Hey Guys, Guess What Santa came early, I am done restoring my Kenmore 800 washer that I rescued back in September from Philadelphia PA, and the good news is that she is complete and everything is up and running. It turned out that she needed a little more than some TLC. When I brought her home, the first test was to see if the machine was getting power, which she was. The water test was next and unfortunately, she failed. It turned out she had a few minor leaks coming from the outer tub, so that meant a tear down to get to the inner tub and see how bad the leaks were. Well with everyone’s experience here and the work that has been recorded here on numerous Kenmore/WP washer repairs it was fairly easy to handle. So off came the console and off came the cabinet. The cabinet I took to my classic car guy and had it repainted, as there was some rusting on one side. With the cabinet removed, assess was easy to everything else and I removed the washtub and saw the condition of the outer tub, some rust and holes. I cleaned up all the rust, filled in the small holes with plumbers epoxy and put 2 coats of POR 15 on the inside of the tub. After a few days everything had dried, I did a water test and everything was good, no leaks to be found. YAY!!! I checked everything else on the machine and replaced a few worn out minor parts on the machine (Thanks Sears Parts - surprised me that they still had some parts I needed). I got the cabinet back and it looked good as new, so with the help of my partner we got the cabinet back on the machine and then I slowly re-assembled it. The console needed some disparate cleaning, and cleaned up really well. I don’t have a video of the machine but I do have some before and after photos and a photo of its maiden wash. Wow! I forgot how well the RotoSwirl action moves a load of clothes around in the tub, excellent! Now I just have to figure where I am going to put the machine. It looks like a utility room re-do project is coming up and the very near future! Enjoy the pictures, first the before photos and then the after photos, i hope.

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Photo 9 The Restored 800!

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I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Sorry no video's as of yet.

That is beautiful! I guess the can match any paint color! Congrats to you because it's just perfect!

Jon

Great find!!! It looks great. I'm really glad you were able to restore it. I found one a couple of years ago just like it, same model same color. However it was in horrible shape, the cabinet had rusted to the point the front of it was literally crumbling. The backing behind the timer was literally gone. I thought about restoring it, but after tearing it down, I found there was not much left of the centerpost either. So I decided to take it for parts, just in case I ever found another. Before I did though, I was able to run one more cycle on it before it literally fell to pieces. I absolutely loved the detergent dispenser.
Up until this, I had never seen one one on a Kenmore before.

Dennis

What an absolutely beautiful washing machine, and SOAK N' WASH is simply to die for. How wonderful to have so magnificent a Christmas present. Love how you have gold clothes in the load to match the gift of the Magi gold restoration.

Your praise of Sears parts has me wondering if they still might stock the Visimatic Wringer with the spray rinse. Hee-Haw ;'D

PS Your photography is fabulous.

A fabulous restoration on a very nice Kenmore. Congrats.

It looks beautiful!!!

Beautiful job! Thank you for sharing the photos, and may your Kenmore give you many more years of fun!

I must say - you did a wonderful job! You've got a nice Kenmore there - enjoy.

Ben

Hi Doug!
Real awsome restore. The photos are real great.
Best Of Luck with it.
Peter

Congrats on getting your Kenmore up and running. I love these 800 models more and more. Love the Gold Roto Swirl, and the console light. Makes her gleam like a queen.

Have a good one,
James

Beautiful! Love all those timed dispensers. I loathe fabric softener dispensers mounted on agitators and bleach dispensers that send the product immediately into the wash water, neutralizing the enzyme effect of many detergents. A great machine!!

Thanks Guys, I appreciate your comments, It was interesting and fun doing the restoration work. I just realized that I double posted some photos by mistake, sorry about that!

Doug

Awesome resto and that gives me hope for when I pick up my 800. Nothing less than a childhood machine will do.

Do us a favor and add it to the Restoration section so we can always find it and enjoy it. I am very impressed. We had this machine briefly in my late childhood, I loved the detergent dispenser and the fact that you could actually use bleach without ruining your clothes.
How did they get the color to match that well?
Thanks for sharing!

This will be you very soon Jason!!

Very nice work on the 800, Doug - it looks spectacular.

OMG she's beautiful! I love the lighted dashboard. When did Kenmore stop using the chrome lid handles?

The last year of the chrome handles for Kenmores was 1971. From 1972 to present they have had the notched handles.

Whirlpool stopped using them in 1977, or 1978. I remember going to the local appliance store as a kid at that time, and witnessing the gradual insurgence of the plastic handled models, while the last of the chrome handled Whirlpools were out on the floor.

Have a good one,
James

The 800 I grew up with had the metal handle and the mercury lid switch.