Vintage Eureka Canister Motor Disassembley

[thatwasherguy]

Hey everyone! Earlier today, I was given a beautiful vintage eureka canister vacuum in green. Upon initial inspection, it looks stunning. However, it has a major problem: Someone has used it without a bag (talk about spending dollars to save pennies) at some point in time, and the motor is a filthy mess. I need to disassemble it to replace the bearings and clean it out, but have run into another problem: It appears to me that the top of the fan housing is made as one with the motor housing. That said, how do I take this off without destroying it? I was SOOO tempting to use brute force, but I’ve done that in the past and regretted it. So this time, I’m gonna take the smart approach and ask about it. Also, when was the machine produced? It’s model number is 613A, and it’s serial number is 22802592. Thanks,
Thatwasherguy.

 

[eurekaprince]

I am going to hazard a guess that this is from the mid 1970's, just after Eureka's takeover by Sweden's Electrolux. The handle is still showing the classic Eureka Williams EW logo, but the rating plate has already got the new company name: The Eureka Company. This may be one of those models made by Eureka especially for KMart as the bright flourescent apple green colour was not one used in the main Eureka line-up.

 

[paul]

That's an awesome sparkling apple green. Congrats on snagging that classic-style vintage canister.

I, too, think the 600-Series was made for K-Mart. Regarding its logo and wordmark that was used on Eureka cleaners from 1966-1982; although the bold Helvetica roman-type wordmark without the electric E/W was used from 1976-86 in literature and advertising. Green appliances would have been trendy in the mid-1970s, so I agree with Brian. Are there clock faces embossed in the plastic?

Sorry I'm unable to give you disassembly help.

 

[thatwasherguy]

Figured it out…

The motor disassembles from the top. There are two bolts located under the brushes that hold the bushing on and the field windings onto the fan plate. Got the bearing out, and new ones are on the way. Just thought I’d throw that out there for anyone who needed to know how this motor comes apart.

eurekaprince…
I believe you are correct. The mother has 75 printed onto it, so I’m guessing that means that it’s from 1975. I didn’t know that it was a K-Mart model, but they do have several old ads featuring Eureka vacuums, so it makes sense.

Paul…
Thanks for the compliment! That green color was the first thing that caught my eye when I first saw the machine. The paint is in really good shape too, and the pictures really don’t do it justice. There are no clocks embossed in the plastic, but the motor has 75 printed on it, so I assume it’s from 1975. Thanks for the info regarding the emblems on it. This is my first in-depth experience with a Eureka that isn’t from the Victory line, so this is all new to me.

I am quite impressed with this machine so far. I really think that more vacuums today should be built like this. It’s just a motor and a switch in a metal case. It also seems a lot simpler than my Electroluxes are.

Thatwasherguy.

 

[paul]

Thatwasherguy,

You're welcome! Glad you were able to figure out the disassembly on your own ... and so quickly. Thanks for sharing the instructions. Success stories such as yours are always great to hear!