A tale of 2 1980's Aussie Simpsons.

[twinniefan]

Simpson Delta 10

Hi Leon,
talk about a blast from the past! an Aunt of mine had that same Delta 10 and it lasted for about 20 years, although she always washed in cold water so I dare say her outer tub must have looked like the tub on your large 705.
I guess you would be too young to remember the advertising for it on television the voice over said in a smooth voice that "No matter how dirty your load is it all comes out in the wash with the brilliant new Delta 10 with it's 4-vane agitator action.",(as opposed to the large models with their 8-vane agitator action.).
It was a nice reasonably sized simple machine for someone who just wanted something basic and not too large.
I think from memory Simpson's slogan went like this, "You can relax when it's Simpson since 1853 truly relaible."
P.S.I noticed you had a box of Preservene Sno detergent, nice one.!

 

[gizmo]

Delta 10

The original Delta 10 was a stretched Minimatic.
The little Minimatic washbowl (basket) was carried over, if you look at the pic inside the Delta 10 you can see the enamel bowl has a plastic riser on top which increases the capacity. The agitator was changed slightly, the fins on the agitator stick out slightly past the cone at the base. On the original Minimatic the agitator fins end level with the bottom cone, though later ones protrude out further, to improve wash action I'd imagine. The Delta 10 agitator is taller too, of course.

Later they produced a cheaper version with fewer options, called a Delta S.

they were never a great machine in my opinion, they were a machine for people who wanted simplicity and the promise of reliability more than a really good wash.

To remove the washbowl you use a big circular spanner with four lugs underneath, they match with four square indentations in the retaining ring. I used to have the special tool for the job. It was a very strong tool, designed that you beat it with a hammer to undo the lock ring. (they always gum up and corrode in place.) One day when out cruising the hard garbage collection on the roadside, I saw someone trying to remove the ring with a hammer and screwdriver. I offered to lend them the correct tool, and when I went past there later I dropped it off. they were going to leave the tool in their mailbox for me to collect later. They never left it out and I was never able to catch them at home, so I never got it back. Grrr!

I have a Delta 10 like that in my shed. It needs its bearings replaced, but I don't have the special tool......... so it has sat there for over 10 years so far...It is in the furthest corner, It would take several others being moved to get to it, so it willl sit a few years more...

Mike, just FYI, these early Deltas are a completely different machine to yours. They used a conventional reciprocating transmission, just like a scaled down version of an American top loader. They have a strong and heavy cast iron frame, which holds the gears. That mechanism is enclosed in a plastic dish, it looks like a tupperware canister. The "tupperware" is there to contain the oil.When the motor turns one way it agitates, the other way it screws the pulley up to release the clutch/brake, and it spins. It doesn't repeatedly reverse the motor to achieve agitation. The second generation delta like yours are variations of the Simpson Genesis, which was the new, cheaper to produce model with the reversing motor and simple, lightweight reduction gear instead of a full reciprocating transmission. The older ones were more American style in their mechanism, the later ones were based on Japanese machines which were flooding the Aussie market and undercutting Simpsons existing models.