Alan, I meant to tell you, your "Mustard Seed" AE is a really nice find! It still has the original wheels and switch; these have frequently been replaced with white or tan. Ugleeee!
Be very careful with the wheels- don't ever drop the machine on the floor, or even sit it down hard -- not even from a distance of a couple inches. The plastic they are made of is very brittle and easily broken. Once you break one, try finding a replacement!
Also, if you want to make it "look" more correct, go to the hardware store and buy a black vacuum cleaner extension cord. All the big garden/hardware stores out here carry them, sometimes in black or white. It will set off the look of the machine. Then of course you'll need to find a functional original hose....... good luck on that!
Speaking of hoses, I have found a very nice and "aesthetically correct" replacement -- the silver hoses from upright Royals! The models in the early to mid 1980s came with very durable coiled vinyl hoses, silver in color, that is a nearly exact match to the silver color of the trim on the E and AE machines. Here, have a look at a Model E that I put together and "gifted" to a friend.
The cord you see there, btw, is the "hardware store" vacuum cleaner cord I mentioned. The two 'combo' attachments are from a turquoise Model L, and I included a polisher for my friend because her house has all hardwood floors, AND her mom [now deceased] had a Model E with a polisher when she was a little girl! That, in fact, was the reason for the gift -- she came over one day when I happened to have a Model E sitting out and she just squealed with glee! She said her mother had had that very model when she was a little girl. When I saw how delighted she was to see it, I knew I just had to give her one.
So I fixed this one all up, put it in a box, wrapped with gift wrap and a big ribbon, and took it over to her. She she opened it, she literally just started bawling.
She looked at me, tears running down her face, and said, "You just have NO IDEA what this means to me. I had a very strong connection with my mother through the vacuum because it was my special job to use it every week from the day she bought it. I clearly remember when the Electrolux man came to the house to demonstrate it. I was so enthralled with it that my mama decided to buy it, telling me, 'Since you like this machine so much, it will be your chore to operate it.' I was very happy to do so! Especially when I got to use that really KEEN Polisher!! I just would never have imagined I could ever find another one like it."
Then more crying, a huge hug, and then set immediately set-to using it!
A strange and eerie note: In the first photo of my friend below, the lady in the large framed portrait on the wall is ... her mother!!
