My washer collection updated

[Dick_S.]

First of all my congrats go out to DADoES for his great find! Man, that is one good lookin' Frigidaire. Here's to many happy hours of watching it go thru its paces with load after load.

Just a year ago I had but a handful of washers. Now my collection has increased a bit and I plan to keep on going. I also plan to erect a metal building, hopefully this summer, to give them all a dry safe home.

I really love my old automatics especially 50s Kenmores and will keep scouting for more. The 58 Lady Kenmore still escapes me but I will keep hunting for it and a frog eyed! ((--::

I'm going to be in Phoenix over St. Patrick's Day weekend so if any of you washer buffs in that area would like to meet for coffee and discuss old automatics, I sure would enjoy it.

And please check out my collection.

Dick_S.

 

[golittlesport]

Nice collection, Dick. Where do you find all these? I like your Westy FL. I guess you take the clothes out when done and put them in the Frigidaire Radip Dry for a good 1010 rpm spin. I get to PS a few times a year. Would love to see your machines.
Rich in the OC

 

[Unimatic1140]

Great new finds Dick, thanks for sharing, you have some wonderful machines there. Please keep up posted with any new finds!

 

[Dick_S.]

Hi Rich

Your most welcome to come out anytime and look all of em' over. Machines I didn't post pix of include a 78 big tub Kenmore with dual action agitator and an almond set of Kenmores with the small tub/dual action. Oh, and another early 80's Kenmore dryer.

I apologize that most of them are dirty but the majority are outside and although they are covered, they still get grungy. I just hurriedly snapped the pix this afternoon in between rain squalls. ((--::

As to where I find them--Wished I could say I have a network of contacts but I don't as yet. When I'm out I just scout areas and keep my eyes peeled. My sister in Tehachapi found 4 along the roadside for me to look at outside of Lancaster (all real bad) and of course I jumped in the truck and went to see for myself. Now we're talking a few miles from where I live. I then couldn't stop and wound up in Bakersfield for a day of looking. The following week found me in Ventura and Santa Barbara. I've got to slow down a bit and contain myself especially with gas on the rise again but I just love those old washers!

Dick

 

[DADoES]

Lotsa nice machines! I like the 70's Kenmores with the partially-hidden dials, and the 1960s pushbutton Whirlpool.

 

[agiflow]

Wow!!Just when you thought you seen it all....i have never seen Kenmore control panels like these.Funky to say the least.

By the way Dick S how is the 56 kenmore doing.

 

[Dick_S.]

Yes, and I agree with you, those are funky looking control panels! The 70 avocado green one has already been used for parts but the 72 white one with its full lighted console will be added to the "working" collection as soon as I can find more room. ((--::

The 56 is still in progress but coming along nicely. I will let you all know WHEN!

Dick

 

[rickr]

BELT DRIVE CITY!!

Looks like Heaven to me!!Didn't realize it was in Palm springs!! LOL! Nice collection Dick!!

 

[tlee618]

Hi Dick, I just checked out your collection. Very Nice. I love the Westinghouse front loader. Thanks for sharing with us. Terry

 

[kenmore1978]

Photo #14

Dick, in Photo #14 you say that it has a Roto-Flex agitator, but that looks to me like the top of an adjustable Vari-Flex agitator. I always thought that was the coolest idea. With the fins fully retracted and the machine on Extra Slow, those were REALLY easy on your delicates.

 

[appnut]

Dick, I love all those kenmores. Especially the unusual console models. I believe the whirly in photo 22 is actually early 1960s.

The 1960 Kenmore you grew up with is the exact machine my best friend from high school's mom had. It lasted until fall 1973 or winter 1974 while away for my freshman college year. When I cam home for a visit, it had died and was replaced by another kenmore, all the ame features of my 1970 Kenmore, but that kinda jazzy console.

BTW, my friend's mom kept referring to her 1960 washer as a Lady K, which I knew it wasn't. Was that the model down from the Lady K?

Thanks for solving another adolescent/childhood washer puzzle.

 

[Maytaged]

1972 KENMORE

Love the 72 control panel. Must have been pretty far up in the line with the triple dispenser and full console light. Was it a 800 series? What are the 3 rocker switches on the left? Extra rinse, Soak Selector, Temperature?

Nice collection !

-ED

 

[zzzzz]

1968 Kenmore

That '68 Kenmore shown in photo #10...it sure looks almost like the '68 model 800 my parents had when I was young. IIRC, the '68 800 of my childhood had more gold in the faceplate and a blue "Model 800" legend between the "D" and "H" cycle descriptions instead of what appears to be "Vari Flex" on Dick's machine. It also had a gold Roto-Swirl. Even though I had the "honor" and privilege to repair and maintain the 800 when I reached my teens, I was never too fond of that machine, considering its boring neutral drain and its tendency to suds-lock.

A longtime childhood friend had that exact same early-sixties Whirlpool shown in photo #22, in his house. Ahh, memories...

 

[DADoES]

That '68 Kenmore in pic #10 is very similar to my aunt's. Hers was fluorescent-lit, had a rotary speed selector instead of water level (Ex Low / Auto / Low), and levers for water level and temp override (Cold Wash & Rinse / Cold Rinse / Auto). Gold Super Roto Swirl, not Vari-Flex. Same alphabet console legend and timer.

And she had an alphabet dryer up until the 1970s that was a match to the 1960 alphabet washer in pic #9.

 

[Dick_S.]

Photo 14

You're totally right Kenmore 78-it is a Vari-Flex AND the 68 also came with a Vari-Flex which I changed out to a white Super Roto Swirl with fabric dispenser. BTW, I also have a 78 large tub dual action which I used for large items. It always pulls those bulky things down under and up again with no problem at all.

 

[scott55405]

Very nice collection! You have some of my very favorite Sears machines, the 60, the 70, and the 72! I like the 68 too but that's the first time I've seen that particular one, I think. I liked the ones with with the timer behind a window. A family friend had the 60, which I was very fond of with its waterfall filter and alphabet settings.

I forget if it was Frigilux or who I was discussing '60 Kenmores with...we came to realize we weren't discussing the same machine, but if you're reading, Dick's 1960 is the one I'm thinking of!

 

[Dick_S.]

Photo 22

Your right Appnut-it is a 61 AND that white plastic strip lights up. Rick R. brought that to my attention.

Regarding that 60 I grew up with--I was so mad when Mom came home and said she had been to Sears and ordered our first automatic washer. She knew didily squat about washers but her 16 year old son did but she never consulted him. I kept thinking that it would be a bottom of the line machine but alas when it was delivered I felt a bit better. It was the pride of the neighborhood in the new subdivision my parents had bought a house in. Neighbors were constantly dropping in and using the excuse that their machine was on the fritz and asking Mom if she would mind if they ran a load or two thru. The machine was always running.

And boy would it ever sudlock!! All we used was Tide and I could get it spining if I left it go thru the 4 spray rinses on warm and then set the timer back to the beginning of spin and let it drain for a few seconds before actuating the spin mode.

You talk about memories-they're flooding back to me at the moment.

 

[frigilux]

Dick S---great collection! We had a 1960 Model 80 pair (w/suds saver) when I was growing up. It had the rocker-style cycle selector buttons, rather than the toggle-type of the Lady K.

I loved two features about the dryer---the lint bag on top of the dryer and the 'scented air' feature, in which a little bottle of concentrated scent sat inside the console, attached to a little hose which then fed the scent down into the dryer drum. Oh, and the clothes dampening ball was fun, too. I also seem to remember a dryness level dial inside the console which allowed you to set the level of dryness for all the cycles.

Our next door neighbor had the 'alphabet' machine. Also cool!

 

[frigilux]

Dick S-- You're so right about the suds lock tendencies of the 1960's Kenmores. Ours would suds lock almost every cycle (we were Tide people, too). My trick was to let the machine just begin to spin, then let it drain a bit. I'd repeat this 2 or 3 times. I found that if the residual water in the clothes was spun out in doses, it wouldn't lock up. I'm surprised our motor didn't burn out more often!

Hi, Scott; Yes, I believe we were having the discussion about the 1960 KM's recently. If the wind we're having in the SW corner of the state is headed your way, batten down the hatches! Gusts of 45 mph.