1948 Kirby 508 (shopgoodwill.com)

[huskyvacs]

This is the newest Kirby added to my fleet, a 1948 Kirby 508! A big thank you to Lesinutah on this one, as he helped me in getting it by paying for half the winning bid in exchange that I mail him the bag and cord from it. I could not have done it without him, as I am broke. lol So, thank you! Sorry for taking so long at getting the photos posted, life has been busy and I keep running out of time in the day every time I try and get something accomplished.

It actually was listed since October 20, 2020 and it went unsold the first couple times and then I bid on it the next time it showed up and lost the bid, then I kept bidding, and was outbid all the way up to $100 or so and I just said forget it. The auction ended and I lost and that was the end of it. ....or so I thought. About a month later, it was relisted again as the previous winner did not pay for it, and it had bids on it right away from one or 2 people. So I commenced bidding again (there was only 2 days left by the time I saw it) and guess what? I won it! The other bidders didn't pursue in bidding on it.

So then the next thing that happened after paying for it, something happened at Goodwill and I guess they either forgot about it, or thought it was unsold again and relisted, as 2 1/2 weeks passed with no shipment, then all of a sudden on Monday early in the morning after Thanksgiving weekend it was shipped out to FedEx! I guess someone collecting orders from Thanksgiving weekend had noticed it was still unshipped and got it packed and sent out finally. Luckily because I live so close, the vacuum only took a day's travel in getting here, so that was cool! It came from the Goodwill Industries of West Michigan (Grand Rapids) so if anyone here knew anyone there with a 508, then this is likely the one, lol

Here's what the original auction photos looked like from Goodwill. It looked in such a sorry state, and was covered in what looked like industrial dust. Very fine and grainy and thick.

Also here's the original forum postings about it for future reference and posterity's sake:
https://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?40831_11
https://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?40848_12

 

[huskyvacs]

Here's how it arrived to me on the first. It showed up in a Ryder truck that FedEx rented and the workers were just lollygagging around. I thought I was gonna get robbed or something, lol (That is a true story, when FedEx last rented out Penske trucks people did think it was some kind of package theft scheme, as FedEx never issued any official statement about it)

Photo taken on: 12/1/2020 4:46 PM

 

[huskyvacs]

Now, onto the box. What a goofy box! I guess they were really short on boxes at this Goodwill outlet and had to scramble to find something to make a box with. Luckily it survived since it was only on the truck for 27 hours. A shame that they didn't know the handle came apart just by simply pulling 1 pin out, would have made their job a lot easier, but they are not junk experts.

Photo taken on: 12/2/2020 12:57 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here's what it looked like once the box was sliced open:

Photo taken on: 12/2/2020 1:00 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here's part of the vacuum unwrapped from its cardboard sarcophagus.

Photo taken on: 12/2/2020 1:02 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here's the original inventory tag they left on it, so you can see when it was originally processed.

Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:03 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

One thing about Goodwill is, they may be slow getting orders shipped out, but you can be sure they know damn well how to pack what they ship to survive the apocalypse. It took me over an hour to neatly roll up all these sheets of bubble wrap (which I save for my eBay sales) and I have enough bubble wrap to last me practically a year I'd imagine. lol

Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:04 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here it is, all unboxed! The finish is in better shape than it looked in the photos, it's just really dirty from sitting for likely a few decades.

Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:06 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here's the handle grip, it's brown with a metal-flake sparkle to it. Kind of pretty actually.

Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:06 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here's the bag that is on it. Les said it wasn't original but he wanted this bag for one of his Kirbys so that's how we set up a deal, since he didn't want the vacuum itself, just the parts on it. It's in pretty good shape, it doesn't feel full, but the lettering is kind of flaking off and faded. It almost looks like it sat somewhere in the sun and the parts not hidden by the handle got faded. If vacuums could talk, right?

Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:07 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here's a front 3/4 shot of the vacuum. The trim is in fact gray, Les thought it might have been green, but it was just all the dirt on it and Goodwill's lighting in the warehouse and the camera they used. It is missing the headlight trim but Les offered to make some for me, so that will be awesome.

Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:08 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here's a shot of the wheels. The wheels are in fact black vulcanized rubber or Bakelite, Les thought they might have been gray, but it was just all the dirt on it and Goodwill's lighting in the warehouse and the camera they used. The broken piece on it is not shipping damage, it was most likely damaged like that when it was donated. For whatever reason only this wheel has the most damage to it, which is strange. Maybe it was dropped? Or melted to the floor if it was in an attic?

Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:08 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here's a shot of the power switch and the end of the cord. The cord I think is shaped like the original, but it looks like it is aftermarket. The cord is definitely a lot newer than the vacuum is, maybe by 35 years newer or so. It looks like maybe mid to late 1970's at the least. It is still very soft and pliable, and the insulation poking through reveals it is multi-stranded synthetic fibers, and not asbestos or a paper wrap, so it is pretty close to modern day. It has sadly suffered a lot of stress and cracking where it was bent around the hooks and along the bottom, likely from heat and age,

Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:08 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here's the maker's mark on the cord. "CORNISH" appears to be what it says. Never heard of them. I did find an ad with what looks like this similar cord photographed, which is featured in photo #2 in this post.

Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:09 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here's the other end of the cord, it has been replaced with a generic screw-down lamp plug that was common around the early 1970's. There was a couple of lamps in my house that were fixed with these plug ends, due to the original cords being smashed behind a dresser and damaged. This I suspect that this cord got damaged by someone that liked to pull cords out of the wall from 5-10 feet away.

Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:09 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here's a shot of the belt lifter which I was told was original.

Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:10 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here's a shot of the light bulb. I cannot tell if it is an OEM Kirby bulb or not because the light bulb was frozen inside the socket and I didn't want to break anything (or the bulb) trying to get it out so I left it alone. It looks like it was freshly blown, and it had a electrical kind of solder smell to it getting my face near it.

Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:10 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Sadly when I was fiddling with the light bulb, a wire popped itself out, and it looks like the solder broke loose from the socket. It must have been loose and ready to go to begin with, because I was being so careful and gentle to get the bulb loose that there was no way it would have just ripped out. That might be what caused the electrical odor to the wiring, if it was shorting out the entire time the Goodwill employee was testing it.

Photo taken on: 12/2/2020 1:11 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here's a shot of the bottom side of the brushroll. I was told a metal brush roll like this is rare? It looks like the bristles are kind of worn down, and suspiciously more in the middle than on the outsides, but I guess that is where Kirby's "cushion of air" lifting forces are the strongest too.

Photo taken on: 12/2/2020 1:13 AM