My favorite "polished chrome/aluminum" vacs

[air-waycharlie]

I haven't posted pics of my vacuums in a longtime. Two of these, (the Kenmores), I never have shown here. The thread about the Kenmore Imperial, or "bugeye", prompted me to photograph and post today. Thanks to Opelgkarl!

They are the Kenmore Imperial, Kenmore Deluxe, Air-Way Chief model 35, and the Eureka Challenger model M60.[this post was last edited: 3/4/2021-16:27]

 

[air-waycharlie]

And the Eureka... (The wand is in my storage unit)

 

[vacuumdevil]

That old machine really looks great with a good polish on it!

 

[human]

Love 'Em!

I'm a total sucker for shiny metal vacs but I don't have anything that old. They're gorgeous! I hate that modern industrial design has moved so far away from creating things that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are functional.

 

[air-waycharlie]

Edgar, my interest even as a very young man was design driven. Form follows function. Not only were those vacuums very effective for that time frame, they were pleasing to the eye. Some thought actually went into the production and they were built to last a lifetime with "reasonable", care.

The Hoovers of this period were stunning too and great vacuums. I used to have quite a few of those but in the paring down with aging nearly all have found new homes.

 

[electrolux137]

~
~

<span style="font-size: 18pt; color: #993366;">"A thing of beauty is a joy forever."</span>

 

[brando_husky]

That deluxe is to die for. Beautiful machines all around! Thank you for sharing!

 

[vacmadman]

Aluminum beauties!

These are all gorgeous vacuums. It's wonderful to see them restored and cared for. All the vacuums in my collection are aluminum based. No plastic or paint allowed. I hope to find a Kenmore Deluxe someday to add to my Kenmore collection. Thanks for sharing the pictures of these rare beauties. Here are some pictures of my two Kenmore's. The Kenmore Imperial, and the Kenmore Automatic. I also included some pictures of my Singer R3 which I think was the ultimate in Art Deco styling.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Beautiful work

there. Gotta love all that Art Deco style!!

 

[air-waycharlie]

James, man that Singer is beautiful! That is a piece of art just sitting there. I had the brown hammertone painted model. They were very good vacuums.

Your Imperial looks all original. Mine has a replacement bag, cord and bumper. The Deluxe is all original. Your automatic is another stunner. These vacs all look like they are right out of the film, "Metropolis".

Thanks for posting them.

 

[caligula]

Air-Way Charlie.

That Air-Way Chief looks great. Do you know where I can get the outer bag for my 2 upright Air-Ways?

Alex Taber.

 

[kirbyklekter]

They're all beautiful

If more people saw these as they are, they'd be less apt to ask "but...why do you collect vacuum cleaners?" Then again.

 

[air-waycharlie]

Alex,

The only way I know to find an outer bag is to watch ebay. I have the original outer bag for my Chief but I like the larger capacity, (more airflow), of the one shown on the Chief. I had a lady tailor make it from two Kirby G6 bags as I thought it matched the machine nicely.

I used the dimensions of the DirtMaster outer bag for the Chief. The original outer cloth bag for the Chief is similar to the Sanitary Sytem outer bags. The paper bag the goes in is really large and you have to fold it in half to make it fit. I'm not sure why Air-Way designed the paper bag that way but they did.

 

[vacmadman]

AirWay bag

Here is a picture of my AirWay green goddess before I reassembled it. You can see the original paper bag, that is still in good shape. These are not easy to find, so I was glade that mine came with it intact. I have seen the outer AirWay bags come up for sale on eBay from time to time. I've included some pictures of my AirWay's.

 

[vacmadman]

How many Kenmore Deluxe styles are there?

I have seen three different Deluxe Kenmore's with lights and without. I have seen two with lights, and one without. Picture #2 shows the two models on the left with lights. I have this pictured deluxe without the light coming to my shop soon. What year did they start and end?

Jim

 

[hoover300]

A friend of mine has this in his attic. I've never seen one quite like it.

 

[vacmadman]

Interesting

Hoover300,

I can't see the name tag in the picture. Does it have the deluxe name or just Kenmore? I also noticed that some have a name tag on the nozzle like mine and some do not.

Jim

 

[hoover300]

As far as I know it is just a Kenmore. It appears to be a sleeve bearing motor as it has an oiling port on the top.

 

[myvacsrock]

This entire thread is simply gorgeous!