1963 Frigidaire Custom Imperial on SS thread #64730

[funktionalart]

In the event there are any Frigidaire preservationists lurking tonight, member agitatorboodie posted that there is a white '63 Frigidaire Custom imperial Refrigerator/bottom Freezer on Shopper's Square posted today, 3/22. I have the same model in turquoise--the white one is being sold on craigslist in Louisville.

**IF** and only if anyone is planning on getting it and is willing to part it (just easily shippable things, not the box/compressor itself) please let me know. Although mine works and is very nice, I want to keep it running forever and would love to have ANYTHING I can get without being so extreme as having to ship the whole thing to AZ. I LOVE my fridge--it took me 20 years to find the one I have…so this is sort of important to me. Thanks, guys!

 

[frogkid11]

How did your fridge work out?

Hey Allen,
I saw your post from 2014 where you bought the turqouise fridge and were trying to get it to temperature and in working order. Did you ever find and fix the issues you were having?

 

[funktionalart]

Working! Yes.

It didn't take much. It hadn't been run in around 20 years…the freezer door gasket had to be redone to ensure proper operation--it had several tears and wouldn't seal. Mechanically, no problems.

 

[brucelucenta]

I actually had a huge side by side Frigidaire refrigerator that was from the later 50's. It had the big chrome handles on each half of the sides that were equal in width. It was pretty massive for the time and the freezer was still at the top on both sides with it's own aluminum doors to close on the inside. I don't recall the year of it, but ALL the Frigidaire refrigerators that year had the same chrome handles and had a similar look to them, kind of rounded looking. It was pretty impressive for the time. It went with most of my other stuff some years back. It still worked, but my ex had started stripping the paint and sanding it to refinish it, so the doors were off to it. If I had hung on to it, I'm sure someone would have loved to have it.

 

[philr]

It must have been a 1954-55 model.

 

This is the 1954 CTI-150

 

[philr]

The 1955 CIV-150 was similar. I don't have pictures of this model.

 

I'd like to find the two door bottom freezer from that year. 

 

[frogkid11]

I bought it....

Well, I just got back from Louisville and purchased the FPI-16B-63 and it's in perfect working order. Only missing a few items (two wire racks for the fridge, pair of clips for a rail on the door shelf, and a small bar in the freezer section to help hold the frozen items in the door) which I hope to find and make the fridge completely whole again.

If anyone is parting out a similar Frigidaire refrigerator, please reach out to me so we can work out a price and shipping.

Sorry Allen, this unit is too good to part out but hopefully we will find the parts we want/need.

 

[funktionalart]

Chris….Happy for ya!

It's more important that one got saved and is working than for me to have the odd part. These, I think, are the most aesthetically pleasing of all the 60s fridges. Just beautiful. And so, so, SO incredibly scarce anymore. So glad you got a functional one! Load us up with PLENTY OF PICS!!!

 

[frogkid11]

Don't worry....they're coming

I can't agree with you more, Allen. These Frigidaires are so sexy and glamorous. I currently own an FPI-16B-61 and since this one works perfectly, my best friend will be using this 1963 in her vintage kitchen. We spent hours tonight taking her apart and cleaning the inside and outside and we still have to work on the freezer section. The fridge was almost a yellow/almond color from age but the outer cabinet is gleaming white thanks to our persistence and cleaning products. We need two bulbs for the fridge compartment (one behind the Flowing Cold shield and one of the "test tube" bulbs behind the side markers and then the bulb for the freezer and at that point we will snap some photos and post them. Stay tuned.....

 

[frogkid11]

Hey Allen, do you have ....

Hey Allen, do you happen to have scanned copies of your Tech Talk that came with your turquoise fridge?

 

[funktionalart]

TechTalk...

Chris,
I was actually going to offer to send you some last night….my scanner is dead…BUT: I *can* Photograph each page you need. It works quite well.

 

[frogkid11]

that would be great!

Thanks so much for the offer Allen. How do I get you my email address so you can send them directly?

 

[funktionalart]

email contact--

should be visible when you click on my username here (anywhere on the thread). If not, it is [email protected]

 

[frogkid11]

Here are the pictures...

Here are photos of this glamour gal that I picked up thanks to Allen's mention of the fridge on the SS section. It was listed on Craigslist by a young home flipper and I got it for a song. My best friend and I set out to bring her back to life by starting with a thorough cleaning, replacing some burnt out bulbs, and having the Frigidaire Turquoise color reproduced by PPG Paints to touch up the trim on the shelves, she is back to showroom new!! Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we do looking at her!

 

[frogkid11]

And staged with some vintage pyrex...

My best friend and I decided to put some original pyrex pieces inside to evoke the 1960's feeling. The close ups of the full size shelves show the results of our work to freshen up the turquoise trim. Only the trim on the parfait shelf was still in excellent original condition.

 

[funktionalart]

What a stunnah!

Looks incredible. Good on you! One small (not so small) task left….colour matching the turquoise and green on the door bin edges and getting it applied to the vertical chrome strips on the fridge and freezer doors. That will be T-E-D-I-O-U-S….

 

[frogkid11]

Thanks!!

We both think she, and the 1961 one model, are some of the most beautiful pieces of functional art (hahaha) ever made.

I'm not convinced that the colored trim band on the door was ever present on this white model. We've looked all over it and there are no signs of any previous color on the entire length of that trim piece. It would seem that if there was color on it at some point that you would see residue of the original color somewhere. We've also looked at an old ad that shows the white model and it doesn't appear that the colored blocks were on the one in the advertisement. I wonder if the colored trim was put on models other than the white. I've seen that trim on your turquoise model and the brushed chrome one owned by Phil but I don't believe it was on this specific white model.

 

[funktionalart]

Chrome and colour bands...

Chris~quite possibly you are right. On lower models, it was not there. Every '63 Imperial I have ever seen did have it. Years ago, I had the 16B in sunny yellow--it had the band trim, as did the last white one I looked over. The odd thing with that paint is that it seems to be applied thin plastic or vinyl based material. Like stick-on inserts almost.

I know that on my current one, there are dirty areas from decades of fingers touching it. I *started* to do a good clean on it and found that those colors were either going to rub off or disappear so am leaving it alone. My suspicion is that this may have happened on yours at some point and rather than the owner having to look at the odd missing segments of colour, they just got removed entirely. If I'm wrong, surely someone here will tell me, but honestly I think yours originally came with the blue and green.

 

[philr]

I have a 1963 white Imperial top freezer model and it does have the color bands on the door trim. However, the million dollar fridge on eBay didn't have them! 

 

The small picture shows mine. I should take a larger picture of it...

 

 

 

[funktionalart]

What I really think happens...

...is that this is a combined issue of cleanings and time. I really believe those colour bars were thin adhesive (which is why Chris isn't seeing any paint residue). People used to LOVE to use Clorox and other harsh cleaners on the inside (which wrecks the interior lining over time), and probably did so outside as well. Chemicals and moisture from this probably loosened everything up enough that the things finally came out or softened/dissolved.
Looking at mine more closely, the stuff is like a coloured gel film….one area on mine in particular will take zero effort to remove some. And there's no interest on my part in trying to replicate this stuff should I wreck it! Considering this is a GM labeled refrigerator, I am surprised they didn't have the segments painted in as they did on their car logos/nameplates/badging. GM trim work in that era was fabulous. To attempt this today, and get longevity out of it, would require immense amounts of patience, masking, curing, CURSING, etc….I did my '62 Corvette trim by hand years ago…never again.
But one last though--I personally think the strips on Chris' unit look absolutely fine as they are--it's even more current looking the way it is vs. the coloration.

 

[dynaflow]

Allen

wish u were closer i would give u my turquiose 63 will not fit under cabinets in my kitchen

 

[funktionalart]

Ron, how long before...

You make a decision on what to do with the '63? We are in the process of planning a move to the Atlanta, GA area….

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Chris, first off, your Frigidaire is stunning. Great job cleaning/restoring it. May I enquirer what cleaning products  you used to whiten the exterior? My General Electric has turned a pale almond as well.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[funktionalart]

Exterior cleaning..

Louie, you'd probably have great luck with a mild automotive polishing compound. Think of the fridge like a car--just a damp t-shirt type cloth with light up/down/linear pressure with your hand at first just to cut through the top layer of grime and see what you get. You wouldn't want to use rubbing compound unless totally necessary as those tend to cut through the finish giving you thin spots in the paint…

 

[rp2813]

Meguiar's Car Cleaner/Wax has done a great job for me.  It really transformed the exterior on my '57 Combination.  In a good way.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Thanks Allen!

 

Thanks Ralph!

 

[frogkid11]

Thanks Louie!

For the exterior, we simply mixed up a paste using the powdered form of Bar Keepers Friend and some warm water. We tested on a small area on the rear corner to make sure it wouldn't scratch and it removed that yellow, dingy aged dirt and grime without much of any pressure. Once we cleaned an area with the paste, we went back over it with a damp clean cloth. The last two steps were to use the infamous Jubilee product (it's the old appliance wax that's back on the market) and then buffing her with a final clean cloth. It sounds tedious but it went quite fast and the results were amazing.

Good luck with yours!

 

[frogkid11]

Ron, what condition is your fridge?

Hey Ron,
Is your Turquoise '63 in perfect running order? What model do you own? I live not far away in Richmond, Va if you make a final decision to get rid of her. I would gladly come pick her up if you are no longer going to keep her.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Hey thanks Chris!

 

[standingpilot]

Hello, I'm thinking about installing a vintage fridge like this one, are there any Frigidaire experts out there that may be able to help with some tips? I have a line on a 63' version but I need to know things like dimensions, parts availability and retrofit options(if it breaks).

The main problem I have is one of dimensions, and next is that left hand hinges or side by side door operation is a necessity.
The dimension problem is a killer because I only have 66" height clearance without destroying vintage cabinets. The problem presents itself because my grandfather had probably one the earliest version of a built in refrigerator installed, it was a gorgeous 1965 brushed chrome Tappan side by side, 36" wide by 65" tall. It was the jewel of the kitchen.
Well he passed away in 1982 and rather then sell, my mother rented to friends, first thing to crap out from the added abuse was the refrigerator, I was too young to be kept in the loop, and she let the new refrigerator installer just walk away with the beautiful Tappan (something she now knows was a terrible mistake). She was living overseas at the time and needed a fast and cheap solution. She ended up selecting a 30" Gibson Golden edition and it was one of the first non-Ohio built appliances installed in the house. My grandpa was a mechanical engineer and through his service contracts dealt with nearly every company that need materials testing in the midwest and Pennsylvania,so he knew what was what. He specifically specced Ohio built appliances for everything down to the clocks and doorbells.
The Gibson was a great fridge as well but It's at the end of life (83' model) 31"w x 63"T x 23"D and it had a 4.6 CUFt top freezer! and cheap (this was before they started charging an arm and a leg for counter-depth free standers). She even had trouble finding something that would fit back in 1983, and this one has an ugly 3 " gap around the entire perimeter, it's like a baby fridge with a giant top freezer. Needless to say, nowadays nothing will fit except even narrower apartment compacts and even those are to deep.
So dimension are issue one, I once saw an avocado Ford Philco SxS built-in with the proper dimensions on CL but it was too far and I was too late....
I can live with a 30 incher and maybe make some vents to lessen the gaps, but I'm pretty sure it will have to be vintage to meet the height requirement. I'd prefer a Morraine built Frigidaire (after Tappan built-in of course) but I need to know who else made short fat refrigerators in the 1960's? I'd settle for just about anything that is 50's-60's-70's (Sheer look) that would fit.

PS: I know the easiest solution would be to just hack out the vintage upper cabinet and install a 36" Sub Zero. But even that approach presents a problem as there is double sub-floor and only 83" to the soffit. Everything is 84".