Before and After

This is the 301 before I cleaned her up.  She didn't look too bad, just needed a good cleaning.  There is a rusted area on the plate covering the feed dogs.  I took it off and soaked it in PB Blaster.  There was a LOT of disgusting old oil and grease inside the machine.  It wasn't too bad in the old lint department.  I am starting to wonder just how much this old beauty had really been used.

The foot pedal connects directly to the motor.  The wiring on the foot pedal was pretty scary.  I cut the wire close to the machine and close to the pedal and spliced in a new piece of wiring.  I used a LOT of electrical tape and feel confident that all is good.

Getting her out of the cabinet was pretty easy.  I doubt I will save the cabinet or use it for anything.  So here she is after I cleaned her up:

Can't really tell much of a difference, but there really is.

I found a presser foot that fit, so that was one less thing I needed to buy.  I had heard that purchased bobbins from local retail stores might be a little to large, making the fit too tight, but I had to at least give it a shot.  We went to the store and bought a package for 97 cents.  True to what I had heard, they did NOT fit, so I have some ordered from a gal who gets the good ones.  Then I will know for sure that she sews as good as I am thinking she will.  So excited!

The motor just purrs.  It is so unbelieveable that a machine this old is in such good shape.  Love it.