To my luck, both sellers stuck to their word and the boxes are now sitting safely in my shop! I have been looking for a nice vintage box to go in my vintage shop for a while.
The top box is a model K-55R built between 1941-46 and is about as mint as you could expect for a box that is 70 years old. It has the front cover, tool tote and water appears to be the original lock and key. The seller was a great guy and knew that he had something special but just no further need for it.
The bottom box is a early 1970s KRA-314B. It is rough. The box should look much different than the pictures, actually be like a hand truck and tool box. The drawers are stiff, one slide has been welded back on and the casters are bolted to pieces of wood on the bottom. The seller's Dad was an auto shop teacher, and this was used in his class. He (the seller) was obviously the apple that fell far from the tree, thought this box was a piece of junk and was surprised to my amazement that I would pay him the $40 for it. As we loaded it in my truck he looked at me and said "You really like this old stuff, don't you?" I spared him a long conversation and just smiled.
Some pics of the boxes in my shop..
And here are some original catalog clippings of the boxes, to save you from searching. The K-55R was available as a starter box complete with tools, now that would have been sweet to find!
As you can see from the last picture, the KRA-314B is missing the handles and hand truck style wheels of its' former glory. I am thinking about scouring the flea market to find and old hand truck to cut up get it back to original.
Plans for the top box is a thorough cleaning, CLR treatment and than a clear coat on top to keep all of the original patina. The bottom box will stay as it is for a while, I am not sure if I want to restore it or try and find a more period correct lower cabinet for it. I guess time will tell!
I cannot find any pictures of a KRA-314A or KRA-314B online or this site, does anyone have pictures of an actual box and not just a catalog print? I would love to see what it should look like!