My First Convertible!

[vacuumkid3]

Hello all!

I am pleased to report that I picked up my very first Hoover Convertible yesterday! For $7, it wasn't a bad deal at all! It is in fair shape, with quite a bit of wear and tear. I plan on stripping the old paint and starting fresh, polishing the hood, and I have already taken care of the insides!

Firstly...did these have sleeve bearings? When I opened it up, they sure look like sleeve bearings...I am a little...dismayed...that a newer vintage vacuum would only have sleeve bearings.

Okay Tom!! Time for you to answer some questions! :-D Actually...anyone is welcome to answer these! But Mr. Anderson sure knows his Hoovers!

Also, when was this model produced? I would guess late 60s, early 70s.

What kind of bag did these originally have? Mine is probably not original as nowhere on it does it say Hoover.

Does anyone have any original outer bags? Not only is mine not original, but it is pretty ratty.

Since the hood is deformed, will a blow-drier and some patience get it back to normal? I want this to look as good as possible!

Sorry for all of my questions...just a curious kid! :-D

Thanks in advance!

~~K~~

 

[hoover1060]

ummm

whats the model number?

 

[hoover28]

bearings

The top is a sleeve bearing the bottom is a ball bearing. most all medel bace convertibles have a 4 bolt hole bearing witch is greased by a hoover grease nozzle tip, that is placed on a grease gun. you might try to hold a grease gun up to the bearing to get the grease in the bearing, if you dont have this tip. you must remove the armature befor greaseing the bearing.


Chris

ps. if you like I will look up the hoover part # for the grease nozzle tip, on monday wen I get to my vac shop. It may still be in stock at hoover. I think wen I ordered one 2 years back my cost was near 17.00. but it is well wearth it as you can grease the beall bearings on all the vintage hoover constellations, convertibles,28s,61,ext. + the brush roll bearings on the uprights.

 

[vacuumkid3]

Oh, sorry! I guess I forgot to mention it on this thread...it's the 31.

Thanks Chris! I will look into this. Yeah, the bottom bearing seemed a little harder to move than the top, so no wonder the bottom is a ball bearing that needs some grease. I will dismantle the motor, though, and soak the bearing if it can come out in some carb cleaner. I did oil the brush roll, not grease it, but it seems fine. Thanks for the tip!

~~K~~

 

[myhooverco]

Kyle...

Your model 31 was built from 11.27.57 until 2.13.61. It had a very long run. The white ones are later than the green ones. The serial numbers ran from A546001 to 5969081. I am not sure when the serial number lost the "A". You got a very good deal on your machine. As I said in my email, I do not have an original "Hoover Convertible Special" bag, but I will be on the lookout for one. Congrats!

--Tom

 

[myhooverco]

Here is a photo of my model 31 Special. No these were not rebuilds as Hoover decided by making a cheaper cleaner would save them money instead of rebuilding old machines. The "Special" would just be an entry level Convertible. It meant that the customer got a few less features like no headlight, zipper, handlegrip, and shorter furniture guards and cords. Otherwise they were very similar to the deluxe models. The 31 was the most different because of the switch setup. The 32 had the conventional Hoover switch in the handle.

--Tom

 

[myhooverco]

Here is a close up of the bag details...the later ones used a narrower bag. Usually, the bag materials become very brittle. This one is still in very good shape for its age.

--Tom

 

[hoover1060]

I have the later version

with the narrow bag and white painted base.
This was given to me by its original owner, it was purchased new in 1961.
Fred S. did the detail work on it for me.