Wash Time Dilemma ~ !
Hey Geoff,
Man, I need to learn not to post when I'm at work! How am I supposed to check my references? lol
I got home and did some more investigating - and after some super sleuth detective work - here is the low-down on the early Highlander machines:
Model 123 (1957):
Single speed yoke mounted motor, timed fill, 10 minute max wash, toggle switch temp controls
Model 124 (1958):
Single speed yoke mounted motor, timed fill, 10 minute max wash, push button temp controls
Model 125 (1959 and later):
Single speed base-plate mounted motor, pressure regulated fill, 14 minute max wash
Model 126 (1959 and later):
Two speed base-plate mounted motor, pressure regulated fill, 14 minute max wash
Of course, all machines were available with a suds saver. The parts documentation list all four models coming standard with the 2-555 Gyratator agitator - not the lint filter agitator. the 123/124 machines have a single bay for either water temp buttons or toggle switches, the 125/126 have the two bays. 125 says 'Automatic' in the spare bay, while the 126 has the luxury of two speeds. All the early Highlanders have the motor protector on the top of the panel as well. All 4 machines came with the white porcelain wash tub, PN 2-760. The rinse conditioner for these machines would have been PN 2-1417. Anyone have one of these? I've never seen one before. Wonder if it would work in a Model E ;-)
Once Maytag switched over to the A series for the model nomenclature - old models became new machines:
125 - A100
126 - A200
142 - A700
160 - A900
The next new line of machines were the A300 and the A500. Those had the taller back panels, such has Steve R's beautiful specimen. The actual features of these new machines were matched with the lower modeled machines - A100 features on an A300 panel, and A200 features on an A500 panel. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the 300/500 models were then known as the Super Highlanders. I've also seen documentation referring to the higher end models (700 series) as Super Highlanders as well, but from what I've seen, those commonly were known as the All-Fabric machines - dating back to the 140 lighted panel machines.
Last little tidbit - parts documentation shows that the motor protector was dropped from the top panel on the Highlanders starting with the A100/A200 series. I can only imagine that the cost difference wasn't too terrible for the bean counters to justify putting all thermally protected motors in those machines.
Hope this helps!
Ben
