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Royal Model 131 Images The brush roll can't be original. It's in pretty good shape, but appears old. Sleeve bearings in the ends are in great shape, but the rubber around the square ends are a little brittle. I'll see if I can make a video of the F&G bag conversion...

Royal Model 131 Images The power cord leading to the headlight was a grey color, and certainly seemed original. I used a piece of the power cord to replace it. The actual power cord that came on it looks like it was replaced in the 60's or so. I believe the original color was black, like the...

Pictures... The rest was merely buffed and polished. That left a nick and scratch or two, here and there, but not enough to bother with a full sanding job.

Pictures... Nozzle was sanded entirely. Scratches weren't too bad, but it was covered with them.

Listed On Ebay Got some pictures and another video, with a little better focus. It goes live for sale on Ebay at 2:00PM EST. The price would indicate I'm in no big hurry to let it go :) Sorry Robert, I forgot to mention Ebay is where I got it in the first place. When I stumbled across it...

Why Preserve The Shine? If it gets dull, it's a good excuse to pull it apart and buff it! Seriously, once it has the final polish, it gets a sort of hard skin. Takes longer for the elements to oxidize it. I guess the molecules get burnished on the surface. Makes it more impervious to...

Finally got the newly acquired Model 131 up and running. Basically just replaced the front motor bearing, and added an F&G bag attachment. Oh, and polished the hell out of it! Took no sandpaper to anything but the nozzle. No pictures yet, but I did upload a video...

Depends Who You're Restoring It For If you're going to sell it, I'd try and duplicate the original cord and plug as much as possible, color, gage and "texture". A vintage plug would be a must. If it's for yourself, anything goes, but personally, I'd still want it to appear original.

Light Bulb Flicker Forgot to mention, the bulb may have poor contact in the socket, due to corrosion. Clean the contacts inside the bottom of the socket and bottom of the bulb with emery cloth.

Don't Shoot! Hey, I'm just kidding about the Kirby. My first memory of any vacuum at all, was a Kirby. My dad sold them for a short period, and we had at least two, maybe three in the house through the 60's and 70's... with all the normal attachments. Justin, take that bulb to your local...

Built Like A Tank, Light As A Feather, Works Like A Horse Royal All Metal Upright. No modern equivalent. It just dawned on me, why the Kirby has been getting so portly over the years...

Royal History Jeff, have you ever considered starting a Royal museum, or writing a book about them? I'd pay admission AND buy the book! Probably a very limited fan base, but loyal, no doubt. If it weren't for the "KirbyClassicIII" handle, I'd think Ben was the number one fan. Certainly...

Nozzle Guard Distorted Could the Nozzle Guard be puckered in the middle, rubbing against the bottom of the belt?

Great Advice Really good points PR. I can hardly imagine the pressure it would take to stop that brush roll. I know you can't stop it by hand... not easily! Anyway, might there be debris in the bottom of the brushroll's seats, keeping it sticking out too far?

Defies Physics Either the belt is stretched (can you install it easily without a tool?), there's a mystery lubricant on the shaft, or gremlins are at their mischief. You should smell rubber burning, but you never mentioned that. It basically has to be the belt.

Spindle Issue Are the spindle shaft's thread's stripped?

A Feel Good Story Wow, nothing about this tale I don't love! 56 year old family heirloom still performing weekly duty, and in exemplary fashion to boot. Speaks volumes about the quality of the machine. Wonderful that parts are still available. Great video, thanks for sharing!

Date From Armature Not sure if you or Jeff would be able to date this vacuum from the numbers on the armature, but here are the numbers to work with:

Model To Add Hi Ben, Hoping to add to your Pre-1980 Royal Upright Model Chart. Here's the plate mounted on the bottom of the motor housing:

Why Two? I saw in your other post, you wanted a second, and wondered why? 2nd floor use? I also saw you wanted attachments. IMO, it ain't worth it. Much quicker and easier to grab a dedicated little canister for that duty. So far, I've settled on the Model 9700. If you want background for...