Westy:
The dryer needs to be taken apart and cleaned. The blower needs lubrication and the heaters need to be checked. I took the back panel off of the dryer and took out the blower, there was a birds nest in the blower housing, they must have come down thru the vent tube. I checked the heaters with a meter and they test fine, YAY, that is the crucial part. It would be hard to fine that 8400 watt element which is really a two elements on one buss a 5600 watt and a 2800 watt. It also needs a new lint filter as the felt on the old one is bad. The filter is still available from Sears parts. I should be drying by Saturday night!
As for the washer, when I turn the washer tub I hear a crunching sound which I suspect is simply rust off of the center post which will need to be painted sanded and painted with POR-15 paint. While the agitator shaft and spin tube and centerpost bearings probably still work fine, they will be “rickety” from age. As Whirlpool and Kenmore machines age they become louder with more banging and scraping noises from general wear. This machine is so pretty that it deserves brand new parts and to run like I just order it out of the ’57 Spring & Summer catalog whether it works or not.
Louis:
isn't it possible to put the pink cabinet on your restored machine
While that could be done, it would be a very difficult process. On Whirlpool and Kenmore belt drive washers the entire mechanism and wash tubs are suspended from a baseplate that is connected to the top corners of the cabinet. That would involved dropping and re-hanging the entire insides of the washer. It would be easier actually to just rebuild this machine.
Bethann:
oooOh good thing it was a Kenmore then! The lint-lite is fun, I don't know whether it works, but it will when I'm done with it. I will adjust it to lite when there is only a little bit of lint in the screen.
Mike:
Someone here years ago made up the “Pregnant Roto-Swirl” name because it’s so much fatter than the Super Roto-Swirl agitator of the 60’s and 70’s.
Kenmore1978:
The gas version has a 37,000BTU output. As for Keeping the White Lady Kenmore, NO. If I lived in a mansion I could keep both, but I don’t and I want to ensure that Mr. Pink runs for another 40 years. When you have as many washing machines as some of us do, you have to be sensible with what you can keep and what must go. The turquoise Kenmore set is heading to Louisville, KY to complete a 1964 Turquoise kitchen!