1948 Kirby 508 (shopgoodwill.com)

[kirbyclassiciii]

huskyvacs

The "WS" you found in the serial number refers to it having come from the factory with the 10530 field coil and 10531 armature.

~Ben

 

[lesinutah]

Original

The bag is probably original. The 6 blade fan is original and pretty rare. The cord isn't original. The handle grip is off a 562 sanitronic. The emptor looks original. I have a black and a grey on 2 508s. You could re solder me wire on the headlight. Just warm up the solder there put a little flux and it probably would stay. The belt lifter is original. It's the rarest belt lifter kirby ever made.
The wheels do occasionally chunk off
It happens on alot of machines with those wheels.
It is in really good condition for being 72 years old.
The nozzle is original you can tell by the metal casting marks.
It was a pleasant surprise when you emailed me you won the auction. I was more than willing to pay half.
The brush roll is rare to find original.
Nice pics.

 

[huskyvacs]

Thanks for the info, Les! Also thanks for the info on the motor, Ben!

What solder should I get for the wire? Is there a special kind or something?

Whenever you're ready, Les, just eMail me and I can send you the bag and if you still want the cord I can send that too. I won't wash the bag as I don't want to risk damaging it, not sure how sensitive it is.

 

[lesinutah]

Sensitive

If the screen print gets wet the screen print comes off. I'll get trim ready and I'll email you the when.

 

[vacmadman]

Nice 508

The 508 is my favorite Kirby, Good luck to you restoring it. The original bags are among the hardest to find. That is a great addition to your collection...congrats! Would love to see it when your done.

 

[KirbyCollector01]

Very cool!

I did win it originally, but needed to save money. So I backed out. You got a great find there! It’ll look beautiful once restored. That grip is for a 562. I have a more correct one if you want to trade grips. Email me if interested.

 

[huskyvacs]

@ KirbyCollector

Oh hey, well it was good you did anyway. It is living in a good home! A messy home, but a good one. lol I've got all the tools I need just not the area.

Yeah we can trade grips. As far as I know I don't have a 562 so when I restore it the grip would just wind up in a storage bin. It's a little grubby but it doesn't look rotten or cracked.

 

[KirbyCollector01]

Sweet

I already have a completely factory original 508 anyways. So it worked out for both of us.
As for the grips, Sounds good to me! We can discuss details by email.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Tooling marks and wheels

Hi Huskyvacs, I'm playing forensic investigator here. It looks to me like those 'tooling marks' line up with the top of the left screw by the inlet.Maybe scrape marks when someone had it apart or ? A lot could happen in 72 years for sure. Those early 500 series models often did have little casting imperfections mostly on the fan casing front and rear.

Is it my eyes or am I seeing four front wheels on your 508? I've seen doubles in plastic on later models like Sanitronics and was told that that was done later by a shop or by the owner. In any case I've never seen rubber doubles up front and was just curious. Billy

 

[huskyvacs]

@kirbyklekter

No it's just got single fronts, thick wheels. I think the scratch marks down the middle of the wheel surface give an appearance of having two thinner wheels.

And yeah these wartime Kirbys, or post-war filler models, they had some rough assembly to them. My 510 has the handle sawed at a hack-job angle where it slots into the yoke. I thought that the seller did it to fit it into the box.

 

[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]