The Hoover 450 Saga

I recently purchased Sean's Hoover 450 (which has been wonderfully cleaned, polished, and serviced by Will). He had intended on listing it on eBay, but I made him an offer he couldn't refuse!

Anyway, after the Mini-Meet at Sean's house, he carefully packaged everything up, putting the handle in a shipping tube, the base in one box, and the accessories and bag in another. This was a 3-piece FedEx shipment, which should in theory all stay together in transit.

Fast forward to delivery day...I see that the packages have been delivered via the FedEx tracking website. I count down the minutes until I get home so I can open my new toy. I pull into the driveway and see the three boxes, nothing unusual. I walk up to the porch, and unlock the door. I then picked up the boxes and moved them into the house, one by one. When I got to the last piece, the shipping tube, I picked it up and noticed it felt extremely light. My eyes quickly darted to the end of the tube, which did not have a cap, and the tape holding it on had been sheered off by rough handling. I peered inside the tube to confirm my worst fear....EMPTY.

Despite the pit in my stomach, and the realization that I'd probably never see the handle again, I called Sean, and then I called FedEx. We both opened a case and were told we would hear back from someone tomorrow. Despite my extreme sadness and reluctance to open the other boxes, knowing that I wouldn't be able to use it, I proceeded to do so anyway, if nothing else to make sure nothing else was damaged. I opened one of the larger boxes and discovered....KIRBY PARTS! I had forgotten that I had some goodies coming, which I would have normally been excited about, except that meant yet another piece of my beautiful new Hoover was missing. I opened the third box, and the machine itself was safe and sound.

So, I called FedEx to update my case and let them know that not only did they lose the contents of one of the boxes, there was an entire box missing as well. While I was on the line trying not to lose my temper, I had another call ring in. I switched over and it was FedEx. They FOUND the handle, and it was in my local shipping center, waiting at the front desk for me to pick it up. The missing box apparently got held up at the Airport and wouldn't arrive until the following day.

I got in my car and drove there as fast as I could. I got there, ran in the door and saw a 4' bubble wrapped stick in the corner. I told the woman at the desk that I was there to pick up the item, and off I went. I can't help but wonder how on earth such a large item slid out of a 48" tube without anyone noticing, and how the driver delivered an empty tube without noticing as well.

Now for the happy ending: the third box was waiting on the porch when I returned home today, I raced inside and put the Hoover together and fired it up. I just love it. One of the most beautiful Vacuums I've seen, the Art Deco motif on the top of it really catches the eye. Everything is all original, from the Hoover stamped plug and retractable bag strap, to the seemingly unused accessories. It even has the owners manual!

A big thanks to Sean for so carefully packaging everything, and helping solve the mystery with FedEx, and another big thanks to Will for doing such a great job restoring it!

Photos... < > Photo 1 of 4 View Full Size


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Post# 306205 11/14/2014 at 23:33 (3,443 days old) by HisMastersVoice (Ferndale, MI)
Checkrate/Likes 7 I recently purchased Sean's Hoover 450 (which has been wonderfully cleaned, polished, and serviced by Will). He had intended on listing it on eBay, but I made him an offer he couldn't refuse! Anyway, after the Mini-Meet at Sean's house, he carefully packaged everything up, putting the handle in a shipping tube, the base in one box, and the accessories and bag in another. This was a 3-piece FedEx shipment, which should in theory all stay together in transit. Fast forward to delivery day...I see that the packages have been delivered via the FedEx tracking website. I count down the minutes until I get home so I can open my new toy. I pull into the driveway and see the three boxes, nothing unusual. I walk up to the porch, and unlock the door. I then picked up the boxes and moved them into the house, one by one. When I got to the last piece, the shipping tube, I picked it up and noticed it felt extremely light. My eyes quickly darted to the end of the tube, which did not have a cap, and the tape holding it on had been sheered off by rough handling. I peered inside the tube to confirm my worst fear....EMPTY. Despite the pit in my stomach, and the realization that I'd probably never see the handle again, I called Sean, and then I called FedEx. We both opened a case and were told we would hear back from someone tomorrow. Despite my extreme sadness and reluctance to open the other boxes, knowing that I wouldn't be able to use it, I proceeded to do so anyway, if nothing else to make sure nothing else was damaged. I opened one of the larger boxes and discovered....KIRBY PARTS! I had forgotten that I had some goodies coming, which I would have normally been excited about, except that meant yet another piece of my beautiful new Hoover was missing. I opened the third box, and the machine itself was safe and sound. So, I called FedEx to update my case and let them know that not only did they lose the contents of one of the boxes, there was an entire box missing as well. While I was on the line trying not to lose my temper, I had another call ring in. I switched over and it was FedEx. They FOUND the handle, and it was in my local shipping center, waiting at the front desk for me to pick it up. The missing box apparently got held up at the Airport and wouldn't arrive until the following day. I got in my car and drove there as fast as I could. I got there, ran in the door and saw a 4' bubble wrapped stick in the corner. I told the woman at the desk that I was there to pick up the item, and off I went. I can't help but wonder how on earth such a large item slid out of a 48" tube without anyone noticing, and how the driver delivered an empty tube without noticing as well. Now for the happy ending: the third box was waiting on the porch when I returned home today, I raced inside and put the Hoover together and fired it up. I just love it. One of the most beautiful Vacuums I've seen, the Art Deco motif on the top of it really catches the eye. Everything is all original, from the Hoover stamped plug and retractable bag strap, to the seemingly unused accessories. It even has the owners manual! A big thanks to Sean for so carefully packaging everything, and helping solve the mystery with FedEx, and another big thanks to Will for doing such a great job restoring it! Photos... < > Photo 1 of 4 View Full Size

Post# 306208 , Reply# 1 11/15/2014 at 00:24 (3,443 days old) by vac-o-matic (Saint Louis, Mo.)
Checkrate/Likes 1 Congrats on your new acquisition! Will does really nice restoration work. I saw where you're looking for brush strips. Watch ebay, the seller, bmxgary, always has some listing of older vacuum parts, or send him a msg. through one of his listings, he may have some. Very nice guy to deal with.

Post# 306210 , Reply# 2 11/15/2014 at 02:34 (3,443 days old) by electrolux137 (Los Angeles)
Checkrate/Likes 1 ~ ~ What a wonderful end to a very discouraging story. Congratulations!!

Post# 306223 , Reply# 3 11/15/2014 at 09:24 (3,443 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Just Gorgeous!!!* That Hoover is stunning. Congratulations on your new to you cleaner. The 450 and the 800 were two of Hoover's finest examples of engineering knowhow. As someone who has had tragedy's with eBay and sellers not using packing material, I understand that feeling in the pit of the stomach when you see damage from a shipper. I'm very happy that it all worked out for you.

Post# 306226 , Reply# 4 11/15/2014 at 10:13 (3,443 days old) by gottahaveahoove (Pittston, Pennsylvania, 18640)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *Beautiful pic.* Beautiful HOOVER, too. Those HOOVERS were surely made to last a lifetime. Shipping nightmares are awful Enjoy your wonderful HOOVER vacuum.

Post# 306230 , Reply# 5 11/15/2014 at 10:42 (3,443 days old) by HooverCelebrity (Germany)
Checkrate/Likes 3 Glad to see that stunning machine found a new home. I agree with what Tom said, that and the model 800 are some of the most beautiful cleaners that Hoover ever produced. The 800 is a favorite of mine in my collection. So glad that the FedEx situation ended well.. we've certainly all had our shipping tragedies! Happy Hoovering!

Post# 306297 , Reply# 6 11/16/2014 at 00:01 (3,442 days old) by Gusherb (Chicagoland)
Checkrate/Likes 2 I absolutely love that Hoover and I love what's behind it too! Glad your shipping fiasco had a happy ending!

Post# 306298 , Reply# 7 11/16/2014 at 00:02 (3,442 days old) by PoconoVacMan (Northeast Pennsylvania)
Checkrate/Likes 1 "You'll be happier with a Hoover!" ;)

Post# 306352 , Reply# 8 11/16/2014 at 14:36 (3,442 days old) by super-sweeper (KSSRC Refurbishment Center)
Checkrate/Likes Hey MastersVoice guy,I meant to ask you, did you install those vintage light switches yourself? Also-wow, FedEx sounds terrible!

Post# 306543 , Reply# 9 11/17/2014 at 20:38 (3,440 days old) by tyson ()
Checkrate/Likes Wow,That's beautiful.Awesome restoration job..

Post# 306544 , Reply# 10 11/17/2014 at 20:49 (3,440 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)
Checkrate/Likes Gorgeous!

Post# 306555 , Reply# 11 11/17/2014 at 21:56 (3,440 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH)
Checkrate/Likes i enjoyed restoring the 450. it was the first time i ever restored a coffee can hoover. im glad it went to a good home who enjoys using it as much as i did bringing it back to it's former glory. i want one myself now.

Post# 307093 , Reply# 13 11/22/2014 at 18:33 (3,435 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas)
Checkrate/Likes What a beautiful restoration! I'm so glad your shipping drama ended well too!

Post# 306589 , Reply# 12 11/18/2014 at 12:04 (3,440 days old) by vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield & London)
Checkrate/Likes *Accessories* That's a lovely cleaner and I hope you get many years enjoyment from it. BUT you should always have the handle lowered when using it with accessories - they are always shown that way in the manuals Al Photos... < > Photo 1 of 2 View Full Size

Post# 308576 , Reply# 14 12/12/2014 at 05:05 (3,416 days old) by thermokid (Casper, Wyoming)
Checkrate/Likes *Hoover 450* I have one of those. It is a nice machine however I can't use mine because the wiring inside the handle is old and rotten The outside of the wires are breaking off. I don't know how to go about rewiring it.. Any help would be greatfully appreciated... Dan

Post# 308578 , Reply# 15 12/12/2014 at 07:14 (3,416 days old) by HisMastersVoice (Ferndale, MI)
Checkrate/Likes To re-wire the handle on these, you first need to unplug the handle from the base. The you can unscrew the plug bits at the end, then unscrew the switch plate and pull all of the wiring out of the handle. At that point, you can replace all of the wiring with new stuff. One you have the switch wired, you can feed the cord back down the handle, replace the switch plate, then re-attach the plug at the end of the handle. I already did the wiring on my 725 or I would have taken photos for you. It's really not that difficult, feel free to ask questions!