Mark XII funny business?

[captainmoody]

I ran into the original owners son of my recently acquired Whirlpool Imperial today, I asked him if he had or knew where the serial plate went.
What he told me I couldn't really believe but maybe someone here could verify.
He told me his uncle owned an appliance store and gave the Imperial to his dad in the early 70's as it was actually supposed to be destroyed and the serial tag sent back to Whirlpool for credit.
I nodded and thanked him, not wanting to look like I disbelieved his story.
One thing that is also interesting as well, he gave me two owner's manuals for it! One with the model number LTA-9920 which has what looks like the 1968 control panel in the ad pictured in the other thread. The other is Model number LVA-9920 and looks like my washer.
Sooo... What I am trying to figure out is did Whirlpool ever do the "destroy machine and send back tag" thing? Maybe my machine is one of those?
The other is how do I figure out the year from a model number?
Is the LTA-9920 a 1968 and the LVA-9920 a 1970? I in fact know the date codes on major components in my unit are no newer than mid '69 but that is about it...

 

[lightedcontrols]

He was correct. Many manufacturers will ask the dealer to destroy the machine and send them the plate for credit. Mark

 

[gansky1]

LTA would be 69, LVA would be 1970. Glad you found the manuals, now you'll be able to care for those fine washables in your laundry basket the Whirlpool way - with a "handwash" 3-speed motor!

 

[jasonl]

Destroy the machine

Why on earth would they do that?

 

[Unimatic1140]

Dwight yes Whirlpool I believe still does this today, if you are a dealer and remove and return the model/serial plate for items in warranty that cannot be fixed easily.

 

[captainmoody]

Wow! Thanks, I guess he was right.. Now it makes more sense why that was missing.
Looks like 1970 would be the model year as well.
Thanks to everyone that helped me on this mystery!
I am now looking for more vintage machines at my local scrap yard as well as estate sales. If I spot any more, I will post them here for anyone interested.
Heck, maybe even a Michigan get-together could be had at some time as well!

 

[jasonl]

Dwight,

Remember this well...

KENMORE 800...

 

[goatfarmer]

A lot of the appliances in our home were factory scrap outs,that my dad fixed,and kept for the family.Just wrote the model # on the back with a magic marker.

kennyGF