What's the function of that plastic thing opposite the dispensers?

That's the rare model just below the LK that I helped my mom pick out in 1975.  Big selling point was the Quiet Pak transmission, as the laundry room opened onto the den/TV room, and this new Kenmore would be replacing the despicable and ear-splitting '67 Snorge from Hell.  The Kenmore served her for 25 years (could have been longer but that's another story that's sad and irritating) and in that time only needed a belt (the original green ones were notorious for failure) and a new and improved filter (ditto on the original ones).

Todd, this is a very special and tempting, feature-rich machine that is likely the only one that could ever replace my A712, but as long as it has potentially found a good home, that's what really matters.

Ken, that's another dispenser for powdered detergent.  When selecting the automatic soak & wash cycle, after the soak and pre-wash the machine would continue into the regular wash and the spring loaded bottom flap on the dispenser would open and allow the detergent to drop into the tub when fill was done and agitation began.  You could also use it for just a regular wash, but you had to set the timer dial for the full 14-minute wash time in order to trigger the detergent dispenser.

Thanks guys for clarifying.  I had forgotten that the detergent dispenser works on all three wash cycle options, but I guess that's because I can't see any need to bother with it other than with the soak & wash selection.  It just gets in/knocked out of the way when unloading the machine.

It's possible that Kenny just posted one to match this in the Shoppers Square frum.

lawrence