There are times when there is a particular model a collector has wanted for years and after spending those years looking high and low (price and location), that collector finally realizes that in order to acquire it, some fairly serious cash will need to be spent or a refurbishment will be necessary.
That collector is myself and the machine is the Adler 189A Adlermatic. I knew I had to have one the first moment I spied a dark, grainy picture of its gorgeous green self. The rounded, bulbous shapes, the beautiful levers with red increments and numbers, the cam door that slides up and open, the nose plate that opens clam-shell style toward the left, the Pfaff 130-like rear access plate, the steel cams, the belt cover, the speed and strength, the ungodly smoothness -- it was a heady mix for a still-learning collector and perhaps these shapes and features imprinted my impressionable mind so deeply that I couldn't let go. And now I finally have one. Well, almost.
I decided not to spend a fortune and bought a 'For Parts or Repair' example. It's missing the motor. (Yes, you read that correctly. I bought an electric, heavy-duty sewing machine with its motor missing.) It's missing the thread tension assembly (except the post, check spring, etc.). The thread take-up lever has been broken right off at the face plate. No cord, no controller. The cord that it has was a seller attempt and he actually wired the lamp correctly, so that works. The hand wheel turns very smoothly and the knobs and levers all appear to be working as intended, although I need access to a manual to be sure. This is not a simple machine. No cams, no presser feet, no bobbin case (although the Pfaff 130's does fit and that means they are plentiful and fairly inexpensive). It also needs a very thorough cleaning and adjusting.
But I didn't just buy it on impulse. I knew it was a project machine and so the question with any somewhat rare machine is where to buy parts. How much would it cost to purchase all these necessities for a working machine -- preferably original parts? Well, I found an eBay seller who sold me a huge lot of Adler 189A parts (including the motor, the rear access plate, the hand wheel, the face plate with the cam door, levers, hook, innards, take-up lever, gears, etc., zig-zag and cam assemblies, rods and shafts, etc.) for the princely sum of $50. So I bought the machine with a pending Best Offer on the parts and had my shorts in a wad for only about 2 hours hoping I could have a complete machine in about a month of studying the service manual.
