Was there some work to repair it . . . ?
The interior and exterior both needed a good cleaning, and the exterior finish came back to sparkling after going over it with some Meguiar's Car Cleaner/Wax. The few scratches and nicks disappeared with appliance touch-up applied very sparingly. I can't even find them anymore.
The fridge needed no major repairs. Both door gaskets were worn and torn on the handle side. I removed them and turned them around so they'd be on the hinged side and they're providing an adequate seal. I bought a new set from Larry at Modern but haven't bothered to install them yet, since it's not a quick process.
I also felt the cold control was suspect when I first put the fridge into service, but part of my suspicion was rooted in a lack of understanding for GE's temp control system. After having the fridge for about a year, the cold control finally got stuck "on" after defrosting and I had to replace it. I had ordered one from Larry along with the gaskets, so Nate came over and we both learned as we went through the replacement process, since it was a universal fit. The fridge has been functioning fine ever since, but I've learned to unplug it when defrosting the freezer since the cold control is tough to get readjusted back to optimum temperature after turning it all the way to the "off" position.
I still don't know what GE meant by "touch and the freezer door opens." Either they meant you don't have to yank it open like a latched door, or perhaps they were mistakenly referring to the foot pedal on a bottom freezer model.
My fridge is the smaller of the top freezer models. It's only 61" tall, which is perfect for its home in the laundry room here, which has a low ceiling. Total volume is 11.5 cf, which is why it only has two revolving shelves. I'm pretty sure the '58 model that Lawrence had was the larger size, which came with three revolving shelves.
Here's a shot of the fridge door gasket before I removed it, cleaned it, and rotated it around:
