

drgary wrote:Hi Folks:

I just landed a vintage Elektra MCAL from eBay
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Gary,
Welcome to the MCal club. You're gonna love it. It looks like you scored on that one too - now you just gotta pimp it out.

OO

Congrats on the new machine! It looks great, looks like it really was only drove to church on Sundays.

I don't know about UPS being a better option. They've screwed me over twice now, and seem to have a habit of it when it comes to heavy or large shipments. Not to get too off topic, but the bar size dinner table I've ordered nearly 3 weeks ago has encountered one problem after another, namely, UPS lying the first time saying it was delivered, then backtracking and saying "the package was dropped and damaged during delivery". So the furniture company I ordered from straightened it out with UPS and another one was supposedly shipped over a week ago.

I ordered some small parts from Orphan Espresso, and two nice latte cups from Crate and Barrel recently as well. UPS came when I was at work trying to deliver the latte cups and left a tag at my door with the note saying they've tried to deliver from Crate and Barrel, and missed me twice.... I signed the sticky note tagged to my door saying they can leave the Crate and Barrel package at my door, they were waiting for me along with my Orphan Espresso order when I got home Monday night... Yesterday after much waiting and wondering, I check the tracking only to see that they claim that the expensive friggin table was signed for by me and delivered yesterday.

I need that table here and built before the meet up I'm hosting. I will do anything in my power to avoid UPS in the future.