Snappy KRA 429B score!

[SweetD]

Scored this great "middle chest" yesterday off c-list here locally (on the right) - which is rare in and of itself. Missing the badge and some paint, but mechanically, structurally, and bodywork-wise (?) sound. Gonna give it some cleaning and paint soon.

Threw it between the boxes on the right for now. 1979 model year. The one on the left is 1962 for comparison:



Yes, I have an "eclectic" mix of boxes! Oh yeah, gave $25.



Dave

 

[mvptrukin]

Nice score! Looks like you got the lock, those smaller SO badges are hard to find! On eBay it's rare to see a KRA429 for less than $300.

 

[SweetD]

Well I had some time to take this thing apart and give it a quick once over and clean this evening.

Turns out that five of the six friction slides have broken 'tabs' towards the front of the slides - the thin pieces of metal that are riveted to the slides that hold the drawer to the slide. The other 'tabs' that hold the slide to the box are all intact...

I can buy new slides from SO for $7.15 each, or come up with a way to make my own pieces of metal and rivet them on myself.

Has anyone ever attempted this type of repair on a friction slide?

Also, I have the lock cylinder intact, but no key. Can I get a key from SO based on the lock cylinder number?

Thanks!



Dave

 

[SpawnedX]

How did I miss this?

 

[thesilverone]

CL deals in RI/Mass are rare....congrats!

 

[SweetD]

How did I miss this?

The SO box was sandwiched between a no-name top chest and roller in a bad cell phone pic on c-list. I thought it was going to be a 26" MAC or MATCO set, but did notice that the middle chest didn't match. I did have a hunch it might have been a Snappy middle chest though...

When I got there the roller and top were beat up and light-duty. But obviously the middle chest was SO. The guy didn't know what he had quite frankly.

Sometimes even I get lucky!

Dave

 

[SpawnedX]

The SO box was sandwiched between a no-name top chest and roller in a bad cell phone pic on c-list. I thought it was going to be a 26" MAC or MATCO set, but did notice that the middle chest didn't match. I did have a hunch it might have been a Snappy middle chest though...

When I got there the roller and top were beat up and light-duty. But obviously the middle chest was SO. The guy didn't know what he had quite frankly.

Sometimes even I get lucky!

Dave

Well congrats nonetheless. I need to be more diligent in checking good ole clist.

 

[mvptrukin]

Is there any code on front of lock? There is a guy on eBay that sells keys---you run across it when searching for boxes---and he has keys for old SO boxes. He might be able to narrow it down if you email him thru eBay he gets back to you quick. I didn't know you could still get slides from SO.

 

[SweetD]

Is there any code on front of lock? There is a guy on eBay that sells keys---you run across it when searching for boxes---and he has keys for old SO boxes. He might be able to narrow it down if you email him thru eBay he gets back to you quick. I didn't know you could still get slides from SO.

Thanks man, great info! Yes, there is a code on the lock...I'll check into it!



Dave

 

[Kurn]

I've been looking for one of those for YEARS.........

 

[mvptrukin]

Sorry, thought I had the guy's link bookmarked but seem to have lost it. My three boxes from the '70's were keyed the same but was down to one key. I sent him the 3 digit key type and the 4 digit key code from the old key and ordered two new keys--for less than $20.

 

[SweetD]

Sorry, thought I had the guy's link bookmarked but seem to have lost it. My three boxes from the '70's were keyed the same but was down to one key. I sent him the 3 digit key type and the 4 digit key code from the old key and ordered two new keys--for less than $20.

Isn't the Internet great? I found the guy on eBay (Bill), he already got back to me, and he can in fact cut my key for that lock!

mvptrukin, if you are ever coming thru Rhode Island, PM me. I owe you a beer!



Dave

 

[jon619]

I like your Remline top box. Looks super clean. Would match the lower Remline I recently picked up.

 

[SweetD]

Re: Snappy KRA 429B score! - restoration update

Got into this restoration a bit today. After realizing that 5 retention spring tabs on the drawer slides were missing, I had to decide whether to buy new slides at $7+ each from SO, or try to fix them on my own. I ended up buying a few cheap hacksaw blades, cutting the ends to fit and grinding to acceptable width tolerance, to act as the "spring" in my retention tabs. I tried riveting like the originals, but the pop rivets weren't up to the task. So I bought some small nuts, bolts and lock washers to do the job.



Works perfectly! The one at the bottom of the pic still has both original tabs - you can tell it's riveted still.

Next, prep and paint. Stay tuned!




Dave