1958 Fridgidaire 'Super' Stove

Loewy was responsible for all the major appliance line beginning in '48, not just one range or one model line.

Will's range uses the same frame and outer panels as all other 40-inchers of that time, with different control panel items to differentiate it from other models. If you'll look at the top of the backsplash, you'll see some small "delete" caps that fill holes used for mounting on other models.

Will's range is unusual in that GM actually went to some extra expense to break the BOL out of the rest of the line. If you look at the deep-well cooker, you'll see it's porcelain, not the aluminum of higher-end models. It would actually have been cheaper just to go ahead and put the same cooker on every model, but that didn't give customers as much incentive to shell out a few extra dollars.

The same thing is at work with the panel at the bottom of the range. On higher-end models, that's a full-width storage drawer; on Will's range, it's a filler panel, no drawer at all. Again, it probably cost more to build some frames with the drawer runners and supports, and other frames without them, than it would have just to build 'em all the same way. But sometimes the cheapest way isn't the best marketing.

Here's a TOL 1948 RK-70; you can see it's the same frame, just more stuff added.


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Post# 752924 4/26/2014 at 16:41 (3,651 days old) by xpanam (Palm Springs California )
Checkrate/Likes Nice looking range! Looks like a BOL. CLICK HERE TO GO TO xpanam's LINK on eBay

Post# 752943 , Reply# 1 4/26/2014 at 17:34 (3,651 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Yikes!* That's so BOL, it's kind of got that old Soviet "Peoples' Appliance Store No. 187" thing going on. Nice shape, though.

Post# 752996 , Reply# 2 4/26/2014 at 22:09 (3,651 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )
Checkrate/Likes SSR - lol!

Post# 752998 , Reply# 3 4/26/2014 at 22:23 (3,651 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia)
Checkrate/Likes BOL looks a lot cheaper in 1958 than it did in 1950... (Picture of my BOL range)

Post# 753004 , Reply# 4 4/26/2014 at 23:02 (3,651 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )
Checkrate/Likes isn't that the stove designed by Raymond Loewy? That's a classic stove!

Post# 753084 , Reply# 5 4/27/2014 at 11:15 (3,650 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)
Checkrate/Likes *Phil:* Loewy was responsible for all the major appliance line beginning in '48, not just one range or one model line. Will's range uses the same frame and outer panels as all other 40-inchers of that time, with different control panel items to differentiate it from other models. If you'll look at the top of the backsplash, you'll see some small "delete" caps that fill holes used for mounting on other models. Will's range is unusual in that GM actually went to some extra expense to break the BOL out of the rest of the line. If you look at the deep-well cooker, you'll see it's porcelain, not the aluminum of higher-end models. It would actually have been cheaper just to go ahead and put the same cooker on every model, but that didn't give customers as much incentive to shell out a few extra dollars. The same thing is at work with the panel at the bottom of the range. On higher-end models, that's a full-width storage drawer; on Will's range, it's a filler panel, no drawer at all. Again, it probably cost more to build some frames with the drawer runners and supports, and other frames without them, than it would have just to build 'em all the same way. But sometimes the cheapest way isn't the best marketing. Here's a TOL 1948 RK-70; you can see it's the same frame, just more stuff added.

Post# 753106 , Reply# 6 4/27/2014 at 12:31 (3,650 days old) by petek (Ontari ari ari O )
Checkrate/Likes I was Super disappointed when I opened the thread

Post# 753111 , Reply# 7 4/27/2014 at 13:00 (3,650 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )
Checkrate/Likes Sandy - interesting, thanks for pointing out the details. I like the cleaner looking stove much more - but I see what you were exampling. :-)

Post# 753120 , Reply# 8 4/27/2014 at 13:38 (3,650 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)
Checkrate/Likes *Phil:* Don't get me wrong, I like Will's range very much! I've admired it here more than once in the past. I like the cleanness of its design and its pleasingly modest appearance. But the RK-70 TOL range I showed is identical to the range I grew up with, and so I have a very soft spot for that model. In fact, if one showed up near me in good shape, I would have a very hard time deciding whether to go for it, or to remain with my '70s GE. "Let's see - self-cleaning vs. forty inches of Truman-era luxury. Hmmm....." The features on the RK-70 included: - Double ovens - Full-width storage drawer - Aluminum deep-well cooker with raise-able burner - Automatic oven - Clock - Minute timer - Fluorescent worklight - Two convenience outlets, one timed. I will say this for Frigidaires of that era - they were built so solidly that they make today's Wolf and Viking ranges seem a little flimsy. The porcelain coating on the burner bowls was heavier than what you get on a Kohler cast-iron bathtub today.

Post# 753128 , Reply# 9 4/27/2014 at 13:56 (3,650 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )
Checkrate/Likes Great features, Sandy, and I surely understand your soft spot for the stove. You and so many others here had some wonderful stoves. I was lucky for what we had - my mom was mrs. modest and thrift....so much here at aw.org is new for the first time to me, even though I perused those magazine ads in the 60's. The RK-70 has a pitot-tube look (sorry, one jabbed me (ha) in the back, leaving a nasty cut and scar while working on the planes (line-guy at the local airport). Additionally, the light looks like an afterthought, not too well integrated into the overall design. I'm sure the original designer had good intentions and was well-respected. But as you pointed out, the features are impressive.