Sunbeam Challenger AKA Ugly Betty

[aeoliandave]

I must say, Christine, the more pictures I see of your Ugly Betty the more she grows on ya. Yup, as we clean up the grimy parts like hoses and tool and interior corners & crevices these old utilitarian cast-a-ways proudly step forward to join the Glamor Vac Club Lineup. And I bet they can give the glamor gals a run for their cleaning money - at least ya don't have to dress up to use 'em.

In that spirit I have named this woefully bilious Kenmore Elphaba. See? She has her own matching broomstick! (I'm halfway through the book Wicked which has so much more backstory detail than the musical). Quiet, powerful suckage and a great powernozzle - there'll be no mistaking these vile green bricks for anything else but a good honest vacuuming machine.

Say Christine, in the back of the Challenger, do those two holes beside the toggle switch go all the way to the bottom. maybe for upright wand storage? It looks like an egg crate construction to allow exhaust to flow through and around whatever gets stuck in there...oh wait, now I see the exhaust hose port.

So th achieve her true imposing visual statement Ugly Betty needs two chrome wands rising from her stern and she'll be a SuperTanker of the High Pile. She's too sleek & stealthy without them...

 

[camelotshadow]

LOL

Yep, the 2 holes go all the way down

Have 2 chrome wands from the disposed of sears that she now has some tools from

Gawd with those 2 metal antennae she is going to be ready for the vacuum ball./.

:LOL

Hey your green machine does look to be period Ugly Betty..

I figure she has a lamb ametek motor so she can't be all that bad & she had a solid steel shell.

Exhaust port is under the switch area
thats the cord winder

There is some metal bar that comes out the sides & is over or behind the motor
sorry didn't take pics of the quickie exploratory cleanup last night.
wonder what the heck its purpose is

She appears to be constructed like a sandwich in the metal tank part with the connection being on the sides

Odd as its sort of a hexaganal shape tank

quite a pain to try to cut filters for it

I need some wide filter material & I;ll cut out a better one for the exhaust/ over the cord winder area.

Air blows thru cord winder

Will have to get a glamoir shot of her all decked out...

LOL

 

[charles~richard]

Somewhere in the zillion photos I have strewn about on my computer, I have photos of Marty Rocha's "Ugly Betty" that I took on one of my jaunts to Palm Springs. If I can find the photos, I'll post them.

 

[camelotshadow]

OOOh Goody

LOL

Is it green too?

Will have to dress Betty up for her photoshoot

LOL

So how do you date these things
brush holders on motor were yellow

guess about 70 to 75?
thing the one w the flowers must have been late 60's?

 

[charles~richard]

Sunbeam Challenger bags:


http://www.a-1vacuum.com/servlet/the-463/Sunbeam-Challenger-BAGS-dsh-3pkg/Detail

 

[camelotshadow]

yikes she's $ to maintain

Well here she is on a mission to the moon
Here seen crossing the lunar landscape sucking up rock samples...

LOL

The floor wand is a rotating radar
The wands navigation devices
OOOh look at the green headlight

LOL

 

[luxg]

Christine, she looks so much better all fixed up!!

 

[camelotshadow]

She does grow on ya

LOL

Having fun with her

Good machine
may not be able to keep her
then again she can stay in the storage room
& be my building shop cannister vac

Just the bags at over $2 a pop
I don't like to spend more than 50/ 75 cents for a bag...

 

[arh1953]

She does look good all done up! It's nice the Kenmore attatchments and hose all work on it.

 

[collector2]

LOL - what it should look like from my archive of pictures (and I havnt ever seen one with a power head - can you post a pic Toby?) This was the standard model (although challenger was their top of the line at the time)

 

[collector2]

The delux (top of the line) model. Note the inclusion of a floor brush.

 

[arh1953]

the results are in

I like it, I like it!!

 

[camelotshadow]

Hey thanks for the great p[ics

One looks like mine...says it uses lux bags?
lux bags work but not sure how that cuts down on suction as the bag is much smaller
the flower oone is different in the handle area

Hose on mine is cream has green ends so think is original

wands & attachements well most of them are off a sears
floor attach is marked sears in round logo
they also curiously have a round button like the sunbeam hose wand so they do work well & dress her up

see the flower deluxe has hubcaps too

 

[luxg]

I can remember for sure that they did have a power nozzle for the Sunbeam, would have been in the mid 70's I think.. Always thought about getting it as I thought it was such a neat machine. But of course didn't let myself because no one has more than one or two vacuums..LOL

 

[charles~richard]

Marty's Sunbeam

Okay, here are some pix of Marty's Sunbeam. Isn't the green shag rug just TOO PERFECT for this photo shoot! Sad to say, his family has since replaced the green shag with new flooring.<p> <p>

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[hoover_elite_20]

Oh God...

That Pow-r-vac thingy on ebay makes me wanna throw up....PLURK....!

 

[camelotshadow]

OOOh Please Don't Eat the Daisies

LOL

Thanks for the pics Charles

That vac is making me sneeze
LOL

Hey like the red sunbeam bag

I found a eureka today

5.5 A High Perfromance
vibra beat groomer
looks like a hoover

Model 1945 B
model # starts 3767

its navy n white had eureka fng bag

nice condition working on it

sounds good
no belt

pics to follow when I find its date
think its before 80..

Sounds nice like a hoover...

:0

 

[luxg]

Does anyone know who might have made these vacuums for Sunbeam? IMHO they do show quality!! Just look at those attachments. The bag looks like a really good quality as well. I also remember the Sunbeam Floor polishers, I believe they had both single and double brush models.

 

[camelotshadow]

Was wondering the same thing
has a lamb ametek division motor in it similar to filter queen

 

[camelotshadow]

Saw a sunbeam electric shoe polisher today
came in a wooden case
also green polisher
was about $6
but I resisted
had attachements buffers to polish shoes
must of been about 70's too