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Thread Number: 10149
Kirby Classic 1-CR Restoration |
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| Post# 110146 10/3/2010 at 16:58 (4,952 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas) | ||
This restoration has been a work in process for several weeks. Frozen screws on the bearing plate proved to be a REAL challenge. But I finally got the problem resolved and got her all dolled up this weekend (even with kids running all over my house!). I don't know if it's my poor photography skills or a lousy camera, but my photos never turn out very well. Sorry about that!
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| Post# 110147 , Reply# 1 10/3/2010 at 16:59 (4,952 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas) | ||
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The rug nozzle that originally came with the vacuum wasn't in great shape. Fortunately a friend gave me one he had which turned out really well.
This post was last edited 10/03/2010 at 17:16 | ||
| Post# 110149 , Reply# 2 10/3/2010 at 17:02 (4,952 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas) | ||
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| Post# 110150 , Reply# 3 10/3/2010 at 17:04 (4,952 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas) | ||
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| Post# 110151 , Reply# 4 10/3/2010 at 17:14 (4,952 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas) | ||
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When I dug into this machine, I discovered that it is very much a "transition" design. It still uses older engineering and components from the 500/D50/D80 series, while introducing design themes carried through the rest of the Classic series. One thing I found kind of interesting is the nozzle design. It uses a flange that fits into the fan case (reminiscent of the early 500 design) AND a rubber gasket. In the photo is the foot switch that is straight out of the D80. However, it is placed on the rear of the vacuum just like the rest of the Classic/Heritage series vacuums.
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| Post# 110160 , Reply# 5 10/3/2010 at 21:26 (4,952 days old) by electrolux~137 () | ||
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Hey, you did a great job on your Classic!! I always liked the "Big Beefy" Classics, but a lot of people complained about the size, weight and difficulty in moving them around. They really were best suited for "wide open spaces." | ||
| Post# 110174 , Reply# 6 10/4/2010 at 07:56 (4,952 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas) | ||
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| Post# 110209 , Reply# 8 10/4/2010 at 13:00 (4,952 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas) | ||
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I'm always interested in the stories of Kirby salesmen making a call. We had a Classic Omega, but I don't ever remember a salesman coming to our home. I must have been running around the neighborhood causing mayhem when he or she was there! I have that Omega sitting out in my garage now. It looks like it's been through some mayhem too! LOL! I think that's why my Mom bought a Kirby Tradition when I was in college. I actually had a woman selling Kirby vacuums stop by my house a few weeks ago. It was the usual "You can win something or other routine . . ." She didn't immediately identify herself as a Kirby salesperson. Then she looked through the door and happened to see my Model 517 sitting by the fireplace in the Family Room and said, "I'll bet you're ready to trade that in." So I let in the house and showed her my collection and she left pretty quickly! LOL! I think she realized that she had no possibility of making a sale.
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| Post# 110221 , Reply# 10 10/4/2010 at 17:00 (4,951 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas) | ||
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| Post# 110266 , Reply# 12 10/5/2010 at 04:39 (4,951 days old) by sanimatic () | ||
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Favorite Kirby Bill. You have restored so many beautiful Kirby's. Do you have a favorite Kirby model? | ||
| Post# 110270 , Reply# 13 10/5/2010 at 08:03 (4,951 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas) | ||
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Chris, thank you for your kind words! I think my favorite always turns out to be the Kirby I just finished restoring! LOL! I have a lot of fun taking them apart and studying the design and engineering differences from model to model. Having restored a few models, I'd say my LEAST favorite is the Heritage Legend II. I think the safety switch design on that model is unnecessarily complicated AND it's just a hard model to use on short Berber style carpeting. Anyway, it's just fun taking an "ugly duckling" that was probably retired to someone's garage for several years and returning it to its former glory. Plus, I feel like I'm preserving a little bit of American history, especially with the 500 series machines. The pre-516 models are always the most fun to work on.
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| Post# 110288 , Reply# 14 10/5/2010 at 11:50 (4,951 days old) by electrolux~137 () | ||
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"The pre-516 models are always the most fun to work on." I completely agree with that! They're also, by far, the EASIEST Kirbys to work on. | ||
| Post# 110315 , Reply# 16 10/5/2010 at 17:16 (4,950 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas) | ||
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I've never thought of dry cleaning a bag. I wonder how it would turn out. This bag is in excellent shape. It has one small tear over which I put an iron on patch. The vacuum was given to me by a vacuum shop owner last summer. It was stacked in a room filled with old Kirby vacuums. I suspect that's where the small tear occurred. I simply turned the bag inside out, vacuumed it, and then hand washed it. In the final rinse, I poured in a little Downy Fabric Softener to open the fabric pours so it will breathe more freely. Then I let it drip dry before ironing it. It looks really good too!
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