1950s Wizard Stove

[58limited]

I bought this at an estate sale today, along with some other non-appliance stuff. The burner grates and drip pans are in the bottom left storage bin. It has an oven on the right, a storage bin (large drawer) on the left, a broiler at the bottom right and another storage bin (small drawer) lower left. I've never heard of Wizard, I wonder if it was one of those local or regional gas company brands. The only thing missing is one burner knob. I won't pick it up until Sunday. Below is the only picture I took at the sale.

 

There is also a 1962 or 63 (?) Maytag gas dryer for $25.00. I took pics but the camera messed up and the pic of the front was deleted. I'll post a thread in the Imperial forum.

 

 

[wayupnorth]

Wizard

That was the store brand of Western Auto Stores. Stove looks complete but needs a major bath, but should be a good reliable workhorse.

 

[westingman123]

I'll second that. Wizard was a staple out at the farm--seemed like Western Auto had every kind of appliance badged Wizard. If I recall correctly, the washing machines were LOUD. Is it set up for natural gas or propane?

 

[58limited]

Western Auto brand - Thanks for that info, Wayupnorth.

 

I don't know if it is NG or propane. Since I found it in town, I'm assuming NG.

 

Despite the dust, it is very clean overall. I'll probably clean it and hook it up outside and see what happens. If it works, fine. If not I'll trouble shoot it. The only bad things are the missing knob and the chrome is lightly pitted. The timer is a manual timer, should work with a good cleaning.

 

Forgot to mention before: The house has a Frigidaire french door  wall oven, don't think it is for sale but I'm sure that whoever buys the house will get rid of this old "junk" and replace it with nice modern stainless perfection <===sarcasm

 

[westie2]

58limited

It is very nice looking range.  I have seen the knobs to differnt stoves at some sales or even at a antique shop all in a box.  They do look very much like a Tappen's knob.

 

BTW Happy Belated Birthday.

 

[westie2]

The oven knob looks like it could be a Robert Shaw.

 

[oldskool]

Nice Find

With some cleaning up, that should be a great cooking machine.   Congratulations on your new stove!

 

I've always wondered, what type of btu ratings the burners of that era were?   The few older ranges that I've cooked on, seemed to have a larger flame than many of the newer models.   Just curious.

 

 

 

 

 

[wayupnorth]

adjustment on burners

Many of the older gas stoves you could adjust the burner input/output for the top part with a wrench or pliers on the connection valve where the inlet went to the actual burners themselves. When I was a kid, my uncle showed me how he adjusted the burners on our old Kenmore right by the air intake and they worked perfect after that.

 

[firedome]

NICE! ...

....but what's your Chambers going to say??!

Western Auto even made Wizard lawn-mowers and outboard motors back in the day!
Is Western Auto even around anymore? The one in our hometown back in MD went away years ago.

 

[firedome]

just noticed

that dashboard looks like it came right off a mid-50s Pontiac!
Gotta love '50s design elements.

 

[58limited]

That's why I bought it - simple 50s styling. For now, it will go in the garage next to the Estate stove and the Chambers - which is in pieces for restoration.

 

[whirlcool]

What's left of Western Auto today are the stores known as Advance Auto Parts stores.
Western Auto, a Kansas City based chain was in business until 1987 when Sears bought them out. Sears closed stores, but the ones they left opened started to carry Sears products like Die Hard batteries and Craftsman tools. Sears dropped all the products WA carried except for auto parts. Eventually Sears sold them off to
Advance auto and in the early 2000's, they started to change the name of the old WA stores to Advance auto part stores. Now, the WA name is only used in some areas of Puerto Rico. All the mainland stores have been converted to Advance stores.

 

[firedome]

one more

legacy bies the dust... and it looks like Sears itself may be close behind!

 

[58limited]

I went back today to take a pick of the old Maytag dryer and found the data plate on the stove, pic below. Stove will be delivered later today. It is missing one burner knob and one pilot flashtube. The oven is match light - no safety system. I didn't see any chips in the porcelain, so I think that rechroming the chrome, rewiring the light, and a good cleaning is all it really needs. Does anyone know who manufactured these for Western Auto?

 

[58limited]

I got the stove home. Here it is after a quick clean up. The missing flash tube rolled out when we picked it up, so the only thing I need is a burner knob. The porcelain is almost flawless except for  a long scratch by the front right burner.

 

[58limited]

Here is a detail of the two right burners. Notice that the gas deflectors for the iron burners are aluminum. You can see the scratch in the porcelain in this pic.

 

[58limited]

Here is a close up of the burner knobs. If anyone has a matching one, please let me know.

 

[58limited]

I also picked up this sad looking Sunbeam for $3.00. The cord is in terrible condition so I won't be testing it until I replace that.

 

[pdub]

Cool stove. It will look great when all cleaned and polished. You can probably fill that scratch with a bottle of that porcelain repair paint. I've seen it at Home Depot and Ace Hardware stores.

I also spy a 68 or 69 Ford Galaxy or LTD in the background. Looks like a fun sale.