I had originally hoped to restore the appliances, although I did not particularly like the color. But it became evident pretty quickly that they could not be saved.
I canna do et Captain!...I don't have the power...
Wasn't just a question of cleaning and refinishing, in both cases a lot of the metal parts were heavily corroded. The stove top tubing looked like swiss cheese, but less appetizing. After deciding not to reuse them, I offered them on Craigslist for free. After about 3 weeks of no response they were sent to the big recycling bin in the sky.
Meantime I checked Ebay and Craigslist regularly for a replacement Magic Chef stove of similar vintage. Wanted to get a turquoise one. It is my favorite vintage appliance color. I had already purchased Formica sheets for the counters that had turquoise on the pattern. Was lucky enough to find the stove of my dreams on Ebay within only a few days of beginning my search. Free shipping...not sure how they can afford to ship for free a 70lbs item but ok...
Here she is!:
Pretty!
Same stove top dimensions, the tag on the stove says 1965 and it fit perfectly on the original counter space. Works like a champ.
As far as the fridge, looked for quite a while on Craigslist but did not find anything that I felt good about. The dimension of the space under the counter limited me to just a few models.