My First Classic Washing Machine - A Hoover Top Loader!

[HooverJames]

Hi everyone,

My name is James and I was previously known as "HotpointJames" here. At the young age of 15 I have found my first item for my collection... a Hoover 1321A Top Loader circa 1960's! I haven't seen much about this machine here but it was built in Britain and it was my long deceased aunt's. Now she was from Antrim and it was passed down to my great granny's here in Co. Donegal. I have never known of it's existence until today! It's in ok condition, little bit rusty here and there but the tub is in immaculate condition, it appears that the chicken coop I found it in was very good at keeping the weather out and the heat in! I haven't taken any pics yet and I didn't get a look inside the workings either but I will restore it to working order and I will get any parts needed if need be. Pics tomorrow hopefully and I will test if it works too. Can anyone confirm when it was built and supply some pics of it in brocheres etc.

Model 1321A
Serial 132181211481

Regards, James.

 

[macboy91si]

Interesting

I'd love to see this machine, please post some photos

-Tim

 

[HooverJames]

Tim

Hi,

It's not located at my house but at my granny's house 2 miles up the road and I'll be there tomorrow to try it out and there will be pics tomorrow night. Does anybody know where I can source spares?

James.

 

[matchboxpaul]

Hiya James.

Congrats on a nice little find and starting your collection.

Judging from the serial number you wrote, your machine dates from December 1968, so is rapidly approaching its 42nd birthday.

Have a piccy of 1321A in a brochure, but the brochure isnt mine and was lifted from one of the yahoo groups. So thanks should go to the owner of the manual who originally scanned and uploaded it to the net.

Cheers
paul

 

[HooverJames]

Hi Paul,

I never thought I would meet people over an appliance LOL! Thanks, I was very thrilled to find it and when it's pristine again I will christen it "Tilly" after my deceased aunt I never met it came from. I think I should be thankful for my parents respecting my interest and my find, if it was coming to my own house they wouldn't be pleased LOL! But I've secured a place for it at the my gran's yard I found it in so everything is good and it should be dry and warm in a well sealed wooden shed until I buy my own place. It did leave a rusty patch where it was standing over the years but hopefuly it will work when it's plugged in tommorrow. The rubber pipes are not in good shape though and I need to find some as well as any other spares I need. Hopefully my local leccy shop will track some down. Thanks again Paul and I will be posting some pics tomorrow.

James.

 

[HooverJames]

Paint

Hi,

I have bought white appliance paint for touching up the body and silver for the lid. Will they tie in with the aging paintwork? What can I use on the dark grey skirt at the bottom? Black? I've checked underneath too and luckily no rust! The big switch on is tonight and hopefully not much will need replacing. I will take the back panel off soon.

James.

 

[electron1100]

Hoover White

Hello James

Well done on getting this great classic machine, i hope you enjoy using it.

You might find modern appliance white paint a bit too white, but try it by all means.

All the Hoover machines i have owned have all been slightly different shades of white to each other anyway, some times i go to halfords and get a close match using car paint.

if they are different then other than doing a complete re-spray not a lot you can do, unless you know a freindly paint spray shop who will match the colour for you

As regards parts Ebay is a good place to try, there is a place in Dublin who is a Hoover specialist called Carrickhoover centre i have spoken to the owner a few times and he knows his stuff.

Good Luck

Here is a link

http://www.goldenpages.ie/ms/ms/carrick_hoover_centre+dublin+ms-90012125.html

 

[vacbear58]

Rubber pipes

James
You will need to make sure that the pipe which runs along the back of the machine is intact and in place - or else make a substitute for it, or you will have water everywhere. The drain pump runs all the while with the motor and it depends on this hose being wedged in place to stop the draining action.

You will see this at the very end of link from our very own 74Simon - the machine is not the same as yours but the principle is the same. Finally make sure that the tub is filled right up to the fill line and in particular that the the pulsator is COMPLETELY covered, otherwise you will find that there in another way entirely to empty about 1/2 the water out of the tub.

Good luck and enjoy!
Al

 

[vacbear58]

Paul's Brochure ...

Is interesting because it shows the transition between models. The spin drier has the later and more modern squared off styling whilst the washer is the older rounded style - I wonder how they displayed the Hoover Twosome which was a means of linking the two separate units (washer and spin drier) with a bridging piece to make a twin tub
Al

 

[HooverJames]

Very Happy...

Hi,

I never thought this machine would be popular with you lot considering it's a basic model. I'm planning to start painting tomorrow. To me, white is white and silver is silver. It's not really something to cry about if the shade turns out wrong. All that matters is that I've found it and it's in ok condition from what I can see. No big turn on tonight I'm afraid but it will be soon. The pipe at the rear of the tub is fitted and it appears to be ok, there is a second one too. The only other pipe I need is the longer one with the tap attachment (I think) there was one but the rubber was cracked. I never thought I would come across something like this considering all the good stuff is on ebay.co.uk! Thanks for the links and as promised here are some pics! Focus on the machine and don't mind the surroundings LOL! Tell me what you lot think about the condition etc. By the way, the back panel screws are either a bit tight or too rusty, will WD40 do the trick? The thing inside the tub is a draining board I think? It was inside but I don't know if it came with it.

James.

 

[HooverJames]

1321A

Front

 

[HooverJames]

1321A

Back

 

[HooverJames]

1321A

Basic Dial

 

[HooverJames]

1321A

Tub

 

[74simon]

Hey James,

Well done on your first find, nice that it's a family heirloom too!

Hope you've kept the fill/empty pipe, they're no longer available although the one that runs across the back is. It's probably still watertight, I use Armor All plastic protector on mine to help preserve them, and once it's had hot water run through it, it'll hopefully get more supple. With persistence you might find a new-old stock one. Do you know when the machine was last used?

Try polishing it with T-cut before you repaint it, then you can probably get away with just touching the paintwork up. Might also be worth mixing a little black enamel paint into the appliance paint to get it nearer the original shade.

Also, safety! If your gran's home doesn't have an RCD at the fusebox, you can pick up ones that plug in for a fiver or so - they act fast enough to prevent electric shock should a problem occur. WD40 should help the screws, when you've gotten the back off you can check to make sure nothing has seized up.

The 'draining board' is actually the lid for the wash tub, it slides under the brackets on either side of the tub at the back (see the brochure picture of the 0321). The reason for two lids is that the outer one can be used as a worktop when the machine isn't being used, and on the wringer machines it fits onto the back for wrung washing to land on - handy because Hoovers were too low for the wash to be wrung directly into the sink. When you empty it, keep the lid on, otherwise you'll get soaked as once the water gets down to the impeller it sprays everywhere, like Al says!

This is a fun little machine, it has a fixed motor so is more vigorous than the later square cabinet machines and will hopefully scrub up nice! You know you're going to have to find a spin dryer to go with it now!

Al - for some reason, the square cabinet ST wasn't introduced until 1971, I believe the corresponding spinners came out with the squared up TTs in '68.

Si

 

[vacbear58]

Spinners

Simon,

I think the square spinners were a bit later than 1968, as my Mum got a (new) Spinarinse around Christmas 1970 (I think! - maybe 1971) and it was the rounded style with the charcoal grey plastic lid. The squared off version appeared not long after she got it - no doubt others will have the exact date.

James - just had an idea if you cannot get a fill hose to attach onto the drain hose to go into a sink or bucket. Get a plastic piece as is used to extend a washing machine drain hose as use it as a link between the short drain hose and another hose - for example one from a scrap machine. Take the short hose with you (Simon is absolutely correct it will be much more supple once some hot water is run through it) so you don't waste your money buying something that does not fit.

Your machine is not THAT basic, the most basic would have no heater and no switch - just switched on and off at the wall socket

Al

 

[HooverJames]

Inner Lid

Is this mean't to be bent up at one end? Yes my Gran has a RCD unfortunately I'm not allowed to turn it on yet but there might be some luck tomorrow. I kept the longer pipe too even though it's in 4 pieces LOL! Would it be possible to melt the four pieces together again? I'll sort that out somehow but the main priority is painting it and if it works. I wouldn't say I'd have much luck in finding a matching Spinarinse whatever model that would be. If I lived in England I'd have better luck. I already have enough bother with my parents with one machine and it's nowhere near them so another machine is not a welcome thing. Maybe I could buy one from a fellow Hoover fanatic who is short of space when I'm a little older.

James.

 

[HooverJames]

IT WORKS!!!

Well I had done a little painting today, the body has a coat on and needs another, the lid has been repainted silver and turned out lovely. I took off the back panel and no wires were rusted and motor was slightly seized but freed easily. The tire on the pump pulley was cracked and broken but I will glue it together and it will be fine. The big switch on occured tonight too and the motor was great and the pulsator worked but with a few squeals here and there, nothing a little WD-40 can't solve. I'm hoping to put on my first wash tomorrow night. I think I've found a replacement fill/drain hose, is this it?

http://cgi.ebay.ie/HOOVER-HOTPOINT-..._Washing_Machines_Dryers_Parts_Accessories_ET

 

[bobofhollywood]

automatic washer ?

Does your washer tell you that it is an automatic washer?

 

[keymatic]

Hoover Brochure....
That looks familar...LOL..I think it maybe the one i posted to Twin Tub Emporium years ago.
Keith

 

[vacbear58]

Fill hose

James,

Sorry to say, not quite and actually its not a Hotpoint at all - well not Supermatic anyway. The straight end should have a ribbed connector moulded into it so that it can be firmly inserted into the short hose on the back of the machine. You could always adopt the solution I mentioned above, but surely you could get a hose locally at much lower cost - there must surely be a Hoover dealer reasonably close to you, unless its VERY rural Ireland
Al

 

[keymatic3203]

welcome James

Hi James,

welcome to aw.org, and well done with saving this washing machine, you'll soon be enjoying the famous hoover boiling action. If your out and about finding repair shops it would be worth asking for any replacement pump tyres, I've had no success glueing them, but maybe a small flat vacuumm belt might be a tempory fix. Either way it would be well worth oiling both the pulsator and the pump bearing shafts, they both have a bleed hole in the bearing housing.

Well I didn't know that all the body shells didn't go over to the sharper design at the same time, I should have studied the manuals better lol, so proves you can always learn some thing.
I was probably engrossed in the intricassies of the keymatic clutch spring mechanism lol. I had always assummed that things all squared off around 67 when the 3312L and wide bodied keymatics came out.

Talking of colours though, when you start taking things apart and see the paintwork where the light hasn't got to, the colour is a brighter white than we may imagine.

All the best with your restoration, keep us posted of the progress, and four minutes should be quite enough for most loads lol.

Mathew

 

[HooverJames]

RE: Fill Hose

Yeah I realised that, I'm currently chatting to the person that "electron1100" recommended. I'm also contacting my local appliance retailer who stock ancient Hopoint parts so no reason why not to find a hose there. I will upload some pics of it's repainted condition when it's done tomorrow. I'm also considering moving it to my favourite aunts warm and large garage so I have options to expand LOL! The cabinets on those Spinarinses are squared compared to my 1321A were the models from before different? "bobofhollywood" it's semi-auto like a twin tub.

James.

 

[HooverJames]

Mathew

Thanks for the warm welcome.

James.

 

[keymatic3203]

Oh James

A warm and large garage, do they realise they have already lost the garage for ever, the number of people here who've said I've got one or two and thats it, only to have ten plus a few months later lol, be warned.

When your chatting to these spares shops ask for any old brochures etc, or any other things that may interest you, these sorts of paces are closing down all around us these days, so go for it.

Mathew

 

[alr2903]

Nice machine and i always love it when there is literature, with handwritten prices written on the brochure. Add a real sense of history. alr2903

 

[HooverJames]

Update!

I'm 75% done with my repaint. It turned out ok for an amatuer. I did a full body repaint instead of just touching up here and there. The lid turned out great too. I got a little paint on the badge and the seal though so any ideas on getting that off? Also I have a little electrical problem. The motor and heater works when the dial is on the heat position but the motor won't work on the motor position. I hope it's just a little loose wire. The paint worked wonders and since it's acrylic enamel, any drips just sand off. I'm for now run out of white but I can do the black skirt tomorrow. Then it should be good looking to most Hoover fan's (paint texture shouldn't matter) It looks good on the camera though.

James.

 

[vacbear58]

Switch

James
As far as I know only the heater should work at "Heat" and the motor only at "Motor". It might be worth checking out the connections to see if it has been bodged at some time - it should be fairly simple to work them out.. Does the switch clearly move from position to position, locking firmly into place at each setting or is it a bit loose & wooly?
Al

 

[HooverJames]

RE: Switch

Yeah you're probably right. I'll get my uncle to check it out. All the wiring is intact I think it's just the contacts on the dial. It clearly moves and locks with a little click.

James.

 

[HooverJames]

95% Done!

Hi,

The paint is 95% finished and it's turning out well. Just a little more white touch ups to do and it's cosmetically done. However I got a little white on the badge which has survived well for 41 years with minor unoticable scratches. Will white spirit get the acrylic spray paint off it without damging it because I'm really proud of that badge. I rang my local appliance parts shop and they had the machine listed so there is a chance of getting parts there. They have a pile of NOS anyway behind the counter like a pile of ancient Hotpoint parts and some Hoover parts from what I remember. It will really look splendid when it's finished. If anybody has a rounded Spinarinse to match and they are willing to sell and ship over tell me LOL.

James.