Art & Inspiration OT buying a 50's Refrigerator to stick in the shop....

i also have an older (made in usa ge fridge. i think the frost free uses more juice cuz of the fan motor running.

 

I picked this one up on CList locally. i plan on doing a Coca-Cola theme...

 

Anybody know of an active forum or other source of information?

 

Update. Herb Ries found me a compatable thermostat and she is humming along. Some pictures.

 

Scored a 1951 GE fridge today for $40. Runs and cools/freezes great. Gonna post pics tomorrow when I get it home. It's white with a little surface rust, but somebody did a lousy brush job on it. Has all the shelves and a big freezer. It's all there except for the bottom trays but I'm sure I'll find some and the seal in ok shape.

 

Originally Posted by fearnoevo
You realize that your vintage ride will probably cost more to run than your new prius right?

If looking in the salesbrochure from Toyota, i agree, but i dont like the Prius, and their socalled envirement supecar aint been great if you calculate the whole prosess, production, use, scrapping....

And my Frigidaire uses less electricity than my 5y. old frigde, checked with a meter!
Also its more insulated, and the engine dont need to run so much!! So if keeping bigger bottles of beer,(the door dont needs to be open so much) you get better bills!!
AND ITS LOOK´s BETTER!!!!

 

Heres my 1951 GE. Its pretty quiet compared to newer ones. cools and freezes like a new one after i put a seal around the inside. I have it set on the lowest setting, 1 out of 9, and it keeps drinks ice cold!

 

My dad had an old Frigidaire with the meat locker style handle in his shop while i was growing up. It stayed in there after we relocated, i made sure it didnt get tossed. While i was away at college my mother had it hauled off, she claimed it broke and she wanted it gone. Boy was i ticked off, even if it was broke i could'a used it as a paint cabinet or something. I always wanted to paint it black with flames.

Still on the look out.....

 

I have the same exact fridge in my kitchen as my only frige

 

Here's my 50's General Electric, with a General electric radio on top. Thats my hot girl friend posing with it.... And it is my only Refrigerator

 

Is your whole kitchen done in 50's style?

 

this is one I did a year or so back




and the final touch...not its not a sticker!

 

yea, as much as I can get it for now without tearing out the wood cabinets and putting some Youngstown metal one's in. But I got the 50's table and chairs, 50's toaster, breadbox, and a few other things that make it look period

 

So I'm going to pick up one of these beasts tomorrow night. Is it possible to get it up basements stairs with only two guys and a standard hand truck? Any tips? Should i take a hand truck with pneumatic or hard wheels? I'll follow up with pictures later in the week.

 

They're not that bad to move really.

Bring a ratchet strap to hold it to the handcart. I find solid wheels to be the best.

An appliance dolly is only about $100 - $150, has a built-in strap and stairclimbers on the back. It's not like you won't use it to stash engine blocks and transmissions in your basement later on.

Shawn

 

I might bring the tool set and my 20 percent off coupon for harbor freight along. If the hand truck doesn't work I'll run over there and grab an appliance dolly.

What dolly do you have that you can use it on engine blocks? I have wanted to get my nailheads down into the basement. The cellar doors should work nice for that.

 

I use one of these:

Stand the block on the bellhousing end, stuff the dolly under it, strap it down and go.

The appliance dolly is rated for 800lbs.

Might need a buddy if you try it with a whole engine but it works fine for blocks.

Shawn

 

Maybe posted already but you can buy modern fridges made to look old.

http://www.elmirastoveworks.com/northstar.aspx?src=fridges

Of course they won't be as neat as a real old one but maybe cheaper to run.

 

not vintage... but its one i painted to match my chevy for my garage!

 

for anyone that needs their old fridge repaired, the auto A/C shop next to the shop i work at fixed an old pepsi vending machine we had and it works like new now, any able a/c shop should be able to fix these fridges.

 

Appreciate the advice, but in my experience these things do not need repair. My G.E. was purchased new in March of '53, by my parents, has been in continus use since then and keeps the "silver bullets", iced tea frozen shrimp etc. very cold today and has never had a service call. But thanks again for the advice.

 

Well I got the fridge home. Attached are pictures from the ad. The little SOB was not only smaller than I expected but weighed twice as much as I thought as well. The guy I bought it from was a tiny older gentlemen and though I give him credit for helping as much as he did I wish I had another guy my size helping push it up the stairs while I pulled. Next time I'm investing in an appliance dolly.

It's in really nice shape, no dings or dents. The paint has a few spots where rust is starting to speck through. The bottom has a rust ring on it from sitting on the cement floor but it's not rotted at all. It had an intermittent squeak while running, I'm hoping it's the rubber mounts for the compressor and not the compressor itself. When i had it on it's side and shook the compressor by hand the mounts would squeak. I think I'm going to pick up some silicone lube and hit the mounts up really good.

Does anybody have a rounded vintage fridge that is closer in internal space to modern fridges? As much as I like this one I don't think it's going to cut it as far as a main fridge goes. It will however do a great job of keeping my beer cold.

 

After buying a new frigidiare (made in china now) that lasted 16 months we searched and found a 1939 crosley shelvador for the body shop that still runs at a auction for ten bucks. After my prep woman ,(daughter) spent two weeks on it we did it in a deco paint scheme. it's a really cool addition to the office and customers love it .

 

Very nice. Like the paint job.

 

Well after some free time spent... here it is!

(Might have to move it away from the hose reel.)

 

Got mine from a mate,needs some work but should come up nice.Does anyone know what year it is. thanx Rod.

 

awesome !!!! nice grab man

 

I got that same 1951 model. Mine just stopped working and the compressor keeps cycling on and off. It isn't keeping anything cold...but I am not going to trash it.

Where can i find parts? What is the refridgerant? What most commonly goes wrong with these??

I dont' know much about these old fridges, but ever since I saw tuck flame one..i said that I have to have one.

 

Got a "GM" Frigidaire myself, 8 years ago at Value village for $25.00 and has worked perfect ever since!!! I have no idea what year it is, but the settings have ...
"OFF" "A B C" and "1-10"!!
I keep it on "B" and I have a PERFECTLY chilled beer everytime I open her up!!!

 

Well I dont have any pics of my 57 Gibson fridge I traded the original owner a used air conditioner for buuuuuuut heres a pic of my 50's Geneva metal kitchen cabinets in the shop I got free off of craigslist .






Rick