I don't know alot about Royal vacuums. I know more about Kirby than I do Royal. Anyway, for $3.00, I simply couldn't leave this sad-looking Royal just sitting there!
I really had no doubt it would. It doesn't work great, but good. It has what I would call a 'dry' sound. Like something needs lubricated. It's going to be display anyway, so that's not a concern.
It's a model 235 and I have no idea how old it is. Maybe early 50's?
It was filthy dirty, but cleaned up well. It's not made of shiny metal like Kirbys. It's some sort of 'galvanized' grey-looking metal.
The cord has been replaced and so has the end plug, but I'm not going to trouble with replacement as it works fine.
The brush roll was bound up with carpet strands and string. The belt was rotted and I don't have any Royal belts, but a Kirby belt fits OK and works for display and demo purposes.
OOPS! I made the mistake of washing the bag in the washing machine. I should have known better, but I did it anyway. The vibrant Royal logo disappeared! So, I took an idea from another post about using a fabric pen. I re-applied the logo in gold, and it looks OK, but I'm still kicking myself over that!
Here's the one Royal I'd love to find someday. Stan Kann had one in his collection and it's absolutely beautiful, with a streamlined, aerodynamic motor housing.
And you did an excellent restoration job on it. Early 50's sounds about right, I have a 189 from 1946 (according to the date stamped on the armature) and a 153 from about the same era. Odd thing is, the 189 sounds more like a Kirby than a Royal. Here's a pic of both of them, along with the attachment set they share and my 157 hand vac.
Jeff