|
Thread Number: 19529
The Born-Again Frigidaire! |
[Down to Last] |  |
Post# 314017 11/9/2008 at 22:58 (5,645 days old) by swestoyz  (Cedar Falls, IA) |
||
Woo - what a fun weekend! On Friday Robert, Nate, and myself conveyed upon Omaha with a single mission in mind: to re-operate the 1956 Frigidaire Unimatic mechanism. Greg graciously opened up his home and garage for the procedure. All in all it was a great time, and the rebuild couldn't have gone easier. I'll let the experts chime in, but once we got into the mechanism there was little needed to be done - it was in fantastic shape! So, with the replacement clutch spring installed, the WI-56 can again live up to the intended promise General Motors proclaimed: 1140 RPM! Here are a few shots of the rebuild. As always, no pictures were taken of us in our pressed lab coats, but pretend each of us had the appropriate attire on. Here we have said mechanism, with the bell removed. 
| ||
|
|
Post# 314018 , Reply# 1 11/9/2008 at 22:59 (5,645 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
||
|
| ||
|
Post# 314019 , Reply# 2 11/9/2008 at 23:00 (5,645 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
||
|
| ||
|
Post# 314020 , Reply# 3 11/9/2008 at 23:02 (5,645 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
||
|
| ||
|
Post# 314021 , Reply# 4 11/9/2008 at 23:03 (5,645 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
||
|
| ||
|
Post# 314022 , Reply# 5 11/9/2008 at 23:04 (5,645 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
||
|
| ||
|
Post# 314023 , Reply# 6 11/9/2008 at 23:05 (5,645 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
||
|
| ||
|
Post# 314024 , Reply# 7 11/9/2008 at 23:07 (5,645 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
||
|
| ||
|
Post# 314025 , Reply# 8 11/9/2008 at 23:08 (5,645 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
||
|
| ||
|
Post# 314026 , Reply# 9 11/9/2008 at 23:08 (5,645 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
||
|
| ||
|
Post# 314027 , Reply# 10 11/9/2008 at 23:09 (5,645 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
||
|
| ||
|
Post# 314028 , Reply# 11 11/9/2008 at 23:12 (5,645 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
||
|
| ||
| Post# 314032 , Reply# 12 11/9/2008 at 23:48 (5,645 days old) by pturo (Syracuse, New York) | ||
|
Well, Jesus Christ riding shotgun with Moses on G-d's chariot, I have never seen anything like that Unimatic transmission assembly. It looks like it could be the transmission for the engine on the Titanic. No wonder the g*ddamn things spun so fast! Thanks for posting! | ||
| Post# 314042 , Reply# 13 11/10/2008 at 03:14 (5,644 days old) by toploader55 (Massachusetts Sand Bar, Cape Cod) | ||
To the Unimatic Consortium... | ||
| Post# 314053 , Reply# 14 11/10/2008 at 07:43 (5,644 days old) by tlee618 () | ||
|
Wow guys, what a fascinating operation! It must have been so much fun to restore this beautiful machine back to its orginal glory!! I know that you guys had a lot of fun along the way! Congratulations Ben!!! | ||
|
Post# 314071 , Reply# 15 11/10/2008 at 08:49 (5,644 days old) by easyspindry (Winston-Salem, NC) |
||
|
Bendix Economat Is that a Bendix Economat in the background of one of the pictures? I love it. Jerry Gay | ||
| Post# 314077 , Reply# 16 11/10/2008 at 10:04 (5,644 days old) by filterflo (Chicago Area) | ||
|
Great work Ben, Jim Frigiman and I did his 1952 Unimatic a couple of weeks ago. Rebuilding is always a learning experience. Good for you, for getting right in there and learning to rebuild and get your hands dirty....The more you do it the easier it gets....... | ||
| Post# 314144 , Reply# 17 11/10/2008 at 14:11 (5,644 days old) by golittlesport (California) | ||
 | ||
| Post# 314151 , Reply# 18 11/10/2008 at 15:17 (5,644 days old) by tuthill () | ||
|
NIce job guys, what'd you do to repair the hole in the tub? | ||
|
Post# 314155 , Reply# 19 11/10/2008 at 15:34 (5,644 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!) |
||
 | ||
| Post# 314168 , Reply# 20 11/10/2008 at 16:13 (5,644 days old) by iheartmaytag (Wichita, Kansas) | ||
Those machines look built | ||
| Post# 314189 , Reply# 21 11/10/2008 at 17:01 (5,644 days old) by mihi () | ||
|
I've never seen one inside..... I always wondered how those things worked. Now I have a very good idea. That trans looks like its built like a tank. Good job GM. | ||
|
Post# 314243 , Reply# 22 11/10/2008 at 21:07 (5,644 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
||
|
Thanks for the congrats guys - certainly is a favorite in the collection. The WO-65 is severely jealous that the WI-56 has two rings and a lighted timer! NIce job guys, what'd you do to repair the hole in the tub? Took some plumbers expoy to seal the hole up. Gave it a good 24 hours to cure, even though the tube proclaimed that it would 'harden to like steel in 20 minutes'. The next evening I put some JB Weld over the inside and outside to create a nice permanent seal. I'll be ordering some grey POR-15 to give it a final coat to match the beautiful grey in the tub. It won't be perfect but certainly usable. I don't have an after photo - but here is a before shot. This tub was NASTY. I do thank the nastiness though for preserving the tub and mechanism support, as both were in like-new condition hiding in the nasty muck. Heck the whole machine was practically like new. 
| ||
| Post# 314263 , Reply# 23 11/10/2008 at 22:32 (5,644 days old) by autowasherfreak () | ||
|
Amazing I just amazes the heck out of me when I see a restoration such as this one. Wonderful job. Jim | ||
|
Post# 314269 , Reply# 24 11/10/2008 at 23:02 (5,644 days old) by jetaction (Minneapolis) |
||
Now Nice..... | ||
|
Post# 314296 , Reply# 25 11/11/2008 at 05:36 (5,643 days old) by gyrafoam (Wytheville, VA) |
||
|
Looks great Ben. Did you take the oil pump apart? Those little seals always drive me crazy if I don't remember which way they go against each other! | ||
|
Post# 314302 , Reply# 26 11/11/2008 at 06:13 (5,643 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill *Home of the RailwayTrials* Merseyside,UK) |
||
Frigidaire
Hi Ben, glad to hear the renovations turned out FAB, all helps when you know what you are doing and many hands make light work!!! That mechanism sure looks like it would last out two machines.. What is it with Gregs garage!!! I remember another Frigidaire SuperUnimatic Machine having an identity crisis in that garage...LOL I believe "The Owner" is still having an attack of the vapours!!! I found some more information of the Frigidaire jetamatic model we had over here, Ill post a new thread... Enjoy & happy collecting, Mike | ||
| Post# 314305 , Reply# 27 11/11/2008 at 06:17 (5,643 days old) by christfr (st louis mo) | ||
 | ||
|
Post# 314318 , Reply# 28 11/11/2008 at 07:55 (5,643 days old) by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers) |
||
ben
looks like you got a nice new bearing in there too bad you never heard it spin with the old one, the comparison between the two is very different! But that machine looks like a low use machine for sure that tub support still has its blackness to it!!!! Most are coverd with a rust patina after years of use, I bet that was a tub defect and it rusted through way too prematurely so the machine was not used after that and so I did'nt get the heavy use these machines can stand!! enjoy! jon | ||
| Post# 314398 , Reply# 29 11/11/2008 at 17:21 (5,643 days old) by rickr (.) | ||
 | ||
|
Post# 314455 , Reply# 30 11/11/2008 at 21:27 (5,643 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
||
|
Did you really find a spring at ACE Hardware that could be used as a torque spring for a Unimatic?? Rick, during the tear down, there was a small discussion about how difficult it would have been to produce/machine the torque springs for these machines. I then joked that I'd just go down to the local Ace Hardware as they seem to have everything on hand when you need it :-) the comparison between the two is very different! Jon - the old New Departure bearing was actually in pretty decent shape still, but the decision was made to install a new one for insurance. Still amazes me that the original bearing number is simply 3L06. You can probably imagine the gasp I let out when I saw how mint the tub support was when I first removed the mechanism. I was expecting rust city! | ||
| Post# 314950 , Reply# 31 11/14/2008 at 08:54 (5,640 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ) | ||
Yay
Yay for a very fun time and a beeeeeautiful machine. That truly is the mintiest '56 ever, and I love the copper accents. Ben, you did amazing work on lovingly cleaning that unit up. I can't believe how nice the mechanism was in that--even the Delco serial plate on the motor was beautiful and shiny like a mirror. Yes, it was fun to see the oil pumping away in that mechanism, and yes, I recognize that sound from elsewhere. *cues porn music* Are you sure you don't want that Deep-Action agitator? It'll reduce your tangling issues. Better still, since Robert proved you can bolt most anything in there anyway, how about a nice Westinghouse impeller? Norge agitator? Hubcap from a '54 Ford? ;-) | ||
| Post# 315071 , Reply# 32 11/14/2008 at 16:12 (5,640 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY) | ||
Don't know which I love the more
The beautiful surprise of the dial light The shock and awe of the innards of the cage --straight out of sci-fi The playful starching you'll get from Laundress for washing the towels for FOUR ! minutes. The absolute joy I would have experienced in the company of 4 of Aworg's finest, friendliest, kindest, most generous men--forget the brain power !!!! Thinking of that just gives me the shakes ;'D | ||
| Post# 315075 , Reply# 33 11/14/2008 at 16:32 (5,640 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY) | ||
|
Duh--I forgot the first thing, Born Again Ben;'D | ||
|
Post# 315236 , Reply# 34 11/15/2008 at 13:56 (5,639 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains) |
||
What perfect simplicity! | ||
| Forum Index: |
| Other Forums: |
|
|
|
|
|
Comes to the Rescue!
