Coin-op Bendix rescued!

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travis

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Jun 29, 2007
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I did finally go pick up the coin-op Bendix pair that was on CL last month in Minneapolis. Both need work, but look pretty nice. I can only imagine what everyone thought when they saw me driving down the road. :-)

11-21-2007-13-48-27--Travis.jpg
 
They're on pallets in the back of my truck. I am hunting for some guys to lug them inside.
 
Wow, they look great Travis!
Did you find out any history on them?
I was curious about when they were last in use.
Also, what is the price on the coin slot?
I am sure you will have them running in no time!
Have a great Thanksgiving!
Brent
 
Great units!

Just the other day I saw some dude cruising along in a flatbed with a couple old washers strapped to the back. I thought "Gee, I wonder if he's on the vintage washer forums?"
 
I believe they are #6 and #7. The fellow I got them from said his family had a laundromat in 1953-1970 something I think. He had these two older Bendix machines. He also had 15-20 newer Philco-Bendix washers that he wanted to get rid of.

I have wanted a Bendix since they're so pretty. There's a home model Bendix in St. Louis somewhere that a co-worker has mentioned to me. It's in his friends house bolted down. I think I need that one too since it's much closer than MN.
 
Travis - these are just too cool. And what a rare treat that they appear to be in pretty good shape from the photos! Looking forward to some more shots once you've got #6 and #7 settled down. Thanks for posting - what a trip!

(BTW - what route did you take - happen to travel through Waterloo on 218?)

Ben
 
Jet, Thank you for the compliment. I think I had better rethink my need to travel that far for anything. The trip going is always much more exciting. On the way back, there's way too much time to wonder why I did it. I am looking forward to Chris coming over and helping me get them running.

I don't really know when they were taken out of service. I was told that one of them has a tag that it was serviced or reconditioned. I have no idea what year or whether it was used after that.

The back panel and the lower painted parts need to be repainted and have dents knocked out of them. The drum of the one that I opened looked nice. They're still on my truck so I must look like total white trash driving around the city.

Ben, Yes I did drive 218 and past Waterloo. I should have looked you up I guess. I also should have talked to Robert, but I was a mess trying to get around Minneapolis.

Greg, The soap dispensers are both missing something. There's basically a round hole that you dump soap into. There's a coin chute that goes down the backside. I bet it dumped in a box that would have been behind a row of these. In other words, I don't have it. The controls are simple. The timer control could be moved by a screwdriver. There are a couple push buttons for water temperature I think. There's nothing fancy about these. Put your clothes in, dump the soap in the top, and put your dimes in. They do look rather fun to watch though. :-)
 
Coin box

Possibly they were intended to be mounted in an opening in a wall, with the back side of the wall being a non-public area which would contain the utilities. I recall that older laundires often had elaborate schemes such as this to hide all of the utilities for a cleaner look. If the coin chute goes to the back, it may have been intended that the owner just use a cardboard box or whatever they had laying around.
 
Why are these treasures always so far away???

What a wonderful find. And the fact that you say there are Philco-Bendix machines there, too, for the taking. Oh how I wish it were closer to North Carolina.

I remember a Bendix home laundry from 1956. Since pumps were what gave the most trouble, these Bendixes had no pumps. There was a spout in the bottom back of the machine. When it was time to drain, a solenoid switch opened the chute and the water dumped into a trough behind the row of machines. That made for a quick drain of the water.

You've got the perfect partner to help get the machines going. I wish he was closer to North Carolina, too. I have 2 Bendixes that need work.

Good luck. And congratulations!!!

Jerry Gay
 

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