Kirby early C, ebay NIGHTMARE!

[cb123]

I got this off of ebay, and it took two weeks and one miserable day - on a slow boat from China to get it.

 

[cb123]

Can't do nothing, but TEAR stuff up!

The fine gentleman I got this from had an uncanny, backward sense to completely break it down, wrap it in thin plastic grocery bags, and packed it like trash into the smallest, most undersized box that he could find on the side of the road.

 

[cb123]

USPS goes postal on a Kirby!

After he finished up shoving everything in - he used the Kirby bag as lose filler for its long and argues journey from the Northern icy Dakotas; where alas some hard working and over compensated postal person tossed it upside down to the frigid concrete floor - smashing the handle hinge on the cast aluminum!

 

[cb123]

Needless to say

I gave him a stern talking to, and a little negative feedback doesn't hurt either - and of course a little J B weld and carbide splints drilled directly into the cast aluminum hurts even less than throwing it away - Heaven Forbid!

 

[cb123]

Life after I don't know how many deaths!

This is how the fix looks now, just a hairline.

 

[cb123]

Then after the stormy long dark night

The sun broke forth and shone!

 

[cb123]

Kirby Early C

I could not send her back to that monster!

 

[cb123]

Close up

of logo

 

[cb123]

Close up

of tag

 

[cb123]

After the body work

I liberated it from its red wheels and bumper. However, I reused the bumper after I sanded and boiled it in Ritz black dye, which cut the red a shade or two. Then I painted it with flat black paint, and all I need now is save two black wheels, and the big mamma will be ready to go.

 

[cb123]

close up

of belt cap

 

[cb123]

Kirby C motor

Runs strong

 

[kenkart]

Ive gotten a little

Hesitant to buy anything off ebay, people are dumber than a hoe handle when it comes to packing!!

 

[gsheen]

Wow , That is the most beautiful Kirby I have every seen 

 

[cb123]

I know what you mean,

 but once that eeebay mull kicks you in the chest and if you can find the where-with-all to get back up - you have to grab that bully by the tail and start plowing that hard field again, and then just maybe you can find a diamond in the rough. I'm glad that you like it, and here's an overview shot of the machine. Thanks once again 

 

[d-jones]

This beautiful old machine is further proof that nothing sparkles like a well polished Kirby. Is it just me, or do choirs start singing Hallelujah for everyone else when they look at these photos?


 


By the way, that small crack that remains from shipping could be welded up and filed smooth to the point that it will disappear completely. There are folks out there that can weld an aluminum beer can back together, so a crack like this would pose no problem to them.

 

[cb123]

Amen brother,

and thank you for all the kind things you said. I too hear Glory, Glory, Glory, and I can almost hear the flutter of angles wings. Here's another pic of the bag, which was so egregiously misused as packing material - perhaps one of the nicest examples I've ever seen.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

You sure went to great lengths to receive and then patch up the damage caused to this Kirby C.

~Ben

 

[cb123]

You got that right!

Here's one more photo.