Maytag Hillclimber... Yes, I said Maytag...

[redcarpetdrew]

I came across a picture of a Maytag Hillclimber. This belongs to the former owner of the shop and he still displays it. Sometimes it is on display at the National Car Museum here in Reno and sometimes in shows/parades. If I remember right, it was called the 'Hillclimber' as it was the first car to make it up a steep hill with a full load of people on board (although it WAS in reverse...)

RCD

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Here's a little more info for those who want to learn more about this neat little Maytag car.

RCD

http://www.maytagclub.com/page-30.htm

 

[sudsmaster]

Interesting little car

Even more interesting is the Maytag company silent film that is shown on the main club page as linked below.

It shows early Maytag washers, including a pre-1900 horizontal access top loading model, which was probably decades before its time.

The film also has great sections on the casting and finishing of the aluminum washer tub and the iron stand and wringer mechanism, as well as the manufacture of the various gears and pulleys and their heat treatment.

I also noted the relative absence of various health and safety measures that are the rule in today's manufacturing. For example, workers directly exposed to the fumes from zinc plating, and from the spray painting of the finished washers. Not to mention how they carried white-hot molten aluminum and iron in buckets to pour into casting molds. I have to wonder how many of those workers died early because of diseases they caught from this sort of exposure.

 

[tuthill]

Up it goes!

 

[swestoyz]

There is a Maytag Car on display at the local museum (Grout) here in Waterloo. One of Waterloo's lesser claim to fames is being the location where the Maytag automobile was built. I haven't see the car in years but plan to stop by this summer to snap some photos. As a kid I recall my dad pointing the car out while going through the exhibits.

I also noted the relative absence of various health and safety measures that are the rule in today's manufacturing. Hence, the reason why the many restrictions are in place today ;-) An aluminum plant in Fairfield IA was closed by the EPA in the 80's - not due to the current practices of the time, but what was left in the ground due to the non-environmentally friendly practices used at the turn of the century.

 

[geoffdelp]

Oh my; that is a rarity, indeed!!

How wonderful to see one. Wouldn't that be a hoot to drive??