here she is my pride n joy
 

my pride and joy.......

and the paint isn't even wore off

I just cleaned and serviced two like that. Those are some NICE machines.

Joe

Congrats! She's a beauty!!

I have one!! Mine looks LOTS like yours, seems like my top dial is the 'fancy' one . . .?? I should know for sure, as much as I look at it, lol. it seems like mine is a little different. ??

Can you shoot a picture of the inside of the top - just above those two knobs?
Here is what I am looking for:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]411994[/ATTACH]

Mine may be missing a part. It wants to only sew in reverse. The model number is 158.17550
I'm not sure my picture is deep enough. I'm thinking there has to be some spring or part that pulls the machine back in to sew forward. OOPS I can see that yours is NOT the same. Mine has only two knobs. The reverse is in the middle of the top knob. It does not pop back into place. I am looking for a picture of the insides of that machine. I may make a new post about it. Anybody out there have one that works? Mine has has enough Tri-Flo that everything else works beautifully. Love the machine but it is a little hard to use when it only goes backwards.

I like the Japanese machines of that era. My mother was a home ec teacher in the '70s, and she ditched their unreliable Singer Touch & Swears and replaced them with all-metal Kenmores. She said they had one machine that took cams, and they all loved that machine. Later, she bought free-arm Kenmores. They were all great machines, too.

This was my first "bought for me" machine. We checked out the Singers and when my husband found out they were going to plastic gears, "nope" not going to happen. I sewed on it for 20 yrs and then gave it to a friend. It is still going strong!

I have my '76 Kenmore which looks to be the same model, and I'm picking up another for my sister's sewing group today. They are sturdy and dependable, and great for teaching sewing to folks who are intimidated by computerized machines. I still use mine- a wedding present from my parents. The machine lasted, the marriage croaked after 25 years. This machine is a real workhorse.