1997 Dirt Devil Ultra Swivel Glide MVP (086400) (Goodwill)

[huskyvacs]

A new vacuum joins the collection! I just picked this up on Saturday when Goodwill had their half-off sale. I had not been to Goodwill for about 6 months prior to this and I was shocked that the vacuums were so cheap now. They had them all at $9.99, before they were all at about $19.99 to $25.99.

So this one was $9.99 and with the 50% off discount it came out to $5.34! I did not plug it in in the store or yet since bringing it home, so not sure how it sounds but that doesn't bother me as it will be getting a ground up restoration (hopefully by this summer) anyway. I have to keep it in the basement as it somehow still reeks of cigarettes even though it was sitting in Goodwill. It must have been fresh out of someone's car or house and put on the floor right after the drive-thru donation.

I can not find much information on this model other than a newspaper ad, as well as there is very little photos or videos about it. It seems like most collectors have either not bothered with collecting this model, or it might be a rare model. Shockingly I only have 2 bagged Dirt Devil uprights, including this one. I have another plain jane Swivel Glide I got last fall for $40 shipped on eBay. The other Dirt Devils I have are just hand vacs and modern day bagless models. My area just doesn't have any older Dirt Devil uprights show up for whatever reason.

 

[huskyvacs]

Here is what it looked like when I first seen it in the store. It was just thrown around being a hot mess. No tools or attachments sadly, but what can you do. That's Goodwill vacs for you, you take what you can get.

Photo taken on: 3/27/2021 2:42 PM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here is the glamour shot after I got it home and tidied it up a bit. It took 10 minutes to untangle the cord from itself and the hose, as well as the knots in it.

Photo taken on: 3/28/2021 5:10 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here is the back side. The swivel casters are unharmed and fully functional.

Photo taken on: 3/28/2021 5:19 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Model tag / nameplate. I forgot what the letter code ID is for Royal for this era. I think Plant F was the very last plant amongst their various locations.

Photo taken on: 3/28/2021 5:19 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

The chassis and underside of the vacuum. The brushroll is surprisingly clean, as is the entire chassis and soleplate. Just normal abrasions on the wheel surface. I do not think this vacuum was used all that much in its lifetime, actually.

Photo taken on: 3/28/2021 5:20 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here is the inside of the bag compartment. It has a Great Value Dirt Devil Style U bag fitted, which I do not think is the right bag for this vacuum. I had to really wrench and twist on it to get it to come off the inlet hose - I swear they must have hammered it on with a mallet! The bag is barely even an inch full and is still pretty new and it has a copyright date of 2017 on it so that tells you aroundabouts the time the vacuum was last used. It also looks like the inlet nozzle is clogged up.

I also just now noticed the remnants of a earlier Goodwill price tag on the handle of $11.99. It looks a bit yellowed and stained and worn down, so it couldn't be any time recent. It looks like this vacuum has been through the Goodwill twice over now.

Photo taken on: 3/28/2021 5:20 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Paper sticker date code is stuck inside the bag compartment door. It also has a date wheel molded into the plastic as well with the same date (but not with the specific day).

Photo taken on: 3/28/2021 5:20 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here is the outside of the fabric exhaust filter. Or it might be the intake filter, I am not sure. It's dirtier on the outside facing side of the filter than the inside. The filter is so filthy I think it might very well be the original one - it is supposed to be white!. There is also a dead beetle stuck in the bag door grille as well which is gross.

And that's about it. I will play around with it some more and look for the missing tools in due time and get the vacuum all spic and span again. This one should clean up really well, it doesn't have any huge gouges or scrapes in the plastic at all, just really dirty and dusty from storage.

Photo taken on: 3/28/2021 5:21 AM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here is the advertisement I found from the Janesville Gazette from Janesville, WI from Oct. 1, 1997 (need a membership to the website to unlock it). It sold for $139.00 at Wal-Mart, which adjusted for inflation comes out to $229.23 in 2020 dollars.

It looks like this Dirt Devil was about a mid-range vacuum for the time period, with the Hoover....Preferred(?) coming out to $149.00 and then the Hoover Windtunnel which was brand new at the time, going for $199.00. The bottom end was filled with a Bissell soft-bag model at $59.96 and a Eureka The Boss soft bag for $89.96.