1959 Frigidaire Fridge, Bottom Freezer, Yellow - Free trade?

[atomict]

Ken

So great to hear you are going to get it. I sent you a pm with my address and phone to contact me.

Phil, we are very jealous of your unit. This fridge is so awesome looking. I just wish we had all the parts to it, or else we would have tried to make it work

 

[ken]

Got it

So I picked up the Frigidaire today. That baby is heavy. As we all know it was made when cheap definitely wasn't the name of the game. Got it home without incident. Tony and his wife are good people. Enjoyed talking with them. They have a beautiful MCM house they purchased from the original owners.

Tony mentioned the foot pedal got messed up. He said it was bent but I don't think so. Its a solid casting. I see the rear "ears" of the pedal pivot on a bolt. I think the bolt has a nut on the outer end which may have come off. When I stepped on the pedal the latch would not release. I also tried tipping the fridge back so the pedal was well up above the floor but the full travel of the pedal didn't do anything. It doesn't look to me that the pedal is moving as far as it should.

The freezer door uses the same latch as the other door. An upper and lower spring loaded nylon roller on the cabinet and a flat arrow shaped spade on the door. Whether opening or closing the rollers move in a clamshell fashion to release the spade.

I tried using two screwdrivers to push the rollers out of the way but the door wouldn't release. Then I thought if the latches are the same why can't I grab hold of the door and just pull it open like the upper door. When I did the rollers moved and the door moved some but refused to open. Whatever type of release mechanism the foot pedal rod attaches to must have to release first for the door to open.

Any thoughts?
[this post was last edited: 8/7/2016-21:26]

 

[philr]

The door should open without the foot pedal. Mine was also not operating when I got it.

I had it welded. You can remove the chrome trim that hides the mechanism just by pulling on it (but you need to open the doors first!)

Here are a few pictures that I took when I removed it...

 

[ken]

The mystery of the stuck door has been solved. It was frozen shut. The thought went through my mind Sunday whether that could be the situation. And if it hadn't been able to be opened in a while because of the pedal not working maybe it was full of ice if the defroster wasn't working.

It was still plugged in when I arrived Sunday to get it. So after being off from Sunday morning until last night I gave the door another good pull. It hesitated a bit but finally came open with a big chunk of ice attached to the door shelf and another big chunk in the lower basket. They were probably one piece until it melted some and that's why it wouldn't open Sunday regardless of how hard I pulled on it. [this post was last edited: 8/9/2016-19:52]

 

[ovrphil]

Ken, Phil, all
..
that is a beautiful fridge I love it and Free? How rare.

 

[philr]

I missed Ken's post about the freezer being packed with ice! I hope the plastic trim didn't suffer too much!

 

If you plan replacing the defrost heater, let me know, replacement heaters are available for newer models, I'm not sure if they fit or not on the 1959s...

 

[ken]

Hey ovrphil. Glad to see you're back. Get all moved in?

Was going to mention that when I finally got the freezer door open I found a can of lemonade concentrate in there with an expiration date of 2014.

IMO the Frigidaire is a testament to engineering and build quality that once existed. I was impressed with the gauge of the steel in just the fan housing alone. And its easily the heaviest fridge Ive ever moved.

After getting it home I see its had kind of a rough life. The tracks for the bottom shelf fell off when I touched them. Not they couldn't be fixed with some doing. As could already be seen in the pics above one of the shelves, all the upper door shelving and crispers drawers are missing. The inside of the freezer is pretty scratched. As evidenced by the ice build up the defrost heater or timer isn't working. And when it was on its side in my truck I noticed the cabinet above the compressor is thin from rust. But after 57 years the system is still running and doing the job it was meant to do. How many refrigerators made today will still be running 57 years from now?

 

[vacerator]

A

Frigidater.

 

[philr]

Ken, do you plan fixing it? If you don't, let me know!!  

 

[ovrphil]

Ken - thanks. I did get moved in, but I'm swimming in a variety of stuff that we have no room to keep. I've got two storage facilities that is definitely becoming ONE. I've been adding shelving in closets and laundry room(which is hopelessly small).

I hope you're interested in repairing the defrost heater. At least you have a working fridge! I use mine for a pantry in the laundry room and admire it even if it's just a prop in its present shape.

Keep us informed, thanks Ken.