My new Imperial!

[moparguy]

My new 1957 RCA Whirlpool Imperial range! It even has the "Bar-B-Kewer" meat oven, "Thermo-trol" automatic burner, and built in "Grid-All"... and great dial controls with "Guide-Line" indicators for it all. I have the original owners manual and a sales sheet that they kept with it, but unfortunately missing the meat thermometer that came with the stove. It was very lightly used so is amazingly clean. So it is my Christmas in February!

 

[westingman123]

<fanning self> That's just..just..oh, there aren't words! How about fabulous. Congrats!

 

[toploader55]

Good Lord !!!

What a Beautiful "Beast" of a stove. I Love it.

But that Baby seems Huge. The Control Panel looks like a Dash Board from a 50's Luxery Liner Autombile.

And Very Sparkley too.

 

[a440]

Fabulous!!! Looks Mint!
The ovens look huge!
Brent

 

[tomturbomatic]

Beautymous

Show them the great big spiral element under the Grid-All.

 

[firedome]

That is SWEET!

I'm a range guy, and have never seen that model...BODACIOUS!

 

[kevin313]

OMG!

That is INCREDIBLE!! Such a beautiful range - and that dashboard! I'd love to see her all lit up. Congrats on this remarkable find! Love it!

 

[oldskool]

Great Find

Especially, I like the shape of the drip pans, detailing, and everything about it.  Congratulations!

 

[tomturbomatic]

Philco used that same trim ring style for a time. A year or two later, WP tried to do the sliding linear controls on a plastic backsplash that was not tilted to the rear away form the heat like this one and when CU tried the test to see how much damage to the control panel would result if a rear element was left on, the plastic so thoroughly distorted from heat damage that some of the controls were unusable. The damaged areas looked like a mouth without the dentures in place.

 

[moparguy]

Thanks, I am glad that you all like it as much as I do! I saw it in the window and just had to have it, lol... actually, it was in an all original 1957 home, just a few blocks from my brother's house; the new owners were gutting it and updating it... and letting this fabulous piece of functional and beautiful design go! I have not lit it yet myself, but I plan to get at least the service connection going for the lights... The dials are cool, like a car radio or the ribbon speedometers that many had then. And they didn't leave any design components to the bean counters... even the burners have the stars on the removeable center caps, matching the stars on the control knobs, and not a one is missing! Unfortunately, the meat thermometer and the rotisserie spindle is missing. And as Tom said, it has a wonderful large capacity thermostatically controlled burner under the griddle... the only photo that I have is when my brother checked it out for me, and so I'll attach that and another photo of the dash with my 1957 GE in the background keeping company!

First, a photo of the clean ovens.

 

[moparguy]

... and the burner under the griddle, which the brochure says is 50% more top cooking area and can hold utensils up to 25 quart capacity "perfect for canning, making jellies or preparing meals for large groups". This burner has infinite heat selection.

 

[petek]

It looks fantastic. Would the probe have one of those large RCA jacks on it?

 

[norgeway]

Oh MY !!!!

I havent seen one since I was a kid, someone said there was never a giant unit like that....I now have proof!!! I have a 58 John Plain catalogue that has a similar range...I would sure put that in my kitchen today!!! if I ever find one I will FANTASTIC!!

 

[mixfinder]

Amazing

The gold trim around the door is spectacular and mimics the "sheer" look while still having the contoured oven doors. I had no idea Whirlpool made ranges with montotube burners. This is one of the most iconic and eye popping appliance experiences I have ever had. I simply had no idea Whirlpool ever made such a substantial range.

 

[58limited]

That is a truly beautiful range. Congratulations.

 

[washernoob]

Supercallifragilisticexpialidocious! Mary Poppins was right, it's extraordinary!!!

 

[moparguy]

RCA jacks on the probe

Unfortunately the probe is missing. There is a small jack 'port' on the right hand side of the oven wall to plug it in. According to the owners manual, the probe would have had a cool large dial to set. I'm glad you all like it too, I was awestruck when I saw it, such a beautiful design and completely over the top space age gadgets and features! I'm glad that I was able to save it and bring it home!

 

[mixguy]

Very nice range having 1950s styling

This must have been a top of the line back in 1957. Double ovens, rotisserie, temperature probe, clock, oven timer and griddle all indicate to me being a deluxe model. I see features found on Frigidaire and Norge ranges from the same time era, not necessarily the same model year. Awesome to find major appliance 55 yrs old is such great condition! I can imagine Club Aluminum pots, copper bottom Revere Ware or Pyrex pots on the surface units

 

[petek]

Here's the type of probe I'm thinking about.. I have one for my KA and one for the old GE mw, they both look the same but the GE has a larger jack on the end than the KA, otherwise they're both pretty similar.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Temperature...201?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b2941669

 

[circlew]

Very snazzy

and in great condition, too.

I'm almost certain this range was made in the Estate plant in Hamilton, OH. RCA - which had acquired Estate from NOMA in 1952 - sold their plant and the Estate name to Whirlpool on July 18, 1955 (one day before I made my appearance). Whirlpool continued to manufacture ranges in Hamilton until June 1961.

See reply #7 on the link below for a short history of Estate Range Co.

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?33669

 

[appliancelou]

you lucky guy

I am a big fan of electric ranges an that is the mother of I all ranges I love love love it!!!!!!!!!I wish you the best of luck with it!!!!! its just fantastic!

 

[moparwash]

Magnificant!

Just like a Chrysler Imperial, Moparguy!

 

[frigilux]

Jaw-droppingly awesome. That beefy console makes a strong stylistic statement. Congratulations!

 

[gansky1]

It's beautiful! Looks like a Philco in drag - fabulous

 

[autowasherfreak]

Beautiful! Looks like someone took really good care of it.

 

[norgeway]

T K Monotube units!

There has never been anything as long lasting or even heating, they are a little slower than Calrod units, but are much more sturdy, especially for heavy pots.

 

[moparguy]

Hey thanks for all the comments! I'm glad you all like it, too! And in response to some comments, yes, this stove is the top of the line according to the manual that came with it; this appears to be the model E-299. Model E-295 and E-291 were very similar, with a few features missing; models E-287 and E-283 were also 40", but did not have the griddle or upper light portion of the dash panel. They also show models E-275 and E-273 30" ranges with the upper lighting panel and an E-271 30" range without. The burner rings to be the same as on my Philco range (photo), so I expect they are related components... And like the '57 Chrysler Imperial, there weren't many features or chrome embellishments that they forgot!

 

[moparwash]

for the uninitiatied...(apologize for slightly off-topic)

Behold the 1957 Imperial!(mentioned in the last post!)[this post was last edited: 3/1/2012-18:14]

 

[cuffs054]

Moparwash, as much as I love old appliances I must admit I got all excited at the original title of this thread. Never has there been a line of automobiles that included so many fab features with over the top lux as the Chrysler Imperial! I still remember "floor air" for the a/c (not found on GM or Lincoln. Front and rear a/c in sedans. Electro-lum dashboards. Push button trans. Admittedly, dear old Dad finally gave up and went back to GM since the Mopars were somewhat less than reliable. Not quite as bad as the 57 Lincoln that moved us to FL. I still remember dod trying to hack the parking brake off when it wouldn't release!

 

[tomturbomatic]

As I stated before, that large looping monotube element gave far more even heat for the griddle than the gas burners under most rectangular griddles because the size of the heat source under the griddle remained constant. In the gas versions, once the flame was turned down the outer areas cooled while the center over the lowered flame stayed hotter. Estate/WP also recommended it for large kettles and canners.