Thread by @iowahawkblog

Don't want to discount Mr McKenzie's skill, but pretty sure these are Maytag (yep the washing machine people) toy racers, with customized bodies and stretched frames. If I'm right, the earliest the pics are is 1934. #DavesCarIDService

https://twitter.com/mdrache/status/1357313667264618499

*between 1934 and 1941 Maytag made these very exclusive toy racers in Newton Iowa, powered by a gasoline washing machine engine. Not surprisingly these are hella rare; not many people had the money to buy their kid such a fancy toy during the Depression.

yes, you heard that right: a *gasoline* washing machine engine. Maytag made 1 and 2 cylinder versions. Prior to rural electrification, these were popular with farm families. My grandma had one, and my dad collected a few.

Yes, these could be used inside; the engines were very compact, reasonably quiet, and kick start (note the starter pedals). You could vent the exhaust via a hose through a window.

Here's a survivor showing the whole rig.

BTW that little toy racer wasn't the only vehicle made by Maytag. From 1909-15 the Maytag (and Maytag-Mason) car was made in Des Moines & Waterloo. These were designed by Iowa farm boys Fred and Augie Duesenberg, who went on to greater fame with their own car company.

Sadly the Maytag plant in Newton IA closed down years ago after they were acquired by Whirlpool, and now Maytag is mainly an emblem appliance brand. At the site of the old plant they now make giant wind turbine blades, which you will likely see on I-80 driving thru Iowa.

But the Maytag family is still in Newton and now makes some very fine cheeses, including an award winning blue.

Many people do not know this

yes, I realize these stream-of-conscious threads are why I am lonelier than the Maytag Repairman

*like James Bond, the Maytag repair man was portrayed by several actors. Jesse White (1967-89) was the OG Sean Connery, followed by:
Gordon Jump (1989-2003)
Hardy Rawls (2003-2007)
Clay Jackson (2007-2015)
and now the Daniel Craigesque Colin Ferguson

Somehow the Maytag Repairman has evolved from Scorekeeper at Wednesday League Bowling Nite to Elite International Assassin

He's got a license to repair appliances... and KILL

In conclusion, I will be donating my brain to medical science so they can discover wtf is wrong with it