Mayberry Light

awca12a

New Member
Jun 22, 2018
11
Long Island
Although this is my first post, I've done as much legwork as I could before asking for your help.
I am restoring a Mayberry Police Car replica that I picked-up in North Carolina. Thanks to a 2017 post in this forum where the various episodes were posted and discussed, my work was laid out for me to find a 2-light unit to replace the current 3-light RB-363 on the vehicle.

I've taken a screenshot of the car in broadside with the light clearly visible and superimposed a Do-Ray 4002 to the left and a Mars RB-10 to the right. Neither one is correct as the light actually on the car has a square dome roughly equal in height to the straight sided base. The correct light has an indented ring on top. The Do-Ray isn't roughly equal but it does have the indented top ring. The Mars has a rounding top with sloping sides on the base. Either would be OK as they are 2-light units but if someone here could recognize the correct model, I'd be very grateful.

.............
In the event some other Mayberry restorer comes by this post, as an FYI, the correct radio is Motorola TU-124 as seen in Season 2 Episode 2 Barneys Replacement shown at 8:21. Apparently the same failure to check the facts has lead most if not all Mayberry replica cars to show a much different radio.Mayberry Light Comparison.png
 
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cmb56

Member
May 22, 2010
746
Norrköping, Sweden
I have seen this question for many years and there have not been any clear answer yet, to what I know.
There seems to have been several different lights used in the show over the years too.

You have not concider the possibility of KD Lamp?
The lens on this one is very close to KD Lamp’s.
The base look to be higher than usual on this light.

Michael
 

Wailer

Member
May 24, 2010
2,290
Canada
If you put a siren in that car, install a mechanical siren, not an electronic one.
 

CPSS

Member
Aug 1, 2013
54
Clifton Park, NY
Found this on Google search:


the correct light for the squad cars. It is the Mars RB-363 and not an SW-2 look up the sites and you can see for yourself (on John Dorgans website) that an SW-2 is not the right one. and plainly see the RB-363 is the correct one for "Mayberry. So far I can't find a mars RB-363 ( they are as scarce as hens teeth)

rb363t.jpg
 
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Jun 18, 2013
3,709
PA
I don't think there is a 100% answer on this.. I was under the impression that the RB-363 was the correct light as well. However after working with people who have restored this car the beacon does switch up in several episodes, or is not real clear and appears different so the Mars RB might also be correct.

regardless waaaay before my time.. good luck with the restoration and post some pictures. When done, it gives everyone else some eyecandy.
 
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cmb56

Member
May 22, 2010
746
Norrköping, Sweden
the correct light for the squad cars. It is the Mars RB-363 and not an SW-2 look up the sites and you can see for yourself (on John Dorgans website) that an SW-2 is not the right one. and plainly see the RB-363 is the correct one for "Mayberry. So far I can't find a mars RB-363 ( they are as scarce as hens teeth)
I think you misunderstod Kerry’s answer. He wrote RB and not SW-2.
RB was the two sealed beam version and RB-363 was the three sealed beam version.
They look the same on the outside, it is only the lampholders that are different.

Michael
 

kerry4951

Member
Mar 10, 2014
825
Central Pa
The problem is one of the Mayberry collector websites has it wrong and thats what some keep referring back to. John Dorgan made mention years ago that the Mayberry light was a Model SW Skybolt. That was incorrect. Then later someone countered that claim saying it was a Mars RB-363 (3 bulb) and the site was never updated to the correct light being a Mars RB (2 bulb). If one researches and views some of the Youtube videos it is easy to see that it was a 2 bulb Mars RB.
 
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awca12a

New Member
Jun 22, 2018
11
Long Island
This forum did a great job proving, at least to my satisfaction, that it is a 2-bulb light in the thread https://elightbars.org/forums/threads/mars-rb-6-volt-2-bulbs-glass-dome-the-light-from-mars.79649/

I re-did the image with the RB mentioned above and an unidentified Mars unit on a Chicago Fire Department vehicle. That image is here and it looks to be a new, out of the box Mars unit:
So if I can find out exactly what this Chicago unit is, the mystery is solved because the proportions match perfectly.

Mayberry Light Comparison.png
 

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awca12a

New Member
Jun 22, 2018
11
Long Island
Michael - Thank You!
The RB has been a problem because all the screenshots I have show a straight bodied unit and the RB is tapered plus the top rim is taller on the SW.
So, now to find an SW-2.

If I could only confirm the siren is a Federal 28 I'd be set.
 

cmb56

Member
May 22, 2010
746
Norrköping, Sweden
You shall NOT have a SW-2 for your replica car.
You have a RB-363 on it and it is the right design but with three sealed beams instead of two.
Look for a RB instead and forget the SW-2.
The SW-2 did not exist in 1967 or what year your car has.
The Skybolt series of lights that the SW-2 belong to came on the market in about 1970.

Michael
 
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awca12a

New Member
Jun 22, 2018
11
Long Island
No problem listening to these guys; I appreciate the help.
If the SW-2 wasn't made in 1964 then I don't want it on the vehicle.
Any thoughts on why the screenshot has straight sides and the RB has slanted sides?
It took me 11 years to get the correct part for a 1929 I'm restoring, just want to do it right.

Thank You for your input.
 

NPS Ranger

Member
May 21, 2010
1,988
Penn's Woods
The video shown above titled "Andy's 1967 Ford Squad Car" is actually showing a 1964 Ford Galaxie. The OP's original picture says Season 8 which would be a 1967 Ford Custom. Here's a pic that claims to be the actual 1967 vehicle, it sure looks like the correct RKO studio lot in Culver City, CA however I don't recognize the passenger who appears to be wearing a tux, don't remember an episode with a dude in a tux, so who knows? Can't tell if it's a 2 bulb or a 3 bulb. Since the show was sponsored by Ford, "the cars were supplied free of charge by a nearby Ford dealer, and whenever the next year’s model came out, it was sent to the studio and the old one was returned to the dealer who re-painted it and sold it as a used car." Remember in CA at that time rotating beacons on police vehicles were rare, so the studio probably had their prop department buy a "generic police light" from a supplier so it would look like a car from back East. Different years of the show definitely had different beacons.
1967-Ford-Fairlane.png
 
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Skulldigger

Member
Aug 23, 2015
1,739
Georgia / USA
Well, I wish the old posts were still working on this site as we went through video's of every season and proved this was a 2 bulb rotating Mars RB2. I can't even find a picture of an RB2 on this site anymore. Hate to go back and redo all of the research, but this has been hashed out to death. The only thing I will say is if it is not an Mars RB2 it is a NAS as that is the only other light that even comes close to the design. But there is no question that it was always a 2 bulb rotator. The only time a Fed 17 ever showed on the show was on the great gold robbery episode on the NC State Police car.
 
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wfdstation42

Member
May 23, 2010
584
USA/FL
Used to watch reruns of Andy all the time. I only remember seeing a 2 beam beacon, I was always under the impression it was a Mars beacon. But for those of you not in the know Sheriff Taylor was introduced to America on Make Room For Daddy with Danny Thomas. Here is a clip ( if you want to make a replicar unlike all the others check out the setup on the patrol car).

 
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Wailer

Member
May 24, 2010
2,290
Canada
If I could only confirm the siren is a Federal 28 I'd be set.

If you do go with a 28, get the standard model 28 with eight ports.

Avoid the 28H with sixteen ports. At full speed the 28H sounds like a dentist's drill, not a siren.
 
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awca12a

New Member
Jun 22, 2018
11
Long Island
Used to watch reruns of Andy all the time. I only remember seeing a 2 beam beacon, I was always under the impression it was a Mars beacon. But for those of you not in the know Sheriff Taylor was introduced to American on Make Room For Daddy with Danny Thomas. Here is a clip ( if you want to make a replicar unlike all the others check out the setup on the patrol car).


Thank you. That was a treat.
 

awca12a

New Member
Jun 22, 2018
11
Long Island
All: I appreciate the attention to detail and the efforts to help someone you don’t know. Pretty sure we are all convinced by the 2017 thread that it is a 2 bulb but when I compared the units side by side the height of the base kept throwing me off on choosing. Thanks to the feedback here I’m searching for a Mars RB and Federal 28 siren.

The vehicle is a 1964 Galaxie 500. Since I know “real” departments would have transferred expensive equipment from one unit to a newer one and so would have the prop department, I’m ok going with whatever image I find close enough to the older model year. That’s how I settled on the radio.

Oddly enough, my fire trucks came off the road so I’m OK with how they sit. The Mayberry unit needs to follow a script, however.

I don’t see it on the site but is there a table of some sort showing the different Federal models of this era so I could approximate if a 28 could be swapped for an EG for my use?

Thanks again.
 

cmb56

Member
May 22, 2010
746
Norrköping, Sweden
EG is a 6” siren and 28 is a 7” siren.

Do you really need a underhood siren in a replica of a TV show car that probably never had any siren installed.
Siren sounds usually are dubbed in afterwards.

Michael
 

PC Comms

Member
May 30, 2010
1,881
Beautiful southern Georgia!
Yes, but the domes look completely different. The NAS dome seems more flat on the top than the MARS dome. Just my opinion.
 

cmb56

Member
May 22, 2010
746
Norrköping, Sweden
If you place the North American Signal 250 side by side with the Mars RB you will see that there are many differences.
As said, the NAS lens is more flat at the top compared with the Mars that is more rounded.
It is a glass lens also.

Michael
 

awca12a

New Member
Jun 22, 2018
11
Long Island
EG is a 6” siren and 28 is a 7” siren.

Do you really need a underhood siren in a replica of a TV show car that probably never had any siren installed.
Siren sounds usually are dubbed in afterwards.

Michael

Short answer is no but at car shows and the like, the kids and some adults like to hear the sound. Been pulled over by police just to check it out, stopped by all manner of people to pose with it and in general, the public seems to welcome it as “their” car in a way that none of my others ever are. They ask to pop the hood, trunk, sit inside, sit in the back, run the lights, etc. Possibly because real police cars, even restored ones, can be distancing due to their design as a commanding presence and this one is fair game for all precisely because of Andy. So if it’s going to be in public, it should have all the parts correct.
 

cmb56

Member
May 22, 2010
746
Norrköping, Sweden
OK. That go with the model 28 as wailer suggested.
As it is a 7” siren it has a more potent sound than most 6” sirens.

That siren was a very common siren for underhood use on police cars for many decades.
It was used by NYPD until 1963 by the way.
It is the the same siren as the model 66 and P660 except gray laquered and without the rear housing.
You should not have any problem to get one because it is very common.

Michael
 

Skulldigger

Member
Aug 23, 2015
1,739
Georgia / USA
Can someone post a picture of an RB2 , as there is no a single one anywhere on the net or this site that is viewable.
 

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