Evening guys and gals ~
I thought I'd share a fun experience I had this weekend. I got a call yesterday from a fella inquiring about one of the wanted ads I have out locally for vintage automatic washers. I asked the old boy what he had, and said that he'd like to get rid of a washer and dryer that he had bought new back in 1960. My heart then skipped a beat - but he then hit me with a one-two punch - it was a matching PINK Maytag washer/dryer set! After the immediate cardiac arrest, I scribbled down his address, and set up a loose time to get to his place on Sunday. After checking out the address on Google Maps - it appeared that he lived across the street from my Grandma! The irony in this is a few Easter's ago, I had found a beaten up A806 on the curbside across the street from the very same house. I didn't know if it would be a low end Highlander, or a possible 142 or A700 as I didn't want too sound to picky over the phone.
After a quick call this afternoon, I walked across the street from Grandma's with the appliance dolly and met up with Paul. I walked in his garage and immediately spotted a harvest gold Kitchen-Aid KDS-18, and wanted to rush to the basement! After walking down the stairs, there low and behold was a mint set of Pink Maytags, that were purchased new in January of 1960, from an now defunct local appliance store. He said he and his wife moved into their house in February of 1960, and had started building their home in August of 1959. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. The washer is an April of 1959 P142S, and the dryer is a 741C. I couldn't believe how good of shape the machines where, but noticed off to the side a low end matching set of harvest gold mid-70's Maytags, and then realized that he and his wife had only used these machines for about 15 years or so. I asked if he still had the owner's manuals, and he did, but didn't know where to look. He said they had never been repaired, but his wife demanded a new set as the timer "didn't work." Thankfully, instead of hauling the old Pink set out back when shag was in, he just pushed them into a corner in his basement, and they collected dust for 30 years until today.
Once I got them unload back at the house, it seems that both work just fine mechanically, and both timers seem to work. Besides needing a new wash tub, the washer shouldn't be too much fuss, but I will hold out for an electric dryer and paint the panels if needed. Last year June seemed to be a Maytag month - and this year is definitely holding up to this! It is pretty hard to find a one-owner set of machines, as a story can now be told along with the beautiful set.
Enjoy the quick photos:
http://automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/00ShowCollectionGETD.cgi?dir=/COLLECTIONS/SWESTOYZ/
I thought I'd share a fun experience I had this weekend. I got a call yesterday from a fella inquiring about one of the wanted ads I have out locally for vintage automatic washers. I asked the old boy what he had, and said that he'd like to get rid of a washer and dryer that he had bought new back in 1960. My heart then skipped a beat - but he then hit me with a one-two punch - it was a matching PINK Maytag washer/dryer set! After the immediate cardiac arrest, I scribbled down his address, and set up a loose time to get to his place on Sunday. After checking out the address on Google Maps - it appeared that he lived across the street from my Grandma! The irony in this is a few Easter's ago, I had found a beaten up A806 on the curbside across the street from the very same house. I didn't know if it would be a low end Highlander, or a possible 142 or A700 as I didn't want too sound to picky over the phone.
After a quick call this afternoon, I walked across the street from Grandma's with the appliance dolly and met up with Paul. I walked in his garage and immediately spotted a harvest gold Kitchen-Aid KDS-18, and wanted to rush to the basement! After walking down the stairs, there low and behold was a mint set of Pink Maytags, that were purchased new in January of 1960, from an now defunct local appliance store. He said he and his wife moved into their house in February of 1960, and had started building their home in August of 1959. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. The washer is an April of 1959 P142S, and the dryer is a 741C. I couldn't believe how good of shape the machines where, but noticed off to the side a low end matching set of harvest gold mid-70's Maytags, and then realized that he and his wife had only used these machines for about 15 years or so. I asked if he still had the owner's manuals, and he did, but didn't know where to look. He said they had never been repaired, but his wife demanded a new set as the timer "didn't work." Thankfully, instead of hauling the old Pink set out back when shag was in, he just pushed them into a corner in his basement, and they collected dust for 30 years until today.
Once I got them unload back at the house, it seems that both work just fine mechanically, and both timers seem to work. Besides needing a new wash tub, the washer shouldn't be too much fuss, but I will hold out for an electric dryer and paint the panels if needed. Last year June seemed to be a Maytag month - and this year is definitely holding up to this! It is pretty hard to find a one-owner set of machines, as a story can now be told along with the beautiful set.
Enjoy the quick photos:
http://automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/00ShowCollectionGETD.cgi?dir=/COLLECTIONS/SWESTOYZ/
...ducks and runs...
