WA Wizard POD 3/26/2012

This was a Franklin built solid tub machine, it is in some ways a copy of GE ST washers of the time. Franklin Washers and Dryers were sort of like D&M DWs, I don't think that they would have been taken seriously if they tried to sell these machines under their own brand name. And like D&M DWs they never did. Over the years Franklin made washers, dryers and refrigerators and freezers for department stores and they were sold under many different names. Franklin was part of the Studebaker car company it was purchased by White industries as they started to assemble a full line major appliances.

This ST washer was made from the late 1950s- about 1966-7 at which time they finely up-dated it to a much larger tub perforated basket design that stayed in production till Frigidaire stopped making conventional TL washers last year.

Our family bought our 2nd automatic washer in 1960, the first a Kelvinator was purchased in 1955 and after more than a 1/2 dozen repairs it finely had a serious problem in the main bearings and was replaced with a new CO-OP middle of the line Franklin built washer. It was a fairly good performer and only had a few fairly minor service calls while washing clothing for a family of six. But by about 1966 it was starting to have transmission problems and we retired it.

Then my brothers and I completely rebuilt a 1951 MT AMP washer and the family used this machine for a year or so, but it didn't do nearly as good a job washing or rinsing as the two previous washers and it was sold to a neighbor who used it for about 3 years before buying a new middle of the line KM Suds-Saver washer in 1970. Our next family's washer was a 1959 LKM that a good fried of my mothers gave up on and we completly rebuilt [ my first rebuild of a BD WP built washer ]. This machine did a great job in every respect and My parents have never had anything but WP built BD washers since and still.


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Post# 585036 3/25/2012 at 18:32 (4,413 days old) by 300C (Jonesboro, GA)
Checkrate/Likes I cannot explain why I'm so interested in the Western Auto Wizards of 1958/59, but I am. The POD is a 1958. (A bit of trivia: the lint filter is different from the one on the 1959 model in a POD rotation.) What I wonder is if ANY of the 1958/59 models is in existence somewhere. I faintly recall in an Imperial thread some mention of such a machine, but the owner wanted $2,500 for it, and it was in bad shape. Does anyone know of any of these machines anywhere? (I know there are 1964 and 1966 models in two members' collections.) Who shares my fascination with these machines?

Post# 585108 , Reply# 1 3/26/2012 at 06:04 (4,413 days old) by akronman (Akron/Cleveland Ohio)
Checkrate/Likes *Wizard* IS wizard built by Norge? I've recently acquired a 1978 Norge and become a fan, but I'm not familiar with 50's 60 's models, unfortunately.

Post# 585126 , Reply# 2 3/26/2012 at 08:02 (4,413 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Western Auto Wizard Washer* This was a Franklin built solid tub machine, it is in some ways a copy of GE ST washers of the time. Franklin Washers and Dryers were sort of like D&M DWs, I don't think that they would have been taken seriously if they tried to sell these machines under their own brand name. And like D&M DWs they never did. Over the years Franklin made washers, dryers and refrigerators and freezers for department stores and they were sold under many different names. Franklin was part of the Studebaker car company it was purchased by White industries as they started to assemble a full line major appliances. This ST washer was made from the late 1950s- about 1966-7 at which time they finely up-dated it to a much larger tub perforated basket design that stayed in production till Frigidaire stopped making conventional TL washers last year. Our family bought our 2nd automatic washer in 1960, the first a Kelvinator was purchased in 1955 and after more than a 1/2 dozen repairs it finely had a serious problem in the main bearings and was replaced with a new CO-OP middle of the line Franklin built washer. It was a fairly good performer and only had a few fairly minor service calls while washing clothing for a family of six. But by about 1966 it was starting to have transmission problems and we retired it. Then my brothers and I completely rebuilt a 1951 MT AMP washer and the family used this machine for a year or so, but it didn't do nearly as good a job washing or rinsing as the two previous washers and it was sold to a neighbor who used it for about 3 years before buying a new middle of the line KM Suds-Saver washer in 1970. Our next family's washer was a 1959 LKM that a good fried of my mothers gave up on and we completly rebuilt [ my first rebuild of a BD WP built washer ]. This machine did a great job in every respect and My parents have never had anything but WP built BD washers since and still.