Thinking about it the Apple II is a better example here, for one thing it's yet older (47 years). However I don't personally posses one nor have I ever used one so I concentrated on the C64.
The author talks about doing timeless activities well. You can still word process, do spreadsheets and program on an Apple II. Probably meets the author's 'sturdy and resilient' requirements as well as being a 'heavier and well-designed object'.
The Tandy or trs80 line is even better. They were designed to be resilient and easy to repair and ample service documentation is available and sold to the consumer, meaning you can get repair docs even today in physical form if that floats your boat. Almost all the parts were off the shelf components.
The author talks about doing timeless activities well. You can still word process, do spreadsheets and program on an Apple II. Probably meets the author's 'sturdy and resilient' requirements as well as being a 'heavier and well-designed object'.