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Thread Number: 27817
Kenmore (and Whirpool) abuse extraordinaire |
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Post# 426140 4/1/2010 at 16:15 (5,138 days old) by KenmoreGuy64  (Charlotte, NC) |
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I have a long but somewhat amusing story for everyone that I want to share. After having 20-some washers stolen last fall from my storage trailer, I told myself that I could replace a few of them with "new" stuff as I found things worthwhile.
Back a couple years ago, I connected with a seller on ebay who was selling new and used BD parts. He's in Arizona, and it didn't take long for me to find out that his washers are phenominal as compared to what we often find around here. So, before long, rather than buying parts from him only, he was saving whole machines for me. He loves that I like the belt-drives, so he saves them for me when they come into his shop. What I love about the machines is their almost complete lack of rust, which as we all know makes restorations so much easier and more fun. This is similar to why car buffs like Arizona cars. Anyway, what I've done in the past is ship the washers to a vendor of mine in Phoenix where they store them temporarily in their plant for onward shipment to NC (or for pick-up by the Kevins of AW.org - which is where his Country Squire Whirlpools came from). We buy materials from this company for our two manufacturing plants. When the vendor ships, there is almost always a little room on the trucks and the washers travel for free, no harm no foul, right? NOT ALWAYS. DRUM ROLL PLEASE MEISTRO>>>>>> Well, in early March, my buddy called and had a haul of machines that had been building up for 6 months. I would have passed on them had the trailer not been robbed, but I said "Sure!" and was very interested in a couple particular machines. I paid to have the washers trucked the 60-some miles to my vendor, and they were there for a couple weeks until they had a rush order to get out to a customer on a JIT (just in time) basis near their other plant. So, they shipped the rush order along with some transfer stuff to their east coast plant, and my washers. The freight charge on the order paid for the truck basically, so the washers again rode for free. BUT, the truck wasn't near full, and this raised suspicion when the truck arrived at a weigh station at the Arizona state line. Immediately, the authorities asked the driver where the drugs were hidden. He said "There are no drugs in this load!!" and they immediately hand-cuffed him and put him in a cruiser for over four hours. Seems they could not fathom that someone would pay a full truck to go halfway across the country with a few skids of plastic materials and a smattering of old washing machines!!!! DUH, LOL. So, since the driver was no help, they decided to "inspect" the machines. Where was the drug sniffing dog? That's what some have asked, including me. So, they "dug" into one of the machines as you can see. This is a 1982 Kenmore 500, bleeding. Yes, that is transmission oil on the floor of the truck. 
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Post# 426141 , Reply# 1 4/1/2010 at 16:16 (5,138 days old) by KenmoreGuy64 (Charlotte, NC) |
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Can you just here it? | ||
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Post# 426142 , Reply# 2 4/1/2010 at 16:17 (5,138 days old) by KenmoreGuy64 (Charlotte, NC) |
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Post# 426144 , Reply# 3 4/1/2010 at 16:20 (5,138 days old) by KenmoreGuy64 (Charlotte, NC) |
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Anyone who knows me will tell you that I don't cuss much, which is good in some ways because when I do, it gets noticed, LOL.
Well, the vendor was afraid to call me when they found out about this. Apparently the authorities got more and more frustrated as they dug into machines and found nothing. From what I know, eventually they just pryed open the backs of the control panels thinking that was the most obvious place to stache the goods....NOTHING was there, imagine that. | ||
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Post# 426145 , Reply# 4 4/1/2010 at 16:24 (5,138 days old) by KenmoreGuy64 (Charlotte, NC) |
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Post# 426152 , Reply# 5 4/1/2010 at 16:32 (5,138 days old) by KenmoreGuy64 (Charlotte, NC) |
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So, once the machines got to the east coast plant, the maintenance guy there who knows me started putting things back together, or at least collecting the parts so they could be re-assembled. He is not aware of my tenacity when I'm peeved, so he thought some were un-salvageable, and to some, perhaps they are.
But, the worst case seems to be the 82 500, which I wanted for several reasons. I got it and the gold machine here in Charlotte a week ago and am hoping to work on the 500 this long weekend. It is going to get a brand new transmission that I have, and hope to salvage the old one for parts. I have lots of spare transmission braces, pumps, etc. so I am hoping that nothing is bent on the baseplate. I have big plans for this washer, if nothing else than to recover from the 'pillage' as I've been calling it. I will learn more as the rest trickle in here, but GEEEZ! In case you're curious, we've filed a claim with the state as apparently they are liable since they found nothing. They tore into the poor driver's truck after the load bore nothing, so they could be paying for that too. Would love to have seen their faces when after all that brutality, they came up empty-handed. Gordon | ||
| Post# 426158 , Reply# 6 4/1/2010 at 16:40 (5,138 days old) by LordKenmore (The Laundry Room) | ||
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Post# 426163 , Reply# 7 4/1/2010 at 16:48 (5,138 days old) by KenmoreGuy64 (Charlotte, NC) |
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Is there something special about the 82 Kenmore 500?
Yes, to me there is in this case. I had one back in 1992 or 1993 as a re-buildable, which was rare for 11-year old machines. Back then, the belt-drives sold themselves and I seldom had to advertise - word of mouth kept people coming for them, sometimes at a faster pace than I could keep up with.
Most of the washers I could get my hands on cheaply were mid-70s stuff or older, or were later model stuff that had been "rode hard". The '82 was free, and not a basket case, and I enjoyed everything about it except the 7-inch rip in the cabinet rear above the leveling legs. I had to put metal braces over the crack like butterfly bandages, and secured them with metal screws. It worked absolute wonders, but the dang screws shredded my arm and hand more than once when working on the machine. BUT, I just enjoyed that machine and it's unpretentious basic-ness. 1982 models are rare due to the recession that was in full swing at that time, and this was the next one I saw. Since I acquired my 1979 500, I've wanted another. | ||
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Post# 426165 , Reply# 8 4/1/2010 at 16:54 (5,138 days old) by RevvinKevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land) |
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Hmmm........ | ||
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Post# 426166 , Reply# 9 4/1/2010 at 16:54 (5,138 days old) by KenmoreGuy64 (Charlotte, NC) |
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One thing I should mention....
Look at the inside cabinet on the '82. It is covered with schmutz that comes from water leaking into the centerpost (those dang short centerposts). The water This is not unusual, but because of it I would have wanted to re-seal and re-bearing the centerpost (re-seal it for sure anyway, maybe not the bearings) and would have wondered about the gearcase. This way, I have no choice but to deal with it all the way.
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Post# 426168 , Reply# 10 4/1/2010 at 17:08 (5,138 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions) |
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| Post# 426169 , Reply# 11 4/1/2010 at 17:10 (5,138 days old) by LordKenmore (The Laundry Room) | ||
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BUT, I just enjoyed that machine and it's unpretentious
I've been battling with 1969 or so 500 that really impressed me when it last worked. It did a good job washing clothes. It was basic, but had all the features most of us would need or want. So what if the water level isn't infinite? The 3 choices were good enough--plus I could actually remember roughly where the water level reached with each choice, so I could choose wisely. Missing second rinse? So what? Just advance the timer dial to the "rinse" setting.
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| Post# 426182 , Reply# 12 4/1/2010 at 18:35 (5,138 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA) | ||
Like some washer 'Slasher' movie... | ||
| Post# 426216 , Reply# 13 4/1/2010 at 22:17 (5,138 days old) by lebron (Minnesota) | ||
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Post# 426288 , Reply# 16 4/2/2010 at 08:26 (5,137 days old) by jons1077 (Vancouver, Washington, USA) |
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Innocent until proven guilty...
So in the case where they obviously found no drugs and no reasonable cause to inflict such damage to personal property that was being transported legally, where is the responsibility for the damage that was done? Does someone that has gone through that kind of search and seizure just shrug their shoulders and move on? Or is there an avenue that can be taken to help ease the burden of having to repair or replace damaged items (not just washers but anything that could have been in that truck). The officers aren't required to put things back the way they found them if they're given the "all clear"? Seems to me there's a real lack of discipline and common sense, not to mention a sense of self awareness.
I'm so sorry this happened but goodness knows you'll have these looking and working brand new regardless. The 82' should be a fun one. I remember those in Sears. That was about the time I would be begging my parents to take me to Sears and let me wander around the maze of washers. Of course by then what made the plastic console machines unique was they were about the only ones left that didn't have a DA agitator. That made them automatically my choice. :-) Congrats again on the nice finds! Jon | ||
| Post# 426342 , Reply# 17 4/2/2010 at 13:51 (5,137 days old) by aldspinboy (Philadelphia, Pa) | ||
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Post# 426663 , Reply# 18 4/4/2010 at 01:06 (5,136 days old) by KenmoreGuy64 (Charlotte, NC) |
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Hey Jed - Here's one pic anyway. Other than these machines that were involved in the highway issue, I got the two machines from RedCarpetDrew (the green 900 pair and the white 1968 Kenmore). Those are still in-transit to Charlotte, and THANKS AGAIN Andy!!! I got another Avocado washer from Robert our webmaster, and it will soon be up and running. I did get this though, and it's the only other "trailer replacement" that I can think of. It's a cool 1970 Kenmore 70-series washer with a Roto-Swirl agitator.
Gordon 
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Post# 426664 , Reply# 19 4/4/2010 at 01:13 (5,136 days old) by KenmoreGuy64 (Charlotte, NC) |
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This is one of the machines pictured on the trailer | ||
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Post# 426665 , Reply# 20 4/4/2010 at 01:16 (5,136 days old) by KenmoreGuy64 (Charlotte, NC) |
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| Post# 426666 , Reply# 21 4/4/2010 at 01:34 (5,136 days old) by frapdoodle () | ||
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Can you post a pic of the inside of the kenmore 500 that was "bleeding"? The first pic is not to clear | ||
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Post# 426670 , Reply# 22 4/4/2010 at 02:50 (5,136 days old) by Volvoguy87 (Cincinnati, OH) |
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So sad.
If anyone can make anything good of these abused machines, you can Gordon. As for the abuse, I would DEFINITELY make a huge stink with the law enforcement agency. Not only is their reprehensible conduct a disgrace to the law abiding citizens they are supposed to protect, it is an inefficient waste of their own time and resources. Don't let them bully you when it comes to compensation either. To them, they just broke some old washing machines, but they have a greater value to you, especially with regards to NLA parts.
Had they just made use of drug-sniffing dogs, they could have saved a great deal of time and effort. Give 'em hell, Dave | ||
| Post# 426682 , Reply# 23 4/4/2010 at 07:08 (5,136 days old) by stainfighter (Columbia, SC) | ||
courtesy of the the AZ Highway Patrol! | ||
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Post# 426691 , Reply# 24 4/4/2010 at 08:51 (5,135 days old) by KenmoreGuy64 (Charlotte, NC) |
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Inside/interior pic of the 1982 500..... | ||
| Post# 426697 , Reply# 25 4/4/2010 at 09:18 (5,135 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY) | ||
Hi Gordon, the 82 Kenmore 70 is gorgeous
and a wonderful and powerful machine machine, with the long stroke DA agitator, and the rinse starts right after the last spray. Really neat. Shared this exact machine in the last double house I lived in after the Norge died.
Those cops were vicious nazis and you should go after them with every decent righteous power you possess. With such gratuitous violence, they disgrace their profession. Lots of drugs lurking in factory sealed machine components, surviving transmission fluid. Yeah, right. Your friend, Mike | ||
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Post# 426798 , Reply# 26 4/4/2010 at 16:14 (5,135 days old) by Kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC) |
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Thanks very much everyone!!!
We'll see what happens. A claim has been filed. I suppose a monetary claim could take a while, but I'll keep you posted. I did buy a new transmission for the white '82, not because I had to have it but because I thought it would be fun to use a brand new one. If I get some compensation for the loss in value, the parts, and my repair time, etc. I'll be happy. More to come on these machines for sure! Gordon | ||
| Post# 426890 , Reply# 27 4/4/2010 at 22:50 (5,135 days old) by markk290 () | ||
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New transmission Gordon where did you buy the transmission. I thought these were NLA. Mark | ||
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Post# 426900 , Reply# 28 4/4/2010 at 23:14 (5,135 days old) by Kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC) |
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| Post# 426924 , Reply# 29 4/5/2010 at 01:17 (5,135 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA) | ||
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Next time might I suggest stronger coffee grounds? | ||
| Post# 427287 , Reply# 31 4/6/2010 at 18:56 (5,133 days old) by Jonvance1990 () | ||
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this makes me sick to my stomach no one should do crap like that! | ||
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