Revival of a Classic

[jetcone]

Well this one is as young as me, 1955. You all saw the Quart-0-Lint that came out of it last week.
Now I have restored the motor, pump, all rubber hoses. Thanks to John E. telling me not to forget the little seen condensor hose which once you get these 400-pounders in place is a pain to replace.
The Motor has a totally cleaned start switch, cleaned windings to run cooler, new ball bearing, the Tranny as fresh oil,the pump is totally new.

 

[jetcone]

The pump looked new on the outside

but in Vingtage appliances looks can be deceiving. I discovered the casing was paper thin due to heavy Oxydol use in its life. The pump seal was dripping for years as the seal had worn completely down to paper thin. This created a rust nightmare for the bottom panel which had to be taken out blasted and repainted.
And the pump impeller was flaking away in chunks. So out with the old and in with a totally new polyproplene pump YAY! Years of trouble free service.

 

[jetcone]

Here's the new motor and pump

and cleaned oiled tranny already to go back in the machine

 

[jetcone]

Here you can

see the new motor, base plate, and rubber drain hose installed.
Not visible is the new airdome hose, new condensor hose, new fill hose and totally delimed descaled water valve and condensor valve for years of trouble free service!
Oh and the new stainless steel cointrap NOW LINT FREE!

 

[jetcone]

Now the fun details

Working under a front loader is no fun because you are constantly lying on the ground rolling around just like under a car.
The top area is the fun part, cleaning the dust off and polishing the indicators.

Here is the little color wheel that illuminates Red or Blue to tell you if you are using warm or hot water wash. On Bendii these get dull over the years because they are made of aluminum which corrodes under all the steam vapor made in the drying process.
A good polishing and replacing the color gels will make for a nice bright display when operating.

 

[jetcone]

Here is the color wheel repaired

ready for service again.

 

[jetcone]

Here is the wheel in place

so you can see where it mounts for the display.

 

[jetcone]

here you can see

all the rusting caused by the dribbling pump.

 

[jetcone]

In 1955 it got the OKAY

to go. Now when I get it all restored I'll put on another "OK" for 50 more years of dedicated service!!

Today Im gonna try to rebuild the soap door boot and with that done it will be ready for its first water test!!

enjoy your sunday jet

 

[filterflo]

Great pictures Jon of the Bendix and wonderful work you did on it. I have that same model, unrestored, and will be doing a restoration on it soon. Did you replace the front door gasket? Just wondered what replacement you used for it as mine could use one.......I got an old rotted one from Larry at Modern and he only charged me $45.00 for it!

 

[northwesty]

great restoration!

Was the replacement pump something you picked up over the years or is something still available?

 

[JerseyMike]

Wow

The amount of hard work and dedication that you guys put into restoring (saving!) these awesome machines never ceases to amaze me. All I can say is wow. Thanks for saving this awesome machine. Thanks for the pics. I can't wait to see her in all her glory.

Mike

 

[foraloysius]

That's a nice steering wheel Bendix! I saw in your profile list that this is your 5th Bendix, is that correct? You can play Bendix dealer from the 50's! Great restoration!

 

[tlee618]

Jon that is going to be a real beauty when you are all done!! Fantastic job. Thanks for taking the time to share all the interesting pictures. Enjoy your Sunday. Terry

 

[bobbins]

I am curious where did you able to find new parts? (ie pump?)

Bob

 

[westytoploader]

'55 Duo

Jon, what a beautiful machine! Looking forward to seeing pictures of the maiden load!

 

[kenmore58]

Jon,

Great restoration job!! Looks great! Another great machine in your collection.

Ron

 

[roto204]

Beauteous!!

Very nice, Jon! You did such a beautiful job on that.

And I will cease my use of Oxydol forthwith :-D

 

[jetcone]

MORE UPDATES

Oh Nate I don't think the new Oxydol is as destructive as the 50's Oxydol. Different formulation but I have seen some real crunch jobs even in Maytags from that era. And Maytag used alot of stainless steel for the time.

Well Louis, actually by June it will be my 9th Bendix. But tell no one IT IS our secret!

I just did the dry run and it performed perfectly!! YAY now a wet run and then on to the maiden load as Austin says.

Jimmy, I am getting more brand new boots from England they are on their way right now, with cost in pounds and shipping they cost around $60 smackers, $15 more than what Larry charged but these are brand new and are worth every penny as they are now molded out of EPDM rubber which as you know is much more durable than what Bendix used in the begining. I'll send you an email when they come in and see if you want one. They are Bendix and fit perfectly. I think Kim also wanted one?? Let me know guys.