I just got a vintage beige/brown Model L from the mid-sixties. This machine meant something to me because I clearly remember the Electrolux salesman coming to our house in 1964 to sell my Mother our Turquoise Model G(which lasted well into my adulthood after years of severe abuse from a cleaning lady my Mother had named Sarah Jones, who, although one of the best women of the world, we nicknamed "the white tornado" for everything she broke in a day).

When my Mother balked slightly at the price of the Model G with the new power nozzle, the Electrolux salesman walked back down and back up three flights of stairs to bring us the new Model L which, contrary to all of the brochures, was the beige/brown model. I remember being impressed by the fact that it had the chrome halo for winding the cord, like my coveted E/AE model. But then he whipped out a matching automatic cordwinder from a box and showed us how it was mounted on the front of the unit. All of sudden, I recognized something that looked very much like the Electrolux model AF that this new purchase was replacing.

I never forgot that model or the optional cordwinder. Now I possess one but it is missing its front plastic grill that fits over the blower outlet. Can anyone tell me whether this plastic piece was beige or brown?

Also, does anyone know where I can get an upholstery/furniture brush with the brown "flaps" besides ebay? They seem to be very rare.

First off, I always think of the suction end of a machine as the front, and the blower end the rear - not the other way around. Think of the human body -- food goes IN the front and OUT the rear! Wouldn't the same apply to the "food" of a vacuum cleaner, the air flow?!

Then, the plastic louvre on my tan G is off-white, the same color as the trim, so I would assume it would be the same on the tan Model L. However, my L does not have a cord winder so I can't say for sure.

btw I guess you realize that's not the original hose -- it should be the same hose as the tan G, off-white with pairs of gold stripes.

I have never much cared for the later "donut style" cord winder - which of course first appeared on the late F, then the R and then the various colors of the L. It looks too big and klunky, is out of proportion to the rest of the machine. It makes the machine look "rear-end heavy."

To me, the F looks best with the earlier flip-open cord winder but looks funny and out of proportion with the halo; the R and L look best to me with a halo -- very clean and balanced lines.

One time just for laughs I put a white F flip-open cord winder on a white L and it actually looked very nice on it, other than the slight mismatch of paint color. From a distance it looked really great!

Why back in 1968 I sold Electrolux during college summer break. I do not remember the model L having any type of cover over the rear of cleaner. I worked during the time period when they were changing from the modle G and L in brown to the new 1205. It was a fun summer and people bought those Electrolux's like crazy! Of course they were pushing the 1205 with power nozzle. I think the 1205 and power nozzle sold for $249.95.
I was quite surprised at how easy it was to get into houses and sell Electrolux. I only sold 1 model L and it was the newer blue color that matched the model 1205. I do not recall a cover on that machine either.

is on the optional cord winder. See first photo on linked page. Granted this is a Model F, but the cord winder was the same on the F, R and L - in corresponding colors of course.

Charlie,
You are so right. I was thinking of the model L without a cord winder. Most of my sales were the new 1205 and if a customer wanted to cut the cost they bought a model L. I think we are on the same page now. The model 1205 looked very modern compared to the stripped down model L when they were presented to the customer side by side. I always tried to get the customer to buy the optional power nozzle for the model L.

I might agree with you, aesthetically, about the newer doughnut-styled cord winder vs. the Belden model but it will always be dearest to me because it was on our first Elux. I remember noticing how it was different from the cord winder depicted in the vacuum manual.

I will fight you to the death, however, on the issue of what is the front of the machine. We've had this discussion before in previous thread(s) and the blower end of the machine will always be the "front" of and Electrolux to me. It defies logic: I think it's just how the machine "presents" itself to the user and possibly because the power cord, (and switch) is at that end. Even in the 1205 and beyond series, where the cord winder end was visually de-emphasized, it remains the "front" of the unit. Face it, the back(suction) end cover of those Electroluxes always look like a "tuchuss".

I'll defer to you, insofar as you are certainly free to call one or the other end front or back, or SIDE even if you wish, to your heart's content! Even if it doesn't make any sense!! haha

Charles, I agree. Intake-front, exhaust-rear seems pretty self-explanatory to me and was always how I viewed it, even on the Electrolux XXX my mom brought home for $5 at a garage sale when I was 4. It doesn't make any sense the other way around!

Sometimes it never sinks in with some. Or it could be that perhaps this person's intake and exhaust are reversed, ha! ;-)

I'm curious, what about a machine like a Kenmore or Eureka canister, or even some Constellations with the switch in the front? Then would the suction end be considered the front? *scratching head*

... think about an electric fan -- its main function is blowing cool air. So wouldn't one consider the "blowing" side the front? With a vacuum cleaner, where the main function is sucking air, wouldn't THAT side be considered the front? Again, thinking of bodily functions and all that.

And again, not to belabor the point, it really makes no difference in the grand scheme of things.......!