1976 Lady Kenmore Pair

[repairguy]

Around the middle of the week my eagle eyes spotted the back sides of what appeared to be a kenmore belt drive set on a scrap trailer sitting a ways off of the road. Upon a second look I was pretty sure that’s what it was. I couldn’t help myself and got in touch with the owner who said I could have them. I picked them up this morning and was very surprised to find out they are 1976 Lady Kenmores! I figured they would be mid eighties models.

The washer was built the 10th week of ‘76 and the dryer the 21st week. Both of the cabinets are rough and so is the dryer drum. They’ve been sitting for about 15 years and the guy said he paid $200 tor the set about 20 years ago. Not sure if I’ll part these out yet or not but couldn’t let them go to scrap. The control panels are pretty decent and I have a ‘77 pair in avocado with rough panels. Has the original dual action agitator and one year only cap.

 

[appnut]

This was the first black panel style LKs. During this whole series until the redesigned DDs fall of 1986, this was about the only model that had medium heat on dryer. These did have lighted control panel and the only LK set of this design to have separate switch for extra rinse and soak only/soak & wash. I hated these because they were so cheap in features compared to legacy Kenmore products. One of the reasons I went with the Fflos April 1978.

 

[cfz2882]

nice save !

probably has that cone-shaped lint filter underneath ?

 

[DADoES]

 
Nice and rare score for 'round here.  Odd time-period when KM got chinchy with water level choices.

 

[repairguy]

The washer has the self cleaning lint filter mounted on the lower left side of the tub which I believe made it’s debut with the black panel models. It’s an excellent filter as long as you don’t let the drain hose kink or clamp the drain hose to a long drain run. These filters were held together by metal clips and if the aforementioned conditions existed the pump pressure would separate the filter enough to leak during pump out.

As Glenn says any belt drive machine is rare in this area and I certainly wasn’t expecting a ‘76 set of Lady Kenmores. I believe they went to 5 water levels in ‘78 but not sure why they downgraded from the previous infinite settings on higher end models. I don’t believe the infinite water levels came back until the 1982 change up. The ‘74-‘75 ladies had the infinite level switch so it was definitely odd to go to 4 in ‘76 and ‘77.

 

[repairguy]

On second thought the water levels may have been that way due to the early rendition of the dual action agitator. It seems that I recall reading somewhere in the archives that the auger would not engage unless it had enough water to float it into position. This particular dual action was only used for ‘76 and ‘77 and was redesigned for the ‘78 line making it operational with all water levels although it was still several years before the infinite water level returned.

 

[goatfarmer]

A couple of additions to the "Texas Home for Wayward Appliances". Nice save!

 

[pulltostart]

Nice score Melvin

A novice like myself thinks they just need lots of polish and elbow grease!  What happened to the color of the triple dispenser?  The appliances are white, right?  In the pics the dispenser appears to have turned pink.

 

lawrence

 

[repairguy]

Kenny I’m probably going to become wayward myself if I don’t quit feeling sorry for all of these machines. Lol!

Yes they are white and the dispenser cover has turned a funky tan color that is storage/Texas heat related that the sun made look pink this morning. They would look pretty good with a paint job. As Lawrence stated a little elbow grease would probably make more of a difference than I think.

 

[rp2813]

Nice Save!

I didn't realize that the '76 LK models were downgraded so much from the piano key types.  Other than the updated console, the dispenser and the agitator, the washer appears to be identical to the obscure next model down that my mom had (from 1974) for cycle options, and even that machine had infinite water level settings.

 

Regardless, these are a dream pair for me and many others here.  I hope it doesn't take much to get them in proper working order.

 

[repairguy]

Thanks Ralph! I think this set could look good again but the cabinets would have to be painted and the dryer drum and bulkhead would either have to be replaced with better ones or repainted. It is a doable project and I’ll probably save them versus parting them out only because that’s the only set like that I’ve ever found locally.

 

[bradfordwhite]

1976 Spring Summer listing

D-A-A-a-nn-ngg!

You are good. You didn't just see them, you got them. Awesome.

And don't worry, we won't let you live in the streets.

 

[swestoyz]

Nice save, Melvin!  Looks like both consoles have been spared death by Spray 'n Wash, or at least all the original decal paint looks be intact.  That early DA cap is really cool! 

 

Out of all the black face consoles these '76- '77 LK are by far my favorite.  Full chrome trim along the front to the back sides, without a hint of wood grain anywhere.  Does anyone know if this dryer uses the same microprocessor control as the '74 LK?

 

Looking forward to seeing the finish product.  Thanks for sharing this fun find with us all.

 

Ben

 

[repairguy]

Thanks Ben! Now if I can just find the time and the room. Lol

Thanks for the great Sears scans! This set would cost $3,100.00 today not including tax.

I did plug the washer in and it spun and the timer advanced. It was surprisingly quiet too.

 

[maytag85]

Those Kenmores might be $3,100.00 according to a inflation calculator, but if they were to still be made today, probably wouldn’t be much more than a new Speed Queen TC5 set. Materials and labor is what would dictate the price since that’s usually how it goes most of the time.

 

[rp2813]

Quiet Operation

Melvin, I'm certain that LK has the same "Quiet Pak" transmission as my mom's machine had.  It uses a skinny belt, and the originals were green, at least in 1974 they were.  That one failed relatively early on my mom's.  The Sears replacement belt was black, and it lasted for the rest of the 25 year period that my mom had that machine.

 

I don't know when "Quiet Pak" was first introduced, but it really made a big difference for machines located near living areas in the home.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

WOW! You found my dream set:

My Grandma had one in Gold and I have always wanted a set of these. Hell of a find.
WK78

 

[washerlover]

My ‘85 LK set is one of my daily drivers. The dryer does have the “medium” heat option, and neither the washer nor the dryer has a console light…

 

[repairguy]

Ralph it does have the quiet pak system with the skinny belt. I thought that was ended with the new ‘76 models but I was wrong. I could also be wrong about the ‘77 LK but I believe it has the regular 95405 belt system.

Thanks WK78!

Todd I like those Lady Kenmores as well. I’m not sure why they dropped the lights on those unless they wanted that to be an upgrade to the limited editions of the time as they had the lights. The lights came back to the Lady Kenmores around 1990 and continued for a few years after the LK moniker was dropped on the higher end models.

I wanted to record the models and serials for this set for the archives. I also took a few more pictures and discovered that the valve has been disconnected and removed for the triple dispenser. Luckily I believe I have all of the parts to put that back together. Glad the hoses weren’t removed as they are probably harder to come by and would have to get creative.

110.76693100 dryer model
M62108958 serial

110.72693100 washer model
C61010344