Recent content by fluidriver

Australian Toastermatic. Here's one I found recently at an op shop in country South Australia. At $15 it cost more than yours, but has hardly been used, and works perfectly! The orange ends show it is a later model, but they made them in Australia up to the 1990s, I believe.

Lots of streets named after cars. In Croydon Park, South Australia. I don’t know whether there was car assemblers in this area, but a lot of the names are from the 20s before Australia manufactured cars. Now we only import cars, with GMH, Ford and Toyota all ceasing manufacturing in the last...

Simpson Wringer. Hello Ellamae Your Simpson look just like the one my Mum had when I was a kid. They were built in Australia for many years, but by the look of the agitator in yours it's probably 1960's or even a bit later. If you find a model number somewhere on the machine which you can...

Ajax washing powder I remember the box of that design. The washing machine in the ad is a Simpson Fluid Drive, just like the one I used to have... makes me nostalgic...

Larry Tait's Yellow Corvette In "Bewitched" has helped retain my interest in that much loved and repeated TV series, still regularly screened here in Australia.

Yes, it's the end of an era.. I've not had such a quick sale before, but considering the price, it's not that surprising. I'm assuming the buyer is an appreciator of the FD, otherwise they wouldn't be buying such a lot of heavy old stuff! I may re-join the ranks of old washer owners...

I've regretfully decided to get rid of my 1967 Fluid Drive washer- have had no luck in fabricating a replacement hose, as I asked about in thread # 37543. Thanks for the replies, and help offered, but sadly I don't have enough time to continue to attempt fixes, only to find that they haven't...

Yes, points taken I will fabricate a replacement! But first, some questions: 1. What material should I use? A quick look in the plumbing dept at Bunnings (big Aussie hardware chain) has galv (obviously not good), brass and plastic fittings. I would imagine brass would be best, but maybe...

I posted a plea (thread # 37543) recently when the drain hose on my Simpson Fluid Drive began to leak. One of the replies stated that the US Speed Queen was very similar, and was wondering if anyone would be able to let me know if the drain hose from a SQ could substitute for the FD one. I...

Drain hose from previous model As you can see, is a fair bit shorter, but the top and bottom are the same size. The problem appears at the ?corrugations and this one also split vertically at what appears to be a casting join. Looking forward to all replies.

Emotional?! Apologies for my previous statement - heartbroken was a bit over the top, but I was contemplating the demise of one of my favourite appliances... I've included a photo of the drain hose - from bowl to pump - in situ. It's about 9" high with a bend of less than 90 deg, 2" internal...

My Simpson Fluid Drive, model 048, which I spent months rebuilding a few years ago (see previous posts) developed a drip. "No problems" I thought - maybe tighten a clamp or the pump housing, but on further investigation, I found, to my horror, that the drain hose, which was NOS when I replaced...

These wooden blocks - and others- were bought many years ago by my mother (still firing at 85!) so that we wouldn't have to pay someone to make the wringer squeeze hard enough to be effective. They are support blocks for the wringer shaft to fit through, and would inevitably wear out, meaning...

Semi-auto Kelvie Here's a close-up of the control panel. What are the major weaknesses with this type of machine? Should I get it? Probably a big heavy old lump! If anyone locally is interested, its fairly close to me in Adelaide. Let me know.

Old agitators I recently broke a section off the bakelite agitator in my 1967 Fluid Drive (don't ask!) I cursed, and remembered the spare one I threw away at the hard rubbish.... Fotunately, I located a retired washing machine engineer who had another. Parts are getting scarcer for something...