I don't want to be the one to rain on your parade, so I'll try and be as diplomatic as possible. First, restoring lightbars isn't as easy as "just polishing them up." There are several levels of restoration. I am a basic restorer, at best. I take them apart, clean them up, regrease them, and polish up the lenses or domes. Then, on the other end of the spectrum, there are guys on here who restore lightbars to better than new condition. That being said, keep in mind you're going to have to spend some money if you want to restore a lightbar. You're going to need a decent set of tools. I can't tell you how many times I've had to run to Lowes or Sears to get a deep socket of some measurement I didn't have to get to a bolt keeping a lightbar tray down. Then there's all the rags, degreasers, cleaners, Mothers Powerballs, Meguiars polish, and wet sandpaper. Then there's the big one: time. It's going to take time to do all of these things. I can't tell you how many project bars I have in the back storage shed that I will "eventually" get to. There aren't enough hours in the day, and there aren't enough days in the year to get to all the projects. And that's because I still haven't gotten a chance to go pick up at least two other lightbars from a friend of mine so I can get started on them.
Then there's the hunt for parts. The lightbars might look OK, but keep in mind lots of these lightbars have plastic parts that have been baking in the sun for a very long time. I had to trash an Aerodynic project not too long ago because I couldn't find which gear was crapping out on me causing the motor gears to strip. I blew through three Aerodynic motors before I had to cut my losses. I still can't find rotators for an LP6000. All this hunting adds to the time factor I was talking about.
Some of the lightbars you have are desirable. Be prepared to sift through a mountain of PM's for the AeroTwins and the Advantedge. I'm sure there are already board members who are calling "dibs" on your find. There might even be people asking you who you're trying to buy them from "just in case" you're not going to buy them. Also, be equally prepared for people to get mad at you because you didn't sell them the lightbar. Also, you mentioned the prices the seller was asking for, so your profit may not be as much as you originally wanted it to be. In the future, unless you're going to keep the lightbars, I would stay away from mentioning how much you originally paid for your finds.
I would avoid messing with anything in the Vision/Vector family. They're too cumbersome to store, and even worse to ship. Although it's an NYPD lightbar, Visions/Vectors can be found cheaper than what the seller is asking for. Same goes for the Streethawk. Unless it's a rare Strobehawk or Firehawk, they can also be found way cheaper, considering the NYPD setup wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
You mentioned medical bills, so I will conclude my rant by saying I hope you are in good health, and I hope you're going to be OK. Lightbar collecting is a unique hobby. Just keep in mind you're going to have to pump some money in to the restoration process in order to make a profit on your finds. Good luck.
