Frigidaire timeline

[combo52]

1961 Frigidaire Custom Imperial Washers & Dryers

The clam-shell name is good, but before I heard them called this name they always reminded me of a knights helmet that was closed for battle, yes they are a little strange looking when closed. And while these three years look similar when the 61s are open, just about every part of the control panels were different, and I am sure that not only was the 61s panel parts different, but I am sure it was costly to build and added little benefit for users.

 

[jetcone]

Phil

isn't yours a Custom Imperial?? I don't remember ever seeing buttons like the bank of buttons on the 1963 models. On a 1964 machine I have only seen  just those flip toggles.

 

Anybody??

 

 

 

[golittlesport]

1955

Hi Ken, your graphics are fabulously awesome! I love your rendering of the 55 set...my personal favorites. However, the all-black pulsator was only a two-ring in 1955. The 1956 set, that you so wonderfully illustrated in your first post on this thread, was the first year for the three-ring agitator in the Imperial model.

1955 was the first year Frigidaire had more than one model. That was the year they introduced the pulsamatic, economy model. It had a faster wash action and slower spin speed and contained a different pulsator without a detergent dispenser.

 

[philr]

Jon, mine are Just plain Deluxe models.

 

[kenmore71]

They are still very pretty!  And that's a 2nd generation filtrator…..on my "bucket" list.

 

[bajaespuma]

OK, back to the 1964 models...

Did Frigidaire coordinate the colors on the control panels to go with whatever color the cabinet porcelain was?

 

In other words, is this illustration accurate, or were all the panels shades of green and yellow like the ones I've seen so far in photographs?

 

[swestoyz]

As long as I've been poking around AW, I've never seen anyone post a 1964 Custom Imperial washer. I believe a dryer has shown up, but no washers.

The parts books do not indicate different colors for the buttons depending upon the cabinet color. I suspect they were the same colors as the 63 Custom Imperials.

Ben

 

[philr]

I've seen a post about a 1964 CI dryer but no picture of it. 

 

[combo52]

I would love to see a set of WCI-64s

I suspect that for some reason these did not sell as well as earlier and later Custom Imperials, in all the years I have been around appliances I have never seen either in the flesh.

 

[bajaespuma]

Well, then I must assume that this is the default palette (although I think whoever colorized them for Bewitched didn't do a bad job):

 

[bajaespuma]

...but wouldn't it be nice if somebody found a pair that looked like this:

 

[bajaespuma]

Yes, I have WAY too much time on my hands these days...

...and, I suppose, if Endora had had a pair of her own home laundry appliances with her up on Cloud 8, they'd look like this:

 

[norgeway]

Another Variation

Of 1964 models, When I was a kid we had some friends that had a 64 Custom Deluxe washer that was a Multimatic and had the Jet Action agitator???!

 

[kenmore71]

That is entirely possible.  The Jet-Action agitator was introduced DURING the 1964 model year.  Here is the permanent documentation from a 1965 Tech-talk Supplement.  This information was likely first printed in a tech-tips bulletin sometime in 1964. 

 

[kenmore71]

Next page:

 

[kenmore71]

And the last page.

Here are listed EXACTLY which serial number in production began incorporating the Jet Action agitator.

 

Also note that at the bottom are listed the 1964 models that had already incorporated the Rollermatic Drive mechanism.

 

Phil and Ben….perhaps this chart can help us with some reverse forensics?

 

[philr]

Mark, I have the same and I think Ben has it too (if he doesn't, I did send a scan of the very same page to him). That's why we think some models were produced with the Multimatic and Rollermatic transmissions simultaneously. Ben has a document that I don't have that he told me says more about the transmission change. I hope he could scan it for us!

 

Also, if I understand correctly, not all models were available in all colors... The model I have (WDR-64) was made only in white. The Custom Imperial was made only in white and copper (that means the colorized green set on Bewitched would have been coppertone!). It also means the white-colored WIA-64 had the Rollermatic transmission while the other ones still had the Multimatic at the time of the change of agitator.

 

The documents I have are covering both US and Canadian models and there's no information about Canadian models ever having the Rollermatic transmission. I know that Canadian models were also a bit different in configuration. For example, there was no equivalent of my US-built WDR-64 or DDF-64 here. Instead, there was a WCDRC-64 and a DCDFC-64. 

 

 

 

[bajaespuma]

Coppertone with a Jet-Action agitator, eh?

 

Even though I find these interesting, I'd rather have a 1965 TOL with the dispensers behind the door, the periwinkle blue tubs and the color coordinated panels. Frigidaires are amazing machines; I am looking forward to finding a Filtrator dryer. I am still regretting the 3 Frigidaires that we had throughout the late 20th that I wasn't able to keep.

 

[philr]

Beautiful illustration Ken! The 1964 Coppertone wasn't shaded and a bit lighter.

 

Here's a 1964 range that I started parting out...