BTW my Surf Champ is getting played at least 5 times a week, LOVE IT
I would guess that it was your Surf Champ I saw at a nearly complete stage at APR about a year ago.
Up to that point I wasn't sure if I should buy an APR machine simply brought up to a working state, or go for a full restoration that at that moment seemed expensive. Looking at photos online the restoration work looked good, but I wasn't sure if the price was worth a full restoration. Then I saw that Surf Champ in the workshop area, and was stunned. The effort on the external and the often forgotten about internal of the machine was unbelievable. Photos can not do it justice. Most importantly, my wife (the boss) was impressed too!
Having seen that Surf Champ, it was then an easy decision to put the deposit on a full restoration.
I'm still about 50% through restoring an old machine EM that I have had since I was about 15 years old (30+years ago) that was rusting away in my parents garage - I started that about 4 years ago. Thinking of the time needed for a restoration of the level of that Surf Champ, suddenly the price of a full restoration seemed cheap!
My APR machine is in that long queue, with the supply of a key spare being a primary source of the delay...
...But I'm happy to wait - after all when I think of the impression I got in seeing that Surf Champ, I'm feel I'm getting my playable piece of art, furniture and history at a cheap price.
Nino,
There are a lot of techs out there, but only a hand full of high end restorers. Right decision.
