It's Pre-War!

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What a wonderful machine, congrats on your find. So I'm guessing the ones I've seen ads for, with the drop down door, are even before this one?

Fixerman, we did enter the war on 12/7/41, and I don't know, but I'm thinking that there were probably still various things available at least earlier in 1942 that had been manufactured prior to everything being switched over to war production.
 
Well technically WWII started in 1939, but as for the US anything produced here before 12/7/41 is considered pre-war for us. This model is a 1941 model, the last of the machines that Bendix produced before its factory was converted into wartime production.
 
Absolutely Lovely!

A very nice find Robert I can't wait to see it in person. You just know that with that Streamline Label it has to get the wash cleaner than the regular label!!!

I 'm with you Scott pre war here was before we entered the war. My Uncle was a fighter pilot for the RAC and he was shipped over to Britain in 1939 and started runs then. So for Canada pre war would have been 1938.
We were politically "neutral" like Switzerland up to Dec 7 1941. So this counts as prewar in my book.

jet
 
Wonderful find Robert!! Just beautiful. One would wonder when it was last in use. So neat that she saved all the instructions and material too. Another great find!! Terry
 
New Bendixes

Robert:

You never cease to amaze me with your finds! Hopefully your new treasures will prevent Austin from even thinking about getting rid of his '47.
 
"Nice bendixes robert although they kinda look the same :-("

Huh? That's because cosmetically, they ARE the same, but differ in little design aspects and features. Is that supposed to be a disappointment? Grow up...
 
...aaah, Okay, that clears it up for me....not the war issue, but the "Looks the same" issue. I figured what you had was a washer and dryer pair. It is in fact two different washers...Groovey!
 
Bendix front loaders

Robert the new treasure looks great!Really nice find there. Your on a roll here... Keep it up!!(that bouncing basket Apex could be next) Are you going to have "twins" or eBay one of them?

Rick
 
Hi everyone, no the Bendix on the left is my 1947 Bendix, which I completely restored and painted about five years ago. It runs wonderfully as was seen at the wash-in. The Bendix on the right is the new pre-war Bendix. I took it apart tonight, replaced the drive belt, the fill hose and checked the tranny oil which was fine. After priming the pump with hot water I ran the motor and it smoked for a bit when first started, so I ran it for a few minutes without the belt on and it loosened up enough to run it with the drive belt on to turn the tub. After a few more minutes everything was just fine. Strange but the fill flume was completely blocked with hard water deposits, I mean so blocked that not one drop was coming through. After a few minutes of chiseling I got through and was able to clean out the flume. It appears now the only issue is a small drip at the door seal and that is quite common with Bendix machines of this vintage.

I definitely don't need two of them, so I consider this earlier Bendix a refinement of my collection and I do plan on finding a good home for my '47 Bendix. But first I want to make sure the '42 Bendix is in as good shape as it appears to be. Underneath its in amazingly good shape, the pump and motor look brand new!

Check out some of these latest picks...

http://automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/...Unimatic1140.jpg&dir=/COLLECTIONS/_1942Bendix
 
Oh I forgot to mention that underneath the outer tub it is stamped Dec 1941. Can't get any more "pre-war" than that. Its my new Pearl Harbor machine!
 
Congratulations!

YAY! Wow, much better shape than mine was/is!! I wish mine had the drain hose extension and timer support for when I had the cabinet off; would make it MUCH easier to work on. Even though the fill flume was clean, the brass water valve didn't work and I had to replace all of the worn, cracked original hose. Thanks for the drive belt number; I'm probably due for a new belt for my '47 (as well as new wire and a trip to the body shop for a little pink, sunny yellow, or turquoise...something I'm going to tackle this summer). Also, what can I do about the leaky drain valve and foreign object trap seals?

Interesting how it fills from the front rather than the "hidden fill" on the '47! And is it just my imagination, or does it fill higher than the post-war machines? I tweaked the float switch on mine to the original water level; it's way below the door and not nearly as splashy (though still VERY fun).

And down the road, if you are in desperate need of a new home for your '47...I definitely wouldn't mind having a pair of Baby Bendixes...:)
 
I forgot to mention...75% done on mine

Here's my '47 5 months later...after a much-needed good cleaning, a new water valve, new hose, the inital "rust-proofing" on the cabinet and all of the logos re-installed. It does have some denting and pitting in the sides, but like I said this is preliminary.

What's left is a new belt, drain valve & trap seals, wire, and the REAL paint job is coming later...

2-24-2005-23-06-20--westytoploader.jpg
 
Hi Austin, I was thinking the exact same thing, the Pre-war is much easier to work on because of the timer support is connected to the outer tub as opposed to the top assembly.

As for the trap seal, there is an adjustment on the lever to make it tighter, otherwise you will need to make a new seal with closed cell foam, I did this for my Whirlpool combo and it works great.

As for the leaky drain value (water slowly goes down the drain during the wash cycle), the pre-war seems to seal just fine. But on my '47 I had lots of trouble with it so what I did was I opened the drain fully and I installed a Kitchen Aid dishwasher drain valve in line with the discharge hose. I took the leads from the pump solenoid and connected them to the KA drain valve and problem solved. The KA drain valve sounds exactly the same as the Bendix pump valve so no one would ever know the difference.
 
Wow Austin you '47 looks Great! I remember what the poor thing looked like when you first got it, you've done a beautiful job!
 
Hi Greg, yes the fill flume goes into the outer tub and around to the front, there is no tolerance for any error, its a real tight fit, but somehow they made it work! I didn't notice that longer soak and cast-iron tranny until you said that. Super cool!
 
Yay! It even has the orginal Good Housekeeping Seal! It is hard to believe the wonderful condition this machine is in. Robert I would love to hear more about the manison you found it in and any information the owner had for you about the machine.. Was there a dryer in the house? Questions Questions..Thanks for sharing. Terry
 
And in case anyone else was wondering

Here's a before shot...not for the faint of heart.

I'm REALLY glad I rescued it...didn't think it was in that bad of shape when I bought it, now I look at it and get a reality check!

2-24-2005-23-15-9--westytoploader.jpg
 
Hi Terry, there was never a dryer in the house, there was a 1950 Maytag J2L wringer washer and an early 50's Maytag Dutch Oven. The new owners were completely gutting and restoring this 1923 house.
 
Speaking of Labels

Robert is that a 60 some odd year old "Good Housekeeping "label on the window your Bendix? It sure is a nice washer. alr2903.
 
Bendix similarities

So Austin, did you ever solve the water valve wiring dilemma you had?

Do all 3 of these machines have Delco motors?
 
I'm pretty sure they all used Delco motors.

Arthur, yes that's is the original Good Housekeeping symbol sticker that was placed on the window of all early Bendix machines. Gyromatic John's late 1930's Bendix also has it on the window...

1938Bendix.jpg
 

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