i love my maroon tri star. it was a demo model when i bought it in the mid 80's. it is the only vacuum for me. i call it "the little tri-star". today it's suffering from a bad motor. :( i bought a back up tri star last year on ebay..it's the gray model with the weird filter sticking out the back. i don't care for the way it looks and i prefer the 2 speeds of my older maroon model. i always use the high speed...i mean if you're going to suck up dirt, you wanna REALLY SUCK UP DIRT RIGHT? :) i just bought 2 vintage tri stars on ebay. they haven't arrived yet, so i don't know yet whether i will replace the motor on my original maroon with one from either of these or not. i hate to "cannibalize" a tri star, but i want to repair "the little tri star" because it's served me so well for 31 years and i guess i have a sentimental attachment to it. there is no other vacuum for me besides a tri star. i have bare floors because you can't ever keep carpeting clean (even with a tri star) and my little tri star has been gliding across my wood and tile floors vacuuming up the dirt and dust for over 30 years. my daughter recently bought a new tri star because she's grown up listening to me sing the praises of the brand. she's a believer too. anyway, i may need some help when my ebay tri stars arrive as to the best "donor" for my original one. thanks for any input. :) sandy
if the two tristars you are getting from ebay don't have two speed motors in them( the little Burgundy model was the only one that came with a two speed motor)the motors out of these tristars won't work on low speed. A older two speed motor out of a filter queen would fit in the tristar and then you would have the two speeds again.I believe they are a amtek motor.