Got an Electrolux LX

[human]

So, I met up with fellow Vacuumlander Jl earlier today and went home with an Electrolux LX. It's a Metropolitan rebuild, probably done in the 1205 era, based on the blue paint job. It came with a set of wands, a few tools, and a plastic replacement hose. She also threw in a Eureka VibraGroomer II brush roll and belt she had no use for.

The machine runs whisper quiet and has excellent suction, but I can't say much for the paint job. Metropolitan took the 'Earl Scheib' approach and sprayed everything hammertone blue, including the brightwork that should have been polished but never painted. Some of that paint is starting to flake off, which tempts me to try and strip it back to bare metal, where appropriate, or maybe just sand the side trim with a sanding block, leaving a blue background behind the Electrolux nameplate. Unfortunately, it's missing its cord winder, which has been replaced with a white extension cord. Is Type T the proper winder for that machine?

My grandparents had an LX like this, minus the Metropolitan respray. They bought it new in the mid '50s and it was still in use when my grandfather went into assisted living in 1998. I have no idea what happened to that one, but I'm glad to add this example to my collection. Now,time to find that Vacuholics Anonymous meeting and pick up yet another white chip.

 

[bikerray]

Just so you know the back end of that is an Electrolux XLI.
If it still has the place for the axel in the back of the runners that's another indication that it is a XLI.

The XLI or 61 was made for less than a year in 1955.

 

[human]

Interesting. I've never heard of the LXI. Kind of cool that it could be a rarity, even if the rear wheels are missing and it's got a low budget paint job.

 

[human]

Model LXI

I did a little digging and found the thread linked below with some good information about the elusive LXI. I checked mine against the photos in the thread, and is indeed the genuine article, albeit missing the rear wheels and axle. My guess is they were removed when Metropolitan refurbished it, but the attachment points on the rearmost corners of the skids are intact. I'd love to find replacements for those parts, but I'm sure they would be the proverbial 'unicorns'. My thinking is to eventually find something that closely resembles the originals to go in their place. I'd love to be able to examine an intact LXI and take some photos and measurements of the rear wheel and axle assembly.

https://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?27586

 

[bikerray]

Another point: on the chrome top plate where the handle is (most likely under paint) it will have the electrical info as well as the model number.

Where the extra bag was stored under the plastic tube on the underside, the Model LXI will have a large caster wheel in place of the plastic tube.

 

[huskyvacs]

Metropolitan operated very ad-hoc with their refurbs. I just got one unknowingly and swore someone Kryloned it in their garage until I seen the sticker on the bottom!

I've got a model L and they went to town on it with the spraypaint, even sprayed over the wheels! It also had its wheels replaced on the back, cord replaced with something of a thicker wire gauge, a hodgepodge of tools and a aftermarket hose.

 

[human]

Bondo and paint makes it look like what it ain't...

Yeah, this Metropolitan refurb would seem to lend credence to that used car salesman's axiom above. Some parts of the respray aren't bad at all, but other parts are awful. The worst area is the bag door, which looks like it was done with a rattle can, held way too close. It's obvious that zero surface prep was done before painting, which is why it's now flaking off. The places where it looks good I'm willing to leave as is, but that bag door is begging for a close encounter with some sandpaper, and the idea of taking a sanding block to the side panels to bring out the Electrolux name while leaving the blue background is really growing on me.

Sadly, this machine has been deprived of both the rear axle and wheel assembly, as well as the front caster assembly. My guess is one wheel may have been damaged, so Metropolitan ditched them all instead of replacing the one. Given that this model was in production for only about six months, and thus these parts are likely unobtainium, I'm thinking the most practical option is leave it without wheels. I thought about getting a cord winder for it, but decided to go with a halo instead, as that's a much more cost effective option. It's handy that the LXI is a transitional design, ushering in features for the next generation of Electroluxes, making the rear end of the machine similar enough to the Model E that some of those parts are compatible--at least I hope the halo I ordered is. It seems like it'll just fit right in place, once I find some appropriate screws.

While the shortcuts Metropolitan made in refurbishing this machine are regrettable, it appears at least that whatever they did to the internals, if anything was done right. It runs beautifully, whisper quiet and with powerful suction.

 

[huskyvacs]

Yeah I have several company refurbished Kirbys, Hoovers, and Electroluxes and I just leave them as they are. It's an important part of history to both show what was going on at the time in repairing old vacuums, as well as how they were doing it. I just treat them as a variation of the original vacuum. I have two Hoover Model 700's and one was rebuilt by Hoover in the 1960's and one is original as it left the factory, so when they are side by side you get a good view at what was done to them by Hoover to refurbish it.

 

[human]

Proof of concept...

Looking at the first of the four photos below, and you can see, more less, what I saw in my mind's eye regarding the Electrolux nameplate. Imagine all of the paint removed from that side plate, except for behind the Electrolux word mark. I'm also liking how those ribs are coming out, with the paint gone from the raised spots, but remaining in the crevices. This was after maybe ten minutes of sanding with an 80 grit sanding block. Fortunately for this effort, it's pretty sorry quality paint. I'll hit it with something finer later on to bring back more of the sheen, but it's definitely an improvement from the painted over look it had, and maybe even the original unpainted look as well. I've got some other stuff I need to take care of today, but I'll definitely revisit it later this week. Photos of the finished product will be forthcoming. I just haven't decided how much of the paint to remove from the rest of the machine. It may be an ongoing project.

The other three photos show some of the indignities this machine suffered at the hands of Metropolitan. Also missing are the accessory brackets and the automatic suction control. Interestingly, the information on the top plate is clearly visible through the paint, and it's identified as a Model LX, not an LXI, but it has most of the hallmarks of the latter. One possibility is this was a very early example of an LX that was retrofitted to become an LXI before leaving the Electrolux factory.

I haven't decided just how far to take this 'cosmetic restoration' project, but I know I can make it look a whole lot better than it does now, and without a whole lot of undue effort.

 

[bikerray]

Looking at picture 2 the front bag control is from an early LX. The first LX didn't have a knob to control the ejection point.

The top plate might have been damaged and they replaced it with one from an earlier machine from an LX since the LXI would be harder to find.

 

[human]

frankenLX...

So the plot thickens. It seems pretty clear we've got a Frankenstein machine here, most likely created in the laboratory of the Metropolitan Vacuum Cleaner Company. Given that the side panels appear to have originally been in the later unpainted style, instead of yellow with red lettering, it would seem plausible that it left the Electrolux factory as an LXI, but by the time it got into Metropolitan's hands, the bag control had perhaps ceased to function, so in true Metropolitan fashion, they simply chose to eliminate it, along with the wheels.

The top plate is another mystery. I agree that the original could have been damaged, or maybe since they were rebuilding it as an LX, they did not want any reference to a different, albeit related, model.

In other developments, the cord halo ordered is set to arrive on Friday, so I need to start scouring my screw collection to see if I can find any that will work to secure it in place.

 

[rugsucker]

Metropolitan Electrolux

Was ejector removed from bag compartment?
I have seen a picture of Metropolitans warehouse with Elux stacked like firewood.At one time they would pick up trade ins from Electrolux branches.Their rebuilts did allow a customer who could not or would not buy a new Elux to get a good vac at a lower price.Even the generic attachments used then would now be better than those of so called deluxe department store vacs of today.A rebuilt Elux would be the only used product in some catalogs such as Spiegal.

 

[human]

Yes, the ejector mechanism does not appear to be present on my machine. I have no idea whether Metropolitan did that on a case-by-case basis or as standard operating procedure, although I would suspect the latter might be the case. I could see where rebuilding the machines to a standardized and simplified design would both increase production efficiency and remove a potentially troublesome feature that was not completely necessary for basic operation, thereby reducing potential warranty claims. What's not there can't go wrong. I chose to bypass the failed bag ejector on my much newer Diplomat LX for the very same reason. Doing so was the simplest, least expensive way to make the machine operational. That solution has been satisfactory enough that I've never really been tempted to replace the faulty valve.

 

[human]

Bespoke Halo Screws

I've found some screws to attach the cord halo to the LX with a slight modification. The diameter and threads are right, but they're about twice as long as they need to be. When hand tightened into place, the screws stick out about a half to three-eighths of an inch. That's not really an issue, though. I've cut plenty of screws to fit with a hacksaw or Dremel. It's pretty easy. Once the halo arrives, I can test fit everything and determine exactly how much needs to be removed. If the heads are too small for the holes in the halo, I'll have to find some washers. The more I think about it, lock washers probably wouldn't be a bad idea to begin with, and I'm pretty sure I can come up with a couple of those, too. Assuming the Halo itself is the right diameter, which it should be, this will be an easy and worthwhile up-fit.

 

[human]

FrankenLuX got its halo!

It's a good thing I found those screws yesterday, because the cord halo was delivered a day early, and not only that, the mail came a few hours earlier than normal today. A test fitting shows the Model E halo is a perfect fit for this frankenLuX, but I still have to cut down said screws. I don't have the time for that today. I'll post photos tomorrow, after the screws are shortened and I've made the final assembly.

 

[human]

Completed...

After shortening the screws--one side by a half inch and the other by three eighths, go figure--they are now a perfect fit, and the halo is in place and serving its intended function (see photos). For now, it doesn't have washers, but if the screws don't stay in place, I may have to scare some up, although I'll probably try a drop of thread lock first, if I can find my little bottle. Seeing it installed, it looks right for this machine. I thought about polishing up the halo with Mother's before putting it on, but it just seems to have just right patina for the machine, plus it looks consistent with Metropolitan's minimalist approach, although they would likely have just spray painted over the rust. It was definitely the right call, as opposed to an automatic cord winder, especially at about a third the price. Also, the halo allows the machine to stand up on end without being 'tippy', as it was before. The cord winder, with its hinged design, would have been even less stable. I feel like the machine is now complete, or at least as complete as it needs to be. I wish the male plug on that cord had a built-in clamp to hold it in place, but at least Metropolitan didn't delete the one on the body of the machine.

 

[human]

I finally had a little time and energy on my hands today, so I took advantage of the nice weather to do something I should have done with this machine the day I got it. I pulled it outside and scrubbed the hell out of it with Tub-O-Towels wipes, followed by a little Armor-All on the vinyl side panels. Everything cleaned up nicely, especially the vinyl. I have no idea whether the vinyl is original to the machine or was replaced by Metropolitan, but it's in near perfect condition, except for what appears to be a faint rust stain on one side. The machine doesn't look 100 percent new by any stretch, but it's pretty good. The cord halo has enough pitting in the chrome finish, that I don't see where polishing would do it any good. It's as good as It's going to get, but as I mentioned earlier, its patina matches that of the rest of the machine, so it looks like it belongs there. To my eye, it completes the machine. With all the sanding dust removed from the side where I stripped off the paint from the lettering, I made the unfortunate discovery that I'd sanded through the chrome, down to the copper below. I had assumed these side panels were solid aluminum, but they actually appear to be chrome-plated steel. My bad on that. I'm not really sure what I want to do about that. I guess the easiest thing would be to take them off and paint them a contrasting color to the body, and if I had a steadier hand, I might consider hand painting the lettering. Of course, if I were to come across an affordable pair of LX side panels with the original yellow and red paint scheme intact (not very likely, but one can hope), that might be an option as well, but I'm not holding my breath. For now, it just is what it is.

 

[cheesewonton]

Really neat old Electrolux. Curious if the Metropolitan Vacuum Company that did this refurb is the same company that now makes Metrovacs?

 

[human]

I've wondered the same thing. A little Web research at https://metrovac.com/pages/about-metrovac confirmed it is indeed the same company, which has been around since 1939. It started out selling and distributing vacuums made by other manufacturers, then in the 1940s moved into refurbishing vacuums like my LX, reselling them through other retailers. In the '50s, they started manufacturing their own machines as well, eventually adopting the band name MetroVac.

 

[cheesewonton]

Cool information. A full size Metrovac is on the "someday list". I haven't seen one in person yet either.

Keep an eye peeled on eBay. The side panels will turn up eventually. There are always used Electrolux parts for sale. Just have to be patient and check eBay every couple of days.