Kenmore used the gold Vari-Flex for non Lady-K machines, and the white ones for the Ladies.
What you noticed is very interesting because these differences appear to have happened in evolution and Sears kept quiet about it. I do not recall Sears ever specifying a more potent version of Vari-Flex over previous ones, or even mentioning this change. Does anyone else?
I am fairly sure that the gold one you see here is one of the first of this agitator. This, to me anyway, would make the machine it is installed in even that much more cool! This agitator debuted close to the time that the Roto-Flex use was ending, and the Kenmore 900 variations on the '66 Lady K (of which there were at least five or six versions which were similar but not identical, starting in 1968 or so) came along right at this time. The second 900 sub model used the first of the Vari-Flexes. The Lady Kenmore washer, in which the white agitator is installed, is a 1970 model if I recall. My strong suspicion is that Sears realized quickly, once the agitator was out in service, that it needed some tweaking, and shortly thereafter the extended fin version came out.
In order to accomplish these modifications, molds must be removed from service, channels cut into the metal, then polished, re-engineered if slides or ejector pins were involved near the cutting, then tested and re-installed in molding machines. This usually takes weeks for mold mods such as what you see here. This may explain why one of the Kenmore 900 derivatives of the 1966 Lady K was offered with the Super Roto-Swirl agitator.
Sears did the same thing with the Penta-Swirl agitator a few years later. They added five small, supplemental 'mini-vanes' in between the main ones, but never called any attention to this, not that I've seen anyway, and they certainly did not change the name of the agitator or create a new version.
VERY VERY interesting, and an excellent catch SRSwirl!!!
Gordon[this post was last edited: 11/16/2012-14:42]
