1948 Kirby 508 (shopgoodwill.com)

[lesinutah]

Casting marks

They are probably original and not crappy casting. The early Kirby's didn't have a gasket to seal the nozzle. This could have been Kirby's attempt to make s better seal. I could be wrong but it would make sense. It could have been a test mold but maybe original.

 

[vacmadman]

508 emtor tray latch

I took note of the fact that the tray latch on your 508 has the teardrop shape to it. If this is original, then the 508 was the first to have that. The way to tell if you have an original 505 emtor is by it's round shape tray latch.

The teardrop shape may have started with a late production 508, but it did start, as I have always believed with the 508. It's surprising how many collectors are not aware of the slight difference. [this post was last edited: 6/22/2021-13:13]