Kirby Model 515 Rebuild

[eurekastar]

I began working last night on my Model 515. While the engineering and design is basically the same as newer models, there are also some things that are VERY different. The motor shell is much more compact because the pre-516 models don't have a separate motor housing that then fits into a larger shell. The motor shell IS the motor housing, which makes servicing the motor a tad bit more complicated. I know many of you guys already know a lot of this stuff, but these are new discoveries for me! This is what 55 years of lint and carbon dust look like.

 

[eurekastar]

While the motor housing is coated with a lot of carbon dust, plain old dirt, and lint, the fan was as clean as a whistle. I'm guessing the fan was replaced at some point because it's too clean.

 

[eurekastar]

Along with the fan, the fan chamber is extremely clean too. So I'm sure the fan was replaced but the motor itself wasn't touched. I think these early models were cast in sand. Notice how rough the interior of the fan chamber is.

 

[eurekastar]

The motor has definitely seen a lot of use. It's hard to tell from the photo, but the commutator has a groove worn into it from many hours of use. I'm told that Kirby doesn't manufacture these motors anymore, so I'll make due with what I have since we won't be using this vacuum every day. The motor still had the old style bearings too and they were dry as a bone. The front bearing was a little difficult to remove. I had to clamp it in a vice and gently tap on the pulley end with a large punch pin. That did the trick!

 

[eurekastar]

My secretary is a very crafty person, so I think I'll ask her if she'd like to tackle the logo restoration on the bag. I bought the fabric paint that David Watters recommended for the job.

 

[luxg]

Very interesting Bill, be sure and show us how it turns out!

Terry

 

[joe22]

the metal fan is a thing of beauty

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

The fan is a replacement due to it being clean-looking, but it is exactly the same fan as what Kirby installed originally.

I wonder if Charles Lester ever got to digging out his early 515 yet (black wheels).

~Ben

 

[eurekastar]

All the castings are polished. And for obvious reasons, I took great care when polishing the headlight assembly. Castings can easily fly out of your hand. This could have impaled me! But I digress. Motor reassembled with new bearings and carbon brushes. Fan reinstalled. Foot switch assembly reinstalled. Safety switch/front wheel assembly reinstalled. Motor tested. IT RUNS!!!!!! Tomorrow, I'll rivet the bumper onto the nozzle and fully assemble everything because it is late tonight. More photos tomorrow!

 

[electrolux~137]

Castings can easily fly out of your hand. This could have impaled me!


You're not kidding! Machine-polishing small metal parts is EMINENTLY DANGEROUS. That's why I peppered my machine polishing article with warnings all over the place.

I do hope you're wearing AT LEAST safety goggles and a dust mask when polishing; better you should wear one of those clear full-face masks.

 

[eurekastar]

The Red Raider Special Edition Kirby

My apologies to all the Kirby purists in the VCCC, but I couldn't resist putting a black back on my Model 515. It's color scheme is now Matador Red and Black to honor my college alma mater, Texas Tech University. This bag is now the Kirby replacement bag for the 562 and later models (I think). The zipper on the scraper pocket was trimmed in white, so I took a red Sharpie and colored it red in order to continue the design theme!

 

[eurekastar]

This particular bag requires a bag topper. I was able to find one that's painted red. It should be here tomorrow.

 

[electrolux~137]

Very lovely! I've never seen a black bag like that one -- did it come from Kirby in that color? I'd love to see side and rear shots of it if you feel like it...

 

[eurekastar]

When I got it a couple of weeks ago, it still had the Sweet Aire assembly in tact, along with the felt pad inserts. So I removed the pads and tied them up in a sock and tossed them in the washer. Now all I need is some Sweet Aire.

 

[eurekastar]

Here's a rear shot with the a view of the Matador Red zipper pocket. I just noticed that I forgot to put in the Sweet Aire plug too!

 

[eurekastar]

And here she is with her younger, more refined sister, Model 516. My Model 516 has a new kevlar fan and my Model 515 still has the 10 blade aluminum fan. There is a distinct difference in how they sound.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Wow! A brand new black bag on your 515? Awesome!

As you may know, Kirby had made two different 10-blade impeller fans: #1189, which has the long spacer, first debuted with the 515 and was also available as a replacement for part #1188, which was a 6-bladed impeller fan originally used on models 3C to 514.

The other one was #119056, which had the shorter spacer designed for models 516 to Tradition 3-CB.

 

[eurekastar]

This fan definitely has a long spacer. When I reinstalled it last night, I first thought I had mis-threaded it onto the shaft. So I spun it off and spun it back on. I decided then that it was correctly installed. As for the bag: I don't know if it is a genuine Kirby bag. All the replacements I've seen from Kirby have a tag that say "Kirby" or "Scott Fetzer". So I don't really know for sure.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

What You Really Want is a Gray Bag with V Stripes

@eurekastar
What you really want as a bag for the 515 is one that originally was from a 514 (it has stripes that go up from the bottom of the bag connecting to the top and bottom stems of the "K" and the bottom stem of the "y" in "Kirby"), for slight fabric-related changes were made to the bag that differentiated it from the original one used on the 513.

<img>http://www.137.com/kirby/513_bag.jpg</img>
(photo by Charles Lester)