Thread Number: 46569
1956 GE WORKING Matching Refrigerator and Stove - $1200 (Belton, Texas)
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Post# 679022   5/12/2013 at 20:58 (3,972 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )        

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Norgeway and danemodsandy - here's some GE goodies.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO ovrphil's LINK on Austin Craigslist





Post# 679023 , Reply# 1   5/12/2013 at 21:01 (3,972 days old) by appnut (TX)        

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That is 10 minutes from here. Wow. They will be holding on to this for a while, $1200.

Post# 679024 , Reply# 2   5/12/2013 at 21:05 (3,972 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )        

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tis a bit dear, as my grandma used to say

Post# 679072 , Reply# 3   5/13/2013 at 04:34 (3,971 days old) by tolivac (greenville nc)        

The background--round Texico sign-looks like the swap shop out here in Chocowinity,NC!They have LOTS of signs!!!Sign guys--go to Chocowinity!

Post# 679098 , Reply# 4   5/13/2013 at 09:30 (3,971 days old) by bluejay (Havre de Grace, MD)        

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Shouldn't there be a crisper drawer at the bottom of that fridge?

Post# 679123 , Reply# 5   5/13/2013 at 12:19 (3,971 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )        
Crisper Drawer

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Bluejay - what's strange, it looks missing in one photo and isn't it present in the other? (attached from set)

Post# 679138 , Reply# 6   5/13/2013 at 14:31 (3,971 days old) by bluejay (Havre de Grace, MD)        

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They probably had it out and decided to take photos (perhaps to show how clean it is). It's a pretty nice looking pair of appliances!

Post# 679794 , Reply# 7   5/17/2013 at 11:47 (3,967 days old) by appliguy (Oakton Va.)        
The fridge is from 1954 not 1956

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If the fridge were a 1956 model it would have an turquoise interior with gold trim and it would have magnetic door latches...PAT COFFEY


Post# 679843 , Reply# 8   5/17/2013 at 18:52 (3,967 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )        

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In the 60s, were rotating shelves common to certain brands or were they made in all competitive brands?

I remember a frig we had and I liked - had the rotating shelf or shelves, and a colored interior (not pink), but I have long forgotten whether it was Frigidaire, Hotpoint, or (kicking myself) what! ?


Post# 679884 , Reply# 9   5/18/2013 at 06:45 (3,966 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)        
So Far As I Know:

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The turnaround shelves were a GE exclusive.

GE dropped them in the early '60s, because they were expensive to make. GE dealers were upset; the feature was beginning to gain really enthusiastic acceptance.

As with many "midcentury miracles," there was a downside to turnaround shelves - a salesperson pushing a competing brand didn't have to work very hard to show Milady how much interior capacity was wasted by turnaround shelves that didn't touch the interior walls.

And - speaking as someone who grew up with a '58 bottom-freezer Combination - they were not much fun to clean. This problem wasn't, strictly speaking, generated by the turnaround feature; it was caused by the need for strong, stamped aluminum shelves to make the turnaround feature possible. If a major spill occurred (and around my little brother, it happened frequently), getting all the spill cleaned out of the holes in the shelves could be quite the little project. In particular, I remember a pitcher of Kool-Aid that Little Bro knocked over while sneaking a swig in the middle of the night; he closed the door and walked away from the mess in an effort to hide his "crime."

By the time it was discovered in the morning, there was a sticky goo all over everything that was lots of fun to get off.


Post# 679902 , Reply# 10   5/18/2013 at 09:01 (3,966 days old) by appliguy (Oakton Va.)        
GE dropped them in the early '60s,

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Actually Sandy GE stopped replaced the lazy Susan shelves with ones that swiveled out form the corner of the fridge for the 1959 model year..PAT COFFEY


Post# 679903 , Reply# 11   5/18/2013 at 09:19 (3,966 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)        
Pat:

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Yeah, I remember the swing-out shelves, but weren't those a one-or-two year wonder?

Post# 679914 , Reply# 12   5/18/2013 at 11:49 (3,966 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )        

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Agree - there was some wasted space, but it was easy to get to the items in the interior back(and I could be wrong on interior color). My mom gave up on keeping those shelves spotless - maybe not the best idea, but of all the refrigerators, I seem to remember and like that one the most, for ease of reach. Did they ever motorize? just kidding.

Post# 679915 , Reply# 13   5/18/2013 at 12:28 (3,966 days old) by retromania (Anderson, South Carolina)        
Be Still My Heart!

...but at $1,200.00 my heart startred beating again!


Post# 679931 , Reply# 14   5/18/2013 at 15:08 (3,966 days old) by CircleW (NE Cincinnati OH area)        
Cleaning shelves

When my neighbor had a GE fridge like that, she would remove the shelving assembly every so often, disassemble it, and wash in the bath tub.

Post# 682094 , Reply# 15   6/2/2013 at 10:32 (3,951 days old) by 58limited (Port Arthur, Texas)        

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Very nice set but I hope the seller hasn't already spent the money in anticipation that someone will actually pay that much.


Post# 682116 , Reply# 16   6/2/2013 at 13:12 (3,951 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)        

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Phil, the pink interior would indicate 1957 as year of manufacture.  That's the vintage of my Combination.

 

Pat's correct about the subject fridge being older than 1956.  Not only does the exterior styling and white interior indicate earlier 50's vintage, but as Pat stated, a '56 would have had alnico magnets to keep the doors closed instead of latches.

 

While both pieces are very nice, $1,200 is kind of steep.  I'm also concerned that in the ad, only the refrigerator is mentioned in the copy, but the price is still $1,200. 


Post# 682123 , Reply# 17   6/2/2013 at 14:25 (3,951 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )        

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I like those pink or colored interiors - white is just the same as today's frig's. Incidentally - those door handles remind of the frig I saw on Ozzie and Harriet Nelson Show(airs here in Atlanta on 57-2 digital/free TV). 1954 - why isn't the seller aware of that? ;-)

Post# 682149 , Reply# 18   6/2/2013 at 18:53 (3,951 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)        
why isn't the seller aware of that?

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Because some equally clueless person told him they were of 1956 vintage.

 

I actually prefer the 1954 models to the '55 and '56, which IMO had hideous interior color schemes of powder blue with yellow ('55) and turquoise with copper ('56).   The clunky pre- "sheer look" interiors just didn't lend themselves to color (particularly two-tone) like the later designs did. 

 

That's not to say the '57 and later models couldn't deliver on conflicting color schemes between interior and exterior.  I've never been a fan of pink, but have learned to love the solid pink interior of my '57 lit up in all of its 120 watt glory.  Although others' mileage may vary, I'm thankful my Combo is plain white on the outside, or it could easily overstep the bounds of good taste.


Post# 682150 , Reply# 19   6/2/2013 at 18:58 (3,951 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )        

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rp2813: I agree and understand what you're talking about , too Jelly Bellies look better in a bag. :-)
I am cautiously appreciative of color - even though speaking of it here and there throughout aw.org, it's important for color to complement the appliance. Agree, again - the combo colors can be over-stimulating and pretty nasty, in the long haul. But then, I'm open to whatever someone likes. Is your frig pictured somewhere to view?


Post# 682223 , Reply# 20   6/3/2013 at 07:27 (3,950 days old) by drewz (Alexandria, Virginia)        

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1955, we had a similar model but single door, thing a loved about our model was that when you opened the door between the freezer and bottom section the GENERAL ELECTRIC name and logo would light up because they where back lit from the light bulb, so cool.

Then my grandmother had the cool 1956, with the magnets and that chrome bar you stepped on to open the door. Also beautiful goldtone shelves and teal color interior and she had 3 lights on the lower level (one behind each crisper and the regular bulb placement.

I think I loved 56 more than 55.


Post# 682265 , Reply# 21   6/3/2013 at 13:20 (3,950 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)        
At the risk of overexposure . . .

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Here are pix of my '57 Combination.  Andy (RCD) nabbed it during the "cash for clunkers" days of 2010 and posted it here (almost exactly three years ago to the day).  Nate, David and I did a one-day road trip to Sparks and picked it up.

 

Here's what it looked like when it arrived at Andy's shop:




This post was last edited 06/03/2013 at 15:19
Post# 682268 , Reply# 22   6/3/2013 at 13:24 (3,950 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)        

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Here we are (Andy, David, me) loading it up for the trip back to the Bay Area.  We took advantage of Andy's expertise for tying it down.

 

That's a KDS-20 on the truck that Andy included as a package deal.


Post# 682270 , Reply# 23   6/3/2013 at 13:28 (3,950 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)        

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Here it is on the home stretch of the clean-up process on our back patio.  The grill was off for coil cleaning purposes.

 

The top couple of feet on the forward-facing side got covered with bug roadkill on the drive home, but I'll spare you the picture.


Post# 682271 , Reply# 24   6/3/2013 at 13:30 (3,950 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)        

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Cleaned out, polished up and tucked into its new home:


Post# 682272 , Reply# 25   6/3/2013 at 13:32 (3,950 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)        

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Ready for thirsty guests.

 

The full-width foot pedal opens the door to the fresh food section.


Post# 682446 , Reply# 26   6/4/2013 at 19:47 (3,949 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )        

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BEAUTIFUL..and in such nice condition. Was there some work to repair it or replace any parts?

It's funny - I can remember one of the frig's my parent's had, with these shelves and the pedal, but can't remember a shell pink interior. Early GE appliances had some class & style.


Post# 682455 , Reply# 27   6/4/2013 at 20:44 (3,949 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        
The rescue and adoption of the GE...

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At the time, there was no needed repairs when I rescued her from 'The Pile' out back. If I remember correctly, someone wanted an energy star in stainless, the one in the kitchen went to the garage and was newer than the GE and so the GE was shown the door. I'm so used to the normal junk in The Pile that the GE stood right out against the rest. The word was put out on AW and the adoption was quickly done.

Two funny things about this refrigerator. One was that if you look at the first picture, you'll see the residue of the Goo Gone I used to remove the foulest stickers all over the front saying the most dreadful anti Gay, Mexican and Black propaganda among other crap. I love how she was adopted by a great AW member and friend. Talk about poetic justice. Second was that I was recently at the house where the GE came from to fix a control on the new one. The comment was thrown out that the new refrigerator didn't seem to last as long before needing repairs as 'that crappy old GE' did but that GE was most likely going to die soon anyway and is now long gone. I took great pleasure in informing them that not only did the GE survive but is doing quite well in the Bay Area.

That GE really did find a deserving home and is yet another success story of an appliance given a second life. Here's a link to the thread where I posted pics and you can see Ralph start out with 'I couldn't' and (with much kicking and screaming...LOL!) finally giving in to his fate...

RCD


CLICK HERE TO GO TO redcarpetdrew's LINK


Post# 682474 , Reply# 28   6/4/2013 at 22:23 (3,949 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )        

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Andrew - what are the chances of meeting the original owners of this old frig and to their surprise, their old GE is still working as good as new? (er, did their new frig appear stickerless? :-) ) I appreciated reading the link/thread. You know, GE had some amazing color choices...if my head remember correctly, my parents had one of these models, turquoise inside. Ad says "touch and the freezer door opens" - is that due to one of those cabinet latches that push to close push to open?

..not related to this, but seeing the inside full of food and drinks - would be fun to get a photo parade of the interiors of vintage aw members frig's, with or without drinks. (just my visual-head overworking).

Thanks, enjoyed this alot.


Post# 682481 , Reply# 29   6/4/2013 at 23:27 (3,949 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)        
Was there some work to repair it . . . ?

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The interior and exterior both needed a good cleaning, and the exterior finish came back to sparkling after going over it with some Meguiar's Car Cleaner/Wax.  The few scratches and nicks disappeared with appliance touch-up applied very sparingly.  I can't even find them anymore.

 

The fridge needed no major repairs.  Both door gaskets were worn and torn on the handle side.  I removed them and turned them around so they'd be on the hinged side and they're providing an adequate seal.  I bought a new set from Larry at Modern but haven't bothered to install them yet, since it's not a quick process.

 

I also felt the cold control was suspect when I first put the fridge into service, but part of my suspicion was rooted in a lack of understanding for GE's temp control system.  After having the fridge for about a year, the cold control finally got stuck "on" after defrosting and I had to replace it.  I had ordered one from Larry along with the gaskets, so Nate came over and we both learned as we went through the replacement process, since it was a universal fit.  The fridge has been functioning fine ever since, but I've learned to unplug it when defrosting the freezer since the cold control is tough to get readjusted back to optimum temperature after turning it all the way to the "off" position. 

 

I still don't know what GE meant by "touch and the freezer door opens."  Either they meant you don't have to yank it open like a latched door, or perhaps they were mistakenly referring to the foot pedal on a bottom freezer model.

 

My fridge is the smaller of the top freezer models.  It's only 61" tall, which is perfect for its home in the laundry room here, which has a low ceiling.  Total volume is 11.5 cf, which is why it only has two revolving shelves.  I'm pretty sure the '58 model that Lawrence had was the larger size, which came with three revolving shelves. 

 

Here's a shot of the fridge door gasket before I removed it, cleaned it, and rotated it around:


Post# 682482 , Reply# 30   6/4/2013 at 23:31 (3,949 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)        
After

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Here's the same gasket after cleaning and repositioning it so the bad edge would be on the hinged side of the door.

 

Andy, did you just get a blank stare when you told the previous owners that their garage clunker was still purring along in its new home?


Post# 682485 , Reply# 31   6/4/2013 at 23:35 (3,949 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)        

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Oh yeah.  When browsing my pictures I was reminded that the fridge had a bent leveling foot.  I had harvested one off a later GE on Andy's pile to use as a replacement.

 

Those are the crisper tops (aka shelves per GE) the bad foot is resting on.


Post# 682504 , Reply# 32   6/5/2013 at 02:48 (3,949 days old) by Jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers)        
I love those

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Cathedral lights at the back corners so welcoming when you open the door. Beautiful job on one of my favorite fridges.

 

 


Post# 682634 , Reply# 33   6/5/2013 at 20:07 (3,948 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        
Did I get a blank stare?

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LOL! I got a 'harummmph!" From the husband and heard the wife give him a 'I told you so...' After she thought I was out of earshot. These customers are among my more 'uber white power' ones and I thought it would have been funny to share more about where she lives now but thought better of it. I take my customers as I get them. Some are the type you want as little to do with as possible while others are true treasures and even turn into close friends. I guess some people are destined to go thru life consumed by hate and ignorance and therefor miss out on what life can truly offer...

I will pause to point out how Ralph has good taste in drinks... Lol!

RCD



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