SHOW OFF YOUR VINTAGE FRIDGE!! post pictures, details and improvements made

drivesitfar · Jan 27, 2017

ALL: i've got almost everything vintage in my garage and my back up fridge just doesn't have the LOOK. anybody here use the old school fridges for to keep their beverages and extra food cold?

post up pictures with as many details as you can about yours. any improvements made if you did and what you might improve still if you had the money or time.

if you don't have one do you know of one you'd buy if you found one?

how hard are they to restore if you find one that isn't working?

post up your vintage ones with taps and a keg inside too if that's what you own.

CHEERS (ice tea mostly for this old guy)

drivesitfar · Jan 27, 2017

ALL: i Googled up a few and thought the thread could use some color while it's waiting for members to post their fridge if they own a vintage one.

these might be over the top for my use, but maybe these are some of our member's already and we just need more pictures and details on them.

drivesitfar · Jan 27, 2017

ALL: i'm probably looking to buy a working one that looks like this or if it's in my wheelhouse to restore one i'd like to know what that entails before i buy one that needs work.

don long · Jan 28, 2017

Hi Drives
I can play. I have a couple of old fridges. I haven't customized either one however I do have plans for the older one

Here is the first one. I believe it came out of the 40,s. It is working up in the game room and is fully stocked with soda pop.
It came with the cabin I bought in Big Bear Ca. back in 1996. The cabin had quite the history giving the fridge some as well. The cabin was built by Cecil B. DeMille. He was the producer/director of the movie Ben Hur, The 10 commandments and many others. He sold the cabin in the late 50,s and I bought it from the second owner.
The fridge is an old Norge

The second fridge is from the 30,s I believe and it has no history.
I bought it from an antique store in Springville Utah a few years ago with the idea of painting it red and white and badge it like a coke machine.
Maybe some day. I now have 2 of them

drivesitfar · Jan 28, 2017

Don: thank you for posting a few pictures and of course they are awesome along with the stories? :bowdown:

i bet you've met a lot of famous people from the movie business in your life haven't you?

so the NORGE really has my eye cause I'm 100% Norwegian and it just sounds right.

you are so handy you could probably make a fridge out of an old oil barrel, but just curious how hard these old fridges are to work on and keep running. do you know? I heard these are more expensive to run than a newer fridge, but that cost doesn't worry me as much as knowing that they WILL RUN and if i could fix them easily.

ALL: anybody have a favorite brand of old fridge they like cause it's dependable, easy to work on and looks cool post them up.

here's one i saw, but it takes up too much room for my little space now, but thought it was worth mentioning. it's a FOODARAMA and this one has been restored and is actually for sale locally for a big price. it does have that COOL LOOK doesn't it?

drivesitfar · Jan 28, 2017

Don: not sure this is the same maker cause maybe all the fridges were made with the round compressor on top in the 30's, but this one is a GE and probably is a bit newer than your 1930's version in your Dream Garage.

drivesitfar · Jan 28, 2017

ALL: so if i can't find a NORGE getting a KELVINATOR might be my next option since i've got one inside our house we bought when we moved in 30 years ago that won't die. Raising 5 kids and their friends and having a wife that could be a chef at almost any good restaurant if she wanted to our Kelvinator has more than a little use during those years.

anybody own either of these old fridges that can tell me (us) the PROS & CONS of either or both please do and add pictures if you can please.

thanks

don long · Jan 28, 2017

Yes Drives mine is also a G.E. model with a foot pedal to open it when the wife has her arms full of food to put in it.
I,ve only met a few celebs in my day and Jay Leno is one of the best.
Believe mr Drives, I'm just an ordinary guy.
I,ve never worked on a fridge before.

drivesitfar · Jan 28, 2017

Don: well if you are JUST ORDINARY as you call it i'm here to tell you i'm striving to be JUST ORDINARY too some day when i'm all growed up. BTW MR. DRIVES is my Dad i'm just DRIVES.

I bet Jay Leno is JUST AN ORDINARY GUY too isn't he??

i need to post over on your thread and congratulate you on your new finds and will do shortly.

thanks for posting here and feel free to keep looking in cause i'm going to find others with these cool old fridges in their garages so i can maybe learn a little more before i buy one.

ALL: so there are some things i'd just prefer to buy and have them work. Kelvinator fridge has done well for 30 years and wife just wants a new one, but it still works. Speed Queen washer and dryer lasted 25 years with only a few minor repairs before we bought another pair maybe 3 years ago. my Honda mower, pressure washer, weed eater and Honda cars all seem to keep running with just a little gas and oil.

that said here is a $40 fridge next to a similar $3200 one with the same company's name on it. anybody restore one of these care to share what it takes and do you have to make the parts or is there an old vintage fridge warehouse that sells new products not made in China (or are all new parts made in China or maybe India?)?

Nick Danger · Jan 28, 2017

Every once in a while I see a GE monitor top refrigerator for sale, and I get tempted to buy it. But I always talk myself out of getting something that big which would basically be a toy.

drivesitfar · Jan 28, 2017

NICK: i don't know about a TOY, but to each their own opinion. sure they don't hold as much they are not as efficient, but they were built like TANKS and LOOK COOL. i'm just trying to find out about how to maintain one and what it would take to do that or fix one if it came to that.

ALL: here's a coldspot i found fully restored. i think i recall the name, but can't remember much about them. looks ok to me. YOU?

Davefr · Jan 28, 2017

When you bought the fridge, GE would throw in the clock as a bonus

Here's the older one. I cheated and converted the refrigeration system from SO2 to R134.

tombell572 · Jan 28, 2017

Technically not a fridge but a small ice box, here's mine. I helped a friend clear out a barn probably late 1970's and he gave it to me. A racoon was hiding underneath and it had multiple coats of white enamel. It now houses my spirit beverages. The brass tag reads "Steinfeld Jewel New York".

Tom Bell

captain14 · Jan 28, 2017

Drives, there has been a thread or two on GJ on the old style refrigerators and some on the work that has been done on them. I'm on my phone and have never had too much luck posting links after doing a search maybe someone can perform some GoogleFu and post them Here in your thread.

drivesitfar · Jan 28, 2017

Dave: it looks like you have at least two of these and do you use them in your garage daily? did you restore them or buy them restored? AWESOME CLOCK!! thanks for sharing and if you have time to post more pictures and details on each one please do. thanks in advance.

Tom: it's a fridge and i think all of metal and cast iron lovers have a soft spot for old oak cabinets.

ALL: speaking of old fridges, my parents own a home that was built in 1928 and in their original kitchen before they remodeled it in 1965 there was an ICE BOX where the ICE MAN would put in a BLOCK OF ICE when the owner would call or ask him to.

keep those pictures and thoughts coming cause i think i'd like one of these old fridges in my garage and shop sooner than later. Even if it's just to keep my ice tea and water cold, but i might have a cold IPA in there for company if they need one. I've got a rule i didn't follow much when i was younger that i follow now all the time. when there are power tools involved there is NO DRINKING BEER OR COCTAILS!!

drivesitfar · Jan 29, 2017

ALL: so googling these old fridges sends me all over the map and have found a few sites sort of like GJ where guys talk about restoring them so i'll post up some links or some of the thoughts i think worth sharing if not enough GJ members post on the thread telling us about theirs.

found some NORGE fridges and looks like a lot of them had clocks on them.

1930artdeco · Jan 29, 2017

I want one! Eventually it will happen. My grandparents had one and it brings back fond memories.

Mike

Nick Danger · Jan 29, 2017

drivesitfar said:
NICK: i don't know about a TOY, but to each their own opinion. sure they don't hold as much they are not as efficient, but they were built like TANKS and LOOK COOL. i'm just trying to find out about how to maintain one and what it would take to do that or fix one if it came to that.

Sorry, I meant "toy" in the sense that a dune buggy or a fishing boat is a toy. Like I said, I want one but I can't justify it.

drivesitfar · Jan 29, 2017

NICK: AN ADULT TOY. then yes i totally agree with you!! :beer:

1930: yep i agree an old vintage fridge is cool and prices for Coke machines is more than i'll probably pay for my next car so going for the next best option. good luck in your search and if you happen to find some on Craigslist to post pictures of or in your Googling please post them up to give us ideas.

ALL: i'm still hoping to hear from a few members that own them telling us what is involved in servicing them or restoring them.

cheers

captain14 · Jan 29, 2017

Search for member Strnge. No letter A in name .

He did a thread here about old refrigerators

I cant copy and paste on my phone for what ever reason

I just found it

drivesitfar · Jan 29, 2017

CAPTAIN: thank you very much. i had know idea there was a thread already on these. i'll keep this one going since it's now in Vintage section and maybe it will just add on to the one Strnge started.

Strnge: thanks for starting a thread on old fridges and if you'd like to move your thread over here to vintage and keep it active that works for me or if you want to post on this one as you have time that's ok too.

ALL: here's the link to the other thread Captain mentioned:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37994

it looks like i've got some reading to do the next few evenings or mornings now about OLD FRIDGES.

drivesitfar · Jan 30, 2017

ALL: here's a Fridedare and a Hotpoint. not sure if they are the quality of a few others, but maybe they were i just don't know.

i started reading that other thread and i'll have a few pictures to post up from there to get a few highlights if Strnge decides he's not into an old Fridge any longer cause there weren't posts on it in months.

one member's quote: "i bought an old empty fridge that worked for cheap off Craigslist and one trip to the liquor store and it was a full old fridge"

thought it was worth mentioning. :beer:

CrotalusAtrox · Jan 30, 2017

Now I need to find a cool refrigerator whats next.

drivesitfar · Jan 30, 2017

CA: i could give you the list, but i think you'll enjoy figuring it out on your own. this just gives you something to look for and while you are checking out the seller's fridge more often than not there will be an anvil or vise sitting there not being used.

good luck and if you can do to a fridge what you learned to do with vises so quickly i can hardly wait until you find one here and show me (us) how to restore one.

cheers and thanks for the post!!

thehorse13 · Jan 30, 2017

I'm your huckleberry.

As you know, I just grabbed a Coke machine that has a date stamp of 1950. It is powered by a Kelvinator refrigeration system. Thankfully the Coke machine works fine and will not require a new cooling system.

Why did I mention that? I bought an old 1950s GE fridge that looked like it was modeled after a 57 Chevy. When I got it home, it needed body work, paint and sadly the cooling system had seen it's last day.

You are going to be hard pressed to source an original system so you have to find someone who can retrofit a modern cooling system to your fridge. This will cost you a few hundred bucks. You will recover your investment over time because of the energy savings from the new system.

That old fridge came out beautiful and worked perfectly. I ended up selling it to a guy who had to have it but I will see if I can find pictures of the restoration process.

drivesitfar · Jan 30, 2017

HORSE: if you have some pictures of your old fridge and some information to post that would be great. yes i also like DOC'S line in that movie too. it's a classic. one of the GJ members has it in his sig line and his avatar is a grandma holding a machine gun.

i do like the new (vintage) Coke machine you picked up. what a find that was that is for certain.

ALL: speaking of old Coke machines i'm guessing some of those have the same cooling units that these old fridges do so post up those too if you own one and want to tell us more about maintenance and restoration.

here's a few Coke machine pictures i've saved over the years and i've yet to see one i could afford even though i drank more Pepsi i do like the Coke machines a bit better.

Mark in Indiana · Jan 30, 2017

Nothing beats the style, reliability, durability, and simplicity of the vintage refrigerators. Over the years I've bought, used and sold dozens of these gems. Sorry I don't have pictures of all of them.

One such fridge that I do have pictures of is a 1950 International Harvester refrigerator that I bought from an insurance office that was closing down. I went there to buy all of the file cabinets for my son's business and myself. While chatting with the seller, he asked me if I wanted to buy the office fridge (the IH) for 150$. I looked it over and told him no, but he should be able to get that if he placed it on Craigslist. He came back again with a 100$ price. I told him No again, explaining that although all the badges were there and it worked fine, I didn't want to mess with it. Also, it would need a new gasket and a new paint job. The seller was determined by asking me what I'd give for it. Figuring that a low ball offer would put a stop to him, I told him 25$, not a penny higher. He accepted.
I was very pleased to have resold it to a guy who collects & restores IH trucks. He told me he would restore it. I'd like to see it now.

The second fridge is an Admiral that my parents got for a wedding present in 1952. It's neat with all of the compartments. It also featured "push button" defrost, which temporally reversed the refrigeration circuit to warm the freezer box, when iced over. I sold it also to a car dealership owner who wanted to restore it. I would like to see it also.

Happy trails!

BobsurUncle · Jan 30, 2017

Here is my old Norge. Not sure of the year, the tags inside are pretty well worn. It's missing it's icebox door and lower drawers. A friend gave it to me about 17 years ago. Still works like a champ. I'd like to give it a paint job one of these years, but for now it keeps my water and sodas ice cold. Only things I've done to it is replace the light bulb, and add the plastic shelf. lol

Currently unplugged. It need a defrost.

thehorse13 · Jan 30, 2017

BobsurUncle said:
Here is my old Norge. Not sure of the year, the tags inside are pretty well worn. It's missing it's icebox door and lower drawers. A friend gave it to me about 17 years ago. Still works like a champ. I'd like to give it a paint job one of these years, but for now it keeps my water and sodas ice cold. Only things I've done to it is replace the light bulb, and add the plastic shelf. lol

Currently unplugged. It need a defrost.

The machine gun you have leaning against it is far more interesting to me. Tell me more about that beautiful rusty hulk.

BobsurUncle · Jan 30, 2017

thehorse13 said:
The machine gun you have leaning against it is far more interesting to me. Tell me more about that beautiful rusty hulk.

WWII 1919a4. The parts came back from Israel, but it's an original US gun. Just another unfinished project. has a semi auto side plate. Need to machine the internals for the trigger still. Have an original 30.06 barrel for it too.

thehorse13 · Jan 30, 2017

I need one of those in my garage. Every home shop needs a 1919A4 rig. Maybe even a 50s fridge as well.

4 FN 27 · Jan 30, 2017

thehorse13 said:
I need one of those in my garage. Every home shop needs a 1919A4 rig. Maybe even a 50s fridge as well.

You're right. Now if I could only get the Fridge...I have been looking for a "Round Top" for 3 years now. Always end up being a day late or they think it is worth it's weight in gold.

bmwrd0 · Jan 30, 2017

I would love to have a monitor top like one of the above, or a '50's streamlined FridgidAir. But we have a 2000's monstrosity out in the garage now, and that is the wife's domaine (I might throw a bearing out there for a bit, but better hide it well.)

drivesitfar · Jan 30, 2017

Mark: you are a man of many many talents sir. thanks for posting those pictures up and if you happen to find more of fridges you restored post them up if you have time.

Bob's: good to hear a NORGE will work looking like that.

ALL: the rest of you guys only on GJ can we talk about fridges and post pics and start conversations about machine guns.

Cheers

drivesitfar · Jan 31, 2017

ALL: i surely didn't mean to say we couldn't go off topic on one of my (our) threads with the machine gun talk. i just like to see a few fridge pictures with the guns too.

anybody have a vintage fridge not posted yet to share the restoration or just pictures and your story?

if you find pictures of a cool fridge and even if it's not yours please post them up cause i've found more than a few that i've posted that i don't own.

thanks in advance for any tips to restoration or letting me (us) know which brands are better than others.

fowldarr · Feb 1, 2017

I don't know anything about restoring old refrigerators, and I'm not sure exactly where you live but there is an old Montgomery Ward from the 1940's down in Grants Pass (Medford-Ashland Craigslist), for $150, the guy claims it needs a $30 part to run (we all know how that can go).

I can't post pictures from work, so you'll have to go look for it. It's not 'as cool' as some of the others, but might fit the bill.

Lahti35 · Feb 1, 2017

1930artdeco said:
I want one! Eventually it will happen. My grandparents had one and it brings back fond memories.

Mike

Better hurry prices are on the rise! I should have bought one a few years back but put it off until after the move...

bmwrd0 · Feb 1, 2017

As far as working/ restoring one, not really that different than an old car or a piece of vintage machinery. With one MAJOR exception. If you don't have an EPA licence, you can not play with the refrigerant. You could refit a new system, but you still need a licence to charge it, buy refrigerant, etc. Getting a licence isn't hard, just go down to a applience parts place, and if they don't proctor it they will know someone who does.

drivesitfar · Feb 1, 2017

Fowl: i really need a good reason to drive to the Oregon Coast so if you find a local nice working vintage one PM me and maybe i'll drive down. where abouts are you? thanks for the heads up and sure it only $30 to get a not working one to work. i've also got some beach front property in the desert i should tell him about.

cheers and thanks

BMW: thanks for the 411 about how to get a license cause i'm definitely not licensed, but i think my neighbor might be if i needed some refrigerant work done.

Lahti: prices should be on the rise cause i'm sure they are getting rarer. that said there is still the negative that they aren't very big and they use more electricity.

ALL: is this working Frigidare for $100 a good deal? if i didn't have a wedding to worry about i'd probably take the 90 minute drive to check it out. in the same area another seller is offering this non working rusty one for $100. and another Philco one in Canada for $300 that looks and works pretty good.

fowldarr · Feb 2, 2017

Drives, I'm in Reedsport, nice quiet coastal town, north of Coos Bay. Great access to the ocean and Oregon Dunes National Park.

Nothing local to me right now, but I'll keep my eyes open.

And I hear ya on $30 fix, if that's what it takes than fix it!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

SHOW OFF YOUR VINTAGE FRIDGE!! post pictures, details and improvements made

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