When I was ready to move my AMI G-80 jukebox from my parent's house to my own, I wondered if it would really fit into my 1991 Volkswagen Passat station wagon. We measured carefully before we wheeled the jukebox out to the car. It just fit.

AMI G-80 Jukebox

Although AMI's 1955 G-80 jukebox is not as stylish as its competition, it is a reliable jukebox with great sound. A tube amplifier drives a large horn speaker above the jukebox body and a woofer below. Rowe continued to use the simple record picker mechanism in CD jukeboxes.

This AMI G-80 jukebox was one of three similar jukeboxes purchased around 1976, when I was in college. I gave one as a gift to my father, Herbert Shprentz, and I gave another to Norman Isler, a friend with a van who delivered the jukeboxes. After college, I traded my G-80 and a Chicago Coin Kicker pinball game for a Seeburg Model R jukebox—a story for another day. Norman still has his jukebox.

Loading the Passat

In 1993, my father wanted me to take his jukebox to make space in his house. I carefully measured the jukebox and the cargo area of my Passat station wagon. The measurements appeared tight, but feasible.

The jukebox was too large to fit through an interior hallway leading to the driveway, so we had to bring the jukebox out a back door and across a lawn to the neighbor's driveway. Real movers would have laid down plywood to protect the lawn and provide a smooth surface for the wheels. We did our best with some strips of plywood, which we repositioned as we went. This exhausted us, so we felt our efforts were worthy of a few photos.

With the Passat's seats folded down and rope attached to its tiedown loops, we were ready to load the jukebox. The car's rear sill was at a good height for us to tip the jukebox back. Then we lifted the bottom heavy jukebox by its legs and lowered it down into the cargo bay. As usual, a few loose parts clattered around. Finally, we pushed the jukebox all the way into the car.

I was relieved that the rear hatch closed without touching the jukebox. I had popped the rear window seal of my Chevy Vega wagon by closing it on a pinball machine that didn't quite fit.