1950s Montgomery Ward fridge

[snowman1510]

Hello all,

I have a late 40s or early 50s Montgomery Ward fridge I got for free. The unit still runs and I have had re-wired by our electrician. I got the unit for free because the pewter handle had been snapped in two. I had taken the pewter handle to a welder/machine shop to have it repaired, but the gentleman that owns the shop, made an attempted at repair and it failed, so he wound up throwing it out without contacting me before doing so.

Now I am out the handle. I am looking for a original replacement, or handle that would fit from another make/model (I understand that Montgomery Ward did subcontracting on these units), or a modern repop handle. Is their anybody knowledgeable that could assist me or point me in the right direction?

I will attach photos of the units info tags below. Please let me know if other photos or more information is needed. It was deeply disheartening that the shop owner would toss it without contacting me. He got rather defensive on the phone about it and suggested that I wouldn't have been able to save it myself. Thankfully he did not attempt to charge me for any work he did.

Thanks for your time!

 

[goatfarmer]

I'm thinking Wards 'fridges from that era, were Admiral built.

 

[rp2813]

Maybe a picture of the handle area would help some of the experts here recognize the mechanism and determine the manufacturer.  Even a shot of the interior may be helpful.

 

That welder guy was grossly inconsiderate, and that's putting it mildly.  If I were you, I'd pull up Yelp and share your experience there.

 

[snowman1510]

I sure can post more photos! I have them attached below. Yeah, the last time I had spoken with him on the phone, he said he was sending an employee to find pewter rods since they are difficult to find and that he would be in touch. Turns out he'll just toss it instead...

It was a bummer that was literally the last thing I needed to complete.

 

[rp2813]

Thanks for the pix.  I'm getting a pre-war Westinghouse vibe from the striker on the cabinet, but the the cold control location and adjustment knob smacks of Frigidaire.  Post-war Westinghouses had the cold control knob/dial recessed into the molding at the top of the cabinet.  I wasn't able to find any Admiral pictures on line to compare, but they may have had a similar cold control placement to Frigidaire.

 

Experts should be able to make a positive ID with the additional pictures.  Based on what's left, it appears the handle would be pushed downward or sideways (depending on its orientation) in order to unlatch the door.  My guess is that this is a far better system than what our family fridge (a '49 Westinghouse) had, which was a pull handle that was designed to fail, and it did eventually.  I hope you can find a beater donor fridge, or better yet, just the handle listed on eBay.

 

[snowman1510]

I can say that I did see the handle work before it broke (reason I got it free). You would pull and the top of the handle pivots outward. The handle is a U shape at the bottom with a hole for the screw that I have set in the door to go through. That would pull the screw and I assuming the lock out of the striker unlocking the door.

 

[rp2813]

The only fridge I could find that comes close is this one.  It's also a MW brand.  Now it's time for the refrigerator experts to determine who made it. 

 

 

Based on this picture, I'm leaning toward Frigidaire:

 

 

[combo52]

Who built older Macgomery wards refrigerator

I doubt it was Frigidaire as I never saw a Frigidaire built Montgomery wards refrigerator until the 70s.

If you post pictures of the compressor and condenser on the back we could easily tell if it was built by Frigidaire

The handle on your old refrigerator was not made of pewter. It was made of a pot metal material, it could be that pewter could be used to repair it, however

John

 

[snowman1510]

I will post some photos of the compressor when I get home from work today.

 

[goatfarmer]

I'm with John, probably not Frigidaire.I've had some early 60's MW 'fridges, they were Admiral. That's what got me thinking Admiral. This one is supposed to be 1950

 

[goatfarmer]

I've been looking, haven't seen an Admiral with the bottom drawer like his. 

 

 

[rp2813]

I agree that Admiral seems to be more in line with Ward's overall standard of quality, but pictures are hard to come by.  Also ditto what Kenny said about the lower panel. 

 

In my searching I came across a Coldspot with an awesome handle that looked like a steering wheel.  Somewhere on it there was a metal plate that indicated it was made by Seeger.  I'm confident that shots of the mechanical system on the subject fridge will reveal its manufacturer.

 

[circlew]

I'm more inclined to think Westinghouse, as they were a MW supplier for a number of years. The rating plate has "WH" in the type number, so that may be an indication. The construction is also similar to some versions they made in the 40's. I don't think Frigidaire, as I have a 1947 model, and the construction is somewhat different. The picture Ralph posted of a MW might be by Frigidaire, as it looks similar to mine.

 

[goatfarmer]

Found this one

Gibson, getting closer

 

[snowman1510]

Hi all, I forgot to take current photos, but I do have some old ones I was using when I was rebuilding, they aren't the best quality but they will hopefully work until tomorrow.

 

[cfz2882]

those are great pics

i think Norge,along with Kelvinator are a couple companies that mounted non-forced air condensers near horizontal underneath compressor

 

[combo52]

It is not a Frigidaire built refrigerator, completely different compressor and condenser.

 

John

 

[snowman1510]

Do you guys know who used that style?

 

[rp2813]

I'm ruling out Westinghouse because this fridge's cabinet molding has a pre-war look -- but is probably early post-war, like 1946 or so.  Maybe the cabinet model number's "646A" indicates 1946?    Westinghouse used a large thumb wheel for temperature control, and it was located in a slot at the top of the access panel below the door until they retooled for post-war models.  Everything about the interior of the subject fridge seems to have been carried over from pre-war designs.

 

I came across some Gibsons in my on-line search, but have no knowledge about whether they ever produced MW refrigerators.  As John stated above, the compressor definitely isn't a Meter Miser, so that rules out Frigidaire.  That leaves Admiral, as I doubt Kelvinator would have produced a vertical handle for Ward's when they were putting horizontal ones on their refrigerators from this period.  I can't say one way or the other about Norge, although Ward's sure did have a love affair with them.  I didn't see many Norges while searching, and those I did were not dead ringers for the MW.

 

This fridge is turning out to be a real curiosity.  I hope somebody is able to solve the mystery!