Kirby Tradition 3-CB (thrift store find)

[ladydobermann]

It's a landmark moment for me! It's both the first vacuum I bought - and it's my first vintage vacuum!

Dateline: August 24, 2021. I had talked to my friend about hitting up the local thrift store but when I decided to go it closed in 5 minutes, lol. So I went the next day (the 24th).

Photo of the Tradition in the basement of the St. Vincent De Paul (second from left). I paid $50 for it. It seems a bit expensive for a thrift store, but it's cheaper than paying exorbitant prices for shipping. The other vacuums were just as surprisingly expensive - the cheapest being the Hoover Windtunnel TurboPower 7100, for $20. I had a hard time choosing which vacuum to grab. The Kirby Heritage II was also $50. The Hoover SteamVac looked very beat-up, and they wanted a whopping $60 for it. There was also a Kirby G2001 for $50 as well from what I recall. The other vacs were about $40 - two Orecks and an old Bissell. I couldn't get a closer pic of those. Not sure what the canister vac is - I don't have much interest in that type. The address is 169 N Central Ave in Marshfield, Wisconsin, if you wanna swing by and check what they got in. I doubt they would still be there a month later.

 

[ladydobermann]

The Tradition after getting home. I was feeling quite chuffed at this moment.

 

[ladydobermann]

Photo of the Tradition's price tag. Now I get why they say, "I'm gonna pop some tags."

 

[ladydobermann]

Here's a recent photo of the Tradition after being cleaned off. Notice how the sun had come out - all the other photos I took during this session were when it was overcast. Coincidence? I think not!

 

[ladydobermann]

View of the rear of the Tradition. Wow, bag vacuums are slim!

 

[ladydobermann]

View of the headlight assembly of the Tradition. I'm not sure what the date dial means. Does anyone know what we could learn from it?

 

[ladydobermann]

View of the brush roll. I can never remember which Traditions had the silver rolls - the early run or the late run?

 

[ladydobermann]

Serial number. I'm not sure exactly how to decode it? I think it means it's a 1980 model?

 

[ladydobermann]

Model plaque. It says 1979 so I don't know if I unproperly decoded the serial number??

 

[ladydobermann]

Here's something that I was very excited about - a badge of a local vacuum shop! Although the address is now a Domino's pizzeria, the shop is still around! They moved to 226 Air Park Road on the south side of town and rebranded as Dalco. I might have to stop by with the Tradition and see how they react, haha.

 

[ladydobermann]

The accessories of the Tradition. It might have been expensive, but at least it's mostly complete??

 

[ladydobermann]

Here's a close-up of the Tradition's plug. It's bent, but that's nothing a hammer can't fix!! That's a joke. It was cool seeing it up close because I don't have a lot of vintage electronics.

 

[ladydobermann]

IT INFLATES! AHH! That is so, so, so cool!! This version has the shake-out bag - a disposable bag version was also offered, and as far as I can tell was a lot more popular! I don't know why as this is so much easier to empty!

 

[ladydobermann]

The light still turns on, too! I am super happy about this purchase. I think I'm going to use it around the house evermore.

I hope to start taking jobs with this vacuum - I would have offered cleaning jobs earlier but it didn't feel right with a Bissell. I needed something I could take pride in, and the Tradition was it! It matches my vintage/retro persona - I'll roll up in my Y2K-model SUV and bust some freakin' dust!

I hope I can score a job at an old school or something - my house is way too small for this beast! It's like going from a little hybrid to a V8 muscle car! I've had it for a month now and I'm still excited as you can tell?

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

LadyDobermann

Sammy,

Yes, according to the serial number on the fan case your cleaner was built in 1980.

Those date stamps you saw on the headlight casting and the motor shell housing, among others, refers to individual casting build dates and are not related to the serial number on the fan case which would be the final build date before leaving the Cleveland or Andrews assembly lines.

The brush roll I see with the metal ends was taken from a Classic 1CR if I know right; the original Tradition brush rolls had clear plastic sleeves over the brush ends. It's also installed wrong; the top of the screw heads should be exposed, in order to adjust the bristles (it's recommended that 1/8" of these bristles stick out past the rug guard openings for effective revolving brush cleaning).

~Ben

 

[KirbyCollector01]

The G20 on the front of the serial indicates this unit was made in July 1980. Great find!! That’ll clean up nicely.

 

[human]

Nice find!

Yeah, $50 may seem high for a second hand vacuum but it's really a pittance in terms of value for the money. That thing will outlast any of the disposable landfill fodder on the shelves at Wally World today in that they're built to be serviced and rebuilt. With modest screwdriver skills, you can keep that machine going for as long as replacement parts are available.

It's pretty incredible to see that many Kirbys in one place. I'm lucky if I see one or two a year around here. That tradition was definitely the best value of ones assembled there since it had some tools with it. That thing will polish up nicely with some Mother's and then it will really impress your clients! I just love a shiny, gleaming Kirby!

 

[huskyvacs]

Great find! The thing with the prongs being bent is from people whose outlets are worn past their life expectancy and the plug keeps falling out of the socket, so they bend the prongs out to make it stick in more. Just a pare of needlenose pliers and gentle bending with straighten it out.

It was well worth the price, if you were to find one on eBay the shipping alone would be more than $50 in and of itself.

Not a stellar selection of vacuums at that thrift store but not all bad either.

 

[human]

Tradition Tool Kit...

There's a full toolkit for a Tradition on shopgoodwill.com for an opening bid of $9.99 with a $4.00 handling charge, plus shipping. As of this writing, it has a little more than eight hours left on the clock and no bids. Could be a good addition to your Tradition, just sayin'.

https://www.shopgoodwill.com/Item/130803406