My "new" Kirby!

[codyf]

Hello to everyone! I started working on a Kirby that i ran across a while back. I dont know what the model is or anything about it.. I need to get a new brush roll and belt and maybe a cloth bag if i can find a new one. There is a plate on the bottom were it was rebuilt in 69 so i dont know how much of it is all original. So does anyone know what model it is, whats orig and whats not yadda yadda? oh and were i can find a brush roll?!?!?!

 

[kenmore81]

Oooh!

Me likes =) Sorry I do not know the model,but it looks like 500 series to me.

 

[codyf]

Thank you! i really like it too! im going to order a new brush roll and make it my quicker picker uper! lol.... I did some research last night and know now that it is not all orig. but i still like it! lol

 

[kirbyvacuum]

Nice Kirby

Hi Cody Looks like it will clean up very nicely. I can tell it was a rebuild as the Emptor tray is light brown. When you order a new brush roll be sure to get one with two brushes on each side it will really clean very well. Good luck Doug

 

[electrolux~137]

The Kirby rebuild tags used to state the original model. Is that no longer the case? This could be any of 516, -17, -18, -19, -60 or -61. These models are all the same with slight variations in trim detail and attachment set modifications.

 

[caligula]

Great looking Kirby

Hi buddy:

If you need any info on the history of James B. Kirby let me know.

I can't really tell from the picture, but a word of advice, if you do have that cord in a figure 8 change it.
While it looks nice, that can really hurt the cord.

Alex Taber

 

[codyf]

Thanks Y'all! I have ordered a new brush roll, one with brushes on both sides!! (Thanks for the tip Doug!) I'm planning on running by the hardware store tommrow to pick up a belt and hopefully find my polishing stuff thats in storage with everything else at the moment, BUT!! hopfully our new house will be finished by spring/summer and I can have all my "toys" LOL.

Alex - Thanks for the tip on the cord, it was wound in a figure eight when I found it but have wound it correctly since! Its never really been my thing to put the cord that way, I think because I just dont like the way it looks! Thats the OCD part of me tho! LOL

Charles, I looked a little closer at the rebuild tag, tried to take a pic but the battery died and whooooo know's were the carger is at the moment! probally in storage! lol But anywho, the tag is labeled " kirby Rebuilt by an authorized kirby service center", no model #, rebilt date 4/69 done with a ingraver <-excuse the spelling if thats wrong, and the serial # is stamped. Is this a factory tag, or a "authorized dealer?" I will take a pic when i put my hands on the charger or that special litte usb cord! Hope eveyone has a great evening!

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Model 560 or 561

Going by the triangle-shaped belt lifter this species of Kirby would be either a 560 or 561.

 

[electrolux~137]

"kirby Rebuilt by an authorized kirby service center"

This tells us that the machine was built by a local Kirby branch office rather than being sent to the factory.

I don't like cords in 8-pattern either and can't figure out why some people wind them that way. Alex is right, it can damage the cord especially if wound tightly.

 

[electrolux~137]

The triangle-shaped belt lifter is a bojact product, not genuine Kirby. Hence the "K" instead of "Kirby."

The original 560/61 triangular belt lifter is beautiful, with a gold starbust behind the Kirby logo.

There also used to be bojack bags with a "K" pattern, and I've seen an odd bag, grey with red imprinting, that had Ks in little circles all over like the attached swatch, but instead of the word "Kirby," there's a sort of lightning-bolt pattern vaguely in the shape of the word Kirby. Very odd looking!

 

[codyf]

what about the bag?

The bag on mine is red with the word Kirby in circles. Would this be the original or would it be the grey bag with the big red kirby on it? I found a site today that has the grey bag, I kinda want to put a new one on it anyway, but would like to keep it "as close to original" as possible!

 

[electrolux~137]

the bag is a genuine Kirby after-market bag.

n.b., although they aren't supposed to, some Kirby dealers do use bojack repair parts.......

the original bag would be grey, either smooth or with silver "Speckles" depending on the model, with a large circular silver and red Kirby logo on the top-front area of the bag. See pic.

The late 500-series all had the same basic trim -- gray bag, red bumpers, gray nylon wheels, gray cord with red ends, red plastic handle grip. Early machines had a silver handle-lock button, later it was red plastic. The early models had a round red plastic belt lifter with a silver inlaid logo, then the 560 and 561 had the triangular all-metal belt lifter with gold starburst and silver and red logo, inside a clear plastic 'window.'

 

[ohio_tuec]

Charles, that sample you display above, is that a genuine Kirby bag or a knockoff? The 510 I just bought has that same bag - from a distance those colors give the bag an almost pink appearance. Everything else on the machine is original, even the cord (dry rotted though it may be). I wish I could find the correct gray bag with the early Kirby script....

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

For Ohio_Tuec

Charles's Kirbys are original with all original parts, except for one rebuilt 508 he bought that was done up in Sirocco.

I've also seen bojack belt lifters for the pre-560 models - the red plastic ones - as well, which have only the "K" on them instead of the full Kirby name.

~Ben

 

[electrolux~137]

Hi, the Kirby bag shown above is original. The color originally was dark gray, almost a charcoal color. As the color fades over the years, especially machines not kept out of sunlight, the color changes to lighter gray, yes, sometimes with a pinkish cast and other times with a brown or yellowish tinge. When the bag is in as-new color, it's absolutely stunning. The red and silver logo really stand out in relief against the dark background.

Somewhere along the way, the bag went from solid gray to gray with a silver speckled pattern. I don't know exactly when the change occurred but my guess is gradually as I have seen that bag on machines as early as 518 and as late as the 561, yet I have also seen 518s and 519s still with the earlier plain bag.

And, yes, as far as my Kirbys go, they are all in all-original condition except for the ones awaiting restoration (which now will never happen). I sure wish I had the time to keep them buffed out. Although, now no longer having my workship, having the time to do the work would be a moot issue.......

 

[rainbowkid107]

That is a REALLY nice vacuum! My aunt had a Kirby G6 and now she has a Kirby Sentria!


-Josh