Thread Number: 38920
fixing 1966 Whirlpool |
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Post# 577409 , Reply# 2   2/21/2012 at 09:21 (4,419 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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To do bearings, seals, agitator shaft and spin tube, transmission etc and to renew and fix all water carrying parts, inlet valve, hoses water pump etc you are looking at around $400.00-$500.00 or possibly more. This is assuming the machine is transported to our shop, turn around time would be one to two months. |
Post# 577413 , Reply# 3   2/21/2012 at 09:50 (4,419 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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The honesty of the hobby –
This past weekend I held a gathering at my place, with about 15 or so people passing through the front door throughout the evening. One of the highlights is always the basement as it is the most hyped up point as past visitors always make their friends privy of the basement before visiting. Once folks get downstairs, they love the panel lights, the different colors, and can always respect the history and memories provided by any vintage appliance. People grew up with their mothers or grandmothers using a conventional Maytag, or a belt-drive Whirlpool, or their aunt had a fun coppertone refrigerator in the kitchen. Once the glitter and glam wears away, the conversation quickly turns back to me and the question is always – why. Why do I collect appliances? And the answer always comes back to – GTO’s. I explain that I grew up turning wrenches with my father in the garage. My dad raced a 1970 Buick on the weekends, and would drag me along and taught me how to work on cars. Eventually as I progressed through high school and college, I was buying old beat up cars and dreaming of restored GTO’s and Firebird’s. I quickly realized though that the cars I admired were out of reach for a poor college student, but knew someday I would enjoy them again once I had an established career. By pure luck a good friend ran across AW.org weeks after it went live in 2004 and told me I had to check it out. Besides Pontiacs I had also collected anything vintage that looked fun. It didn’t take long for me to remember playing with my mother’s center dial Maytag, and her nagging about leaving it alone while I was opening up the lid just enough to see what it was doing. Appliances quickly replaced automobiles – they have motors, transmissions, water pumps, electrical components, suspensions. Everything a car has but in a small, convenient box that can be stored in a basement. Plus you could have many vintage appliances in a smaller space for pennies compared to a vintage GTO. Few people let others drive their vintage cars, but who cares if others wash their laundry in a vintage washer! I was able to get my hands dirty again and enjoyed seeing something come alive from the dead. The morale of the story is, I was lucky to have been born into a house where my dad taught me how to troubleshoot and work on old cars. If you are mechanically inclined but have not worked on a washer, and while rebuilding a belt-drive Whirlpool/Kenmore is a large task, it is certainly no more difficult than say rebuilding a GM Turbo Hydramatic 400 transmission out of a 1970 Chevelle. Yes you’ll need to acquire service literature, replacement parts, and the proper tools to complete the task – but it is achievable. If you are not mechanically inclined and find a task like this to be completely overwhelming, then vintage appliances may not be the right hobby unless you have the resources (aka CASH) and are able find a reputable repair agency who can find the parts and would even touch an old machine like a BD Whirlpool. This isn’t intended to discourage your from perusing your dream of owning a vintage appliance, but meant to put a perspective about the depth of the hobby. We are all here to enjoy watching these machines work, and some of us are willing to get our hands dirty and learn something along the way. Ben This post was last edited 02/21/2012 at 10:31 |
Post# 577415 , Reply# 4   2/21/2012 at 10:02 (4,419 days old) by Kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC)   |   | |
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I can agree with everything you said, and have a little bit more to offer.
There are a lot of folks here who are into cars AND appliances. Very ironically, I was just thinking this past weekend as I worked on two Kenmores how much more fun they can be at times vs. working on a car project. As Ben said, an appliance is an easy to get your arms around project that you can contain to your basement or garage, and finish if you're lucky in a day/weekend/or some other short period of time, provided parts are in-hand, etc. Without hijacking this thread, below is a Mustang project that took nearly 3-years. It shouldn't have, but it did. It had a satisfying end, but the lag and wait time will make me think twice about doing this again. The pic below is a 1986 Mustang LX 5.0. The damage doesn't look that bad, but whatever the car hit was low to the ground, and took out the K-member, driver's front suspension, part of the floor pan, steering gear, etc. A LOT more than it looks. This post was last edited 02/21/2012 at 10:30 |
Post# 577417 , Reply# 5   2/21/2012 at 10:07 (4,419 days old) by Kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC)   |   | |
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Over the course of three years (October 2004 to summer 2007), a body shop buddy of mine put his staff to work on my car when they had nothing better to do and were just sitting around. It's a good cheap way to get great work, but requires LOTS and LOTS of patience. Any snow, rainstorms, or weird weather, I always knew the Mustang would get pushed off to the back corner for weeks/months.
I had to source a replacement fender, door, fender liner, rocker panel, K-member, wheels (it had non-stock stupid rims on the other three), trim, and some mechanical work. The body shop foolishly took the door molding off the replacement door, leaving me to find a replacement when NOS stuff is gone and the part long ago NLA. Now the molding is in reproduction, so we'll finally put the last touch on the re-do, but this is not a project for the impatient. |
Post# 577418 , Reply# 6   2/21/2012 at 10:22 (4,419 days old) by Kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC)   |   | |
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So....how does this relate to appliance work and in specific, a belt-drive Whirlpool washer?
Well, the first thing is an enthusiast should know the product they want to work on. Know it in how it is supposed to operate, what is normal and what isn't. Either that or be ready and open minded to learn as you go. Then, yes indeed, access to parts is always good, or as Ben said, having the resourcs to find and keep a good service person willing to do the work. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE to restore these machines when the mood strikes. If not in the mood, it can be a royal pain. Acquiring them is the fun and easy part. Keeping them running is not always easy, and if I couldn't do the work myself, I can see where another Mustang-like restoration would ensue that would drain my enthusiasm. The best part of working on appliances, especially ones which I have loved all my life in all their forms and variety, is envisioning a project, and making it happen, and not having to wait three years while the interest level turns into a big pile of stress. Echoing what Ben said...this is something I can do myself. It is often more fun to take a piece of crap and make it into something desirable, at least for me, vs. finding something mint and merely collecting it. I agree with what John said too -- restoring that '66 Whirlpool, or any washer like it, could take some time, time to locate parts, and time to do the work. Taking the machine apart, removing the time-worn offending parts and replacing them, especially the bearings and seals, will eat up time and money if you're paying someone to do the work. For you 1966_Mustang, since I think you already are restoring a car, you probably know the drill. I would say to take your investment in this machine, try to work on it yourself, learn, and then do what you can your self. This is cheaper and more satisfying to someone who knows what restoration is. I can help locate parts. I may have something, and I may be willing to share. If not, there are resources here to help. The best thing you can do is to get to know people here. Good luck! Gordon |
Post# 577489 , Reply# 8   2/21/2012 at 17:04 (4,418 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)   |   | |
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Funny you should mention GTO's, and washers. This past Sunday I started working on my 68 GTO, which has been sleeping in the garage for about 8 years. I've decided I'm going to drive it again this year! I had to remove some washer and dryer parts sitting on top to open the hood.
And I have the 66 WP washer that Mustang is wanting to rebuild. Great advice, nothing I can add. |
Post# 577682 , Reply# 10   2/22/2012 at 19:14 (4,417 days old) by bendixmark (Winchester Mass)   |   | |
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I have that exact same 86 mustang with the tenhole rims in red only it is a convertible.I have had 5 of them over 20 years |