Free Kirby Generation3, yay!!!!

[twocvbloke]

Finally got this G3, I've only been after it for the past 6+ months,but today's the day I got it, and surprisingly, it's an easy job to get it running, and aside from a bit of noise from the transmission, it's running as sweet as a nut...

Now, the restoration part is yet to come, got a parts needed list for it already, which I'll sort through when I'm not as sleepy as I am now...

(note, the bag was being washed, so I just used a redneck bag hanger, aka, a 2-wire lamp cable, in white of course!!!)

 

[eurekastar]

Where I'm from we call that Southern Ingenuity.

 

[twocvbloke]

I've done worse things, like say, attach a LegendII bag to a G5, and the latest one, a Tradition bag to the G3...

(more pics in the link)

http://www.recycleabicycle.co.uk/pics/generation3/

 

[joe22]

awesome dave, its an epic save !!!

 

[kittingerhoover]

THAT CAT!!!!

Ohh David I love that cat on your fireplace!

Where did you get such a great piece??

Dennis

 

[twocvbloke]

The cat...

I have absolutely no idea where it came from, you'd have to ask the mother, but she's had it a long time...

Anyway, been through the G3 and the parts needed are mostly replacements, either due to them being worn out or just missing (hey, it was free!!!), not sure what I want to do with the bag, being original, but rather worn and bodged with the velcro-zip thing that just looks wrong....

Need to save up money I think, cos I totalled up the parts needed (buying most from the US, cos it's cheaper than the parts here in the UK), and it's getting a bit expensive...

In reality, nothing is truly free, you always have to spend something on free stuff...

 

[twocvbloke]

Well, as mentioned in another Kirby thread, I have stripped and regreased the TechDrive transmission unit, the bearings were bone dry, so it was noisy cos it was just metal-on-metal...

It was surprisingly easy to get the bearings out, they're roller bearings in circular races, so are flat. The gearing is in pretty good condition, so it was just a case of sorting out the bearings and putting it all back together again, and what a difference a bit of lubrication makes, it's quieter, smoother and much easier to operate...

It's still jerky though, but I think that's down to adjustment, which I need to work on...

Also, I took a few pictures of the inside of the old switch assembly (see the "switch" subfolder in the following link), you can see how ruined it is cos the live contact had failed and arced, which generated a lot of heat, melting plastic around it...

And this is what is inside of the TechDrive:
(two clutches are in differing states of disassembly, so you can see how they're made up)

http://www.recycleabicycle.co.uk/pics/generation3/

 

[vacfanatic]

Transmission

I had restored a G3 a while back and found the belt inside the transmission had snapped. I think it's somewhat rare for cogged belts to snap on a Kirby. Link below is to the archived thread.

At least you had an intact handle to work with!

Andrew

http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?5279