My 1984 Kirby Heritage II!

[kirbyclassiciii]

Bought this for just $15 from a Craigslist ad! This means I now have two Heritage IIs in my collection.

Serial number says August 1984, which puts this as being one of the very first Heritage IIs ever made! This also means both the rug nozzle (this one has the wings) and the Renovation Group casting also have the extra lug to accommodate the old-style speed switch used on the Classic Omega/III/Tradition.

Unfortunately, all the boxes were in a sorry condition.

Oddly, the Turbo Groom accessory (see picture 4) is also included in this bundle!

The vac itself, though, is indeed a work in progress. In addition to the motor not running as the seller stated, the handle fork (presumably a weak spring) and the cord/bag bracket, too, are in a sorry state. Not to mention the power cord, due to there being electrical tape around it in spots.

~Ben[this post was last edited: 11/13/2018-17:28]

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Look at all that hair and lint!

One of several primary reasons why this Kirby didn't work right...

~Ben

 

[huskyvacs]

These are great Kirbys! I like the sound to them, has a soft kind of sewing machine sound (unless they aren't supposed to sound like that - but mine sounds healthy).

This is what mine looked like that I bought on eBay that was in a flood. They said the motor was dead, but I found out the safety switch was rusted in the up position and wouldn't connect even with the brushroll nozzle on. I cleaned it up with electrical contact cleaner and working it with a screwdriver up and down and it fixed it.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

huskyvacs

Thank you for showing me yours! I hope to get mine up and running soon.

In the meantime, here's some pictures of my first Heritage II, which was built in 1987 (pictures are arranged in order of progress)...

~Ben[this post was last edited: 11/13/2018-18:26]

 

[huskyvacs]

Looking good! It should polish up nice.

 

[lesinutah]

Ben

Hey
I noticed your pics you have s cr1 emtor on it. Does it have a bag setup or shakeout bag.
The vacuum you acquired looks good. It has the amodel fan and newer brush. I'd bet clean up fan and brush roll and clean off by safety switch it would fire up. Kirby's not running are rare. I'd bet the switch just haired up. I'd even bet money.
I recently got 2 legend 2 heritage 2 vacuums. It's the burgundy version. Mine has the plastic mini emtor and bag setup. I made my own bag system for my cr1 and my tradition.
The motor is just brute Force. The micro matic is sweet. Ill post some pics soon.
Let me know if you get it or when you get it working.
A quick question would a sanatronic 7 nozzle work on a heritage safety switch. I only ask because I got a s7 hose to work on my legend 2.
Les

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Lesinutah

Les,

You are right. The Emtor on my 1987 Heritage II was indeed from a Classic 1CR, and the bag on it, of course, is a shake-out type. I replaced the original brown tray with the dark gray one from my defective Heritage I Emtor to better coordinate with the black trim of the Heritage II. I wanted to get a black hammertone Emtor that was the original, but they are very rare and pricey.

You are right, too, about all that hair and lint. I do intend to clean it up sometime soon before first use. When I do get it up and running again, I surely will let you know in the future. Among the replacement parts needed for my '84 Heritage II:
Handle Fork Spring (137073)
Power Cord (192084)

~Ben