Is it me or is this Hoover Convertible extremely rare in the USA?

[gj3476]

So as usual I was looking at vintage Hoovers on eBay till I came across what I thought it was a Hoover Senior Ranger from the UK but apparently it’s probably a rare British made Convertible U4014 that was made in May 1977. If this is actually a real British made Convertible that was shipped to North Canton to be sold in US market, I’ll be damned! It has now 11 bids of $73 and shipping is $43.40. I wish I had this piece of beauty!

 

[eurekaprince]

Could it have appeared in North America because a British diplomatic family moved here? Or a person stationed in North America by a British company? There might have been a service in the UK that sold 120volt appliances to Europeans moving to North America, just like we have 220volt stores for North Americans moving overseas.....

 

[kirbyvertibles]

I would say it must have been converted to be used here. Far as I know we never had that one here but I could be wrong.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

WOW!!!! Rare........................

It very well may have come 'over' with a family.
First; it has a FULL metal base....you'll even see the old ,large badge indentation. Hoover never wasted anything.
For a Hoover cleaner like that to be called "Convertible" over there.......and have the track for rear tool conversion......
That's surely 'grabber'.

 

[gj3476]

Well I know one thing the model sticker is original and it has 120v so I don’t know, it could very silly to sell a British made Hoover sold in American stores for British people in America only.

 

[bryan1980]

Could it be possible that the North Canton plant couldn't keep up with demand, and they had their UK factory crank out a few for the North American market?

It's a rare bird any way you look at it!

 

[eurekaprince]

Hi Gabriel,

The British-made 120volt Hoover would have been sold to the moving family or person before they left the UK. Often, when a company or government or army or university is stationing a citizen in North America, it’s easier for the person moving to acquire all the electronics and appliances they need before leaving Europe so everything can be shipped in one shipment with all their personal belongings. That way, when they unpack everything, they have everything they need from day one. Remember that not only do they use a different voltage in Britain, but they have a different television system (PAL) that won’t work here in North America. So that Hoover was probably accompanied by an NTSC TV and an audio system and maybe a microwave oven and a toaster too.

 

[huskyvacs]

There is not many of these documented on the internet that is for certain.

I do believe the exact same Hoover in the auction is shown in this video here from 2011, Hoover logo on the left:




There is also another one in terrible shape from Santa Barbara, CA but the Hoover logo is on the right side on this model:

 

[huskyvacs]

And then another one actually from and currently in the UK courtesy of NumaticVacuum:

 

[mariotron]

Nice Hoover!

Metal body, headlight and a fabric bag! They inflate better than the vinyl.

Also, stupid question but where do you find those mats with the Hoover logo on it? I kinda been wanting one.

 

[vacuumlad1650]

Those mats are pretty expensive. I bought mine brand new through the vacuum store I used to work for. Cost me $75.

 

[huskyvacs]

Yeah vacuum shops buy them themselves or they are given to them by the vacuum company for the business. They are made for the industrial market only, so they cost a lot.

 

[broomvac]

My gut tells me that specimen was once in the Hoover Vault.

 

[tazcatsdad]

Hoover UK did make some machines for the US market ...

<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva;">... and this is a prime example of that.  Think back to the Lightweight Upright of, I believe, the '70s -- model 1348, styled exactly like the Hoover Juniors of the day from the UK.  Those were made in Britain and sold here in the 'States.  Also, some may recall the Hoover Sovereign and the Hoover Innovation: again, if my memory serves me properly, those machines were made in Britain (as the Turbopower and Turbomaster, respectively) and exported here to the 'States.</span>


 


<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva;">On this particular machine, I vividly recall when I was much younger having seen one identical to it but without the "Convertible" branding in a now-defunct department store here in Buffalo that was called Twin Fair.  I remember thinking how odd it was to see a Hoover upright with anything but an on/off switch in the handle (since this one had the foot-activated switch)!  I had never seen anything like it in any of the other stores in town, so I don't know if it was just something special that Twin Fair had Hoover make for them exclusively or not.  But, it was what led me to buy the British Senior Ranger model U4002 that I now have in my collection.  You can see it in the video that I had made of it some time ago: the link is below.</span>


 


<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva;">Someone will be getting themselves a very nice and quite rare specimen!</span>



http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kjzb9L-wYwg

 

[luxlife]

Has it already been sold?

I wanted to track the bidding progress, but couldn't find it on eBay.

 

[huskyvacs]

@ luxlife

The auction ended on May 10, 2018. Here is the link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Ho...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557