My Federal Visibar build

CodeMan · Jan 13, 2013

Way to Go!! Sweet bar ....

I remember back in the 90's a local dept had a dodge demon drag car (was a special thing for rasing money for kids programs) and were looking for a visabar.. made a few calls and FS donated NOS visabar still wrappedin plastic from their warehouse!!

they really are a bad a$$ looking lightbar... :yes: :thumbsup:

ERIC6913 · Jan 13, 2013

Captain4164 said:
Ok, thanks for the info. Any idea what gray would be appropriate?

Here is what it will look like when finished. See mine:

ai734.photobucket.com_albums_ww341_eric6913_Visi_bars002.jpg

Captain4164 · Jan 13, 2013

ERIC6913 said:
Here is what it will look like when finished. See mine:

Thanks Eric, so its a darker gray. Glad to see that, I was thinking a light gray, like almost Battleship gray

ERIC6913 · Jan 13, 2013

well not quite, its hard to tell in the shadows of the speaker. check out this one on e-bay #321052167420. it really doesn't matter too much as long as you're close and happy with it!

FSEP · Jan 13, 2013

Captain4164 said:
Our UPS driver has an assistant thats been riding a mountain bike pulling a little trailer. They park a trailer in the shopping center behind our house, and the bike guy rides thru the neighborhood delivering packages, the reloads and delivers more.

Well it was quite a sight to see him with the big box on his trailer that contained this:

I'm surprised this hasn't been said, but is that paper taped to those light. :sadcry:

Captain4164 · Jan 13, 2013

Irsh42 said:
I'm surprised this hasn't been said, but is that paper taped to those light. :sadcry:

It was part of the packing styrofoam. It came off no problem, Brain did an awesome job packing it. Ive never seen one gallon plastic milk jugs used as a packing item, but hey, it worked, arrived safe and sound

Captain4164 · Jan 13, 2013

ERIC6913 said:
well not quite, its hard to tell in the shadows of the speaker. check out this one on e-bay #321052167420. it really doesn't matter too much as long as you're close and happy with it!

So its more of a dark charcol gray. Yeah I was thinking it was the light gray you see speaker sometimes.

EL1998P71 · Jan 13, 2013

Captain4164 said:
So what antenna would be the appropriate one for this? Here is the bracket.

I have that antenna. It snaps into a 3/8" hole

Mine is missing a part of the mount but it still assembles for a display.

It was the antenna used by Detroit PD for awhile.

PCTEL is the brand PCTEL A/S ASPC201L 108-512 1/4 Wave Antenna, 3/8" Hole | TESSCO

Captain4164 · Jan 13, 2013

EL1998P71 said:
I have that antenna. It snaps into a 3/8" hole
Mine is missing a part of the mount but it still assembles for a display.

It was the antenna used by Detroit PD for awhile.

PCTEL is the brand PCTEL A/S ASPC201L 108-512 1/4 Wave Antenna, 3/8" Hole | TESSCO

Sweet, is yours for sale??

Now I know what to look for

dmathieu · Jan 13, 2013

Nick, at one time, I think you mentioned putting 7" lollipop lights on the bar. I have some NOS ones if interested, some blue, and some red.

EL1998P71 · Jan 13, 2013

Captain4164 said:
Sweet, is yours for sale?? Now I know what to look for

Sorry, not this one. It's needed for my project car.

Captain4164 · Jan 13, 2013

dmathieu said:
Nick, at one time, I think you mentioned putting 7" lollipop lights on the bar. I have some NOS ones if interested, some blue, and some red.

Yeah,Dan, Im not sure if Im doing that on this one or now, now that I have this speaker.. Im still thinking about it... :undecided: I saw yours and I like em. I bought a pair off ebay and got em, real nice, they are signal stat. I know I need a set for the Dietz bar, with the two 7-40s.

Ill keep yours in mind, hopefully you still have em when I figure it out and have some funds available. Thanks

Captain4164 · Jan 13, 2013

EL1998P71 said:
Sorry, not this one. It's needed for my project car.

:cry:

Skip Goulet · Jan 14, 2013

Nick, the gray would look good on the speaker; but I might also suggest using SparVar or Krylon's bright silver. While it isn't a true chrome, it would look nice on the speaker and on the bar. Let me look which I have a chance: I think I may have one of those little "bicycle spoke" antennas like Eric's. If I do it would be w/o the mount.

Captain4164 · Jan 20, 2013

Spent today in my garage taking the Visibar apart and working on it.

Took me two quarters of the 49er/Falcon game on satellite radio to polish, well not really polish, but to get all the calcium and grease off the bar. I used CLR and a spray stainless steel cleaner to get it to this point. Then each light was taken apart and de greased. What are the bases of Model 11 lights, aluminum or stainless?? These have quite a grain to them, almost like wood, so Im thinking stainless. They are gonna need some good polishing, as is the bar. The light bases cleaned up easily and now look good. The bar feet had red paint overspray which was taken off with steel wool, and lots of calcium at the mounts to the bar. The chain, I just thought I didnt take any pics of the chain, is in really good condition. It was caked heavy with dried up grease, as was the chain shelf, so I took the shelf out also and de greased it really good and soaked the chain in degreaser all day. Way too many pics to post on here so take a look at the last 25 pics in my Photobucket account.

Federal Model 11 Visi Bar Photos by Captain4164 | Photobucket

Let me know what ya think so far

Captain4164 · Jan 20, 2013

Oh, and I also started stripping the paint off the speaker with a gentle paint stripper, pics of that tomorrow

plybeep68 · Jan 20, 2013

Looks Good! Making pretty good progress! Might want to consider packing it up and shipping it to Tennessee!!

Clarence H · Jan 20, 2013

when you strip off the paint, you will see it's a light grey. I have one of the later 100 watt versions of the CJ speaker, and it is black from the factory.

Clarence

Captain4164 · Jan 20, 2013

Clarence H said:
when you strip off the paint, you will see it's a light grey. I have one of the later 100 watt versions of the CJ speaker, and it is black from the factory.

Clarence

Yes, the few places I tried to sand, and eventually did scrape some paint off, it is indeed light grey, thats the color I wanted to redo it to.

Captain4164 · Jan 20, 2013

plybeep68 said:
Looks Good! Making pretty good progress! Might want to consider packing it up and shipping it to Tennessee!!

:hahano: :nono: :weird: Its in too many pieces, would cost over 500 bucks to ship it there, better just deal with what I got goin here.

JennyCop · Jan 20, 2013

Captain4164 said:
Spent today in my garage taking the Visibar apart and working on it.
Let me know what ya think so far

I love seeing it apart like that cleaned up and ready for polishing! :thumbsup: Great job, have fun with the chain!

ERIC6913 · Jan 20, 2013

JennyCop said:
I love seeing it apart like that cleaned up and ready for polishing! :thumbsup: Great job, have fun with the chain!

Speaking of chains, lol. I have a good post regarding chains in the near future! Stay tuned...........he, he,he

Captain4164 · Jan 20, 2013

JennyCop said:
I love seeing it apart like that cleaned up and ready for polishing! :thumbsup: Great job, have fun with the chain!

Thanks Jenny, Yeah I was contemplating not taking it apart after hearing the stories about getting it back on, but with the amount of grease I figured it would be worth it.

BTW, hows that MARS bar adjusting to its new home??

Captain4164 · Jan 20, 2013

ERIC6913 said:
Speaking of chains, lol. I have a good post regarding chains in the near future! Stay tuned...........he, he,he

Your such a TEASE!

ERIC6913 · Jan 20, 2013

Captain4164 said:
Your such a TEASE!

OH yeah, this ones gonna be good to!

JennyCop · Jan 21, 2013

Captain4164 said:
Thanks Jenny, Yeah I was contemplating not taking it apart after hearing the stories about getting it back on, but with the amount of grease I figured it would be worth it.

BTW, hows that MARS bar adjusting to its new home??

It will definitely be worth it I am sure. :yes: I am not looking forward to taking mine apart to clean and polish. I restored a friends and that chain was no fun and fustrating.

The MARS bar has not made it home yet, but I am sure it will adjust well.

Captain4164 · Jan 21, 2013

Nice, cant wait to see it

Speaking of the chain, should it be fairly snug or not?? I noticed when I took this one out, except for the last 1 inch or so to each light, the entire length of the chain was laying on the tray. Is that good for it? Wont it wear on the chain?

And Im bringing the light bases to work tomorrow, hoping I can buff them a little to find out whats gonna be involved in getting them to mirror.

Skip Goulet · Jan 22, 2013

Captain4164 said:
Spent today in my garage taking the Visibar apart and working on it.

Took me two quarters of the 49er/Falcon game on satellite radio to polish, well not really polish, but to get all the calcium and grease off the bar. I used CLR and a spray stainless steel cleaner to get it to this point. Then each light was taken apart and de greased. What are the bases of Model 11 lights, aluminum or stainless?? These have quite a grain to them, almost like wood, so Im thinking stainless. They are gonna need some good polishing, as is the bar. The light bases cleaned up easily and now look good. The bar feet had red paint overspray which was taken off with steel wool, and lots of calcium at the mounts to the bar. The chain, I just thought I didnt take any pics of the chain, is in really good condition. It was caked heavy with dried up grease, as was the chain shelf, so I took the shelf out also and de greased it really good and soaked the chain in degreaser all day. Way too many pics to post on here so take a look at the last 25 pics in my Photobucket account.

Federal Model 11 Visi Bar Photos by Captain4164 | Photobucket

Let me know what ya think so far

Lookin' good, Nick. Do you have the electronic siren to go with it: a Federal Interceptor or Director? Good thing you missed those two quarters. That helped the niners win! I didn't know it until I watched the post-game show that Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree plays for them now. Wow! Superbowl time!

Captain4164 · Jan 24, 2013

Skip Goulet said:
Lookin' good, Nick. Do you have the electronic siren to go with it: a Federal Interceptor or Director? Good thing you missed those two quarters. That helped the niners win! I didn't know it until I watched the post-game show that Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree plays for them now. Wow! Superbowl time!

No, I dont have the right sirens, all I have so far is the Unitrol to hook everything to. Thanks for the info, and Ill keep my eyes peeled for one of those.

Captain4164 · Jan 25, 2013

Stripping the paint off the speaker, paint stripper works WAY better than sanding!! I like this color grey, this is waht I was originally thinking the color was. May leave it this color

ERIC6913 · Jan 25, 2013

yes, that's the original color.

Captain4164 · Jan 26, 2013

ERIC6913 said:
yes, that's the original color.

k, thanks. THis is the way itll stay when Im done stripping all the paint off. :thumbsup:

Captain4164 · May 5, 2013

Well here is pretty much the final post on this bar. The only thing I havent done is fully polish the bar and skirt on the lights. And I still need to get new red domes for it. But I got the speaker stripped, painted and remounted. But it looks presentable and could be done with this and put it on display.

Still may get an antenna if someone has a lead on one or has one.

ERIC6913 · May 5, 2013

looks good mister!

ex416 · May 5, 2013

well done Nick. it looks awesome:2thumbs:

Captain4164 · May 6, 2013

Thanks!

Skip Goulet · May 6, 2013

Captain4164 said:
Well here is pretty much the final post on this bar. The only thing I havent done is fully polish the bar and skirt on the lights. And I still need to get new red domes for it. But I got the speaker stripped, painted and remounted. But it looks presentable and could be done with this and put it on display.

Still may get an antenna if someone has a lead on one or has one.

Nice, nice, nice, Nick! First time I've seen a VisiBar working that nicely in a very long time. Still haven't had a chance to check mine out that I got a few months ago, but the guy I got it from had gone thru it before bringing it to me. Have you find a good electronic siren to with with the CJ speaker?

Captain4164 · May 7, 2013

Skip Goulet said:
Nice, nice, nice, Nick! First time I've seen a VisiBar working that nicely in a very long time. Still haven't had a chance to check mine out that I got a few months ago, but the guy I got it from had gone thru it before bringing it to me. Have you find a good electronic siren to with with the CJ speaker?

Thanks Skip

Nope still need a siren and antenna to completely finish this project.

Skip Goulet · May 8, 2013

Captain4164 said:
Thanks Skip
Nope still need a siren and antenna to completely finish this project.

Anything particular in mind for a siren? I would recommend an Interceptor or Director to keep it period correct.

Captain4164 · May 8, 2013

Skip Goulet said:
Anything particular in mind for a siren? I would recommend an Interceptor or Director to keep it period correct.

What ever is appropriate, available and within my price range when I get the funds available

My Federal Visibar build

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