Thread Number: 6280
The Frankenmore gets a more 1970's look!
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Post# 127651   5/9/2006 at 21:13 (6,533 days old) by westytoploader ()        

The Bakelite Surgilator was fun for a while, but it was time for the Frankenmore to have an agitator it was intended for, and that is none other than...the Harvest Gold Super Roto-Swirl, complete with the classic trademark Kenmore agitator cap! Thanks again Robert for letting me know and sending it!!!! Now, it's time to wash, 1970's Kenmore style! And the appropriate cycle would be none other than...

THE WASH & WEAR CYCLE!!! WOOHOO!!!

Enjoy the pictures! If a few are dark, it's because the Frankenmore doesn't sit directly under the light. I tried adjusting the brightness/enhancement on some and that seemed to help.


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Post# 127653 , Reply# 1   5/9/2006 at 21:15 (6,533 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

unimatic1140's profile picture
Yay, glad you got the cap Austin, enjoy!

Post# 127657 , Reply# 2   5/9/2006 at 21:29 (6,533 days old) by hoover1060 ()        
Looks like fun!

what makes the roto swirl so special?

Post# 127658 , Reply# 3   5/9/2006 at 21:43 (6,533 days old) by rickr (.)        

rickr's profile picture
Looking good Austin! Great photos of your creation!
Thank you!


Post# 127660 , Reply# 4   5/9/2006 at 21:46 (6,533 days old) by spinout (Phoenix)        
So what makes the roto swirl so special?

It is THE quintessential Kenmore agitator.

Austin--what is the rated capacity of that machine? And is that a "tall" agitator?

Joe


Post# 127721 , Reply# 5   5/10/2006 at 07:10 (6,533 days old) by mayken4now (Panama City, Florida)        

mayken4now's profile picture
Very cool Austin. Glad you got the original cap. I remember you posting about it and also had mentioned it in December.
That is an awesome machine anyway.

Steve


Post# 127725 , Reply# 6   5/10/2006 at 07:43 (6,533 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

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Looks good, Austin. Now you can do field testing of the Penta-Vane and the Roto - my money is on the Penta-Vane!

Post# 127749 , Reply# 7   5/10/2006 at 10:38 (6,532 days old) by mixfinder ()        
The birth of Frankenmore

Since I am new and playing catch up, is it safe to assume, from the design of the water fall filter, that Frankenmore was a Whirlpool bottom and then got a Kenmore top, and if you sold it it would be adverstised as versatile?
Kelly


Post# 127772 , Reply# 8   5/10/2006 at 11:04 (6,532 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY)        

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Great!

Thanks for the post!


Post# 127874 , Reply# 9   5/10/2006 at 19:34 (6,532 days old) by jasonl (Cookeville, TN)        
YAY!!!!!!!

When's the next wash-in???

I still have memories of the Fifth Dimension, Fresh Start and the Frankenmore!


Post# 127875 , Reply# 10   5/10/2006 at 19:39 (6,532 days old) by jasonl (Cookeville, TN)        

And again, it's THAT cycle, the Rotoswirl, the whine, and the grind-click-clunk that makes Kenmore my FAVORITE vintage brand.

Bravo! I can't wait to see it in action again.


Post# 127880 , Reply# 11   5/10/2006 at 20:13 (6,532 days old) by appnut (TX)        

appnut's profile picture
Kelly, it's all Kenmore. The head is from a late 60s Kenmore. The rest of the machine is from an early 1980s series 60 washer, which didn't have the self-clean filter.

Post# 127891 , Reply# 12   5/10/2006 at 20:33 (6,532 days old) by westytoploader ()        

Thanks everyone!! To answer all of your questions...

Jeff, the Roto-Swirl is just an awesome agitator to have in a BD Kenmore. Nearly every Kenmore had this agitator and to say the action is fun is an understatement. Much different than Ramp Activation, that's for sure!

Joe, the rated capacity of this machine is 18 lbs., but by 1982 (date of the base/mechanism) the agitator shaft was the same length as the standard-capacity machines. The 1968 Kenmore "518" I pulled the top off of was an earlier large-capacity model, so it had the longer agitator shaft. It also had a HUGE 3-vane agitator that I saved; too bad I can't use it here!! I can only imagine the the Wash & Wear cooldown with that one.

Greg, I actually did use the Penta-Vane in this machine for a while, and did try it with Wash & Wear as well!!! It dragged the entire load around the tub which was pretty interesting, but the Penta-Vane is downright anemic on large loads. The Roto-Swirl is a little better, but if the load has jeans in it, forget it. One thing I did like about the Surgilator was that I could wash a large mixed load with jeans, cargos, etc., and there would still be great action.

Jason, glad you had fun with it last December. I definitely want to do another wash-in either later this year or early 2007, and this time I will post about it beforehand. I'm always going to remember that first Texas Wash-In though; it was my first try (as well as Glenn's I believe) at hosting a somewhat "major" wash-in...LOL!!!

Kelly, back in December I was facing a dilemma with the ugly black control panels on my 1982 Kenmore washer. One was horribly scratched and the other wouldn't work due to the wrong connector on the wiring harness. I had the 1968 control panel laying around, so I checked the harness and sure enough it matched up with the 8-pin connector to the machine!!! I ended up swapping the entire top panels because I also wanted the chrome lid handle. So that's the story of the Frankenmore...1982 Kenmore base with a 1968 Kenmore top panel! The manual-clean lint filter makes it that much more fun; I'm a big fan of recirculation you can see!

--Austin


Post# 127897 , Reply# 13   5/10/2006 at 21:42 (6,532 days old) by jasonl (Cookeville, TN)        
Your first wash-in

You did a wonderful for your first time hosting a wash-in. You and Venus treated us wonderfully and I can't wait to do it again. And being able to play records made it even more fun.

The 5th Dimension's Greatest Hits aka Belt Drive Kenmore:The Soundtrack.


Post# 127899 , Reply# 14   5/10/2006 at 21:46 (6,532 days old) by westytoploader ()        

Now THAT one is an AWESOME album; definitely THE wash-in soundtrack! It was also the first Fifth Dimension album I found and listened to.

Maybe by then I'll have found a console stereo to squeeze in down there? ;-)


Post# 127903 , Reply# 15   5/10/2006 at 21:58 (6,532 days old) by jasonl (Cookeville, TN)        
Hopefully

You'll find a Magnavox Astro-Sonic from the 60s, OR a Zenith with a VM record changer (like Bobofhollywood has). Both rock!

Post# 127908 , Reply# 16   5/10/2006 at 22:30 (6,532 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)        

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That was an awesome pictorial of a classic wash 'n' wear cycle! That agitator just flat out ROCKS. What a fun one!

Ben


Post# 127922 , Reply# 17   5/11/2006 at 00:31 (6,532 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

frigilux's profile picture
Thanks for the pics of the W'n'W cycle, Austin; Glad you found a matching cap for the super Roto-Swirl. I took Kenmores for granted because I grew up with one, but now I've come to realize how cool they are.

Post# 128421 , Reply# 18   5/13/2006 at 04:24 (6,530 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)        

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I love the Super Roto-Swirl since I used a commercial washer in a hotel once. I was flabbergasted by the rollover and the excellent wash results. I love the color of this one too!

Post# 128493 , Reply# 19   5/13/2006 at 10:16 (6,529 days old) by jasonl (Cookeville, TN)        
Rotoswirl Rocks!

Give me the wash, boys and rock my world
I want to get lost with a Rotoswirl and drift away...


Post# 128503 , Reply# 20   5/13/2006 at 11:16 (6,529 days old) by pulsator (Saint Joseph, MI)        

pulsator's profile picture
YAY!!!! I just love the Rotoswirls!!! Any spiral agitator is awesome in my book!! I just can't get over how lightly you load your machines! See, if that were a load of mine, it would be on the medium-low setting. I guess I just overload my machines... That might explain my Maytags most recent problem... Oh well, ENJOY!!!!

Post# 128507 , Reply# 21   5/13/2006 at 11:37 (6,529 days old) by jasonl (Cookeville, TN)        

You shouldn't overload a machine, especially a classic one.

Post# 129029 , Reply# 22   5/16/2006 at 04:57 (6,527 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        
One Less Bell To Answer

launderess's profile picture
One less egg to fry..... *LOL*

Post# 129046 , Reply# 23   5/16/2006 at 07:03 (6,527 days old) by jasonl (Cookeville, TN)        
Nope

That song's on their "Greatest Hits on Earth" on Bell records. Austin has that one too.



Post# 129100 , Reply# 24   5/16/2006 at 09:32 (6,526 days old) by frontaloadotmy (the cool gay realm)        
One less man

to pick up after......


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