1950 International Harvester kegerator

Yes, they made refrigerators.... thought I would get that out of the way.

So, a few weeks ago, I picked up a 1950 International Harvester for $100. I have been keeping my eyes open for an old fridge that "spoke to me", and this one did. It's simple, but with a nice design aesthetic that reminded me of the side of a Ford Mustang.






Definitely not in perfect shape, but that's ok. I don't like customizing something that is all original and pristine that is old. If it needs work, that gives me the opportunity to chop it and make it what I want. So the handle needs work, and the door jam area has broken bits. Other than that, it's pretty solid.




I brought it home and let it warm up in the garage for a while, and double checked that it got cold (it was really cold the day I bought it). Temp in the freezer went from low 40's (garage temp) to the teens very quickly. :rockin:

Then I set to tearing the thing completely apart.









Once I had all the guts out, I took all the old insulation out. I was worried this might be asbestos containing, but a little searching online told me that it was very unlikely that they bothered putting asbestos in refrigerators. Just fiberglass. So I bagged it all up and tossed it. Then I took the shell and the door to the body shop. There was a small dent in the door, and two screw holes for the giant handle that I had them fix/fill. I am having a friend cut the handle down, since it was HUGE, and I want it much smaller.

More later

So it getting IH Red paint on it? You can pick that up at Tractor Supply probably...

Huaco said:

So it getting IH Red paint on it? You can pick that up at Tractor Supply probably...

Click to expand...

I debated on what color to go with quite a bit. The problem I have with red, even dark(ish) IH red, is where I live. Lincoln, NE. If it's red, it will be assumed to be a "Husker" fridge. I don't hate the local team, but I'm a Notre Dame fan...and would prefer my kegerator to not be sports related. So, I went a totally different direction, and that would be a direction that I felt was attention grabbing focal point for the garage.

Ford Grabber Blue!

The Door after paint:


The shell:



I started the task of putting things back together. I just used the R-13 Pink insulation. I was going to glue on the pink foam board stuff, but I just figured I would keep cost low and do it this way. The energy loss during the hot summer months will be off set by the winter months when it almost never runs.

Door with insulation and taped off holes for the shanks:


Going back together:


Double checking keg fitment and deciding where to run CO2 lines/cut hole for CO2.... I ended up drilling a hole in the top left corner of the internal tub. I will run one CO2 line in from the bottle and regulator. I will have a 2way manifold with a second regulator off the end. This way I can run a higher pressure to two kegs, and a lower pressure to the third. I need to order a longer CO2 line for the feed, and break apart my regulator setup. kegconnection really put those regulators together well.... I will most likely need to put them in a vice with wood, or something!



As it currently sits:





I am waiting on the handle. My buddy has it cut down and welded up to the size I wanted. He just needs to make an insert for the middle, and polish it up. He was bitching at me on the phone yesterday about it. It apparently is made of pot aluminum. He said it was a real PITA to weld, and he had to use some special stuff for it. I told him I owed him big for it, and he said, "Nah, just give me some beers." Good dude!!

I also really wanted to post all this to encourage others that think these old refrigerators are cool, to get one and fix it up. You could go a much cheaper route than I did, and just take your time sanding it, taping it off, and painting it with a rattle can. It really is not difficult to take these apart. The whole refrigeration unit comes off as one piece (it's tricky, but not difficult). Just find one that doesn't have broken parts that need replaced, and it gets nice and cold. I understand the drawbacks, with possible higher energy use, small internal space and the likelihood that this unit may quit working much sooner than a new fridge or freezer....but the old one's just look SO much better than the new uninspired stuff. Even going with a high dollar body shop paint job, I will be in this thing for well under $1000. Seems like a lot, but I also considered just waiting a bit, saving some cash here and there, and buying a Northstar kegerator. Looked at them online, and decided there was just no way I was going to spend several thousand on one, when I could DIY a classic.

It's like old cars and motorcycles...some people like the old ones, some don't.

Now, stop looking at my junk, and go search your local craigslist and freecycle for an old ass refrigerator!!!

Hah! I never heard of a International Harvester fridge - that's neat (especially if you're an "All-Grain" brewer)!

That is a beautiful color, and really compliments the contours of the fridge. Very nicely done.

Nice job so far. Keep us up-dated. Love the color.

Nice build, lookinng really good so far.
CHEERS

Cool idea, nice build. Can't wait to see it finished.

Absolutely beautiful Although.....as the owner of an John Deere garden tractor, and a restored 1950 M.....I might be temped to paint it green and yellow.....sort of poetic justic if you will

patthebrewer said:

Absolutely beautiful Although.....as the owner of an John Deere garden tractor, and a restored 1950 M.....I might be temped to paint it green and yellow.....sort of poetic justic if you will

Click to expand...

An IH fridge painted JD green....that would be very wrong!!!

Although, I guess a Ford blue isn't far from that. Sorta like getting slapped vs getting punched.

Thanks for the compliments. I can't wait to get it done too. I will have the handle back next weekend, and should be able to get it all put together then. I will need to lay up some fiberglass to repair the broken plastic door jam piece. Luckily, I didn't need to buy a new door seal, for two reasons. The replacement seals are about $10/ft. That would cost me another $60!! I still need to give the original a good scrubbing though.

The real fun will be getting the latch mechanism all lined up and adjusted properly. I am anticipating that to be a bit of a pain. Hopefully not though.

My welding buddy that's fixing up the handle said he would make me a drip tray too. Just need to make a cardboard template for the slight curve of the door. HOORAY!!

this is an awesome build!
have you thought about using bondo or anything for the busted door jamb piece?
i have a 1950 westinghouse that i finally have to get crackin' on and the jamb is busted in the exact same way.

are you getting anything rechromed, or are you going with paint?

Nice build. In my best friends eyes (born and raised farm boy) internationals need to be red (I think that is right). Also needed to sidetrack the topic to say nice monster, I own a yellow '00 900.

jlb307 said:

this is an awesome build!
have you thought about using bondo or anything for the busted door jamb piece?
i have a 1950 westinghouse that i finally have to get crackin' on and the jamb is busted in the exact same way.

are you getting anything rechromed, or are you going with paint?

Click to expand...

The handle will be polished, as it is aluminum. There are covers for the door hinges, and I have not decided what to do to them yet. I may just spray them white and see how it looks...I can always strip them and get them chromed later on. I also would like to order some chromed or stainless flanges instead of the black ones. Maybe even chrome tap handles, but I might put engine related parts on for tap handles eventually. All just little stuff here and there.

Mumbly said:

Nice build. In my best friends eyes (born and raised farm boy) internationals need to be red (I think that is right). Also needed to sidetrack the topic to say nice monster, I own a yellow '00 900.

Click to expand...

I know the IH lover's will be bummed about it not being IH red....I will just call my Irish Red that will be in it IH Irish Red

I am new to Ducatis. Just sold my 650 V-strom to get it (had that since 2004!). I've wanted one for a LONG time, and my wife said do it. Who am I to argue It's a 2013 M796 20th Anniversary Edition (#75 of 200). The odometer currently says 0. As in it has not been ridden, at all! We got about 6" of snow the night I bought it... waiting for that to melt so I can ride it. The other problem is we are about to have our second kid. So if I don't take it out before Tuesday, I fear it will be another couple weeks before I can. I just keep telling myself that it will never look this pretty again, so enjoy the newness. It's not helping LOL!

Mostly done. Just need to fix up the broken bottom valance piece, and mount the manifold/regulator inside the way I want.

I found a few spare minutes here and there to work on it (new baby, and 22mo old to help take care of!). Had to order a couple little things from Kegconnection to make the HP Taprite regulator hook up to the 2 way manifold inside. HP fittings are Left Hand thread, and the manifold is Right Hand thread.... so KUDOS to TOM at KEGCONNECTION.COM for calling me on his cell phone to help me find the exact parts.

I'm jealous, that thing is a beauty!

There is NO REASON for anyone to be jealous of it.
That was the whole reason I wanted to post a "build thread" about it.
You can find a vintage fridge on craigslist for cheap ($50-$200), and depending on condition and abilities, you can paint it yourself, and throw some kegs in it. If I would've painted it myself with spray paint, I would be in it for less than $200, even with sanding, priming and painting. As it is, I paid good money for a superior auto body paint job, but not necessary!

I am thinking I might try to snag up another one sometime, and do it again. Selling one of the two when I'm done....or not. LOL!

fifthcircle said:

There is NO REASON for anyone to be jealous of it.

Click to expand...

Lol, just think you did a great job

fifthcircle said:

Yes, they made refrigerators.... thought I would get that out of the way.

Click to expand...

Kind of funny, growing up we had a IH Scout, Tractor, Combine, Fridge, and Freezer. The ALL IH farm so to speak

Very Nice Work!
I'm in Lincoln too. If you don't mind my asking, who did your paint job? I'm considering a similar project with an old Coldspot and was wondering who I could get to paint it if I don't do it myself.
Thanks!
Keith

Great build! It's always great seeing other people fix up classic fridges. If you ever get around to it, pick up a kill-a-watt and see how much juice the thing pulls. I'd love to get real world numbers from some more people to help dispel the "old fridges are inefficient" myth.

kerber said:

Great build! It's always great seeing other people fix up classic fridges. If you ever get around to it, pick up a kill-a-watt and see how much juice the thing pulls. I'd love to get real world numbers from some more people to help dispel the "old fridges are inefficient" myth.

Click to expand...

I'd really like to know this nugget of information as well... I just don't see how there could be THAT much difference in the older vs. newer refrigerant systems.

freeokw said:

Very Nice Work!
I'm in Lincoln too. If you don't mind my asking, who did your paint job? I'm considering a similar project with an old Coldspot and was wondering who I could get to paint it if I don't do it myself.
Thanks!
Keith

Click to expand...

Morrow Collision. They are a small auto body shop north of Cornhusker on about 22nd st. Nice guys, and they seem to enjoy different projects like this. I should've explained to them I didn't need it taped off, that would probably save a $100 in labor. If you sand and prime it, and just have them shoot the color/clear, it would be much cheaper! The paint is flawless too.

kerber said:

Great build! It's always great seeing other people fix up classic fridges. If you ever get around to it, pick up a kill-a-watt and see how much juice the thing pulls. I'd love to get real world numbers from some more people to help dispel the "old fridges are inefficient" myth.

Click to expand...

Yeah...maybe. There are others that have done it, so I'm not really concerned.

fifthcircle said:

Yeah...maybe. There are others that have done it, so I'm not really concerned.

Click to expand...

Fair enough. Others have, but as you said earlier, you wanted to help expose people to the idea of using older fridges. Others have posted full rebuilds as well, but that didn't stop you. The more information and real world data, the better!

Either way, that's a great looking build and I hope it serves you well!

Looks fantastic! Nice to see another Nebraskan or two on here. I'm in GI, and there are a handful of brewers over here...

kerber said:

Fair enough. Others have, but as you said earlier, you wanted to help expose people to the idea of using older fridges. Others have posted full rebuilds as well, but that didn't stop you. The more information and real world data, the better!

Either way, that's a great looking build and I hope it serves you well!

Click to expand...

I looked at your build. VERY NICE!

How about this for real world, I plug it in and it makes beer cold.

LOL!!!!!!

The thinking I have on the old fridge resto, and the concern of energy usage is this: If you are concerned about it, get a brand new chest freezer. It will be the most efficient way to go no matter how you look at it. BUT, if you are like me, and drive an SUV, ride motorcycles and take LONG HOT SHOWERS, the little bit more that the fridge might be using is inconsequential. I just hope the green police don't show up with an Al Gore signed search warrant and confiscate my pretty new fridge :cross:

flushdrew42 said:

Looks fantastic! Nice to see another Nebraskan or two on here. I'm in GI, and there are a handful of brewers over here...

Click to expand...

I have an old friend that is a Dentist in GI. Neuhaus. Good dude.

fifthcircle said:

...I just hope the green police don't show up with an Al Gore signed search warrant and confiscate my pretty new fridge :cross:

Click to expand...

Not sure if trolling...

kerber said:

Not sure if trolling...

Click to expand...

Sorry, not trying to...just being an ass.

I blame PUI (Posting Under the Influence).

I am trying to locate the door gasket for IH L-105-D 1953 any ideas? I don't have the part #

There's a I/H refrigerator thread, on the forum linked below:

http://www.binderplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84619

On the first page, there's a guy with a catalog, looks like for your fridge.

Thread is about 8 pages long.

Have ya' looked through it already?

There is a lot of false information out there in regards to the energy efficiency of the refrigerators from the 30's, 40's, 50's and early 60's.

They are more energy efficient than you think. It wasn't until the later 60's when the appliance makers added the automatic defrost feature that they grew more inefficient. They also tried making the cabinets larger by making the walls thinner.

I currently have two old frigs, both are new to me in the last couple weeks. I have one plugged in right now to a Kill A Wattmeter, these tell you how much energy is flowing through the meter. My 1935 GE Monitor Top frig uses 0.42 kWH per day. Granted my garage is cool right now and it is not running as much as it will be this summer. My current electric rate is 7.5 cents per KWH, right now I am paying $1.00 a month and this summer I will be paying about $2.00 per month for the frig.

This frig has about 3.5 inches of insulation, sandwiched by steel. They literally are ice boxes and they weigh about 500 pounds. The ones from the 50's are lighter and nicer to look at with the curves.

The second frig I have is an IH from 1952. I have yet to plug it in. I hauled it on its side and need to let it settle for a few days.

Don't believe what you read about energy efficiency and old appliances.