firedome
Well-known member
We peruse the usual places looking for vintage appliances around here from time-to-time, typically with scant results, so imagine our surprise looking at the local CL last week when something looked extremely familiar, so familiar, in fact, that it was identical to the '57 GE Liberator (aka J-408-R) 40" double oven range in Sunny Yellow that we'd had in our kitchen for many years. I'd had her transported form Gerogia to NY, and cooked thousands of meals on her, so knew it well and it had to be the one, right down to some of the same chips (and more) in the porcelain. Around 6 years ago we'd wanted to try a gorgeous pink '56 Hotpoint 40" with griddle that we'd found, and at that time we had no room for 2 ranges. So we sold the wonderful GE to a very nice couple who lived about 2 hrs away who also happened to love vintage appliances and had been looking for a 2 oven range for awhile.
Fast forward, and this range did look to be the exact same one! A quick response to their ad along with a picture that we'd taken years ago confirmed that it WAS the very same! The owners had had some issues with burners and the Auto Calrod unit no longer functioned, and they had since found an nearly identical GE range in pink (!) that functioned better for them. The yellow range had then been advertised for some time with zero responses, so they were very happy to find someone to take it away, especially knowing it'd now receive proper love and care ongoing, as opposed to being scrapped!
So it now sits in our garage, and the plan is for the full restoration she deserves. The porcelain cooktop needs much attention, along with 2 or 3 new burner coils, and work on the Automatic Calrod, a feature we'd grown to love; one that had always functioned flawlessly. It has the hydraulic (fluid) type, which in our experience is more reliable than the electric type. Finding parts will be challenging, but it can be converted if necessary. We're willing to do the work, because this became our favorite range ever, which we realized after using the '56 Hotpoint for a few years, and really, it'd be perfect if only P-7 had been around back then!
It has Space-Age styling, the offset burner arrangement we prefer, chrome-plated inner doors, and full height narrow and wide ovens that we find to be more functional for us than the short wide secondary ovens that most 40"ers have. Of course we need another project like a hole in the head, but considering that she'll be our Range-for-Life (the Vladimir Putin of stoves perhaps? lol) at this point, it truly will be a labor of love!
Pic 1: in our kitchen circa 2010
Pic 2: now in 2020 a bit worse for wear, but that will soon change!
And yes it has the original ribbed glass backsplash panel not shown in pic 2.
Fast forward, and this range did look to be the exact same one! A quick response to their ad along with a picture that we'd taken years ago confirmed that it WAS the very same! The owners had had some issues with burners and the Auto Calrod unit no longer functioned, and they had since found an nearly identical GE range in pink (!) that functioned better for them. The yellow range had then been advertised for some time with zero responses, so they were very happy to find someone to take it away, especially knowing it'd now receive proper love and care ongoing, as opposed to being scrapped!
So it now sits in our garage, and the plan is for the full restoration she deserves. The porcelain cooktop needs much attention, along with 2 or 3 new burner coils, and work on the Automatic Calrod, a feature we'd grown to love; one that had always functioned flawlessly. It has the hydraulic (fluid) type, which in our experience is more reliable than the electric type. Finding parts will be challenging, but it can be converted if necessary. We're willing to do the work, because this became our favorite range ever, which we realized after using the '56 Hotpoint for a few years, and really, it'd be perfect if only P-7 had been around back then!
It has Space-Age styling, the offset burner arrangement we prefer, chrome-plated inner doors, and full height narrow and wide ovens that we find to be more functional for us than the short wide secondary ovens that most 40"ers have. Of course we need another project like a hole in the head, but considering that she'll be our Range-for-Life (the Vladimir Putin of stoves perhaps? lol) at this point, it truly will be a labor of love!
Pic 1: in our kitchen circa 2010
Pic 2: now in 2020 a bit worse for wear, but that will soon change!
And yes it has the original ribbed glass backsplash panel not shown in pic 2.
