What would you do?

[Eddy]

I would buy the one in good shape and try very hard to fix the issues.
It's more hassle to repaint the entire box i guess
It's like buying a conion / clairtone
Most of these have the tape drawer missing and a missing tapedeck door
I bought one that is complete but i have to do some internal work..........................;

 

[MasterBlaster84]

Buy the pretty one, dunk the whole radio in deoxit, replace the motor, blast it till the cows come home!

Exactly my thought Chris.
My priority with Boomers is looks first function second, aren't the looks the main reason we love these so much? If it were just the sound we can get that out of newer and duller looking boxes.

It is LOOKS and FUNCTION combined what makes them so awesome I think...and I actually came to like the street used look on my 777.
If i only needed looks..well, I could look at photos

Okay let's not get carried away.
Of course we want our boxes to work but the look is the key to these and I have my beaters to make sure I'm not trashing my super nice boxes. I even agree in some circumstances the working beater is the better choice but for my first of any box I would want the Minty looking one since Minty looking boxes are harder to come by than working beaters. Situations may dictate otherwise as everything is really case by case anyway. Like all of my babbling and nearly worthless posts this is just my opinion and nobody has to agree but I don't think I'm alone in my thinking.

 

[mmcodomino]

Just thinking that...

What do you want a shiny car for if it has no engine?

Also only my opinion But I think as mint boomboxes are something to drool on (as we all think) th ones that were actually used carry a lot more history and it is more interesting to use them and find their character. A new box is so cold to me

Just a thought

 

[MasterBlaster84]

Just thinking that...

What do you want a shiny car for if it has no engine?

I would get the shiny car then get another engine to put in it.

 

[71spud]

But I think as mint boomboxes are something to drool on (as we all think) th ones that were actually used carry a lot more history and it is more interesting to use them and find their character. A new box is so cold to me

Sounds like you are the perfect customer for Ira then!!!!

 

[mmcodomino]

Just thinking that...

What do you want a shiny car for if it has no engine?

I would get the shiny car then get another engine to put in it.

I see where this is going The engine of my 1960 bug blew on the highway shortly before the restoration of it. So it was a broken very used looking car
we fixed it all up to very shiny again os why not get the non-working beater box and fix it up
It is after all the cheapest way

 

[MasterBlaster84]

Just thinking that...

What do you want a shiny car for if it has no engine?

I would get the shiny car then get another engine to put in it.

I see where this is going The engine of my 1960 bug blew on the highway shortly before the restoration of it. So it was a broken very used looking car
we fixed it all up to very shiny again os why not get the non-working beater box and fix it up
It is after all the cheapest way

Absolutely valid points Max however the cheapest way is not always fixing up the beaters, just saying price or total investment does not directly relate to condition.
Of course buying everything minty new and putting them in display cases isn't necessarily the best or only way it's just one way to collect and collecting means something a little different to everybody. I say collect the way that get's your juices flowing and don't worry about how others collect.

 

[Ken]

I say collect the way that get's your juices flowing and don't worry about how others collect.

 

[zorlac]

If you're curious enough to post this then you must be leaning toward it.

Get the first "Nice Looking" box.

If it's not fixable, hold it until another one comes on auction at an affordable price (different from month to month)

Worse case senario...you should be able to resell it for what you paid

 

[floyd]

for me my junky looking boxes are the work horses of my collection there nicer ones don't do a damn thing but sit there ,it's easy to say oh i must have perfect boxes but thats like hoping for perfect women i guess i just root for the under dog and tend to go for the junk heaps just because it's a challenge to make something out of the rejects and make them kick the asses of the bullies .

 

[sony_apm_fan]

Okay! Edit: You only have the money to buy ONE of them

Since I can only buy one of them, I would choose Box A and hope like hell I could repair all of the problems.

Agree with FD....

 

[=ml=]

Okay! Edit: You only have the money to buy ONE of them

Since I can only buy one of them, I would choose Box A and hope like hell I could repair all of the problems.

Agree with FD....

Ditto!

Not to hijack the thread, but I've got my own dilemma.

I can get a C100F for a good price, but it's missing the tape door and tray and needs belts and antennae. How hard are these to come by?

It looks pretty clean otherwise and the radio and all lights work. How much would you pay for it?

Go!

=ml=

 

[Gluecifer]

That's the same state mine was in, =ml=. These are MUCH rarer in .au than they are in the U.S though, I'd expect you could get her for 400-600.
It's not too hard to fabricate a new door and drawer, as thats what I did.

As this was a beater and I had no real alternative to look or even wait for another, 2 years later theres been a grand total of one listed since the one I picked up.

Bringing things back on topic; in the choice of cosmetic perfection or internal perfection, for me, I'll always go with the internal perfection.

I'm much, much more confident in restoring the external part of a boombox as opposed to the internals.
I can work plastic and finishes much easier than dealing with electrical components and diagnosing those types of issues.
For me the tape deck HAS to work for me to fully enjoy a boombox. I find having any boombox in my collection that doesn't fully work
very depressing, often I won't even have them on display unless they're working properly. As sony_apm_fan can attest to!

Plus, it's pretty often the case that less cosmetically perfect blasters go for less money, which is a nice little bonus.



Rock On.

 

[Gluecifer]

I'd like to also add that if problems in Max's scenario aren't all going to be fixed with a bit of cleaning switches and pots with DeOxit and a rebelting then I stick to my above post. If the problems are all able to be fixed with the usual expected work, then yeah, i'll go with the cosmetic perfection as the cleaning and rebelting work is something I'm confident in fixing.

Kind of hard to really tell if those issues in the scenario do just need a little of the above work, or if we're talking major electronics testing and work.



Rock On.

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

Buy the pretty one, dunk the whole radio in deoxit, replace the motor, blast it till the cows come home!

Exactly my thought Chris.
My priority with Boomers is looks first function second, aren't the looks the main reason we love these so much? If it were just the sound we can get that out of newer and duller looking boxes.

Realistically, the question is can you work on these? Or DO you want to work on it?

Your description seems like mostly contact issues which is a common problem. Switches get dirty over the years. One channel may not work because the balance knob is dirty from years of non use. Or the cassette/radio/line in switch is dirty and not switching over to the cassette so the cassette is not working. Obviously this is all hypothetical and the radio could have all the components burned up inside from a previous fire!

But if the price is right and you know what your looking at once the radio is open, you could have a real sweety on your hands!

I say, save up, buy both, then get pissed, sell them to me at a fraction of what you paid and then EVERYONE IS HAPPY!

 

[sony_apm_fan]

I'd like to also add that if problems in Max's scenario aren't all going to be fixed with a bit of cleaning switches and pots with DeOxit and a rebelting then I stick to my above post. If the problems are all able to be fixed with the usual expected work, then yeah, i'll go with the cosmetic perfection as the cleaning and rebelting work is something I'm confident in fixing.

Kind of hard to really tell if those issues in the scenario do just need a little of the above work, or if we're talking major electronics testing and work.



Rock On.

Me too, it's cosmetics first. But I'm happier delving into the electronics than fixing physical damage.....

 

[shane higgins]

just dont think about it to long
remember if u ant got it u cannt fix it


i brought a c100 in oz for $164 +post so $200 all up
no door but there so f..ken rare i just had to have it
and i would have payed $400 so i will make my own door

 

[Gluecifer]

And there ends the mystery of who won the last C-100 on .au ebay!

Well played Shane! I was sooo close to putting a lot of money on that one. I'm very happy you got it for that price.
Good to see she's ended up 'in the family'.



Rock On.