The Deafening Silence Is Over
And no, it's not a Cornelius Gurlitt type to stash away rare appliances. It's Brian (beekeyknee) from Columbia. I was up late Sat. night and noticed Phil's posting on the 906s at about 4:00 in the morning. I considered going to bed, but then started thinking if I did they would be gone when I got up. I immediately thought of Drew (redcarpetdrew). I scrolled down a couple of posts and there was his post. I knew he was out of striking distance but I wasn't, so I sent a text to Cedar Rapids in the morning. I was informed that no one had committed to purchasing them yet and I asked if approximately 1:00 PM would be acceptable. The lady told me that would be fine and I told her that I would be there. A bit later she send me a text and asked if I was "for real" because her phone was blowing up and she needed to take down her C/L posting. I told her that I was very much "for real" and I would send her texts along the way to keep her apprised of my progress. I arrived around 2:00 PM. She and her husband met me at a convenience store right off the highway and led me out to a nice area on the east side of town. They had me back in the drive and I unloaded my dolly. It was a good thing I brought it. The machines were down a flight of stairs to the basement. Thank goodness she brought her husband along. I don't think I could have managed without him. I've pulled machines up into my pick-up before but a flight of stairs is another story.
Once we got to the basement I began to survey the machines. They were in excellent condition for machines of that age. The washer was made in March of 1966. Not sure of the dryer's age yet. The door is duct taped shut and I haven't felt like removing it. I'm guessing around the same age as it has wire wound baffles. The porcelain drum has no perceptible wear. The drum light still works as do the panel lights on both machines. She mentioned in her C/L add that she thought the dryer was leaking oil. I suspected differently and was right. There was a giant oil slick underneath the washer of that nasty brown transmission oil Maytag used to use. The "O" ring has gone bad and it has been running down the drive tube and onto the pulley which has been slinging it around underneath the machine. I grabbed the machine to pull it out a bit and came away with a grease covered hand. By the time we got it out to my truck I was covered in the stuff.
The washer is what one would expect. Chrome topped lint filter, ribbed agitator between the fins and a tub light which still works with the lens still in place. One of the nicest things about both machines is that the control buttons are all fairly white and none of the paint is worn off. The only thing wrong is a bit of the metallic blue on the bottom half of the control panel on the washer is worn off.
The lady and her husband were both great and helped me load, secure and wrap them. I offered to pay them $40.00 for the help, they said that was too much so they took $25.00 and I was grateful to pay it. After we were loaded they said for me to follow them and they would point to the street I was to turn on to make it back to the highway. I was glad to be on the road again, as I had another 5 hour trip to make and it was nearly 9:00 PM and dark when I arrived home. After I settled in a bit I sent Drew a message to call me that evening. If he couldn't I told him to call at 6 this evening. Sure enough at 11:00 PM central time my phone rang. It was Drew. I asked him if he could guess where I'd been that day and he said he thought he knew. At first he said, "Kansas". I laughed and said, "No, try north". He thought for a second and I said try Cedar Rapids or something to that effect. And he said you're the one that got the 906's. I said yes and I want to bring them to you. He said, "To Reno"? And I said, "Yes, I want you to have them". There was dead silence for about three seconds. He seemed kind of shocked and I told him I knew he had been looking for them a long time. I didn't need or want them that badly and I wanted him to have them. I told him he could have them for what I paid for them and he began to discuss gas costs and so forth. I basically told him we could work that out later and that I didn't expect much. Mostly it would be a little vacation for me and I'd get to see some pretty country on my trip. We ended up having a great conversation which lasted for an hour and a half. I was like we were old friends. It was a lot of fun. I've really been wanting to meet another AW member and this seemed like a great way to start. Anyway, we'll be working out an itinerary in the next couple of weeks.
Phil, I'd like to thank you for posting the machines. You started it all. Much appreciated. If it wasn't for your posts we would miss out on a lot.
Don, I'm sorry I got to the machines before you did. There was no ill will intended. I still love your turquoise 806 set. A picture of them is on my desktop.
Sandy, I'm sorry you were not able to secure these machines. I know you've been looking for a set for awhile.
John, the shading on the 906 set looks better in person than it does in the picture. I'll be talking to you soon.
To everyone at AW.org. You're a great bunch of people and I look forward to meeting more of you.
Cheers,
Brian
[this post was last edited: 4/8/2014-00:35]