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dsmith5195 Don, Yes, most parts of the 501 will work on this machine, too. The 5000 was a variation of the 501 with the finger guard by the on/off switch on the handle. ~Ben

Kirbyman65 Lucky for you! I also happen to have a Royal 501, which was built in 1982 and so mine has the old-style metal fan in it. ~Ben

What about their rebranded Hoover Portapower called the Power Pak XL? ~Ben

WANT TO BUY: two (2) Kirby black handle grips FOR: Models 505 and 510 LOCATION: 97267 area of Portland, Oregon Thank you, Ben (KirbyClassicIII)

electrolux137 Charles, I just found out the 514 was the first Kirby to have the angled headlight socket mounting, instead of horizontal (the angled socket mounting was used all the way up to the Classic 1-CR). However, it still retained the left-handed locking clip, which was eliminated...

hygiene903 Hi Jeff, It was most likely in light gray for this one. I researched that the "NA" suffix that was part of such model numbers as mine and the 880NA meant "no attachments." However, there used to be black tools for the very old Royals made in the 1930s and 1940s. ~Ben

VacsofProsper Gabriel, Yes, and there was even a commercial grade equivalent in red. ~Ben

bnsd60m9200 Will, Both this and the U7037 were initially sourced from Hoover's Perivale, England plant, hence the serial number format. ~Ben

This 918-01 was built in February 1977 according to the serial number, and it replaced the first 918 produced from 1972-76. ~Ben

beekeyknee Brian, Is it true that your Kirby Classic III instruction book's warranty page has the words "LIMITED WARRANTY" underlined? ~Ben

David, I believe you did an excellent job in the '80s section of your Collecting Dust page. ~Ben

odavid123 Hi David, I wonder if the printing of the Kirby Classic III instructions with the words Limited Warranty underlined could perhaps be the very first version? ~Ben

Eureka1998 From 1932 until 1982, vacuums that were made at Hoover Limited in the U.K. were produced at that division's historic Perivale plant in England. After the closure of the Perivale plant, U.K. production moved to Cambuslang, Scotland; part of the old Perivale facility was bought out by...

Paul There is one more Lightweight Upright to be added: the 1354A "Dirtsearcher," which was mostly similar to the original U.K.-spec model, but with 120-volt plug. This may have had final assembly in Burlington, Ontario, since the Hamilton, Ontario plant that was Hoover Canada's original...

Eureka1998 Since the 120-volt 1354A Dirtsearcher Junior vacuum was only sold in Canada, it most likely had some final assembly done at Hoover's Burlington, Ontario manufacturing plant. ~Ben

odavid123 Hi David, Thank you! ~Ben

Here's a minor update on my lovely "Maureen" (my 1977 Kirby Classic III): I swapped the handle assembly off my '79 Classic III onto her to make her look even more like my mom's '78 Classic III. Why do I call her "Maureen"? I chose the name because of Maureen O'Hara (1920-2015), an...

MIVintageVacs Yes, it appears to be the original cord, but it has indeed aged because I can see it's frayed near the female plug end (where it goes to the motor unit). ~Ben

MIVintageVacs This was the last Kirby to be made before World War II; production would not restart until the war's end on August 24, 1945, when Kirby brought out the 505. ~Ben

I think I understand why some Kirby motors sound the way they do: I believe the armatures used on models 505 to 518 have one fan with 6 blades and another with 14 blades, while the main impeller fan used on models 505 to 514 has 6 blades and the 515 and up has 10 blades. It's the 14-blade...