Sure, it's missing the paper support with the De Luxe decal. Sure, the ribbon covers are nowhere to be found. Sure, it was a little scratched up, but after new felt, a bit of cleaning, and bending the type into alignment it's a fun little typer.
The insides were quite clean and only needed sweeping out with a brush.
As with all old Coronas, the felt pads were gross and smelled like death's cologne.
The Zephyr has an interesting body shell. As you can see, it is one piece where the frame slides out the back. This makes for a terrible time when you want to take the frame out for cleaning or oiling. The upper row of keytops needs to be depressed while while you slide the frame out. It's very tricky and hardly for the ham-fisted among us. The Skyriter refines this by making the case much simpler to remove at the expense of the sophisticated Zephyr's lines.
While not the best typer (hollow sound often ghosting characters), the Zephyr/Skyriter line is becoming my favorite ultra-portable typewriter. They have a simple and charming nature about them. They tend to be fairly rugged and easy to work on. They are not nearly as foppish as the minty-green Rocket. Take that Hermes fans! They are honest typewriters. Really, you could consider them the Mickey Roony of typewriters; fun, a classic American, and small.
Separated at Birth
