About the hoses
Later models, from around 1970 ? forward, moved the drain hose to the back, while the former top mounted drain port became the fill port. And because there is no vacuum cleaner motor, monster-force pump at work now, just your own local water pressure, the port stays intact.
The water inlet is a simple plastic snap-in with a built-in washer docking to a rubber neck--and it's indestructible--or so it seems. Every time I plunge in the fill hose, I marvel at how old it is--50!--and how it just never stops. Yet the design is the epitome of simplicity. Maybe Mikey has a close-up of the inlet coupler.
Pretty cool the way so many club members appreciate the power and the glory of the Hoove'. Don't you love the way they sound as if you have a jet airplane engine whining in your house: RRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ? Me too ; >