Help ! Still looking 1960 Frigidaire washer & dryer !

Hi Derrek,

Vintage automatic washing machines are extremely rare in the 21st century. While I have found quite a few of them, its taken me over nime years to do this and I�m constantly looking. I spend at least 6 hours every week searching for these vintage machines and then countless more hours searching for parts and restoring these wonderful rare machines. There is no place in the world that we have found that sells these machines in restored condition, and even finding places that sells these machines as-is, is a one-in-a-million shot.

Your chances of finding some vintage automatics are relatively high, but you are looking for an exact brand and model which is going to make your search even more difficult. Over the years I have found that the best locations to find truly vintage machines are older mid-sized cities and suburbs with basements. Back in the 50�s and 60�s when families purchased a new automatic washer to replace an older, original model, many times the stores did not remove the old machine for free, with delivery of a new machine. So many thrifty people opted to just push the old machine to a corner of the basement, then 40 years later I find them at the estate sales.

Here�s what I would suggest to you:

1. Make up some cards saying you are a collector of vintage automatic washers and go around to all the mom-and-pop appliance retail and service places you can find give them this card. Explain to them what you are doing, and that it�s a hobby. You�ll have to tell them that you�ll give them at least $100 or more for any vintage automatic washer they find for you, because if you don�t give them a good reason to look, they won�t. Believe me they wont.

2. Next find all the local appliance-recyclers in your general area and do the same thing. The recylers are by far the best places to find vintage machines. I have found one recycler here in Minneapolis that has found some of my best machines for me. I must have visited six local recyclers here and only one has ever bothered to call me with my $100 offer, but that one has turned out to be a gold-mine.

3. Go to the estate sales every Saturday. They should be listed in your local newspapers classified section. Estate sales are not the same as garage sales and they are usually listed separately, the main difference is at Estate Sales, the entire house is opened up and most everything is for sale.

4. Finally you need a little bit of luck. One last thought though, you have to be prepared to do the mechanical work yourself, because no one will do this for you anywhere. Most service people have no knowledge of how to work on appliances this old and do not have any desire to learn, for any price. But one thing to remember, is that servicing these machines isn�t very hard, all you need is the proper instructions and you be shocked at how easy it is to do this. We�ll be able to help you along the way, you�ve come to the right place.

Good luck on in your search. If you are not willing to do all of the above, your only shot is to wait until one shows up on ebay and be prepared to spend $$$$. But please understand that even with spending $$$$ on an eBay you are still going to have to keep it running yourself.

Again, best of luck in your search and please do let us know when you find one!


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Post# 45150 9/15/2004 at 10:08 (7,163 days old) by Derrek17 ()
Checkrate/Likes Hi everyone, I am still looking for a 1960 Frigidaire Custom Imperial Washer and the matching dryer -working or not. I am very serious about finding this set. I am new to the group but have found this group very friendly and always willing help to find "dream machines" for people like me who have little or no experience like myself. My main reason for my search is due to fact that my grandmother had this set when I was growing up ! I would appreciate any leads, information, offers,etc. My email address is Hsvboy41@aol.com or derrekcouch@yahoo.com

Post# 45151 , Reply# 1 9/15/2004 at 11:01 (7,163 days old) by gregm ()
Checkrate/Likes *who else are you reaching out too?* I hear ya, I had posted a while back about some ways/leads to help you in your search, I don't know if you saw/read that post. I am still looking for a Kelvinator washer after two years and contacting over fifty people including app dealers, recyclers, antique dealers, etc. If you keep making the contacts, things will happen. But it is ultimately up to you to do the digging and be prepared for a lot of rejection or people telling you that they will keep an eye out and they forget about you. But I found all my stuff in just two years through three contacts, again out of over fiftyish. I hope this helps and if you need more specifics, I will try to provide them. Good luck and happy hunting :)

Post# 45155 , Reply# 2 9/15/2004 at 13:05 (7,163 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)
Checkrate/Likes Hi Derrek, Vintage automatic washing machines are extremely rare in the 21st century. While I have found quite a few of them, its taken me over nime years to do this and I�m constantly looking. I spend at least 6 hours every week searching for these vintage machines and then countless more hours searching for parts and restoring these wonderful rare machines. There is no place in the world that we have found that sells these machines in restored condition, and even finding places that sells these machines as-is, is a one-in-a-million shot. Your chances of finding some vintage automatics are relatively high, but you are looking for an exact brand and model which is going to make your search even more difficult. Over the years I have found that the best locations to find truly vintage machines are older mid-sized cities and suburbs with basements. Back in the 50�s and 60�s when families purchased a new automatic washer to replace an older, original model, many times the stores did not remove the old machine for free, with delivery of a new machine. So many thrifty people opted to just push the old machine to a corner of the basement, then 40 years later I find them at the estate sales. Here�s what I would suggest to you: 1. Make up some cards saying you are a collector of vintage automatic washers and go around to all the mom-and-pop appliance retail and service places you can find give them this card. Explain to them what you are doing, and that it�s a hobby. You�ll have to tell them that you�ll give them at least $100 or more for any vintage automatic washer they find for you, because if you don�t give them a good reason to look, they won�t. Believe me they wont. 2. Next find all the local appliance-recyclers in your general area and do the same thing. The recylers are by far the best places to find vintage machines. I have found one recycler here in Minneapolis that has found some of my best machines for me. I must have visited six local recyclers here and only one has ever bothered to call me with my $100 offer, but that one has turned out to be a gold-mine. 3. Go to the estate sales every Saturday. They should be listed in your local newspapers classified section. Estate sales are not the same as garage sales and they are usually listed separately, the main difference is at Estate Sales, the entire house is opened up and most everything is for sale. 4. Finally you need a little bit of luck. One last thought though, you have to be prepared to do the mechanical work yourself, because no one will do this for you anywhere. Most service people have no knowledge of how to work on appliances this old and do not have any desire to learn, for any price. But one thing to remember, is that servicing these machines isn�t very hard, all you need is the proper instructions and you be shocked at how easy it is to do this. We�ll be able to help you along the way, you�ve come to the right place. Good luck on in your search. If you are not willing to do all of the above, your only shot is to wait until one shows up on ebay and be prepared to spend $$$$. But please understand that even with spending $$$$ on an eBay you are still going to have to keep it running yourself. Again, best of luck in your search and please do let us know when you find one!