Two Filter Queens, One Kirby, And One Franken-Kirby

[hygiene903]

My collection has grown a little in the past couple days. On Thursday a guy who was working on a roof with my stepdaughter's boyfriend brought over a Kirby Heritage II that someone had set out at the curb. I checked it out and it runs great, but the cord will need replaced due to a short near to where it hooks onto the handle. The cord, probably a new belt, and a good cleaning and polishing are about all it will need. This one has the smaller nozzle, so now I have one of each! Other than the nozzle and serial number, this one is identical to my other Heritage II.
Then today (Friday) I went to an estate sale held for my Granddaughter's other Grandfather who had recently passed away. In a shed I found two Filter Queens, model 31X and 33, and a Franken-Kirby, with a sign above them that said "Vacuums $5.00 each." I couldn't turn them down at that price! The 31X had a Power nozzle, hose, crevice tool, dust brush, and upholstery nozzle with slider. The model 33 only had a dust brush and 2 upholstery nozzles with sliders, and a cordwinder, everything else was missing. The Franken-Kirby had started its life as a D-80, but had a Classic III handle, cord, and wheels, Tradition (blue) belt lifter, and a red "bojack" bag that uses F & G disposables.
Couldn't wait to try them out when I got them home! All three of them will need cleaned up. Both Filter Queens ran excellently, with outstanding suction and extremely quiet! However, the power nozzle doesn't work on the 31X, and looks like I might need to replace the cord on the 33. I do have a hose and a rug nozzle for the 33, but will need wands, crevice tool, and buffer pad. Since the 31X has the power nozzle, I don't know whether or not it would still have the regular wands, rug nozzle, and buffer pad. The Franken-Kirby ran pretty good, except it seemed to have some bearing noise. Haven't taken any pics yet, but when I do I'll be sure to post them.
Jeff

 

[human]

Nice haul...

Sounds like it's raining vintage vacs in your neck of the woods!

 

[lesinutah]

Nice

Congrats on your new accusations to your collection. I have a heritage 2 13 in line to get a new fan.

 

[hygiene903]

Here's An Update

Although I still haven't taken pics yet, I have managed to get some preliminary cleanup work done on all four vacs. I also replaced the cord and changed the bag (it was packed full!) on the Heritage II, changed the bag on the Franken-Kirby, and dumped and changed the cones and secondary filters on both Filter Queens. Also rechecked the power nozzle on the 31X and it does indeed work! Hadn't noticed the reset button on it before, so I pressed it before I plugged it in and it works like a champ and even has a light! It's also going to need a new belt. The 31X cleaned up real good, except that I'll need to polish the chrome top, which I think will involve taking it apart to get the plastic grill off, and I also need to give the power nozzle a deeper cleaning.
I wasn't as lucky with the model 33, as the inside of the tank has quite a bit of rust, to the point it will need sanded and painted, and it also looks like the rubber gasket or seal will need replaced, as well as the cord. It will also need a deeper cleaning on the outside. Other than that I'll just need to round up some attachments for it.
I also have a question. Does anyone know the years of production for the 33 and the 31X? I'm thinking the 33 was built in the 60's and the 31X was built in the 70's, but I could be wrong. Although there's a lot of work ahead, I feel I'm off to a good start.
Jeff

 

[lesinutah]

Nice

Congrats on the score. Filter queen started in 1945. If it means 31 it would be 1976 but the pic added says in the 1960s.

 

[hygiene903]

Thanks Les!

The picture really helps, but I wish it was a bit bigger. my 33 is almost identical to the 31 and 32 it shows for the 1960's, except that the top of mine is also tan instead of the cream color, and my 31X is identical to the D31X it shows for 1977. This also means that since I already had a 350, that I now have Filter Queens from 3 decades--the 350 from the 50's, 33 from the 60's, and 31X from the 70's! Thanks again,
Jeff

 

[FilterQueenEthan]

Does your 33 have a power nozzle? If so it would be mid 60s-mid 70s. D31X was built from the late 70s to the mid 80s. My K31X is the last of the steel separator cone machines and it is a 1986. The power nozzle will have a date code stamped in the molding. The Majestic came out in 1988, so maybe some overlapping there with K31X's. Princess 2 would have been out at the same timeframe but had a 48 power nozzle. Mine has a K88 and the gray 95X also had a K88 head. The K31X does not have a cord reel, and the top grille is chrome instead of dark brown and it is the machine between the D31X and the 95X Majestic.

 

[FilterQueenEthan]

Nice

Congrats on the score. Filter queen started in 1945. If it means 31 it would be 1976 but the pic added says in the 1960s.

View attachment 155170

Filter Queen was invented in 1928 by Ed Yonkers. Frank Callahan marketed a Royal as a Health-Mor then in 1939 they brought the Filter Queen to market. Royal built the 200, then they started making the 350 on their own after WWII. The 31 came out in 1958, I had a 1959 and it did not have a power nozzle. The original cream and tan 31 had the pyramid trim at the inlet port.

 

[centralsweeper63]

You know a lot about Filter Queen!