Philco Restoration, Part One

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Disco Obispo

Oh, cool, I didn't know you back then, though I remember the car now, I probably have a lot of pics of it.

Disco Obispo, IMHO, was the best show we (Great Autos) had put on since Autorama Tropicana, and actually beat that one in fun.

I'm a charter member of Great Autos, haven't missed ANY West Coast meets in 20 years, but this may be my first, unfortunately, unless something drastic happens financially.
 
One of my favorite washers with great agitation. I know it will be a beauty when you get it done. Thanks for letting us look over you sholder while doing the work!
 
YAY for unusual wash action

Excellent work Jimmy on one beautiful machine!!! Love the blue tub and the "Undertow" action!!

Glad to see everything is working again...was the donor machine from Aberdeen as well? Also, does your machine have the later large capacity tub (I read from old posts that Philco machines used this from the late 60's to their demise in the early-70's...thought these held 16 or 18 lbs), or the 12/14 lb. tub? I'm somewhat confused at this point on capacity...
 
Wow--I looked at the control panel in the first picture closely...didn't realize it was a Philco-Ford machine!!! Too cool...how long was the Philco-Ford label produced?
 
Wow

Thanks for sharing these amazing pics. More important, thanks for saving this awesome machine.

I've always admired Philco. I thought that they were some of the most impressive machines ever produced. It's a shame that they didn't have much market share. I've mentioned this in other posts, we actually had at least one Philco dealer here in New Jersey. It was located near the old Somerville Circle. My family and I would often stop a the drive in next door when we went for drives in the Country. It had an outdoor eating area. Every time that we stopped there, I would window shop and drool over the machines until I was told to come to the table and eat my food. LOL.

Mike
 
This wash action will have to be brought back, along with Frigidaire's vertical action and Kelvinator's centric agitation. These machines are too simple, IMHO, not to be resurrected.

Just watch, someone will end up taking a look at these vintage patents and (finally) grasp the idea.
 
Wow, Jimmy, what a great job you did on that Philco!!! I can't believe you got that tub back to such a good condition. You're like a magician!!! Thank you for sharing the pictures and taking the time to explain all the steps you took to bring the Philco back to life. Can't wait to see the control panel resurrected. You did an awesome job! Congratulations!
Rich
 
Hey Thanks Rich, that tub took me one entire day to get clean. First I soaked it in Super Iron Out, did a light wet sanding on it, another soak, another sanding, ANOTHER soak, and a light #0000 steel wool and Comet cleanser, each time taking as much care as I could not to scratch it or mar the pretty blue aqua color of the tub.........You have to be VERY careful with Super Iron Out, too much and it will take the top coating of porcelain right off and too little and its not effective.......Its very acidic and caustic....and boy does it stink!!!
 
Great mechanical restoration job Jimmy! It sure takes lots of hours to restore any appliance. Let alone one that has sat out in a junkyard for twenty years.I love the blue tub.Glad to could clean it to perfection. It is wonderful that you can bring this rare model "back from the dead"
Thanks for the great pix,and detailed decriptions! We will look forward to Part Two of this restoration,the cabinet,trim and console.
 
Great pictures Jimmy and what a fun washer that must be. I've never actually seen the later Flex-a-Wash Philco run in person. The colors are wonderful, Philco always had such great designs.

Please keep us posted with the rest of the restoration!
 
The earth moved

Hi Jimmy,

The house shook today and now I know why, that fantastic washing action in your Philco Ford. What a fantastic machine. I have never seen one in action so look forward to seeing yours. All the hard work on the restoration shows, along with your parts hunting so you can get it all back together.

It is easy to say I would love one of these, especially with the Ford logo, but I know how rare they are.

See you in a three weeks.

MK in LBC
 
Like they used to say at school. There's no such thing a

Hi Veg,

You asked: "Does the Philco agitator just spin around instead of oscillating?"

It spins and also kind of sort of vibrates. There's a couple of videos of an earlier Philco's wash action in the "See it Wash" section of this site. I'm giving you a link below. Scroll down the page and click on the links under "1959 PHILCO AUTOMAGIC WASHER WITH THE "NEW HIGH-FREQUENCY AGITATION".

Mike

http://www.automaticwasher.org/see_it_wash.htm
 
Jimmy--- thanks for the great pics and restoration storyline! It's a sharp machine, that's for sure. I always forget that the cabinet of most washers is just a cosmetic 'skin'. I find it a little odd to see a machine washing with it's cabinet removed; almost like removing a heart and watching it beat outside its body. I envy you your mechanical abilities. Great job!
 

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