What do I have here?

[Chunkiwi]

The house I bought came with this old Kenmore Stylemaster. It doesn’t work…would it be worth the tinkering to try to revive it? Would I even be able to find parts? It looks a bit rough because it was in a room I was working on, but actually was nice and clean when I took over the place.
Thanks!!

 

[agiflow]

This looks to be a 1975 Kenmore 70 series. This should have a Gold Penta Swirl agitator. I have the 74 70 with the raised controls. Could you post an interior shot of the agitator and tub please.

 

[DADoES]

Stylemaster isn't a Kenmore model reference. It's a production reference to something ... I vaguely recall seeing the label in the usage instructions printed on the underside of the lid?

There should be another model tag, probably on the back of the machine, that includes a serial number. Serial numbers are coded for the year and week of factory production.

I find what appears to be this machine (with a dryer) stated as "Our Finest Large-Capacity Pair" in a Fall 1975 catalog. It's described as having the Quiet-Pak treatment and a detergent dispenser (for the Soak & Wash feature).

 

[agiflow]

That's weird seeing how the Lady Kenmore garage door model was available in 75 also

 

[DADoES]

A Lady Kenmore garage-door-pushbutton model is in the Spring-Summer 1975 catalog but not the Fall-Winter ... in the library of catalogs that I referenced. There may be different catalog editions for different areas of the country. This model of question is not tagged Sears * Best as are the LKs.

 

[agiflow]

I'm wondering if that's a detergent dispenser by the edge of the lid there

 

[rp2813]

The detergent dispenser is located under the lid and mounts in the left rear corner. It is removable and is only used when the "Soak & Wash" option is selected (otherwise it will likely get knocked out of place when loading or unloading a batch of laundry). Extra points if the dispenser is still lying around somewhere. My mom had the 1974 version of this machine (identical except had the selector knobs above the console) for 25 years and the "Quiet Pak" transmission truly lived up to its name. It cost $309.99 new.

I wonder if the claim about this being the "finest" washer in the Kenmore line could have been because Sears considered Lady Kenmore a different class of washer entirely. Regardless, this is a rare model and well worth restoring. It might not even need a full restoration, but it's definitely an oddball model and certain parts may be harder to find compared to lesser models. I encourage you to offer it up for someone else if you decide against getting it operational again -- assuming it isn't currently. You never know.

 

[thatwasherguy]

Welcome to the forum! Parts for vintage appliances often aren’t as hard to come by as you’d think. New old stock and used parts show up all the time on sites like Ebay. I’ve found things for my machines this way that I never in a million years would have imagined being able to get. A lot of times, you can also take modern parts and adapt them to fit a vintage machine. I’ve done this in the past for things like switches. I think that it would absolutely be worth trying to get that machine going again. Hopefully, someone more knowledgable about these Whirlpool built belt drive machines can give you better information about what might be going on with it.
Hope this helps,
Thatwasherguy.

 

[Chunkiwi]

This looks to be a 1975 Kenmore 70 series. This should have a Gold Penta Swirl agitator. I have the 74 70 with the raised controls. Could you post an interior shot of the agitator and tub please.

You’re right, it is a gold Penta swirl agitator. Here you go.

 

[Chunkiwi]

Stylemaster isn't a Kenmore model reference. It's a production reference to something ... I vaguely recall seeing the label in the usage instructions printed on the underside of the lid?

There should be another model tag, probably on the back of the machine, that includes a serial number. Serial numbers are coded for the year and week of factory production.

I find what appears to be this machine (with a dryer) stated as "Our Finest Large-Capacity Pair" in a Fall 1975 catalog. It's described as having the Quiet-Pak treatment and a detergent dispenser (for the Soak & Wash feature).

Hard tag to photograph due to the corrosion, also looks like it’s printed backward for some reason.

And yes, that’s where I found the stylemaster label, under the lid next to the instructions.

 

[Chunkiwi]

Great info thanks!!

The detergent dispenser is located under the lid and mounts in the left rear corner. It is removable and is only used when the "Soak & Wash" option is selected (otherwise it will likely get knocked out of place when loading or unloading a batch of laundry). Extra points if the dispenser is still lying around somewhere. My mom had the 1974 version of this machine (identical except had the selector knobs above the console) for 25 years and the "Quiet Pak" transmission truly lived up to its name. It cost $309.99 new.

I wonder if the claim about this being the "finest" washer in the Kenmore line could have been because Sears considered Lady Kenmore a different class of washer entirely. Regardless, this is a rare model and well worth restoring. It might not even need a full restoration, but it's definitely an oddball model and certain parts may be harder to find compared to lesser models. I encourage you to offer it up for someone else if you decide against getting it operational again -- assuming it isn't currently. You never know.

I took the back off it and tried to move the belt/transmission/motor and it wouldn’t budge, so I’m guessing maybe the trans or the motor has seized up. The agitator spins freely - is there some kind of clutch in there?

When I did test it out the only thing that happened was it filled up ok, then it just hummed for a cycle (that scary electrical hum) and then wouldn’t drain. So that was fun manually draining it!

I’ll definitely offer it up to someone if they’re willing to haul it out of my basement! I’m in Philadelphia, so if anyone here knows of anyone in PA/DE/NJ that might to have a crack at it do let me know.

 

[agiflow]

The detergent dispenser is located under the lid and mounts in the left rear corner. It is removable and is only used when the "Soak & Wash" option is selected (otherwise it will likely get knocked out of place when loading or unloading a batch of laundry). Extra points if the dispenser is still lying around somewhere. My mom had the 1974 version of this machine (identical except had the selector knobs above the console) for 25 years and the "Quiet Pak" transmission truly lived up to its name. It cost $309.99 new.

I wonder if the claim about this being the "finest" washer in the Kenmore line could have been because Sears considered Lady Kenmore a different class of washer entirely. Regardless, this is a rare model and well worth restoring. It might not even need a full restoration, but it's definitely an oddball model and certain parts may be harder to find compared to lesser models. I encourage you to offer it up for someone else if you decide against getting it operational again -- assuming it isn't currently. You never know.

I have your mom's machine. I found a barely used 74 70 series Kenmore in a cabin up in New York state last December. Got many videos of it. Unfortunately it did not have the detergent dispenser

 

[DADoES]

The model/serial info presumably is upside down to facilitate a servicer viewing the tag by looking over at it from the front.

Serial C60609807
C = built in Whirlpool's Clyde OH facility
6 = 1976
06 = 6th week
09807 = production sequence

Model 110.73570100
110 = sourced from Whirlpool
I never could get a grip on deciphering details of Kenmore model numbers. Someone else perhaps can do that.