Floating around on C-list for nearly a month

[twintubdexter]

This monitor top fridge hasn't sold after being advertised for awhile. $250 doesn't seem to be a bad price considering the seller says it works and it appears to be pretty complete inside. Frankly I'm afraid of these since I've been around a couple that leaked. In Moreno Valley about 35/40 miles from PS.

http://palmsprings.craigslist.org/app/5126573524.html

 

[travis]

That's a 1934 model using Methyl Formate.  They're not nearly as nasty as an so2 unit leaking.  In all honesty, most of the leaks come from improper use.  If someone defrosts with a sharp object, they deserve a face full of so2.

 

[rp2813]

I see rusted out non-working MTs all the time on SF Bay Area CL, and they usually are asking more than $250.

 

That's a very nice fridge and worth the price.  I can't see in the picture but am guessing it may have the foot pedal and interior light.

 

[realvanman]

If only I could!

That's only an hour's drive (if timed right for traffic) but I just don't have the dough. I've long wanted one of those.

Keith

 

[rp2813]

Keith, if it's been listed for a while, the price may be negotiable.  I don't think I've ever seen one with all the shelves and accessories like this one has.   It's truly one of the most appealing I've seen.

 

[realvanman]

Maybe just Maybe....

If I promise to sell my Philco fridge :/ I can pull off getting the Monitor Top....

IIRC, the entire cooling unit on these lifts off... So if I were to lay it down, it would fall off?

My truck has a utility shell on it, so it will have to lay down to fit.

Keith

 

[travis]

Keith,

 

Use a ratchet strap to go across the flat deck of the top then down and under the cabinet.  This will keep the two parts together for the ride home.  Bring plenty of cardboard and padding to protect the porcelain cabinet.  Remove the shelves and all interior items.  On those slider shelves, just remove the sliding part.  The frame part won't cause damage.

 

If you need more help, google monitor top forum.

 

[rp2813]

Keith, if your Philco isn't a V-handle model, the monitor top would be more of a conversation piece.  Depending on the Philco's condition, you could come close to breaking even if you sold it.

 

Travis, is a waiting period necessary before plugging in a MT that has been laid on its side for transport?

 

[travis]

Ralph,

 

No waiting.  I have moved or supervised moving more than I care to admit.

 

[realvanman]

Removable Cooling Unit

Is it bolted on? Or just sitting on there?

Thanks,
Keith

 

[twintubdexter]

another brief story from my fairy tale childhood

When I was 13/14 (1963/64) and cleaning all those used appliances for resale a few of these monitor tops came in as trades. The delivery people were told they were all to go directly to "the cage" in the parking lot, not the refer trade-in area next to the service department. One of them slipped through the cracks and was brought inside. Sometimes the delivery guys got in late like 5:30/6:00. I suspect they bumped it around pretty hard since those things are heavy. When the owner arrived to open the store he got a blast of sulfur dioxide. They brought in big fans and lost several hours worth of business...and this was a big store. He was not a happy camper.

 

[ovrphil]

O2S

good story joe and the sign is one of my favorite with its 60's design…reminds of a sign, almost, you'd see on the Jetsons. O2S…had a friend who liked to use his chemistry lab (the ones that were the big ones, before they banned so many chemicals, so this was early 1960's - you would have been 11 or 12. He did some "experiment" that let out the most noxious fumes, not to mention toxic. The old chemistry sets that some kids received with the double or three door opening suitcases were really not safe, but FUN!

 

[rp2813]

What I really miss about that Western Appliance sign is the flashing strobe lights atop the three spires that IIRC operated independently from the neon.  On dark and rainy days I'd watch them through the window of room 16 (Spanish) at Lincoln High, along with the giant sequential white neon display of the cobalt blue Courtesy Chevrolet bowtie sign that also loomed above the low slung skyline along that commercial corridor.

 

Courtesy is gone but the sign remains, now a beacon for monied techie shoppers heading for ultra swanky Santana Row.

 

[travis]

Keith,

The monitor top units just sit on top of the cabinet.

 

[twintubdexter]

Ralph,

Those 3 flashing lights didn't last very long. The night they turned on that sign was a big thing. Franz Niederauer (owner) was a good friend of my parent's. He made a party out of it and made sure The SJ Mercury-News was there snapping photos. The flashing lights were eventually turned off. The nearby San Jose Airport said they caused problems with landing planes. 

 

That photo you posted looks very different than the W. San Carlos Street I remember. Is that light rail in the center? When I worked there the only things across the street were a sleazy bar...The Y-Not Club where the sign flashed "Cocktails?, Y Not?" and my dad's sister's house on Topeka next to Water Company, my Aunt Levine. She had an attached beauty parlor called, what else, "Levine's."

 

Is this still open around the corner? Do you still have your membership pass? I hope it's still there. I'd hate to see the Burbank Area lose all of it's old world charm.

 

[realvanman]

I'm crushed now

And it's my fault. I finally got a chance to contact the seller of the GE Monitor Top, only to find that it is sold.

I should have jumped on it sooner, right away, in fact. After all, I've wanted one for decades, but never found one that was close enough or affordable enough, and this one was (barely) both.

As it is said, "He who hesitates is lost".

Keith

 

[rp2813]

West San Carlos

Yeah, there's a tipping point that's reached when the seller comes down far enough, and then things disappear in a flash.  Don't beat yourself up over it.  We've all done it.

 

Joe, that's some kind of schmancy time lapse photography.  No trolley line, but one is envisioned in the VTA's master plan.  Time flies -- probably a dozen years ago or more they planted California Fan Palms in the center median -- you can see a few in the picture.  I figured the folks at SJC had something to do with the strobes' disappearance.

 

I think the Y-Not might still be there.  Its one of those places that's been there forever so you don't even notice it anymore.   Then you have the exception -- The Pink Poodle.  Been there forever but you can't help but notice it, and since it sits on an unincorporated parcel, it's likely to be there for many years to come.  I can proudly state that I've never set foot in there, and I intend to keep it that way.