Kirby 511

[eurekastar]

Three years ago, I moved to a new town and ended up giving away much of my vacuum collection before I moved. I kept a few machines, including my Kirby 4C, Kirby Classic Omega, Kirby 560, and my Kirby Heritage II. Those machines are all fully resotred.

One other vacuum I brought along for the journey is my Kirby 511 that I had acquired a few months before I moved. I simply boxed it up and put it in storage until today. Over the last few weeks, I've had a hankering to dig into a vacuum again. This one is next in line behind a Classic III that I'll soon begin working on.

This 511 is in amazing shape. The cord is almost perfect, with no age or stress cracks visible anywhere. The handle grip is almost perfect too. It even has the original Kirby dealer sticker on it with a 5 digit phone number. I'm going to try my best to preserve the sticker when I buff the machine. Even the bag is good shape. No wholes or tears. Although the screen printing has faded off.

<span style="text-decoration: underline;">[COLOR=#000000; text-decoration: underline]However, I do have a question about the Sani-Emtor. Would a 511 have had a black Emtor Tray? Also, this Emtor has a Sweet-Aire plug. Would that have been original to a 511? [/COLOR]</span>

Thanks for any answers!

(As I unpacked it today, I finally located a missing bathroom rug!)

 

[bikerray]

Nice machine

 

[vac-o-matic]

Hey Bill, glad to see you're back posting! I just went in and checked my 511, and mine does have a black emtor tray and the sweet-aire plug. My machine is all original to my knowledge, have had it for years. A few years back, you posted a Kirby you had restored and it was a 500 series but done in the brown trim, and I loved it...sooo..I too now have what I call my Classic Jr. It was originally a 516, but was really rough, so I ordered all new brown trim, wheels, bag topper, belt lifter, etc., took it to my friend that buffs them, and it turned out gorgeous.

 

[eurekastar]

My Classic JR!

I forgot about that vacuum!  That's one of the machines I gave away before I moved.  I don't remember what the original model was, but it was fun creating it!

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Bill,

Welcome back! Here's my Dual Sanitronic 80 from Evan Baier aka kirbykid.

Anyway, I understand that the Kirby service manual you have (that which I am still waiting for a copy of) only goes as far as the Sanitronic VII... but most of the other parts will interchange with my D80.

~Ben

 

[tolivac]

Brings back memories-just like what our family had when I was a kid-used it until 1972.Would like to find another.

 

[cb123]

Hey Bill, somehow I missed this one! Great Kirby you got there, not as nice as the 4C you have, but I don't believe there's that many that utterly fantastic, either...WOW...what a SUPER FINE MACHINE!!! Yes, a 511 from 1951 was, in fact, a rare KIRBY, on the account of the Korean War scare. Poor salesmen would go out with five Kirby's and they would return with the same five plus one more!

Pretty much the same thing happened to the 518, but of course, due to different circumstances, such as the recession of 1958. There's nothing quite like a war or hard times which make people want to tie a knot in their purse strings. Yes, the perfume plug and Emtor Tray are true to that model, and if your finished with the restoration, I sure wouldn't mind seeing some photos! Once again, Great Kirby!

    

 

[LionKCommander]

I love antique Kirby's your 511 looks great. usually when I find stuff I lost I think I'm going crazy because of the odd places I find them at in the way future.