Dropping out, Daniel?
Four more days to go until June 1. I would expect it to go for well over $100, if not reach $200. We'll wait and see.
Meanwhile, I know this seller VacMom well and have gotten several vacuums from him. In fact, I'm driving down to Toledo on June 13 to retrieve this lovely green & gray Lewyt 88 I bid on and lost.
Unfortunately for the person who won it, it inexplicably arrived with one of the cast aluminum tool holder prongs broken off and it was returned & refunded. No longer of eBay quality to VacMom's standards, it was offered to me for considerably less.
By pure happenstance, Pete found a forelorn Lewyt 88 curbside for me a while back with a bojack hose, cracking cord rubber & replacement plug and no tools or wands. A simple swap of the unboltable tool rack and I have a mostly complete green 88, except for the floor brush - no doubt that will show up in jig time, as these things do. I located a green dusting brush from Doug Smith and found a green crevice tool in my partz bins when Pete found the 88.
I am somewhat interested in this Doty, as well...mmm...
"speak now or forever hold your piece, er...peace."
Dave
VacMom is justly famous for his erudite descriptions, to whit:
"To watch vacuum cleaner ads today you might think manufacturers never gave suction loss a thought before His Eminence burst upon the scene. But that isn't so. Over the years several makers have attacked the problem of diminishing power. Filter Queen succeeded, more or less. Rainbow certainly did. And Lewyt did, too. In fact, no other vacuum we've seen can stuff a bag so full and still take your arm off at the end of the hose like a Lewyt. Its huge lid is one giant sucking surface that first pulls, later pushes, and finally crams dirt into the bag until it's as dense and heavy as a sack of cement. We are amazed at the engineering brilliance of the Lewyt--so simple, so effective, and so gratifying to use.
This 1956 Model 88 is in absolutely sublime condition. Its motor rouses warmly to life, and runs at a tempered and substantial note. It creates every bit of the fierce suction it did when new. The hammertone painted body is charming for its depth and visual complexity. It has a beautiful shiny glossiness, and there is hardly a flaw in its finish. Incredible.
Everything is original. The cord is soft and pliable. The floor tool still has the labeling, and its natural floor bristles are still stiff and un-splayed underneath. The wands are excellent, too--with smoothly operating lock mechanisms and soft rubber ends. The hose still has the original ends, including the rubber handle with LEWYT stamped into it."
