Field trip!! Tucson group visits appliance yard in Phoenix

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A trip though the junk yard

Thanks for the vist through the appliance grave yard. It is so funny that you guys picked the same model to bring back from the dead,as the one Lighted controls posted a while back!
At least none of you were electricuted while running that 61 KM. If we would try running a machine that had sat outside for years in the wet Midwest we would have been FRIED LOL!
It is very kewl that you are going to restore this machine. The early WP/KM machines have a lot of personality. You will love it! :)

Rick
 
LOL!!

I know, Rick, I thought that was funny too...but I decided it was too much fun, and the light-up control panel was impossible to pass-up.

Not to mention the fact that I'm a manual lint filtration freak, and the "self-cleaning" concept just makes me feel weird.

So, this machine covers all the bases. It's torn apart down to the brass tacks now; I'm awaiting some parts from Sears and a trip to get some RTV silicone...then we should be back to good mechanically.

Wait till you see the restoration pics...ew! :-)

Roger and Ross (and my friend Nate--yes, same name, I'm not schizophrenic) have been wonderful in helping me to get it figured out and overcome the various obstacles that parts of the machine invariably pose :-). Not to mention Robert (unimatic) and his great Lady K restoration pics (which I can basically follow verbatim on this model, and his timely e-mail advice when I've had to cry for help :-)

Should be fun :-)
 
I love the manual clean filters too. You know it is working,and I like the waterfall.
I printed out Roberts 57 Kenmore restoration pictures and used that as a repair manual. It is very helpful,plus if you think your machine needs work!! Well.... LOL!
I was wondering about the 3rd party "Nate" :) Thanks you!

Rick
 
The match to my childhood dryer

This is the Kenmore 700. Looks almost like an 800 but with a flat control panel, no light, and limited options.

We had the dryer. I have seen a matched set of 700s once in my life as well as a coveted 800 set.

My pick would've been this one.
 
Great pic's

I used to love those old recirculating filters myself. To a small kid, those old KM washers were what washday was all about.
The serrated cap on the old bakelite straight vanes and the rythmic sloshing and splashing of those old workhorses is somehting i will never forget.

Bring back filter flo's, waterfalls and burp-up's. After all what is so scuzzy about lint balls-they"re actually clean right?

Pat
 
KM Dryer with the sliding contro cover

My dad has that same dryer in working condition after 38 years. By chance you did'nt see the matching washer? I would love to roam that place myself just to look at all the machines. Thanks for the picture tour.
 
Nate,
I just found the pictures of our trip tp Phoenix. You did another superior job with putting them all together. It brought back how much fun we had that day. Thanks again for all the excellent work.
Roger
 
What a Blast!

You guys are so much fun for doing this, then posting it on here so we all can see.

Of course, I am partial to the Maytag line!!!!!!! I want them all, crippled, ugly, chipped, rusty, it dosent matter. OMG.

I am coming to Pheonix! Have to experience this myself.

Only know of one other place right near Opelousas Louisiana like this.

Steve
 
I am totally speechless (not)!

Guys.....

I have never seen a more entertaining photo album! Lots o' laughs and amazement! What a fantastic time you must of had! This place makes the appliance dept. at Best Buy and Lowe's look like a flea circus!

Nate:

Good luck on restoring the 1961 Kenmore. In some ways you have your work cut out for you, but at least she agitates and suds (all the important stuff)!

Keep us posted! :-)

Venus
 
Jason, the Kenmore 700 had "Alphabet" washing. That Frog-eyed Kenmore dryer is the console match to Unimatic's frog-eyed Kenmore.

That Kenmore dryer with the flip plastic door on the console I believe was touted as the All-American dryer--it was supposed to go with any washer. My neighbors had that dryer up until about5 years ago and aws still working.

Hmm I bet Roger could resurrect a working Maytag out of a comination of some of those found on Maytag row (I'm actually drooling over those "tags)

And there were no Frigidaires to be found?
 
Nate that was a wonderful presentation!! Isn't that junk yard a fun place to go? We were there at the end of March and had such a great time just wandering from row to row. It is like a trip down memory lane. It looks like everyone had a great time. It seems so strange as we went to this yard two years ago and there were a lot of machines but nothing very exicting. I just wonder where this guy is finding all these neat machines. Thanks again for sharing. Terry
 
Wow guys, that looks FUN!!!! Sure wish they had a place like that here--I may have to pay Nate & everyone a visit, and check out the junkyard while up there!

Nate, congratulations and good luck on the Kenmore!! Hopefully the outer tub & centerpost are in great shape with little to no rust/hard water stains!
 
Nate Does It Again

Hi Nate, as always, you do such a great job with posting the pictures and captions. It was a great day and fun was had by all.
Thank you for all your hard work.

Ross
 
ROAD TRIP!!!

I can feel one coming on. Looks like a lot of fun, and Nate, as usual, a great job of putting together another photo album for all of us to enjoy. Thanks.
 
Thanks for the great pics guys. Terry that runs the shop there is a great guy. I always stop by and see him when Im out at Barrett-Jackson weekend in January. I have several machines that came from him and Rich Craft (trainguy) has a couple that I brought back. Tim (timinator) from Elyria is getting the 1960 GE dryer that I brought back from there to go with the washer that Im selling him so he has a matched set. The pics brought back lots of good times Ive had out there in that yard..........
 
Great pictures and I love the captions. Perhaps you all should come up with a khaki safari type outfit with the matching safari hat. Someone can get an old van or jeep and paint it in zebra stripes... Appliance Safari's.com
 
Visit!!

I think you all should definitely drop by and we can visit the Phoenix yard--wouldn't it be fun to have a field day there?

A few consolidated answers to posted questions:

Yes, there were Frigidaires there, but only pre-and-post WCI 1-18s (it's so annoying to see a nice 1-18, open the lid, and see a WCI agitator!). They had some exceptionally old 1-18s, but time and the sun had been extraordinarily unkind to the simulated-woodgrain control panels, even though the interiors were rather good (most Jet-Cones had all cones intact). I consider the 1-18 control panel to be one of the hardest to restore, due to the woodgrain (at least I can have glass or Plexiglas reconstructed!). But they had some old ones that still had the script "Jet-Action" insignia on the lower-left, and some with windowed lids.

The only solid-tub machine lurking was a Hotpoint Silhouette, with the patented "gorgeous but useless" agitator :-) I was surprised to only find the one solid tub, but since Kenmores, Whirlpools, Filter-Flo GEs and Frigidaire 1-18s seemed to rule the West, I'm not overly amazed.

Thanks to all of you for the kind words--I'm glad you like the picture compilations :-P I certainly enjoy making them!

As a general rule, the machines that are out in the yard (if you obtain permission to get one) go for probably around $50-100; maybe more, maybe less, depending on what it is, how rare it is, and how good/bad of shape it's in. You know the drill--as we all chanted the mantra with the Rollermatic set, "It's worth whatever you're willing to pay for it." The owner is very nice and extremely reasonable, and I didn't feel shorted paying $100 for my '61, especially since it was mechanically intact--just a lot of cleaning and repainting to do (and a lot of centerpost rust repair--but more on that later).

The really rare stuff--including a (was it a '61? I forgot--maybe Ross, Roger or Scott can help me out) slant-front washer and a similar-vintage Lady K went upward of $500, but that's because you're purchasing something that's A) almost pristine and B) an item that the owner is fundamentally keeping for himself. So you kind of see how it all works out. If you're willing to apply some elbow grease and aren't afraid to tear things apart (gently), you can get a good deal on a back-lot machine.

And yes, Venus, Sears or Lowe's is kind of anticlimactic now :-P LOL

I'm really grateful to the owner, though, for keeping a place like this--it's a real rarity and a definite treat to explore. As he said, he's happier selling some of these to our club members, as they end up cherished, restored, and in good hands.
 
WOW!!!

Looks like you guys had a great time! Thanks so much for the photos. Now about that Hotpoint solid tub! I would be the LAST person to suggest this (HAHAHA!) but you really SHOULD get that Hotpoint set! Not very many in the club has a set of Hotpoints....and the solid tub washer.......well!!!!! Mark
 
Roto204
I usually pass by that place when I'm down in Phoenix, which as of late, has been about every 2-3 months. My family still lives down there. It looks like it was a fun trip!

On your next excursion, you may want to snoop around the Glendale/Peoria area for used appliance stores. Sun City had a lot of Fridigaire machines. And as they were just used during the Snow Bird months, I've still seen some when I go to the estate sales with one of my sisters. I don't have the room to bring one back, but they are out there.

Also, if memory serves me, Buckeye Road, along with Washington used to have a lot of used appliance stores. There was a place on South Central, past the Salt River that had used appliances, but last time I was in there a few years ago, they were starting to restore them and priced pretty high.
 
Hi Michael, Mark, and Darrel,

We'll have to go looking at those other possibilities--thank you for the info! :-)

Mark, yes, you probably noticed the Silhouette dryer and washer could be had together...but gosh, the dryer was in better shape. The entire control panel on the washer would need redoing, and with the fits my '61 Kenmore is sure to give me in that respect, I can't *imagine* redoing the Silhouette's huge, wing-like control surface. Plastics just don't do well outside here--especially the generally weaker, more brittle, and less sun-resistant plastics of yesteryear.

It would be neat, though!

Darrel, no, I didn't get a shot of the slant-front inside the store, alas. It seems to be the mate to Jetcone's dryer, though. But the boot on it is toast, and I wouldn't know where to find another or attempt to cobble one.
 
Nate, regarding that slant-front westy, and calling it a match to Jon's dryer, I have seen that washer in a pic from a former member who had taken photos at that same yard. At that time, the washer was still outside and yes, I do remember the toasted boot.
 

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