Philco Restoration, Part One

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Re: Question and Curiousity Answered:

Hi! Jimmy, I was writing to you when you were posting more Pix of the Washer and the rest of the Drain Hose, sitting over the Hand-Truck, besides your letting us know about next step to work on the Dryer as well. Good Luck with both Machines, including the Cabinet Painting. It will look just like new again. Keep up the great work and the wonderful Pix's too.

Peace and Happy Philco Laundry Days, Steve
SactoTeddyBear...
 
Thanks Steve. If you look close at the tub draining, I have the hose perched on my dolly and the top of the hose is higher than the tub........ and here is the pic of the matching dryer........it works, it just needs a lot of TLC.....

6-11-2005-02-18-45--FilterFlo.jpg
 
Re: Matching Dryer:

Hi! Jimmy, have you ever taken the Dryer apart yet to check it out or tried operating it? It looks like it might not need too much done to it. Keep up the great work, and more Pix's of both for us to see the progress.

Peace and Happy Philco Laundry Days, Steve
SactoTeddyBear...
 
Great job as always, Jimmy. Looking at the bottom of the machine, I noticed that pulley with belt. Is that exposed or covered by a bottom piece? Also, how was the movement with the newer Philco agitators? The rubber plate looks smaller in diameter than the older Automagic series and seems to sort of curve downward as opposed to being flat. With the bigger tub, did that affect performance?
 
Hi Angus, yes the bottom pully and belt are exposed, although there is a recessed area that they fit in........This is the last Philco design that there was, and was greatly simplified from the AutoMagic models. The movement and turnover of the clothes was excellent, the pics really do not do it justice. They move very well and are pulled under and over, you just have to see it to believe it! Its really my favorite washer...........
 
What a talent you have Jimmy!

Jimmy,
That is amazing!
I was able to see this in person at your home, and I must say you did a wonderful bringing it back to life! It looks great!
I bet the feeling of your hard work, and washing that first load is a feeling like a kid at Christmas!
And to think that you will have a matching Philco set!
Will you be at the convention this year? I did not see your name on the list. Hoping to see you.
Thanks so much for sharing your pictures.
Brent
 
pump on top of motor

Great pics. Philco, Frigidaire, and Kelvinator vy for the "most unusual wash action" prize.

You can't help but wonder whatever in the world the engineer who devised the idea of putting the pump on top of the motor was thinking about! Now, I've seen this before, but at least in that application the engineers thought to put a "slinger" on the motor shaft so that any leakage from the pump seal would be slung away from the motor as it dripped down. Imagine how many of these machines were junked because of that engineering defect. This, coupled with Philco's much smaller market share, now means even fewer of them for us to play with now.
 
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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