Thread Number: 3807
1938 Hoover Model 160 Cleaning Ensemble 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 43252   6/9/2008 at 16:48 (5,793 days old) by vintagehoover ()        

My latest restoration project - an eBay find and a bit of a wreck to begin with! I couldn't turn it down, though, being a somewhat rare cleaner over here. You see far more pre-war models around than the 160 or 262. The 160's handle bale was prone to breaking so it wouldn't lock, the furniture guard almost always comes off, and the bakelite hood was prone to damage.

I've had another example of the 160 for a few years, but it was in even worse condition than this, and I've never found the time to properly restore it. It needs a complete respray for a start!

Anyway, here's the new one, just out of it's shipping box:

Post# 43253 , Reply# 1   6/9/2008 at 16:49 (5,793 days old) by vintagehoover ()        
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Post# 43254 , Reply# 2   6/9/2008 at 16:50 (5,793 days old) by vintagehoover ()        
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Post# 43255 , Reply# 3   6/9/2008 at 16:52 (5,793 days old) by vintagehoover ()        
...

 The furniture guard's been repaired at some point, although the front's still split. The handle-release pedal is chipped, and the bag ring is upside-down - perhaps since the bag was replaced sometime in the 1940's!

Post# 43258 , Reply# 4   6/9/2008 at 16:59 (5,793 days old) by vintagehoover ()        
And afterwards!

 I haven't repainted the handle yet, because I haven't decided if I want to or not.

The paint on the chassis was carefully cleaned. It's wrinkle-finish texture doesn't take well to knocks or scrapes, and quite often you see 160s and 262s which have lost a lot of their paint - as with my other 160. Sadly, unlike bare metal, which you can usually repolish to a like-new gleam, paint is rather less resiliant and more tricky to clean.

The bag was vacuumed out, washed and re-pressed.

The motor was dismantled, cleaned and reassembled.

The hood and handle-release pedals are replacements from a donor set I got off eBay.

The bag ring is a N.O.S, never-been-used replacement. There was nothing wrong with the old one, other than that it was fitted upside down, but it's nice to have a brand new one fitted!

Post# 43259 , Reply# 5   6/9/2008 at 17:01 (5,793 days old) by vintagehoover ()        
Purring away!

 ...

Post# 43260 , Reply# 6   6/9/2008 at 17:02 (5,793 days old) by vintagehoover ()        
Streamlined profile!

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Post# 43262 , Reply# 7   6/9/2008 at 17:06 (5,793 days old) by vintagehoover ()        
The manual:

 This is the older version of the manual, for the earlier machines. My friend scanned a later version for me; this early version has more illustrations.

I have a partial toolkit for the 160, too - dusting brush, upholstery tool, floor tool, straight and bent extention tubes, flat nozzle, but no caddy, hose or converter :(

Post# 43263 , Reply# 8   6/9/2008 at 17:08 (5,793 days old) by arh1953 ( River Park, in Port St. Lucie, Florida)        

arh1953's profile picture
She looks great!

Post# 43264 , Reply# 9   6/9/2008 at 17:08 (5,793 days old) by vintagehoover ()        
And a video!

 See it clean!

CLICK HERE TO GO TO vintagehoover's LINK
Post# 43270 , Reply# 10   6/9/2008 at 17:28 (5,793 days old) by andy (Boston, MA)        

Gorgeous. I always found it interesting how the U.K. version didn't have the handle bail like the U.S. version did.

Post# 43282 , Reply# 11   6/9/2008 at 20:08 (5,793 days old) by myhooverco ()        

Jack...

You have done it again! There really are a lot of differences between the US and UK models. The sleek profile of the 160 was superior to the US version by far. We had to wait until 1940 to get that efficient handle. The handle grip half way down the handle, was that so you could clean stairs or was it just for carrying the cleaner around the house? I assume that it is a two speed motor too? Thanks for sharing this rather rare machine. The 150 here in the US is also a hard to find model as they too had their share of longevity issues. You are so right about polishing the aluminum too. The painted models are much more difficult to get looking "new" again. Oh, great video too. That machine just hummmmms along. Happy Hoovering!

--Tom

Post# 43289 , Reply# 12   6/9/2008 at 20:58 (5,793 days old) by hoover1060 ()        
As always

 Beautiful Jack, excellent work!

Post# 43295 , Reply# 13   6/9/2008 at 21:20 (5,793 days old) by gottahaveahoove (Pittston, Pennsylvania, 18640)        
Beautiful job!

 gottahaveahoove's profile picture
Who ever thought it would see new white carpeting!! You don't like shoes and socks much, do you? lol

Post# 43316 , Reply# 14   6/9/2008 at 22:19 (5,793 days old) by 74simon ()        
She sounds gorgeous!

 I'm glad you've got an example with sorted paint now. Will the 262 tool adaptor not fit it? I'd guess you've tried that, though!

Did you just glue the furniture guard? You need to make a sacrifice to the Hoover gods for the rest of the toolkit, maybe build a wicker man in your back garden and fill it with Purepowers, hahaha!

Have you still got that dodgy motor going spare by the way?

John, Jack is the UK contingent's answer to Sandie Shaw as far as footwear is concerned!





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Post# 43321 , Reply# 15   6/9/2008 at 22:30 (5,793 days old) by swingette ()        
You don't like shoes and socks much, do you?

 Lucky for us, he has nice feet!

(woosh!)

Post# 43322 , Reply# 16   6/9/2008 at 22:37 (5,793 days old) by hoovercelebrity (Germany)        
**scratches head**

 **shrug**

:-)

Post# 43325 , Reply# 17   6/9/2008 at 23:07 (5,793 days old) by hygiene903 (Galion, OH)        
Excellent Work, Jack!

 hygiene903's profile picture
You took a "diamond in the rough" and turned it into a beautiful machine!! And it sounds great, too!!
Jeff

Post# 43326 , Reply# 18   6/9/2008 at 23:33 (5,793 days old) by vintagehoover ()        
:)

 Alan and Jeff - thanks, glad you like it. I'm pleased I finally have a half-decent 160 to add to the collection. It's in good company!

Andy and Tom - I guess since we got our 160 three years after you got your 150, Hoover had more time to develop a new style of handle. As you say, Tom, the older style one spoils the aerodynamic look of the chassis and hood a little. That said, the 150 is a lovely machine, and had more de luxe features than the 160.

Also although the handle may have looked better, it was a flawed design; the metal bit inside, which guides the handle as you lower it (I forget it's proper name - ratchet?), was thin and delicate, and often broke. The handle lock on the 262, although a different design, often broke in a similar way. These models just were not quite as durable as the ones they replaced, or the ones which replaced them!

The mid-handle hand-grip was mainly meant for carrying the cleaner around the house. As for using the machine for cleaning stair carpeting, you could use the grip - but as I look at it, I think I'd want to hold the handle above and below where the grip is situated!

It would have had a 2-speed motor originally, but the Hoover Service Engineers had a mass switch conversion at some point. The 2-speed switch was prone to jamming and failing. I have 2 160s and a 960, and none of them have their 2-speed switches in place. In some cases, they just changed the switch and removed the 3rd handle wire, but all too often they removed the 3rd wire from the field coils too, and rectifying that is sadly beyond my skill. Luckily, my 750, 900, 925 and 825 have their 2-speed systems still intact, and I have 1 spare 2-speed switch ready to go on a suitable cleaner.

Simon - no, sadly, the 262's converter is totally different; it's much fatter and made of bakelite, and lacks the little locking spring-latch. I did just glue the furniture guard with my glue gun; discretely underneath to hide the mend. It looks ok, although it wouldn't stand up to rough treatment! I do still have the spare motor, it's put aside for you and you're welcome to it whenever I see you next.

John and Brett - no, I don't like shoes or socks much; shoes make me feel clumsy (I can't wear them when I drive), and I look at socks as something you wear when you're cold, or to stop your shoes rubbing! I don't bother with them in the house, in the summer.

As for me having nice feet, thanks, Brett, a couple of people have said that, but I don't see it myself...they're just what I have at the end of my legs to stop me falling over :)


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