Got a Westinghouse Junior... Now What?

[shadeone]

A couple weekends ago I picked up a decent looking Westinghouse Junior chest cooler from some farmer in the middle of rural Minnesota for a really nice price. It has a very amateur restoration done on it right now that will suffice for the time being but I want to get it restored and have a few questions regarding the process.

Here is a pic. It is a 1935 according to the tag on the bottom of the tub.


The body is in great shape, no dents, dings, rust or bullet holes. It looks to have just been painted with a rattle can and then hand lettered (horribly, including completely ignoring the back side). It looks great from 10 feet away but still.... The inside of the tub was coated with POR-15 and looks quite nice but the chemical smell when you open the lid is almost unbearable and there is no way I'm going to put ice and bottles in there and then drink from said bottles.
They painted over the cap remover as well as the rear hinges but I think some paint remover can take care of that. I can re-paint the letters the cap remover.
The gaskets are all original but I have already removed those and will be getting a new set from Funtronics shortly.

I have someone lined up to sandblast and paint it next month and I have a sign painter friend lined up to do the lettering for a nice price too. The wife is going to get me a new inner tub for my birthday so I got that covered too.

Now, some questions:

1. I know the tub removed from the bottom when you take the braces out, but how do the braces come out? I have yet to start chipping away at that tar / insulation so I cant really see how they are in there. Rivets, screws, pressure?

2. Do the new tubs from Funtronics need to be coated with anything, or is the metal used safe to just dump ice and bottles in right away?

3. Those little chains that connect to the lid to prevent it from opening too far... Where do those connect to?

I'm sure more questions will come up during the restoration.
Thanks in advance!

[shadeone]

OK, two months and no one can tell me how to take the tub braces out? 

[Eric]

Sorry... pretty quiet here... I never saw the original post...
The braces are screwed in just start chipping away at the tar the new liners Funtronics have should be galvanized so no need in painting or sealing.... just ice and use.
As far as the chain someone with an original could post pics would be helpful.. but I think there is just a screw along the edge of the lid about midway and another on
the inner side.. found these pics online..

[shadeone]

Awesome, thanks!
Yeah I haven't started chipping the tar away yet because I didn't want to screw anything up, but this weekend I guess I'll get under there and start the removal process! I'll try to grab some shots here for future reference

[Eric]

It'll have glass (itchy) insulation... I think that's what they call it.. very similar to today's insulation...very dusty so wear a mask and be outside... probably not the best stuff to breath in.
it's wrapped around the tub... the fibber board on the bottom will be a couple layers holding up the tank... it can be a mess too.
Will be a lot of tar on the inner upper part of the tub guess as a seal and will be holding it in.. been a while since I took one apart think there are wooden strips along the inner/upper part
of the tank again to help hold it in place...
Funtronics makes the cap catchers too.. and even that yellow tag for the inside.... Give Janet a call they can get you all set up... looks like a nice cooler... perfect size.
Just use paint stripper on the hinges and opener (after you remove them of course) Good Luck... might be good to get casters for it too... easier to move around....
keep us posted.

[mygoose101]

Sadly these cooler were in very high demand, Westy Jr., but the repop version killed that market. 

[cohammer]

Yes be sure and call funtronics and get all the miscellaneous parts you might need those are a great size and I would definitely put casters on it . Hope you got all that tar off and screws out .

[ss540]

Ditto on all the info provided above.  That's exactly how mine came apart.  I used regular fiberglass insulation on the walls and foam board on the bottom, and NO tar during reassembly. 

Mine has the original stainless steel tub, but the original refrig unit was long gone.  I just use it as an ice cooler and I put wheels on it.  Funny thing about the brass ID tag on mine:  it says Cavalier.

[Jim]

Funny thing about the brass ID tag on mine:  it says Cavalier.

During the time these coolers were manufactured, Cavalier & Westinghouse produced almost identical coolers with the Cavalier models a little more difficult to locate.  Similar to the later Vendo/VMC 44 models.