Well, someone’s username finally makes sense. Nice get either way for that price.
The prices at that sale were slightly steep, but very flexible on the last day. I don't think they expected to sell the box and seemed excited when I expressed interest.
That's a Toolmobile alright Mintgrun. Mine are stamped just like that. Just needs a little mint green paint and it can stay right where it sits.....Ed.
I spent some time removing loose paint and washing it yesterday and learned that it was originally a dark green box. I wish it still was! After that, it was a light green color (similar to mint, but subdued) and then a deep dark blue, before finally turning red. It had names and stuff stenciled on it as a mint box and also when it was blue, but it's tricky to read through the peeling layers.
Now, it's a calico box.
A very thin putty knife lifted the loosest stuff, before the garden hose washed off some more and then compressed air created even more colorful confetti. It doesn't appear to have gotten rusty, aside from a little bit around the bottom and the top surface.
Needs turned 90 degree's and then you won't need no stinking casters!
It turned out I already had a set of stinking casters that fit really well. The box was missing one of the inserts and they were too small/short for the replacements anyway, so I pulled them out and wrapped the long bolts with strips of cardboard to fill the gaps. I did it as a temporary stop-gap, but it worked so well I may just leave it. It'll be fine as long as it doesn't get wet. Plus, there's enough thread poking out the top to get nuts on the ends. If I d
o leave it, I'll wick some oil into the cardboard. (It's a tighter fit than it looks).
5" wheels are a bit large, but boy does it roll around easily!
The drawers still have all the rollers and the rollers still have all their bearings, but they've gotten pretty loose. This one decide to stop spinning a lonnng time ago and the one above it is almost as bad.
Someone made dividers for two of the drawers and screwed them in. They're made of aluminum and the top drawer also has an aluminum liner on the bottom. I think the perforated drawer bottoms are cool, so I'll be removing those and will probably just put the screws back in, to plug the holes for now.
Thankfully, they put liners in the drawers, so the red paint is in great shape. When I flipped one of the liners over I noticed that it'd been a tool box box. Could it have held this box?
It is. It will turn 50 years old on Oct. 21st. I've owned it for 14 years. I like driving old vehicles. I've owned the '72 Suburban for thirty years now.
Maybe I should have used Ocre as my screen name.
(Is it possible to change names? I might prefer "gleaner").
Tom
EDIT- silly question about the cardboard box originally containing this one. It would have been an MBC box.
