Answering some questions ...
Hopefully, I can answer some of your questions.
Ben's right; the aluminum agitator went to red bakelite in the early 1950's when Maytag was in the "throws" of making their first automatic. The aluminum agitator was used from 1939 until the red bakelite. The black bakelite agitator switched in 1956 and the turquoise in 1966.
To separate the rollers in between wash days ... make sure machine is unplugged, release tension on rollers, place one hand in between top and bottom roller, lift up about an inch or so and with the other hand, turn the tension reset lever on the top ... like you were setting the tension. That will keep it in the "up" position.
To drop rollers the next wash day ... press and hold the release bar and turn the tension reset lever counter-clockwise. That will drop the top frame and you can then set the tension like you normally would!!
How do you drain the machine without a pump? Lower the drain hose into a floor drain or a bucket. If you are using a bucket, start to lift the hose prior to the bucket getting too full. A genuine Maytag drain hose was considered "no drip" (still kind of "drippy", however).
Getting the tub straightened out? Well ... I let it agitate for a long time using hot water and plain Tide to "soften" the aluminum ... you could smell the aluminum when I was draining the tub. As the tub was draining, I took a terry cloth and really rubbed the sides; you should have seen the aluminum stains on the rag! The hot water/Tide makes it more maleable to a gentle rubbing with a Brillo pad that has OxyClean in it; it worked really well, don't you think?
Nope, these machines don't arrive in this condition; I put a LOT of work into them. Labors of Love!!

Here's the pink E2L as I received it:
