Kirby Classic III Restoration

[thatwasherguy]

Hi! I’ve been working on a Kirby classic III rebuild on and off for the past year and a half, and I’ve finally got it (mostly) completed. It had mice living in the emtor, corrosion all over the inside of the floor nozzle, and a warped fan shaft (found that out the hard way, when the belt slipped off of it and burned a hole in the vis-a-belt). I’ve finally got it cleaned, repaired, and reassembled in working order. The only thing left is to convert the aftermarket bag I bought to accept Tradition bags. I’m probably just going to use a piece of rubber to convert the bag to accept the standard fill tube. This vacuum will never be a museum piece, as there are some deep scratches in the aluminum housing (it’s hard to see in the pictures though). I know there are plenty of other Classic IIIs out there in much better shape than this, but it was given to me, and someone shipped it to me (without removing the handle), which must have cost a small fortune. Besides, I figured if I didn’t save it, then no one would given the condition it was in. Believe it or not, it still ran just the way it was. I guess it just shows how tough these machines are. I also saw a video on YouTube of a Dual Sanitronic 80 that had been through a flood, looked worse than this one, and still ran. Below are a before and after pictures of the machine.
Thatwasherguy.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

thatwasherguy

Ah, another collector from the Bluegrass State!

Looks like you have a 1978 model, which would have looked like this (picture 1) when it first left the factory.

And while I see you want to use the Style 1 disposable bags, I think the Style 3 bags (Heritage II to G5) are even better. I once used a Legend II Mini Emtor assembly with my Classic III (picture 2).

~Ben

 

[human]

I just did the Heritage II bag conversion on my newly acquired Classic III. I swapped out the entire bag assembly—mini emptor, fill tube, tube header and outer bag onto it, along with the original red topper and bag guard band, in place of the dump bag and sani emptor. It was quick and easy and the gray Heritage II bag is a different look from the original red plaid but it doesn't look half bad. The best part is the conversion is completely reversible in just a couple of minutes.

 

[thevacomaticiec]

very nice vacuum  resto always wanteda classic  3   i recall in  a second hand shop i tryed one  love it   almost bought it  .

 

[thatwasherguy]

KirbyClassicIII

Wow, that’s a gorgeous classic III you have. Thanks for the info, glad to confirm that it is in fact a 1978 model. A lot of the internal parts had numbers embossed on them, and 8 was the highest I saw. I assumed this meant it was made in 1978, but I wasn’t sure. Glad to confirm that this is the case. As far as the bags go, I wish I’d known that prior to spending $60 on the parts to convert it to style 1 bags. By the way, how do you tell the year of the machines without disassembling them?


human


I saw your thread on the Heritage II bag conversion, and I agree that it does look good with the machine. In fact, there are several non-original bags that I think look good with the classic III. The bag I bought doesn’t look too hard to convert, but if it is, it’s nice to know that to keep as a backup plan. Thanks for the info!


Thevacomaticiec


Thanks for the compliment! I’m sure you’ll find a Classic III eventually. If you want one, I would suggest visiting your local thrift stores and browsing E-bay regularly. I don’t know about in Canada, but there’s currently a few classic III’s on E-bay in the US at the moment.

Thanks,
Thatwasherguy.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3842431183...z82hB7jAM8kFXLvao0wOkIC4b2lrKCeM1CwrjoRXSsuwA

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

thatwasherguy

You are right that it is possible, in a sense, to decode what year your product is by looking at the circle stampings on the castings.

~Ben

 

[huskyvacs]

Great find! I will polish mine but I will not take out the gouges either. Damages incurred tell a history. Kirbys are really tough. You can leave them sit outside for 20 years and they will still run when plugged in.

A Classic III is on my list of ones to get. For some reason the plaid screams "christmas" to me, or "country club" lol I got swindled at Goodwill recently thinking I had finally found a Classic III only to find it was a Classic 1CR dressed up as a Classic III.

Here's my Kirby G5 that was abandoned somewhere and nearly everything that moves is seized solid. The transmission is jammed in drive, but miraculously it still works and the motor sounds healthy. The brushes still come out past the soleplate so its had little use.

 

[human]

Hope for the G5...

That G5 has definitely seen better days but it's by no means down for the count yet, not by a long shot. I've been working on a G3 recently that was almost that bad. I'm convinced it was stored in a damp basement for an extended period. My Tech Drive was stuck in reverse and I got it freed up with a couple of strategic hammer taps (nothing like a little brute force) and a liberal application of silicone spray. The transmission itself was fine; the directional control, which is a sliding plate just forward of the transmission, was stuck. Now that the plate is freed up, the Tech Drive works great. The brush roll's bristles were in great shape but the bearings were seized up so it had to be replaced and the nozzle required some serious work with a wire brush on a drill, as well as a large, flat blade screwdriver, to remove all the crusty buildup. The machine is fully functional and and I'm now down to the cosmetics, shining up the metal parts. Soon, it will be looking as good as it operates. Good luck on your G5 project.

 

[thatwasherguy]

huskyvacs

Nice G5! Lots of luck with it. Yeah, I agree, Kirbys are tough as nails. I always knew they were really good, but I didn’t realize just how good until I saw mine run just the way it was. As far as finding a Classic III, I would suggest looking on EBay. I’ve seen at least 3 on there recently. They seem like they’re one of the more plentiful vintage Kirbys (at least on EBay). You’ll find one eventually.

human

I saw the thread on your G3. That bag looks like new since you cleaned it. As far as polishing goes, I just used a buffing wheel on a bench grinder. It only took me about 2 hours to get from the before to after pictures (at least as far as polishing). I can’t wait to see more progress on it!

Thanks,
Thatwasherguy.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

huskyvacs

Some Classic Omega 1CBs were also re-trimmed in the Classic III's red in the 1980s and '90s.

~Ben

 

[lesinutah]

If

Your classic 3 bag is a shakeout bag put it on over the fill tube et. Then safety pin a 6 inch half inch wide cloth to the top inner part f the bag. This would be used to Hold fi tube up.

 

[thatwasherguy]

Finally finished!

I apologize for the lack of updates, but my life has been crazy busy the past month or so. I would also like to take the time to say how grateful I am that this website exists. If it wasn’t for vacuumland, I wouldn’t have had any of the information I ended up needing to get this thing fixed. Anyways, I got the bag conversion done. I ended up getting a couple of rubber fittings and a piece of drain pipe to build the fill tube. I am aware that this will probably reduce the Air-Flow of the machine, but it’s worth it to me if it prevents me from having to shake the bag out every time I use the machine. I have used the machine a handful of times, and let me just say that I now understand why Kirbys are so popular in the community. This thing is awesome! I’m so glad that I decided to fix it (I almost considered throwing it out just on account of how nasty it was when I first got it). Here’s a pic of the conversion. Another bonus is that not only was it cheap to make (maybe $20), but it is entirely reversible as well.

Lesinutah,
Thanks for the idea! I would have never thought of that on my own. That was what I ended up going with for the fill tube support. It’s easy, and it’s reversible.

Thanks,
Thatwasherguy.

 

[human]

That fill tube conversion is pretty impressive. That's what we call some good redneck engineering down here in the South! One thing's for sure, you'll never have to worry about it tearing like the wire reinforced vinyl tubes on the Heritage 2 thru G5. That's seriously heavy duty. So the big question is, how does it perform? You mentioned that you felt suction would be somewhat impaired. Did that turn out to be the case?

 

[bernie]

Kirby Classic III Conversion

I'm new to the forum -- not a collector, but an owner.

We've had our Classic III and used it for the forty-two years we've been married -- a MiL gift. It's certainly a superior piece of work. At some point a loooong time ago we had it converted to use the disposable bags, through an authorized Kirby service location. So the long-zipper outer bag is Kirby OEM, but seems to be out of production by both Kirby and any after-marketeers. The outer bag zipper broke, and my wife said 'get a new outer bag' (I said I was pretty sure the zipper could be replace/repaired, but...).

I read up on conversions. I didn't take the existing assembly apart, and so assumed that whatever emptor or coupling required for the existing long-zipper outer bag was already inside there, and I just needed a compatible new outer bag I could clamp onto it in place of the damaged outer bag. Wrong-o.

As you all likely know, the emptor/coupler is integral to the existing (second/long-zipper) conversion bag (picture attached). I suppose I could cut/trim it out of the bag itself, and with the right clamp use it with the new bag I already bought. The brand new bag is an OEM Heritage II 190084.

The question I would like to pose, please, is whether there is a production emptor/coupling that can be clamped WITH the new bag to the existing red/maroon ring (picture attached), and provide the right other end for attaching the Style F&G paper bags? I'm in the South, so I have the genes to replicate something iike the arrangement I saw in another picture if need be.

ANY advice would be deeply appreciated. Even just 'seconding' my motion to just replace/repair the zipper....

 

[hoover300]

That red bag is NOT OEM, and was installed by dealers as it was cheaper to do than add a later OEM setup. If what you have is an HII bag and nothing else(grey, spring on the bottom), you will need a mini emtor, fill tube, and wire bag hanger. The red plastic adapter will not work with it, nor will the spring on the top that holds it to the handle.

If you want to make the HII bag use F&G bags, cut the cloth fill tube out of the red bag and zip tie onto the opening of the mini emtor. I will tell you, using F&G bags cuts down on airflow quite a lot. Either way, to use the HII bag you will need a black mini emtor and the bag hanger. A pic of the new bag would also help.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

hoover300

Kieran,

He should refer back to the picture of my 1977 Kirby Classic III with the Legend II Mini Emtor on it.

~Ben

 

[human]

That's exactly what I did with my Classic III, right down to the red Legend II bag. I had a gray Heritage II bag on it at first and I liked that look, especially the way it looked with the red Classic III trim, but then a fellow member hooked me up with the red bag and that just kind of tied the whole thing together. It's great that Kirbys have so many interchangeable parts between models.

 

[thatwasherguy]

Human

Thanks for the compliment! It still seems to have good Air-Flow with the conversion. There doesn’t seem to be much difference between before and after regarding performance, but I don’t have a way to accurately test it either. It feels similar to my Hoover convertible’s performance (with the bag conversion in place).

Bernie

Welcome to Vacuumland!! I’m no expert, but I would take the bag to an upholstery shop to get the zipper fixed. If that failed, then I would get another bag. But I would try to get it fixed first. That bag does not appear to be OEM. In fact, it looks exactly like mine does on the inside.

Thatwasherguy.

 

[thatwasherguy]

Update...

I’ve been using this machine almost exclusively for the past couple of months to get to know it. I’m temporarily going to stop using it to use my other machines (don’t worry, it’s not going anywhere, and I’ll put it back in service in the future once I’ve rotated through my other machines). I’ve become familiar with it’s many strengths along with it’s few weaknesses. The first time I ever used it was without a bag on it outside on some low-pile area rugs. It cleaned them wonderfully. I tried it on those rugs again after I put the bag on it, and didn’t notice any difference. It’s performance on my medium-pile carpet is amazing. It picks up anything I run it over. On hard floors, in both upright and canister form, it works well, although I feel that having it in canister form will improve performance as it engages high speed. It has amazing airflow, but very little suction. It seems to struggle a little bit at cleaning above the floor, although it still does a perfectly adequate job. Just today, I was cleaning out the car with it to test the G4 attachments I was given to use with it. It seems to struggle a little bit with the turbo brush, but it’s ok for cloth seats and the thin carpet. The flat nozzle seems to be very well designed, and makes the most of what little suction there is. I bought the shag king for it, as I recently got a section of shag carpet to demonstrate my vacuums on without making a mess in the house. That said, I had to try it on shag carpet before I pulled it out of service. It seemed to do just as well as it did on my medium-pile carper in the house. Overall, I feel that it is a versatile, well-built, good performing vacuum that I’m glad I saved. Just figured I’d share my thoughts on it after a couple months of use.
Thanks,
Thatwasherguy.