If by early you mean the 1964-1969 Rollermatics vs. the 1970-1979 1-18 Rollermatics, I'd say they both have their strengths and weak spots. Many of us have found both versions that just needed a bit of cleanup and were able to wash without issue. The pot metal base of the Rollermatic water pump can easily corrode and the seal fail; spin roller issues on some of the earlier Rollermatics; noisy rollers on both platforms, water bellows issues on the 1971-1973 1-18s; lint filter latch weakness on the 1-18, etc.
I would have thought with the design of that tub in the Unimatic that it would have kept small items in. There hasn't been a video that I've seen where a sock or something small gets thrown over the side in one of these machines. Not discounting your experience, but maybe it wasn't all that prevalent with Frigidaire washers in general ?
Hi agiflow: My experiences and knowledge with the Unimatics from the 1950's, when I was a kid, was extensive. In the small city in which we lived, there was no Sears. Most folks either had the affordable Unimatic machines, or they had Maytag ker-BANG! AMPs. The socks in the outer tub problem was reported by many of my mom's friends and my aunts that had the Unimatics. Mr. Lund was the appliance repair guy. I watch him fish socks and some small items our of my Aunt Virginia's machine. Oh! BTW, those old Maytag AMP's weren't all that reliable either. The insides of the lids rusted out quickly and the mercury switches often would become dislodged.
