long forgotten connie

[anthony]

About 18 months ago i sold my house and moved into my deceased parents bungalow. They bought the then new property back in 1962 [don't think they ever got rid of anything ] After spending the last year getting the place as i want it i decided to start on the [stuffed to the rafters]garage mainly because i wanted to get to the big 70s teak sideboard at the back so after about half an hour shifting stuff outside i finally got to the sideboard .that's when i saw the familiar floor tool and hose .My first thought was surely that old thing cant still be hear after all this time but it was .hiding in the sideboard .Missing its handle and in a bit of a state but salvageable so its getting the full treatment

 

[anthony]

stripped the motor

today and fitted some new bearings .The carbon brushes were good so i have put them back .it runs well and is really quiet. I was only 5 when my parents bought this machine .I remember my father unpacking it the thing i remember most is the smell of the brand new cleaner what i didn't know then was that later in the year i would deal the machine a mortal blow [was only 5]by sucking all the water out of the toilet while mum was on the phone. Dad put it in the airing cupboard for a few weeks and as we know it lived on .I have separated the various parts of the casing ready for stripping and spraying. The grey flex is good just needs cleaning and the floor tool is dismantled .Oh yes i also found the handle in two bits inside the machine .A new one will be impossible to source so i have glued it back together and then filled the hollow back with car filler and just for a bit of added strength theres a 9 inch bolt buried in there .By the time its sanded and sprayed it will be as good as new and possibly stronger

 

[lesinutah]

Nice

Very creative way to fixing the handle. It looks like it's brought back and will probably run better than new.

 

[human]

Great find. Another family vac saved. Post pics when you get it all painted and back together.

 

[huskyvacs]

Amazingly good shape for being abandoned for decades in England! I love the Hoover Great Britian seal and logo. There's a couple tweaks you can do on the shell to make it seal better so that it floats stronger and like the commercials implied over what it actually was like off the shelf.

 

[fan-of-fans]

That's so cool to find a childhood vacuum was still around.

I have in the past seen some of those Constellation handles on eBay, looks like you've done a great job fixing that one though.

I'm sure the redo will turn out great.

 

[anthony]

finishe spraying

today. 2 coats undercoat 2 coats white gloss 2 coats clear gloss .Leave it now for a day or two so it can dry hard .Cynthia the cat came to see what i was doing .She didn't stay long. I am tempted to give the floor tool the grey treatment .Its really scuffed and has some deep gouges out of it .I think it would look good in grey with the Hoover logo in red. I couldn't get the exact shade of grey so had to make do with this .I decided to do the handle grey instead of white .You cant see the crack anymore .the paint has covered it completely

 

[human]

Beautiful work...

That machine is looking great. Thanks for sharing.

 

[jo]

Nice story!

Love hearing of hearing of the old family vacuums still around and getting refurbished. Thanks for sharing!

My parents still have their late 50’s first Electrolux vacuum. My Grandmother age it to Mom when they got married. It’s time worn and dented but perhaps someday I’ll take it with me and rehab it and add it to my collection as I have my youngest of vacuum Cleaner memories with it.

Jon

 

[electromatik]

Looks brand new

Very nice restoration. Wish I could do that. I was gifted with neither patience nor mechanical ability.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Anthony,

That shine looks baked on, you did a great job. The paint will continue to harden,(cure) for the next few weeks. I've got an old mixer with a bad handle, now I know how I'll fix it,thanks! How was the wiring, brittle or OK?

 

[lesinutah]

Wow

Im going to use a phrase I used to use quite a bit. Holy Goat Baby that looks brand new.
You should look in to auto body.

 

[anthony]

the wiring

and mains lead are fine so i am going to reuse it

 

[anthony]

Finally finished

The motor is back in [this same motor was used in Hoovers first twin tub washing machine to power the spin dryer ] and the thing is reassembled. The grey floor nozzle looks good but what were hoover thinking of [its useless] they should of spent more time on its efficiency and less on its looks .Still its nice to have it although it didn't get used much my dad adapted the floor nozzle from the Electrolux machine that we had before the Connie and it never got used again [spot the cuckoo in the last photo]The pink Connie was found in a caravan that i bought back in the 90s it too has had some new bearings fitted .Both machines are so quiet that the sound of air being sucked in is louder than the motor such a pleasant change to most of todays screamers [and juice guzzlers]With the exception of the commercial Hoover [that came from a bingo hall ]all of these machines have belonged to family members all gone now but their Hoovers live on

 

[watsonw]

This colour scheme

..... of connie was the first I remember in the shops. The big design flaw with the new style (pink/white) was the floor nozzle with the open vents holding the rollers virtually channelling all the suction away from the main nozzle opening. I think hoover saw the error in the design and changed/improved that aspect somewhere during the production period for this two tone grey model. The motor layout was a dream to service and refit until hoover eventually introduced the black plastic housing circa 1975.

A great job done.

Regards, Walter.

 

[uksausage]

Fab

That’s turned out amazing, incredible that you found it in the garage and it still worked. The refurb is amazing

 

[fan-of-fans]

That looks great. I was wondering did you buy a new filter for it?

I liked the looks of that nozzle best, didn't realize it was a poor performer. I noticed in the 70s many of the Hoovers here started to use the smaller style tool without rollers, which I believe was used on our last Constellations and some Celebrities, etc. Or some having the fancier style tools with wheels. And also a boxier shaped tool used on the later Portables, Spirit, etc.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Anthony,

Nice collection there, all winners in my book. My all gold Connie came to me as a mere shell of what she once was. Literally. I don't know how hard getting virtually everything for her is going to be as I haven't tried yet. I may just continue to use her as a double ice chest at parties, always a hit and just wait for a more complete Connie. I could never use her as a Hibachi as was suggested, it wouldn't be right. Will you be working your magic on another vacuum cleaner or content for now? Billy