Opinions on building a pristine Dyson DC01 to store?

[Sleaford White]

[Link noted - thanks]

[MVacs]

Blimey, thats only down the road. 

[MVacs]

Thanks for the link Sleaford. He was a mile from our shop and had never heard of us! So I went to the place in the eBay link this morning and bypassed eBay altogether. He had the De Stijl DC01 and a DC07 that was quite clean. £20 bought them both.

We usually give up to £15 for relatively straight DC07's, so we'll peg this DC01 at a fiver in the deal. I was going to a supplier 500 yards away anyway, so no travel costs.

Here it is:



I don't remember when I last saw a red HEPA filter cover in one piece. That is a RARE part!



The stickers are not perfect, but not bad.



Unfortunately, the wand is broken.



But I am pretty sure we have one of those.

The mudguards are not snapped off, and the motor runs perfectly without a single spark. The cleanerhead is not too scratched (nothing a buff wont cure) so this is a good candidate for the restoration project. The base plate isn't red, but we can forgive it that as so few are now.

I am now torn between the very clean Arctic Solo one we have, and the new De Stijl. Which one to restore? I might do them both!

The De Stijl is the obvious choice, so we opened and washed the cyclone already............

We bought a rake of stuff from a bloke in Liverpool the other day, and amongst it was a lot of DC01 De Stijl brush tools - like new........

[MVacs]

The businessman in me wants to break this machine. I know the HEPA flap in red is worth £15 plus delivery, packaging and card fees. The YDK motor is worth at least £15. That is a £25 profit without looking at the back hose or cleaner head.

But making twenty five quid against saving a bit of Britain's history and restoring it?

And that motor sounds very nice and runs so cool. I ran it today for about five minutes......... quiet and smooth as you like..............didn't run hot at all. No sparking at all...... this one was asking to be saved! Red HEPA flap and all............

The Dyson purist and enthusiast in me won the day. This one will be saved. And be as awesome and as original as we can make it. We'll strip it down and scrutinise every bit.

When I said this, our tech opted to wash the cyclone himself rather than have our new (ish) lad do it. He thinks I am somehow "pedantic" and my attention to detail is such that unless he does it, it wont be good enough, and the new boy may damage the stickers more than they are. I mentioned phrases like "100%" and "our best original new Dyson stock from the stuff we don't sell that we hoard in corners for special projects". 

The cyclone is now drying. More pics to follow..........

[Sleaford White]

Glad to be able to help and I hope it scrubs up well. I've been refurbing Dysons for nearly 5 years now (well over 500 machines) and never had a DC01 or DC04  De Stijl which shows how rare they are. The business man in me says refurb it, seal it up and forget about it for a few years, then look at selling it. But hey, who am I to tell you what to do with Dysons 

[Madrat]

I have a DC04 De Stijl waiting for a refurb, it's in pretty good condition needs a new motor and or course there are no tools    Where do all the Dyson tools go! 

[MVacs]

The business man in me says refurb it, seal it up and forget about it for a few years, then look at selling it. But hey, who am I to tell you what to do with Dysons 

My thoughts exactly! 

[beko1987]

Nice save. I agree with the rebuild and keep part. Maybe have it on display somewhere without a price tag on, up out the way.

You never know, one day someone might offer you some absurd amount for it!

[Dyson Tech]

Finally we made a start. Stripped down here.



Parts now washed and drying.

[premierdysonrepairs]

Looking forward to seeing the finished item.

[absolutepurplelime]

Can't wait to see her back together! I know I have posted pictures of mine already but I feel it needs to go on this thread aswell :) although only 90 air watts! It's my most favourite machine because of it's funky design and the memories it brings back!!!

[premierdysonrepairs]

They almost look like the toy versions because of the simple lines.

[MVacs]

Very nice machines absolutepurplelime. We are going to try to match that standard! 

Did you opt to remove the stickers from the De Stijl?

We broke three DC01's today, as luck would have it one had a brand new looking motor in, and one a brand new flex!

We have an actual brand new motor for this machine, but the as-new genuine flex with a round plug was a great find, so we will be using that too. Along with a new bumper, cradle assembly, brushroll and cyclone bin that I hoarded.

I am undecided if to remove the stickers from the cyclone top.

[__russ__]

Very nice machines absolutepurplelime. We are going to try to match that standard! 

Did you opt to remove the stickers from the De Stijl?

We broke three DC01's today, as luck would have it one had a brand new looking motor in, and one a brand new flex!

We have an actual brand new motor for this machine, but the as-new genuine flex with a round plug was a great find, so we will be using that too. Along with a new bumper, cradle assembly, brushroll and cyclone bin that I hoarded.

I am undecided if to remove the stickers from the cyclone top.

If you take them off, will you end up with a different (original) colour compared to the rest of the cyclone?

[absolutepurplelime]

It does show how it has discoloured over the years. But better than a sticker flaking off a nicely polished machine :)