APRIL OF 1990 Kirby G3 restore.

[vacuumdevil]

Well I finally found a Kirby G3 ,one of the original ones before they made some of updates. Those who don't know me I've been looking for one for a few years.
I've always loved the classic late "1980s futuristic" styling of the Kirby G3.
Even crazier is the video Kirby put out on the story of the "$25 million dollar" vacuum.
Here's a video of that story.

strangely enough it looks like the fan was replaced in 1995 , sloppily I might add.
But I was amazed the fan wasn't cracked.
Here are some pictures of the progress so far I'll post updates occasionally as I work.

Right now I'm needing to source an original G3 handle yoke.
As my epoxy job was unsuccessful.

 

[kirbyg6]

Hi vacuumdevil that is by far my favourite Kirby video it’s just so cool and I can’t wait to see it finished

 

[human]

Love the video. All that retro-tech is great. It's easy to forget what was considered 'high tech' at the time. Keep us posted on your progress with your G3.

 

[lesinutah]

Nice

Good luck. It looks like you used a CAD system on your work bench setup.i bet it set you back $30 million.
Les

 

[vacuumdevil]

Some Kirby sentria 2 wheels came today. Which are like the exact color they used.
Decided to put the motor back in the frame reinstalled The fill tube and bag.

Currently awaiting pink pinstripe tape, and a handle spring yoke.

Going to do some more buffing today before I put the fan housing back together.

 

[anthony]

cant believe

you put those dirty parts in the dishwasher [someone elses dirty vacuum cleaner in the machine you wash your dishes in ] Hmmm

 

[kirby519]

What a nice work shop to perform miracles.

Anthony If it is the only one you have to clean things up it is what you use.

I Kept my old 18' wide dish washer when I bought a new one. Some day I hope to be able to used it for the same purpose.

 

[anthony]

sorry

i didn't know you had a dishwasher just for washing machine parts great idea

 

[vacuumdevil]

Update I milled the end of the handle spring yoke in order to reassemble it.
You can see the pictures where I've lined it up with a 7mm.
Got it all back together really happy with it.
I've got a four-part video series to showcase all the work I've done. I'll post here as I release it.






@anthony Please take a look into how a dishwasher works they self clean themselves.
But I do have a second dishwasher just for cleaning parts in my basement hence why there's carpet in that picture.

 

[panasonicvac]

Do you have any thoughts on putting in a metal fan from like a Sanitronic in that Kirby?

 

[human]

Absolutely not...

I would not try to put a metal fan in that G3. It was never designed for one. Kirby stopped using the metal fans during the Heritage era because they had a tendency to shatter and cause catastrophic damage to the machine. The best fan for it would be a white 'Amodel' fan. They are much more durable than the gray Lexan fans like it currently has. That said, there's nothing really wrong with the Lexan fans but they do get chewed up more easily than the Amodel ones. Amodel is definitely the right way to go if the fan needs replacing.

 

[vacuumdevil]

@panasonicvac That would ruin the machine in so many ways and also make it less durable than a modern beige lexan fan.
Like @human said.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Anybody else

see the little robot in photo #3? OK it was a stretch, haven't had my coffee yet!

 

[vacuumdevil]

 

[vacuumdevil]

Part 2

 

[lesinutah]

Man

Good info on the wheels.

 

[vacuumdevil]

Part 3 of 4

 

[vacuumdevil]

Last part

 

[vacuumdevil]

The Review Video