Refer madness!

[Forgotten Man]

Well, here she is... my first vintage refrigerator!

Here's the story to this swell 1940 General Electric:

Ever since I've owned my 46 Plymouth, I've taken it to this great old garage from the 1920's... Dale's Auto Service on Shamrock in Monrovia is an old gas station and service garage that goes back far in Monrovia's history and the owner enjoys working on classic cars.

Every time I've taken the car in for a tune up or what have you, I've seen this GE sitting there with garage clutter all about it in a corner. I always asked my friend Dale: Say, do you want to sell it? He'd reply: Oh, maybe some day, and if I do, you'll be the first to know.

So, I take the car in a few months ago for a clutch adjustment... then, he mentions that he's runnin' out of room in this garage and needs to clean some things out... he then asked me if I'd like to take that GE off of his hands! I then asked how much he's asking for it... he replies: Oh, I was going to give it to you!

So, when I had the time, I rounded up some help and then picked it up... the neat thing is after he offered me the fridge, he plugged it in and left it running for about a month. And it worked very well and also told me that it seemed to be rather good on consumption! Also, it comes with a spare thermostat incase the original goes out.

The inside is rather clean, just need to spruce it up a bit and then sand the outside of it and repaint it a nice gloss white.

I'm looking forward to using this beast! Nothing better then to open that thing and grab a glass bottle of milk out of it! I'm so excited!

So, what do ya think?

 

[RetroToday]

Sweet fridge, 1939's a great year for style!

About your painting idea - The original paint is porcelain enamel (most likely), much harder than our regular paint today. They usually baked it after it was sprayed on too, very durable. I can't tell from the photos just how bad the condition really is, but you may not have to repaint it unless there's areas that are chipped or rusted through. Looks like most of it is a lot of shop grease that got onto it from dirty hands over the last 60+ years.

Super Fine steel wool dipped in automotive hand cleaner and a lot of elbow grease (& caution) might get it looking fairly shiny once again.

ps: Do you have the metal icecube tray? I believe this fridge would have had one.

 

[rumblefish]

Cool !
I've had and seen old freezers and refrigerators that barely make a noise when their compressors are running. Same here?

Are you thinking of having an auto body guy paint it for you? I spent weeks stripping and sanding a metal in-the-wall hamper, then another week spraying with Krylon and wet sanding. It came out great....but the time involved :eusa_doh:

Enjoy it!

 

[Quigley Brown]

Leave the Olympics decal on it, though...lol

 

[Forgotten Man]

Sweet fridge, 1939's a great year for style!

About your painting idea - The original paint is porcelain enamel (most likely), much harder than our regular paint today. They usually baked it after it was sprayed on too, very durable. I can't tell from the photos just how bad the condition really is, but you may not have to repaint it unless there's areas that are chipped or rusted through. Looks like most of it is a lot of shop grease that got onto it from dirty hands over the last 60+ years.

Super Fine steel wool dipped in automotive hand cleaner and a lot of elbow grease (& caution) might get it looking fairly shiny once again.

ps: Do you have the metal icecube tray? I believe this fridge would have had one.

Let's see now, the top left corner on the door is rusted through... light surface rust, nothing major. I believe I will have to repaint it. And I'm goin' to paint it... no time, energy or money to heft this thing to an auto body shop. Since I got it for nothing, I figured I could do a good job on painting it.

By the way, after doing some research, I found out that '39 and '40 were nearly identical years. The only thing is that '39 had a metal button on the door where the handle could hit... and there was a little more streamlined design on the inside. Other then that, '39 and '40 are identical... I believe this fridge did originally have a door on the freezer... but, I have no idea of where it could have gone.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Cool !
I've had and seen old freezers and refrigerators that barely make a noise when their compressors are running. Same here?

Yeah, when my buddy had it plugged in, I could barely hear it! GE's have always been known to be quiet.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Leave the Olympics decal on it, though...lol

lol Well, I'm going to try and take it off without ruining it... I know Matt Deckard loves 1984 Olympic collectables.

 

[Fletch]

I looked at the first picture and was genuinely surprised not to see badly decomposed human remains in the second. Good find.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Just remember to defrost regularly -- or you might discover some things you forgot you had frozen into the freezer compartment. (So *that's* where those hot dogs ended up!)

 

[Sefton]

Congratulations on the "new" fridge. Don't forget to post pictures after the re-paint. Post a few of the inside so we can see those glass milk bottles,yoohoo,and grape nehi. :eusa_clap

I may have to start looking for some vintage appliances soon myself;my wife and I are looking at some 1920's era homes this weekend for a possible purchase. My favorite 1924 home already has an offer in place so we'll put a back up offer in and get out the voodoo dolls (I hope it's not a fellow Lounger were up against... )

 

[Forgotten Man]

Just remember to defrost regularly -- or you might discover some things you forgot you had frozen into the freezer compartment. (So *that's* where those hot dogs ended up!)

Oh yes, I know all about that lol pretty easy if one unplugs the unit and sets a pot of hot water into the fridge... starts to melt and fall right off... takes only a little time.

Must not let that little freezer freeze up too much... wouldn't be able to put anything into it. lol

 

[Forgotten Man]

Congratulations on the "new" fridge. Don't forget to post pictures after the re-paint. Post a few of the inside so we can see those glass milk bottles,yoohoo,and grape nehi. :eusa_clap

I may have to start looking for some vintage appliances soon myself;my wife and I are looking at some 1920's era homes this weekend for a possible purchase. My favorite 1924 home already has an offer in place so we'll put a back up offer in and get out the voodoo dolls (I hope it's not a fellow Lounger were up against... )

Oh, absolutely! I'll post photos when she's all done and I'm enjoying my first bottle of milk from it!

You know, if you want to buy vintage appliances, I'm all for it! These older refrigerators aren't too bad on energy... a Monitor top would be the right kind for a 1920s home. You keep your eye open and you can find one.

It's fun to deck out a period home with fun old appliances you can use... it takes a little getting used to but, they work great and you get to enjoy the collection!

 

[DeaconKC]

You need some little Coke glass bottles too, to keep the milk company. A pastrami sandwich and cold milk, Archie Goddwin would be proud.......you can almost hear Wolfe bellowing at Cramer........

 

[Forgotten Man]

Yeah, some coke bottles will arrive when the old gal is the house.

UPDATE

Well, I went and got some sandpaper and primer and paint... Rustoleum brand appliance enamel. I'll post some photos of her all sanded down... so far I'm narrowin' on finishing the door. Man, it's hard work but, it feels good on such a nice day as this!

PS: The 1984 LA Olympic sticker came off in one solid piece... and is still sticky! So, I think I'll send a PM to Matt Deckard and see if he'd like to take it off my hands!

 

[Forgotten Man]

Here's a photo of the door nearing end of sanding...

A quarter of the area around the handle that was all brown was serface rust... took care of that! And I pretty muched prepped the whole door with one piece of sandpaper... haha. I'm going to go over it some more and then sand it with a finer grade. Not sure how much more I can do today but, I'll post more later.

 

[Sefton]

Isn't there a chance that the enamel paint is lead based? You probably know that already. Just hoping that you're wearing some kind of breathing protection. Good luck with the project1

 

[Forgotten Man]

Oh, I'm sure it is... and yes, I am wearing a mask. There's also a nice cool breeze and is taking a lot of the dust away.

 

[MrNewportCustom]

Did you get rust killing primer? Be sure to get all the rust or it'll come back.

You might want to look for screws all around the trim - sides, top and bottom. Removing it will make it easier to paint - less masking. While you have it off, give it a good polishing. From what I can see, it'll shine like a brand new penny when you're finished.

Great find! I can't wait to see it finished.


Lee

 

[Forgotten Man]

Yes, I bought Rustoleum primer... should take care of the rust! I took the rust spots down to the bare metal, and also sanded most of the scratches and nicks down.

The inside of the fridge is pretty clean, just need to polish it up some, get a new light and she'll be ready!

Brother, it is hard work sanding down this beast but, all in all, it's rewarding to see something that sat in a garage for the last 25 years come around and get restored! I'll have to invite my friend over for some cokes or lemonade when it's finished and moved into the kitchen!

 

[Sefton]

I hope you're also wearing an appropriate hat for the job!