The Frankenmore gets a more 1970's look!

The Bakelite Surgilator was fun for a while, but it was time for the Frankenmore to have an agitator it was intended for, and that is none other than...the Harvest Gold Super Roto-Swirl, complete with the classic trademark Kenmore agitator cap! Thanks again Robert for letting me know and sending it!!!! Now, it's time to wash, 1970's Kenmore style! And the appropriate cycle would be none other than...

THE WASH & WEAR CYCLE!!! WOOHOO!!!

Enjoy the pictures! If a few are dark, it's because the Frankenmore doesn't sit directly under the light. I tried adjusting the brightness/enhancement on some and that seemed to help.

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-...TOPLOADER.jpg&dir=/COLLECTIONS/WESTYTOPLOADER

Yay, glad you got the cap Austin, enjoy!

Looks like fun!

what makes the roto swirl so special?

Looking good Austin! Great photos of your creation!
Thank you!

So what makes the roto swirl so special?

It is THE quintessential Kenmore agitator.

Austin--what is the rated capacity of that machine? And is that a "tall" agitator?

Joe

Very cool Austin. Glad you got the original cap. I remember you posting about it and also had mentioned it in December.
That is an awesome machine anyway.

Steve

Looks good, Austin. Now you can do field testing of the Penta-Vane and the Roto - my money is on the Penta-Vane!

The birth of Frankenmore

Since I am new and playing catch up, is it safe to assume, from the design of the water fall filter, that Frankenmore was a Whirlpool bottom and then got a Kenmore top, and if you sold it it would be adverstised as versatile?
Kelly

Great!

Thanks for the post!

YAY!!!!!!!

When's the next wash-in???

I still have memories of the Fifth Dimension, Fresh Start and the Frankenmore!

And again, it's THAT cycle, the Rotoswirl, the whine, and the grind-click-clunk that makes Kenmore my FAVORITE vintage brand.

Bravo! I can't wait to see it in action again.

Kelly, it's all Kenmore. The head is from a late 60s Kenmore. The rest of the machine is from an early 1980s series 60 washer, which didn't have the self-clean filter.

Thanks everyone!! To answer all of your questions...

Jeff, the Roto-Swirl is just an awesome agitator to have in a BD Kenmore. Nearly every Kenmore had this agitator and to say the action is fun is an understatement. Much different than Ramp Activation, that's for sure!

Joe, the rated capacity of this machine is 18 lbs., but by 1982 (date of the base/mechanism) the agitator shaft was the same length as the standard-capacity machines. The 1968 Kenmore "518" I pulled the top off of was an earlier large-capacity model, so it had the longer agitator shaft. It also had a HUGE 3-vane agitator that I saved; too bad I can't use it here!! I can only imagine the the Wash & Wear cooldown with that one.

Greg, I actually did use the Penta-Vane in this machine for a while, and did try it with Wash & Wear as well!!! It dragged the entire load around the tub which was pretty interesting, but the Penta-Vane is downright anemic on large loads. The Roto-Swirl is a little better, but if the load has jeans in it, forget it. One thing I did like about the Surgilator was that I could wash a large mixed load with jeans, cargos, etc., and there would still be great action.

Jason, glad you had fun with it last December. I definitely want to do another wash-in either later this year or early 2007, and this time I will post about it beforehand. I'm always going to remember that first Texas Wash-In though; it was my first try (as well as Glenn's I believe) at hosting a somewhat "major" wash-in...LOL!!!

Kelly, back in December I was facing a dilemma with the ugly black control panels on my 1982 Kenmore washer. One was horribly scratched and the other wouldn't work due to the wrong connector on the wiring harness. I had the 1968 control panel laying around, so I checked the harness and sure enough it matched up with the 8-pin connector to the machine!!! I ended up swapping the entire top panels because I also wanted the chrome lid handle. So that's the story of the Frankenmore...1982 Kenmore base with a 1968 Kenmore top panel! The manual-clean lint filter makes it that much more fun; I'm a big fan of recirculation you can see!

--Austin

Your first wash-in

You did a wonderful for your first time hosting a wash-in. You and Venus treated us wonderfully and I can't wait to do it again. And being able to play records made it even more fun.

The 5th Dimension's Greatest Hits aka Belt Drive Kenmore:The Soundtrack.

Now THAT one is an AWESOME album; definitely THE wash-in soundtrack! It was also the first Fifth Dimension album I found and listened to.

Maybe by then I'll have found a console stereo to squeeze in down there? ;-)

Hopefully

You'll find a Magnavox Astro-Sonic from the 60s, OR a Zenith with a VM record changer (like Bobofhollywood has). Both rock!

That was an awesome pictorial of a classic wash 'n' wear cycle! That agitator just flat out ROCKS. What a fun one!

Ben

Thanks for the pics of the W'n'W cycle, Austin; Glad you found a matching cap for the super Roto-Swirl. I took Kenmores for granted because I grew up with one, but now I've come to realize how cool they are.

I love the Super Roto-Swirl since I used a commercial washer in a hotel once. I was flabbergasted by the rollover and the excellent wash results. I love the color of this one too!