I started my letter explaining some history of the 1983 Kenm
The final belt-drive retail washer lineup with Kenmore starred 10 large capacity models, and one 24-inch machine. There were four Toyota washers as well, which were not retail models.
Of the 10 large cap machines, one was a 60, four were 70s, four were 80s, and one was the Lady K 90.
The 60 is very rare and I have never seen one, though it was on the back of the 1983 Sears Christmas catalog. It was out of production by 1985 I think. All four 70s sold well, but two sold MUCH better than the other two, with the other two being somewhat uncommon. All four of these were available until fall, 1986. The four 80s are an odd combination. One was very popular too, and sold right up there in numbers with the two best-selling 70s. The other three, not so much. One was around til the end but just doesn't seem to be around a lot, and the other two are uber rare like the 60. One was dropped by late 1983 (I have only ever seen one) and the other I have never even seen a picture of. The LK 90 sold quite well too, but was pricey, along the lines of almost 25% higher in price.
Features in these machines increased as you went up the line, naturally. The 60 was a nice machine, and it and the four 70s all featured the new DynaGuard tops and lids, which were now powdercoated for the first time, vs. the previous baked enamel tops. Powdercoating makes these parts much more durable and long lasting as compared to the rust-prone painted tops, which seem to avoid rust only in Nevada and Arizona. So the DynaGuard was a huge improvement. The 80 series added infinite water levels, and porcelain tops, whihc were still better than the powder coating/DynaGuard. Of course the LK 90 had all this and more, including a snow-white double coated basket.
The model numbers of all these machines began with 110.823xxxxx. 8 for 80s, 2 for 29-inch cabinet, and 3 for 1983. The Toyota machines were 110.824xxxxx to separate them, though they were not precisely 1984 models. I have learned most of this from the 1990s Whirlpool parts catalog I have, which lists all Kenmore washer and dryer models since 1975.
There has always been one mystery machine to me, that I had also never seen, until 2011 anyway. It is 110.82592x00, the x being for the color.
In early 2011, Andy / Redcarpetdrew calls me wanting to play "stump the master" which he loves to do. He rattles off a model number, and I have to describe what it is. When he said 110.82592100 I think I sounded like a Price Is Right contestant. When I first saw the machine, I learned that its a clone essentially of the '83 Lady, with a few very curious traits. It has a powder coated top and lid, AND a speckled basket. To get these features you have to go back to the earliest 80 series for the speckled basket, and the 70-series models for the powder coating. Why Sears did this I don't know, though I do remember in the fall 1986 there being a very inexpensive Lady K that was 60 or more dollars cheaper than it had been in July when I ordered my 70, cheap enough that I might have considered a TOL machine just for fun at that price. This was during the closeout of the BDs, so who knows what manufacturing oriented resons may have been going on at the time.
Well, Andy's machine was made in September 1986, and it is three weeks newer than my other newest belt-drive, the one I got new. I like that machine Andy gave me for all its weird nuiances.
End of letter....
