Found a 1974 Ward's Signature Washer/Dryer set in Avocado!

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drh4683

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 11, 2010
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82
Location
Chicago western suburbs
Here's an estate sale find Wards Signature washer dry set in Avocado. The machines have late 1973 and early 1974 date codes. These were made by Borg Warner. They were still in service in the laundry room of the original home, but appear to have been hardly ever used and almost out of the box fresh still. I tested them out before disconnecting and everything was working well like it should. That clutch brake on these Borg Warner made washers will certainly startle you when they kick in! That loud SLAM as it resonates inside the washer housing. LOL! Glad I was able to save them as these are almost non-existent today.

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Very Handsome set

Thank you for the presentation. This is a very handsome looking set and the condition is really hard to believe. Did they go to the laundramat? Very good find of the Montgomery Ward brand.
 
Doug, thank you for saving these beautiful machines! I had the same set in Harvest Gold until 2015. The washer is truly awesome — the dryer may give you a bit of an exterior lint problem. The dryer itself is pretty fast, but the blower fan tends to push lint out around the gasket of the door (that was my experience anyway) and into the laundry area.

Have fun, love them in avocado green!!
 
 
I always thought Wards machines of that time were handsome units.  There was a Wards catalog store in the next town but I don't recall anyone who had a Wards set other than family acquaintances of which the Mr. worked at said catalog store (as I was told).  I briefly saw their set one time, it was older models, completely different console style.
 
When did they start going with the burp-o-lator pan on Signature models?  My mom's '67 had the rear-mounted lint filter instead of the pan.
 
Had a similar set later in the '70's. The washer was great for my dirty work clothes. I had the model that allowed me to select wash and spin speeds separately. I washed most other clothing on a gentle wash-normal spin setting. They came out great. The blower dryer, AKA positive air flow, was very speedy, but as mentioned, spewed lint into the room and all over its insides. It needed frequent dismantling and cleaning. 
 
Doug, congratulations on another amazing find!! I think these were possibly next to TOL since there's not an extra rinse option, but I could be wrong. If possible, I'd love to see close-ups of the panels so they're legible, the timer dials, and then the cycle chart under the lid. Do these have illuminated panels--fluorescent lights?
 
man,what awesome machines!Parents bought same design MW dryer in 1980-lasted 18yrs until motor seized:1/2 hp motor in the dryer(twice hp as other dryers of the era)was heavily loaded and would overheat and trip off if not cleaned of lint buildup about once a year.1980 version had ball-bearing fan hub,but a ~1974 might still have sleeve bearing fan hub that may need lubed.Only mechanical weakness of these washers that comes to mind is the pump-they are quite prone to debris in drain water stripping fins off the turbine pump impeller.1n 1979,got to experience a Laundromat full of Norges-what an awesome din these machines created :)
 
Burp-O-Lator Pan

My grandmother’s ‘62 Wards Signature (Norge made) washer had the burp up agitator/filter pan...I do not know the history of Montgomery Wards’ washing manufacturers other than Norge and Westinghouse, I believe. Someone please chime in if I am mistaken...
 
Congratulations! Amazing find. Anyone would be proud to have this set. One of my absolute favorite sets. That washer was no nonsense and did a fabulous job on any article of clothing. The dryer...was there any larger capacity available?!! We had both the washer and dryer and to this day remains the benchmark in my book. And in avocado to boot!
Please post videos, but all means!

Barry
 
Secret to making them LAST!

Let the washer stop spinning before raising the lid, that brake Will stop the tub, but its not really a good idea, that is the best washer for really nasty clothes ever devised, and the dryer has the biggest drum of any,thus it wrinkles clothes much less than any dryer ever made, the positive airflo dries faster too, overall the finest laundry equipment ever built, this washer will outwash anything ever built, and a bigger load too, these agitate almost twice as fast as Maytags do.
 
Yep, these washers really beat the heck out of the clothes. Things did come out clean and they spun the water out better than most too. They were noisy though and did a lot of clanging when spinning. The dryers were real linters as far as linting up the room they were in. Instead of like most dryers that sucked the air through the drum and out the exaust, they blew the air thru and the door seals were not that great and let a lot of air blow around the seal into the room with lint. The dryers were big in capacity, but not any bigger than the biggest Whirlpool made dryers. The dryers didn't stand up too well in service either. Norge made decent machines, but there were better choices back then.
 
never thought about it much...

but then was informed by a few guys who bought them, did so because it was the only one that had a 1 HP motor....

they wanted something that would handle heavy work clothes....and a good size capacity for its time....

probably accounted for the machine being loud....
 
Really beautiful set, congrats on the rare find. No visible effects of damp or humidity on the aluminum panels, lid, etc. is telling of an easy life and a dry laundry room. Norge/MW machines were hit and miss, either they ran forever or were gone in less than 10.

Norge did make a robust and effective washer that sounded like a hay baler when running. I had one in the garage for a while and in the summer with the door open, saw a couple of startled dog-walkers when the brake solenoid snapped. We live in a smallish valley, so the sound would echo around the neighborhood, sharing that Norgey goodness.

I had a '68 MW set, found behind Lowes, and used it for a short while in the basement. The washer started spewing oil into the water and the dryer was, as Tom so aptly described, slowly "flocking" the whole room like a Christmas tree, so I returned them to the scrap pile.
 
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