I finally worked out bringing that blue V-12 from Colorado that was posted on this site almost 2 years ago! It arrived this afternoon in a truck that was longer than our block.
A long time coming, my second 1961 V-12!!!!
- Thread starter bajaespuma
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The guy who owned it, Dave Kiraly, was a hero. Not only am I grateful to him for not trashing it, but he couldn't have been nicer or more patient to get it out of his storage unit. I had seen pictures of it, so I knew it was going to be a project, but this machine is so close to the machine I coveted as a boy, and virtually identical to the V-12 I grew up with, I couldn't pass on it. Skipping forward from my usual Christmas Morning joy, upon first opening the lid, a disappointment:
That filter pan should be blue, BLUE, dammit! But, then, as fate and the gremlin that seems to be in charge of vintage finds would have it:
Oh freakin' score! The turquoise green activator I've been looking for years!!!! (happy dance).
This model is very similar to the Suds Saver I got from Senor Unimatic. Where that one was a single speed model,this one is the next one up in the V-12 line. This is very much the MOL, although this one, like so many GE's is a mongrel. This is a WA-752, a variation of the WA-750 I've gone on and on and on about. Do you know how long I've waited to get my hands on these keys, to actually have them in front of me instead of just drawing them? This Rosebud isn't getting near a furnace.
This model is very similar to the Suds Saver I got from Senor Unimatic. Where that one was a single speed model,this one is the next one up in the V-12 line. This is very much the MOL, although this one, like so many GE's is a mongrel. This is a WA-752, a variation of the WA-750 I've gone on and on and on about. Do you know how long I've waited to get my hands on these keys, to actually have them in front of me instead of just drawing them? This Rosebud isn't getting near a furnace.
Somebody must have really liked this machine. I haven't finished counting all of the replacement parts that I have so far discovered. The first two are the most obvious: a 1963 dial and a 1970's control knob. I always wonder what on earth could have happened to machines that have these. Some curious and destructive kid? If anybody out there has OE dial and/or knob they'd be willing to sell me, I'd be grateful, and you'll see why in a little while.
Kiraly already told me that there's a hole in the outer tub. It's small and fixable but that's not the only project facing me. The filter-flo flume is about 80% broken off of the tub, the washbasket has a lot of rust and is very rough, although it's the same "type" of washbasket we had with staggered perforations. The filter-flo flume also, is in the 2:00 position, as with later models. I'm pretty sure, though, this is a spanking brand new transmission:
You can see the hole in the outer tub in that shot, right next to the drain. The inlet valve is also new and the boot looks too shiny to be OE. This is going to be a big project. And of course, in my enthusiasm to replace the light bulb behind what should be a lighted dial...
I discovered that at some point, whoever replaced the cycle dial must have broken a plastic tab that allows the user to manually advance the timer. They had epoxied the dial badly back on to the cam column in the right position, but when Dr. Stupid here, removed it, well, you get the idea.
Fortunately, when I started to clean leaves and junk out of the tub, I discovered a small white plastic piece that is probably the indexor that I broke off when I removed the dial. I suppose I can try to super-glue it back on, but I'm going to put the little piece under my pillow tonight and hope that the dial fairy will come in the night and bring me a brand new dial that looks something like this:
Fortunately, when I started to clean leaves and junk out of the tub, I discovered a small white plastic piece that is probably the indexor that I broke off when I removed the dial. I suppose I can try to super-glue it back on, but I'm going to put the little piece under my pillow tonight and hope that the dial fairy will come in the night and bring me a brand new dial that looks something like this:
The good news is, I ran a short spin cycle and the motor and tranny seem not only to work, but they work quietly and smoothly, so this machine may turn out to be OK. The tub brake slams down so fast when you lift the lid up (of course, the *%&%$!!@ lid safety switch is still operational), the tub bounces back several inches. Even if it ends up being a museum piece, it is very satisfying to finally get a machine that inspired a lot of my mania. What can one say about an appliance that was crafted in the old USA that after 50 years of use and abuse can still give us a whirl.
Thank you and good night America.
Thank you and good night America.
What a great find......I am puzzled for my own self...how many years was this control panel out?....my mother got her BOL in 1964, so I go with that as being the year it came out, but seeing some of these models like yours, concluding that hers may have been a leftover about a year or two older....hers only had 2 water levels/temps, one cycle, the agitator was black and the swirl vanes were tapered towards the top, the filter was white and had nothing written on it, also the dial did not light.....
I would like to find one like this control top, but instead of going thru all the re-storing, I think I would just switch the top with newer model....
I would like to find one like this control top, but instead of going thru all the re-storing, I think I would just switch the top with newer model....
Congratulations! I'm glad you found something so close to the machine-of-your-dreams, and in working order, no less.
Aside: I'm really starting to enjoy psychedelic hues your camera seems to impart at will!
Aside: I'm really starting to enjoy psychedelic hues your camera seems to impart at will!
turquoisedude
Well-known member
Congratulations!!
Way to go - it's always a thrill to get that elusive dream machine !! I am sure that it will be worth the wait! Keep us posted...
Way to go - it's always a thrill to get that elusive dream machine !! I am sure that it will be worth the wait! Keep us posted...
rollermatic
Well-known member
now that's a find!!!
love the pics, it will take some elbow grease but like you said it can be done!
my aunt that raised me had a g.e. filter flo and i remember it well. i used to love to watch the filter basket that sat on top of the agitator. i also remember it having large control buttons that toggled up and down. it was replaced in 1965 with her frigidaire custom imperial rollermatic, the washer i really got to know.
have fun restoring it!
love the pics, it will take some elbow grease but like you said it can be done!
my aunt that raised me had a g.e. filter flo and i remember it well. i used to love to watch the filter basket that sat on top of the agitator. i also remember it having large control buttons that toggled up and down. it was replaced in 1965 with her frigidaire custom imperial rollermatic, the washer i really got to know.
have fun restoring it!
That basic style of control panel lasted until 1963. 1960-1963 control panels, within groups, had the same basic design; they featured different colors from year to year, gold, blue, black and grey, respectively. GE actually produced three different rungs of control panel styles to differentiate between their BOl's, MOL's, and TOL's until the seventies. Here's an example of a representation of them from 1961. From what I've seen, there are at least 4 different versions of each model; someday I'm going to find a GE engineer who worked in Louisville who can tell me what the marketing philosophy was in producing so many different models in one year( I've left out the very bottom BOL's that had minimal "clock-radio" control panels or none at all):
redcarpetdrew
Well-known member
Awesome!!!
I am so happy you bagged her. She needs some tlc to be sure but what a perfect candidate for said tlc! I am surprised at the number of replacement parts on that washer. ESP the transmission. That was one determined owner to sink a rather expensive part like that into a older washer. This one was destined to find you. Looking forward to some video of the victory wash load when the time is right.
RCD
I am so happy you bagged her. She needs some tlc to be sure but what a perfect candidate for said tlc! I am surprised at the number of replacement parts on that washer. ESP the transmission. That was one determined owner to sink a rather expensive part like that into a older washer. This one was destined to find you. Looking forward to some video of the victory wash load when the time is right.
RCD
Congratulations Ken!
"When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, anything your heart desires will come to you."
"When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, anything your heart desires will come to you."
autowasherfreak
Well-known member
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- Jul 28, 2008
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A great find, can't wait to see the "after" pictures. Best of luck on the restore.
Congratulations!
Ken - great machine! I can't wait to see "after" photos. I have the 1962 V-12 that you posted a photo of recently (WA750), interesting that although your 1961 doesn't have the elevated console it does have the trim strip just below the top; whereas mine is just the opposite. GE engineers must have stayed up all night thinking of ways to vary their products.
Lawrence
Ken - great machine! I can't wait to see "after" photos. I have the 1962 V-12 that you posted a photo of recently (WA750), interesting that although your 1961 doesn't have the elevated console it does have the trim strip just below the top; whereas mine is just the opposite. GE engineers must have stayed up all night thinking of ways to vary their products.
Lawrence
Congrats,Ken. This is a very similar, or likely the same washer that my mother's aunt had out on their farm. No dryer ever, but this was her only automatic. It was sold on their auction in 1980 for $5.
Wow another '61, although this one unlike the one I found (and you now have) has the filter-flo spout at the 2:00 position! Are you sure its a '61 and not a '62 Ken? I'm just curious since I really have know way to know.
http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?17161
http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?17161
1961 because
As I understand the lineage, GE appliances with a "V" suffix identifies them as 1961 vintage, the first year of the perforated tub. For all I know, this model could have left the factory after 1961. Also, it's occurring to me that this model may have been bought "rebuilt" from a dealer. But even though many of the parts have been replaced, I know for sure the cabinet and top are original. There is no "bump-out" on the back of lid or on the lid sump for the 12:00 position flume. Almost all of the 1961 washers featured blue in some aspect of the control panel and all of them had that baby-blue (NOT aqua blue) colored plastic filter pan that only occurred that one year. Even the BOL with an all-white control panel had blue lettering on the dial and on the keys and sported the blue filter-pan. Your WA-950V has a perfect sample of that filter pan, the first spiral ramp activator and gorgeous blue control panel. Also, Mike Haller sent me a bunch of 1961 V-12 diagrams that includes all these mongrel models along with "versions" 1, 2, 3 and 4 of each standard model that were manufactured throughout the model year. Apparently, they were really making these up as they went along.It was after version 2 that GE switched the filter-flo flume to the 2:00 position. Versions 1 and 2 were the links between the solid tub design and what would become the standard perforated tub Filter-Flo. I'm guessing they made this particular change because, as you brought to my attention months ago, beginning with the V-12's GE reduced the depth of the cabinet, thus crunching the space in back of the tub needed for the flume's plumbing. Moving it to the corner was, I assume easier, cheaper and probably increased the water flow. And then it didn't change until they were discontinued, almost 40 years later.
Here's a vintage ad with a picture of one of the later versions of the 1961 TOL dryer. Note that the V-12 badge has been removed from the front of the cabinet and is now a small square blue shield on the lower RH corner of the escutcheon
As I understand the lineage, GE appliances with a "V" suffix identifies them as 1961 vintage, the first year of the perforated tub. For all I know, this model could have left the factory after 1961. Also, it's occurring to me that this model may have been bought "rebuilt" from a dealer. But even though many of the parts have been replaced, I know for sure the cabinet and top are original. There is no "bump-out" on the back of lid or on the lid sump for the 12:00 position flume. Almost all of the 1961 washers featured blue in some aspect of the control panel and all of them had that baby-blue (NOT aqua blue) colored plastic filter pan that only occurred that one year. Even the BOL with an all-white control panel had blue lettering on the dial and on the keys and sported the blue filter-pan. Your WA-950V has a perfect sample of that filter pan, the first spiral ramp activator and gorgeous blue control panel. Also, Mike Haller sent me a bunch of 1961 V-12 diagrams that includes all these mongrel models along with "versions" 1, 2, 3 and 4 of each standard model that were manufactured throughout the model year. Apparently, they were really making these up as they went along.It was after version 2 that GE switched the filter-flo flume to the 2:00 position. Versions 1 and 2 were the links between the solid tub design and what would become the standard perforated tub Filter-Flo. I'm guessing they made this particular change because, as you brought to my attention months ago, beginning with the V-12's GE reduced the depth of the cabinet, thus crunching the space in back of the tub needed for the flume's plumbing. Moving it to the corner was, I assume easier, cheaper and probably increased the water flow. And then it didn't change until they were discontinued, almost 40 years later.
Here's a vintage ad with a picture of one of the later versions of the 1961 TOL dryer. Note that the V-12 badge has been removed from the front of the cabinet and is now a small square blue shield on the lower RH corner of the escutcheon
1961 GE V-12s
Great pictures and information Ken I am in the process of restoring a WA1055-V It should be ready in the fall. Robert got to see it when he was here last year, I hope you will come down some time also.I removed the base pan-frame and took it to my partners auto-body shop and glass beaded it this evening to remove some rust. The machine is in very good condition overall but there is some rust on the inside of the cabinet from the reservoir bleach dispenser, I won't be using that feature when its restored.
Great pictures and information Ken I am in the process of restoring a WA1055-V It should be ready in the fall. Robert got to see it when he was here last year, I hope you will come down some time also.I removed the base pan-frame and took it to my partners auto-body shop and glass beaded it this evening to remove some rust. The machine is in very good condition overall but there is some rust on the inside of the cabinet from the reservoir bleach dispenser, I won't be using that feature when its restored.
Baja, what a nice find, and glad the guy held it for you for such a long time. Do you think all the "mongrel models" were GE's way of providing something for everyone with custom home builders. As a youngster I remember seeing GE appliances in mobile homes, many times a washer only with no space for a dryer. GE must of marketed very aggresively, while I was in high school, they made it a point to provide GE appliances that got traded out every year and that was in 1976. arthur
Speaking of your "other" 1961...
Ken,
How about some current photos of the one you obtained from Robert?
Lawrence
Ken,
How about some current photos of the one you obtained from Robert?
Lawrence
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