Lights from 1965 GMC Fire Truck questions

northernlights823

New Member
Jun 7, 2021
2
48733
An older gentleman who is not on internet has these lights he would like more info about... what to call them, value etc. He is downsizing and asked for help with info and as these are not my forte I thought I would ask here.
Dome light is badged: W.S Darley & CO. Municipal Supplies Chicago, Ill. Type G278 Volts 12DC Serial 2N16M0
Other 2 are marked Unity MGC Co Model s6 Chicago US
They are all in working condition and he does have end pieces for the Unity lights.
Also, are the handles plastic or bakelite?
Would appreciate any info and price he should list them.
 

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Jun 18, 2013
3,709
PA
Looks to be the smaller dome on the Model 17 so older light.
In my experiences rebadged beacons tend to draw lower $$ then if the tag was Federal.
Another Factor is overall condition, how do the internals look, dome condition.. etc.

With all that said in my best Guesstimate.. I would value this beacon $150-$225.
+ smaller dome
+ appears to be in fairly good shape
+ or - not tagged Federal Signal
- wrong bulbs
- Model 17s are still fairly easy to find.

As a recent pickup I was able to locate a similar beacon for around $200 shipped.
 

stansdds

Member
May 25, 2010
3,533
U.S.A., Virginia
The beacon was correctly decoded by cmb56, it is October 1960 production. I guess many collectors want something with a genuine, Federal Enterprises or Federal Signal badge on it, not realizing that the rebadged warning equipment is actually the rarer item. I have a good condition Fireball FB-1, rebadged as a JW Speaker Fireball. How many times do you see JW Speaker Fireball's on eBay vs Federal Signal Fireball's? Yet, I picked up this one for less than a Federal Signal in similar condition. I suppose someone restoring a Darley fire apparatus might pay more for a beacon with the Darely badge.
 

stansdds

Member
May 25, 2010
3,533
U.S.A., Virginia
I see the mold injection sprue cut on the top, so it's a common, plastic dome. The small dome is correct for Model 17's made in 1960.
 

stansdds

Member
May 25, 2010
3,533
U.S.A., Virginia
The large lens for the model 17 and model 173 came in 1968 so it can only be a small lens on a model 17 from 1960.

Michael
It should be, but you will find them with large dome and large dome skirts. In decades of use, parts sometimes get swapped around. Beware of such things with restored beacons. I've seen where lots of parts swapping happens in order to create a fully restored beacon.
 
It should be, but you will find them with large dome and large dome skirts. In decades of use, parts sometimes get swapped around. Beware of such things with restored beacons. I've seen where lots of parts swapping happens in order to create a fully restored beacon.
Yes, and the “innards” (platter) of the BeaconRay have always been the same size regardless of bulb count, angle or gearing.
 
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