Eureka 664A...a close match to the vacuum of my childhood!

[westytoploader]

I saw a Singer-made Shetland-Lewyt upright on eBay, as well as many Kenmores that looked the same. Almost grabbed a twin-fan Singer in a Salvation Army store, but the brushroll was worn...not worth what they were asking for it! When I see one in good shape I'll get it...would be fun to play with for a while.

Did Singer ever have a commercial machine of that design? My aunt had one, and while it did resemble the twin-fan design, it was a little nicer, with a chrome handle, handle grip, and even a metal bail I believe. One thing I thought was cool with those machines was that they turned on when the handle was lowered.

--Austin

 

[petek]

Singer another company gone to junk status

Thanks for the info Jeff. Singer seems to have gone away from quality as well, I'm not even sure if the Singer sewing machines you see today in Walmart and drug superstores are even made by them, I haven't really looked closely but just fron a glance walking by you can see they're not the iron horses they were.

And speaking of Westinghouse...has anyone ever tried their full sized upright cordless vac..what a piece of work that is

 

[hoover1060]

Singer pics

Austin,
I have a Singer made Lewyt aquired from ebay a couple of years ago. Its in really nice shape and runs very well. I love the mod 1970's colors too!
Following are some Singer pics. Yes there was a Singer commercial machine in the late 1970's you'll see one pictured, with a Sanitaire bag on it as the original was shot.
STarting in the late 1960's there were three twin fan Singer models in the line: PowerMaster(one speed), Silver PowerMaster(two speed), and Golden Powermaster(2 speed, A frame handle and cord reel)
I don't remember who had the handle activated switch first, I think it was Sunbeam, and then it was Kenmore, and then the Ryobi made models in the 80's...that switch was a pain in the A** IMHO...
pics are of Singer Commercial, Lewyt and Sunbeam, followed by the rest of what I call "the choir"
Here are the pics...

 

[hoover1060]

more Singer

Pete: I know nothing is left of the Singer company, just as there is very little left of Hoover.
Singer today is no more than a name, however on with a long history, and easily recognized...
Singer Uprights: Grey U43(1968) blue U45(1970) Green U49A(1974 - a double ribbon winner at the 2004 VCCC convention in Chicago) Yellow U59(1976) Standing in the corner are two older S-series cleaners from the 50's.

 

[programcomputer]

On Singers and other things.....

Jeff,

I see that you have A Singer Commercial like mine. Mine does have the original cloth bag, but it's cracked and leaks dust like you wouldnt believe...how did you retrofit a Sanitaire bag onto the proper bag collar for that machine.... My bag has two chrome slides with one at the bottom. Nice thing was is that the machine I found came with an extra healight cover, becasue the one in it was cracked. So I left the one in the commercial and stuck the new old stock one into the U59 that you gave me...

I also still have the earlier S-3 that you gave me...and in fact It gets used fairly frequently...especially when my best freind Miracle's daughter Sophie comes over to visit...she will sneak away, go right down into the basement, plug that machine in and switch it to low and vacuum the entire basement...becasue she knows I can't hear it right away and she can get away with it...she loves THAT machine sooo much...She calls it "Eeyore" cause it's all grey.....

I know she's in love becasue she was just here this evening for her fourth Birthday party that I held here becasue I have more room, and she asked me if she could go take her little freind Nate down to use " The Eeyore".... Eventually every kid was in that basement in awe all 13 of them...and Sophie was letting all the kids push it...It was super awesome to see...

So that's a Sunbeam 2+2. I had seen one before in brown without the cord reel. It was super trashed and rusted and the motor was shot. I tired to ressurect it...but all the potmetal was crumbling and the baseplate was virtually nil. I did keep the bag for awhile but it's now MIA so.....

And I see that you were the winner of the ebay- Lewyt-Singer...that was you that got it. It looks like the same one I saw on there. This was made only for the Candaian market? It looks super cool, and has the boxtop style bag like the U59.

Ijust replaced the brushroll in the S-3 with a NOS one, that I got from a vac store in Jackson. He told me that he was cleaning out a rented storeroom in a bulding about to be demoilished, and he knew he had one in there. He did and offered it to me for $25.00 and he found two packages of NOS belts too.

Okay Im done.....sorry for the "blather"

Chad

 

[hoover1060]

Lewyt

Chad,
I'd date the Lewyt about 1972 or so, maybe even later. When I first saw it on ebay it was an outrageous price, so I passed. It came back later cheaper, so I went for it. Its only major difference is the motor amps, it draws 4.5, and the Singer models are 5.5... the Lewyt runs a little slower.
I got the Sanitaire bag on the Singer Commercial very carefully. First I removed the Eureka bag ring, then had to make that end of the cloth bag bigger, as the Singer's bag outlet is bigger. It looks ok, but I hope to find something a little more original looking someday.

 

[programcomputer]

Doesn't look bad to me.....

Jeff,

Doesn't look bad at all. I got my machine off from e-baye here late November of last year. My mom ended up getting me the machine for my Christmas present. It was in horrid dirty shape, but with careful persistence It became a worthwhile candidate for collection status...lol

The bag was in deplorable dirty shape full of the previous owners schmutz...and I carefully handwashed it in Woolite and then Downeyed the hell out of it. Then I used the machine once to show it to a freind...and it leaked dust everywhere.. I had not vacuumed the basement in like two weeks so it was needed. BUt showed up the deficiencies in the bag...

So I wrapped the cord and put it back with the other machines and never used it after...such is life. I would like to use it more often, but then that's what I have the U59 for.

That Lewyt upright as I stated earlier is cool stuff, and a 4.5 amp motor...prlly the same one the stuck into the current Kenmore's of the time. It kinda stuns me that it was sold in Canada only and not here, or was it for a minute or so...except by 1972 Lewyt or Shetland Lewyt was pretty much a gone deal for the american vac industry..Funny becasue Lewyt was an innovator of sorts with some of it's design cues (like the "Big Wheel" model, and especially scooping the majors by intro'ing the Powernozzle Canister in 1958.

Anyway great pic's of the collection, and I can see that you have come a long way from the collection that I saw when I visited you in Richton Park which was the last time I saw you..and earlier still when you were still in College in Nebraska....

Good Stuff

Chad