My Restored Federal Signal CA-Spec. Aerodynic 24CA

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ERIC6913

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Member
May 29, 2010
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California
Hello again fellow collectors,


I have here a early series Federal Signal Aerodynic model 24CA. This was a lightbar i originally picked up from U-MAN some time ago. I noticed it right away because of the cast aluminum par 36 holders. It had scratched domes, had one par holder hanging down and was full of Bondo dust. It really didn't look like much but trash to anyone at the time, but i knew it was a diamond in the rough! I disassembled it, cleaned it and rebuilt it. I didn't powder coat anything this time, as it was not needed. The frame was the early silver type. I of course had the mounting brackets and speaker cover mirror polished, which made the bar in my opinion. The domes were of course polished by RYAN (dome nameplates were missing, so i put new ones on). they turned out beautiful! Let me know what you think. (Moderators: please do not combine my posts as they are two separate stories)


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[Broken External Image]:http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/ww341/eric6913/24CA4.jpg


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As always, thanks for looking and stay tuned fellow Beacon lovers.............. :cool:
 
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Very very nice...... talk about no side warning.. Those cast bulb holders are great.
 
motorolamaniac said:
Wow thats one nice Aero. Love the CA version of this bar.

Wondering do you have the inner or outer rear Pars set to alternate?
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the lightbar did not come with a flasher installed. if i would put one in, i would have both lamps per side alternate.
 
Nice job, but the off angle retainer clip on the par 36 bulb housing next to the motor really takes away from the overall look..... :p
 
03crownvic said:
Nice job, but the off angle retainer clip on the par 36 bulb housing next to the motor really takes away from the overall look..... :p
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thanks, i noticed that after i was done taking pics. it was 115 degrees outside today where i live, and i wasn't about to set everything up again outside :oops:
 
VERY NICE BAR !!!!


Did you have someone mirror polish your speaker cover and mounting brackets for you or did you do them yourself ?
 
6043ron said:
VERY NICE BAR !!!!

Did you have someone mirror polish your speaker cover and mounting brackets for you or did you do them yourself ?
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thanks, yes i have all my metal parts sent out to a professional metal polisher to be mirror finish polished.
 
Very well done restoration and yes, all those fixed position PAR-36's eliminate virtually all of the side warning capability of the Aerodynic. In my opinion, this is one of Federal's worst set ups.
 
dakarm34 said:
It looks better than it did new from the factory.
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I was just going to say it looks like it was just unpackaged :mrgreen: . Super nice job on the polishing for both the domes and stainless steel!
 
Excuse my lack of Cali Spec knowledge, but why the 2 bulbs per side rather than one? I understand having to have steady red and flashing amber, but why the extra bulbs?
 
Maybe for the front it was so a steady burn/flasher/takedown setup could be configured out of the 4, as the agency needed. As for the rear, maybe steady burn/flashers or alternating flashers between both pairs if amber are on both ends and red/blue are beside them? Or, maybe the extra pair are there in case a bulb goes out on the one beside it......
 
J. Duke said:
Excuse my lack of Cali Spec knowledge, but why the 2 bulbs per side rather than one? I understand having to have steady red and flashing amber, but why the extra bulbs?
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That's a good question and I don't know the answer. As far as I know, all of the PAR-36's in the 24C and 24CA were steady burn. With the TwinSonic, the steady burn lamps were PAR-46's, maybe there was a lumen output requirement at the time and it required a pair of PAR-36's to meet or exceed the requirement? I just don't know. Later bars were the 24EAH and had only one PAR-36 in the outermost positions; steady red front, alternating amber flashing to the rear, and the passengers front side could be either steady burn color or a take down lamp. The all-light 25 for LAPD had no steady burn or alternating flashers as part of the bar.


Video of this restored 24CA would be great!
 
stansdds said:
That's a good question and I don't know the answer. As far as I know, all of the PAR-36's in the 24C and 24CA were steady burn. With the TwinSonic, the steady burn lamps were PAR-46's, maybe there was a lumen output requirement at the time and it required a pair of PAR-36's to meet or exceed the requirement? I just don't know. Later bars were the 24EAH and had only one PAR-36 in the outermost positions; steady red front, alternating amber flashing to the rear, and the passengers front side could be either steady burn color or a take down lamp. The all-light 25 for LAPD had no steady burn or alternating flashers as part of the bar.


Video of this restored 24CA would be great!
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well, i changed nothing. this is the way they ran them. i have seen this model in action in the first Terminator movie and the TJ Hooker series.
 
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So to make sure I'm 100% clear, the rear ambers were steady burn as well?
 
ERIC6913 said:
well, i changed nothing. this is the way they ran them. i have seen this model in action in the first Terminator movie and the TJ Hooker series.
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If you look closely in the Terminator underground parking lot chase scene, you can see the lightbar on the same car (Schwarzy's) going from an AeroDynic 24EH, to 24 EAH, to 24CA, and so on and so on..... Looks to me they scrapped many cars during that scene...
 
toon80 said:
If you look closely in the Terminator underground parking lot chase scene, you can see the lightbar on the same car (Schwarzy's) going from an AeroDynic 24EH, to 24 EAH, to 24CA, and so on and so on..... Looks to me they scrapped many cars during that scene...
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I've noticed that in a few movies.... lightbars change slightly in a scene... My wife says I'm the only person who notices... HA!
 
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That bar looks great as do all of yours .was"nt the 24CA the same lightbar that was used on Dukes of Hazard . I know in some scenes it went from The 24CA bar to just single par 36 flashers in the same chase :lol:
 
Those multiple par 36 lamps in the cast holders are original first generation. Not sure of the exact reason why there were two pairs originally but apparently there were issues or problems or maybe lots of complaints about the lack of side warning because the later models only used one pair on each end, plus the alley lamp holder.
 
03crownvic said:
Those multiple par 36 lamps in the cast holders are original first generation. Not sure of the exact reason why there were two pairs originally but apparently there were issues or problems or maybe lots of complaints about the lack of side warning because the later models only used one pair on each end, plus the alley lamp holder.
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Federal made the 24C, that gave more side warning, but I have never seen that model before. :D
 
rick h. said:
That bar looks great as do all of yours .was"nt the 24CA the same lightbar that was used on Dukes of Hazard . I know in some scenes it went from The 24CA bar to just single par 36 flashers in the same chase :lol:
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Very cool bar! I couldn't remember which episode of the Dukes I remembered seeing it on, but I found it. Look at about :48 sec's both sets of the rear PAR's are flashing simultaneously. :mrgreen:

 
Just throwing the idea in the air but somebody should try to make an AeroDynic 24CA with 3 PAR's on each side!! :lol:


Most useless lightbar eva'h!!!


And all steady burn! :mrgreen:
 
Seems to me someone did put together an Aerodynic with all fixed position PAR-36 lamps. Pretty useless in my opinion, unless you are just making a big flood light.
 
stansdds said:
Seems to me someone did put together an Aerodynic with all fixed position PAR-36 lamps.
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Was it this one?

 
According to the comments on that amber Aerodynic youtube video, the guy is from UK and even though it's custom made and all PAR's and clearly not factory made, it is still quite rare up there in UK so he likes it like that. Oh well! :cool:


That bar still deserves love, right? Right? ;)
 
I dont think it was ever issued to a State Department. i can only assume it was used on a movie prop police car.
 
luckyducky said:
I think fedsig7 meant to say town/city.


PA state used the same model.
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just to correct, the state of PA never used the CA model aero. State patrol cars had used single beacon rays and then whelen commanders until about 1991 when the new caprice came out and they switched to the vision bar. The only department I know running a CA bar was Scranton and I have that bar replicated in my collection.
 
.. got this off a N.J parkway service van mounted on the back facing rearward. you can see in the video a N.J golden toll token glued to the top center of speaker cover... no idea why.. but thats how I got it, so it stays that way.
 
JohnMarcson said:
I've noticed that in a few movies.... lightbars change slightly in a scene... My wife says I'm the only person who notices... HA!
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John i like to do the same.....always checking bars on tv! Lololololol :)
At "COBRA"movie you can see on first scene how lapd used 24eah with steady burns on rear and front pars36.... :)
 
I used to watch Dukes of Hazzard, but now that I'm so much older I wonder why. :eek: A couple things I can remember vividly are the light bars and the dubbed in siren sounds. Roscoe's car siren sounded like an early Federal PA15A/PA20A yelp, while Enos's car siren sounded like a B&M S-8.

I also remember seeing Aerodynics with the dual end lamps in TV shows and movies, but I can't remember which ones. I do remember that the flash effect wasn't very good because there were fewer rotators.
 
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