Nice find Tony, can't wait to see your AB....!
For me, it would be something I've never seen in person..
A 500 series Fasttrax....
For me, it would be something I've never seen in person..
A 500 series Fasttrax....
What Is Your "Holy Grail" Item?
- Thread starter crescentstar69
- Start date
Crownfire said:
One down, two to go...View attachment 66777
Member Lt.214 had mercy on me and agreed to trade one of his two blue Dietz domes for a clear one I had. Thank you Chris!
ryan said:
Ryan: Since this is the first time I've actually seen an AB in operation, do they all oscillate only like this one, or did they make some that rotated and oscillated?
One of my cats climbed onto my shelf a few years ago, knocked over a FS Model 18 and it landed on my NOS Aurora Borealis lens. Everything shattererd but I am still hopeful I can find a lens. Ben
Ben G said:
The bigger question is, is the cat providing nourishment for the roses now? I wouldn't know what I'd do if I were in your position, Ben....
What a lot of work went into these to produce a very limited amount of warning light.guy m. said:Does anybody know the demensions of the triangle plate that the lights and siren are mounted on?
flahotrod said:
Well, that's California, for you. Minimum warning equipment for a state with the largest motor vehicle traffic. I've never understood why they've always required steady-burn red to the front, with the alternating amber to the rear. At least this package had a Super Chief! :yes:
For me, it would be this "BEAST" !! The Whelen WS-224A Electronic Siren in MINT CONDITION like the one pictured below. :yes: This would be the one thing that I would want.
Here's mine, figured I'd post a pic after teasing about the other style not looking like it. And no, I didn't paint a yield sign silver! Still as is the way I got it. That lolli-pop gotta go and will change the speaker to a 66 G.
It did come from CA, but I didn't get any history with it. The gentleman I got it from has two more in his collection (now back across country). Maybe I should research more, but I haven't seen another with this light configuration. I'm a damned Yankee, so some advice on it would be great!
My holy grail has always been the CTS (as boring as that might be to some) but now its one that I have just learned of. Cant remember the model number but it was a type of visibar. California visibar possibly? It had the regular bar but 2 model 184's one rotated and the other had the front steady burn and rear flasher. Any help/info on this? Thanks..
Liberty703 said:
I have it on good authority that your platter most likely came out of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Story is that they began using the Do-Ray lights as replacements because they were cheap, but they didn't meet the requirements for the "steady red" , thus the retention of the 4001R sealed beam lamp to the front. LASD, I'm told, used the CP 25 speakers from 1965 on, with a "wail only" PA-20. They used these platters until the Twinsonics took over. In addition to the PA 20, they also ran B&M Super Chiefs and Federal C5GB sirens right up to the Twinsonic era.
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Liberty703 said:
I'd keep the lollipop and find another one like it to replace the red sealed-beam light. I've seen a number of those platters with the lollipops and a siren or speaker.
My Holy Grail item would be a truck and the equipment. My best-ever workhorse ambulance was a 1971 low top Suburban converted by the Gordon K. Allen Co. in Dallas, TX. GKA was the longtime Superior Coach dealer for the Southwest, but also built thousands of ambulances from the time they opened in the late 40s or early 50s until Gordon K. Allen, Sr., opened the short-lived Modular Ambulance Corp. in nearby Grand Prairie, TX. They started out building on sedan-deliveries and then station wagons, and then on both low top and high top Suburban platforms in the '70s.
The most common conversion was a center-mounted Q flanked by either two or four DoRay lollipop lights with a red17 beacon behind the siren. Of course, they would equip to customer specs as well; and I've seen some interesting configurations built for their customers over the years. One of the most interesting conversions they did I've mentioned elsewhere on the board: a 1966 Pontiac station wagon ambulance that was built for the Longview, TX Fire Dept. It came with five red Dietz 211 beacons and three roof-mounted Qs! It had twin batteries and twin high-output alternators to power all of the "toys".
My 1971 Suburban ambulance came equipped with a center-mounted Q flanked by four DoRay lollipops (two red and two blue) and the red 17 in the rear. It was sold new in 1971 to Black and Clark Funeral Home in Dallas, who only ran the truck as an ambulance until 1972. In 1972 Sparkman-Hillcrest Funeral Home won the ambulance contract for all of Dallas County, "prying" it away from the Dudley Hughes Funeral Home who had maintained the contract for many years. Because of Dallas County's large size, the contracting funeral home (or ambulance co.) traditionally sub-contracted with some of the outlying services. But in 1972, Black and Clark was not one of the sub-contractors, so they ended up having to discontinue their ambulance service. But they kept the Suburban in service as a first-call vehicle until I bought it in the spring of 1981. It had just under 60,000 mi. on it at the time, and I kept it in service until 1989. As I said above, it was workhorse, and I've wanted to find another one since. I'm sure there's one out there somewhere, I just haven't spotted it!
The most common conversion was a center-mounted Q flanked by either two or four DoRay lollipop lights with a red17 beacon behind the siren. Of course, they would equip to customer specs as well; and I've seen some interesting configurations built for their customers over the years. One of the most interesting conversions they did I've mentioned elsewhere on the board: a 1966 Pontiac station wagon ambulance that was built for the Longview, TX Fire Dept. It came with five red Dietz 211 beacons and three roof-mounted Qs! It had twin batteries and twin high-output alternators to power all of the "toys".
My 1971 Suburban ambulance came equipped with a center-mounted Q flanked by four DoRay lollipops (two red and two blue) and the red 17 in the rear. It was sold new in 1971 to Black and Clark Funeral Home in Dallas, who only ran the truck as an ambulance until 1972. In 1972 Sparkman-Hillcrest Funeral Home won the ambulance contract for all of Dallas County, "prying" it away from the Dudley Hughes Funeral Home who had maintained the contract for many years. Because of Dallas County's large size, the contracting funeral home (or ambulance co.) traditionally sub-contracted with some of the outlying services. But in 1972, Black and Clark was not one of the sub-contractors, so they ended up having to discontinue their ambulance service. But they kept the Suburban in service as a first-call vehicle until I bought it in the spring of 1981. It had just under 60,000 mi. on it at the time, and I kept it in service until 1989. As I said above, it was workhorse, and I've wanted to find another one since. I'm sure there's one out there somewhere, I just haven't spotted it!
empire5150 said:
The CT-1 is what you are looking for.
Check the 3rd one down from this post.
http://elightbars.org/forums/f18/post-pics-california-light-bars-2375/#post23340
This is CFD125's collection. He has an amazing collection.
Liberty703 said:
Is that Mars light an old DL8 or an early 888? Haven't seen one of those in many years.
Those pics were from 2 years ago, just as the gentleman was packing up to move back across country. I think it's an early 888. We had two trucks at the shop with them, he got one and I have the other.Skip Goulet said:
Liberty703 said:
Nice! Both used the same housings and lenses, but the DL8s had bulb-reflector assemblies, not sealed-beams that the 888s use. I latched on to an old DL8 many years ago that lasted us several years....until it was stolen, along with a bunch of other equipment....and a Suburban ambulance (all at the same time).
jmccarthy said:
They had some neat lighting equipment and a small, compact electronic siren that was nice. The only reason that I think that they didn't last was because their mgt. was crappy. I had bought one of the sirens and had paid for it COD. Then I discovered that some of my checks were stolen, causing a bunch of stuff to bounce. So I called NewTech and told them what was going on,and that to be safe I would send the siren back, which I did. I thought it was fine, until I found out that their mgt. processed the check anyway and file on me anyway...long after they got the siren back. And when I went to file countercharges, they were gone!
My holy grail item would be a set of can lights from Lapd..with the chrome speaker...just like Adam-12
Mustang302 said:
The CP25 speakers aren't that hard to find. I have two: one with the roof mount and the other for a VisiBar. The TRIO can lights are becoming harder to find but are still out there. Kevn at B&M Sirens occasionally has them available.
farmboy said:
Omega 90 amplifiers are a dime a dozen. They're so common that I had a hard time moving the last batch I got.
crescentstar69 said:
I need the Steady Red, Unity Housing with the rear stud mount to restore my F/S Model 17-C
I've been looking for about 7 years for the housing.
My Second would be a Code 3 XL Bar with the rear amber cut out circuit, (circa 1980 LAFD). I forget the exact option name of that specif Code e XL option, (CRS kicking in...lol)
RJ
Quasi Thread Resurrection!!
Holy Grail for me is a NOS Unity RV26 Unibeacon with red spitfire dome. Thanks to Chargerlighting, I'm as close as I'm going to get for a while.
I still want each RV Unibeacon model made. 15, 25, 26, 45, and 46.
I know where to get a brand new RV15 no problem. Just bought a RV25 off PinballCharlie I'm going to fix and put a Blue dome on.
Getting ready to buy a well worn RV26 with (i think) a worn Spitfire dome off Chargerlighting I'll have to totally go through. Like buying a rusted out Caddy ambulance and making the best of it.
Still going to keep looking for an affordable RV45 and a 46. as my budget allows.
Holy Grail for me is a NOS Unity RV26 Unibeacon with red spitfire dome. Thanks to Chargerlighting, I'm as close as I'm going to get for a while.
I still want each RV Unibeacon model made. 15, 25, 26, 45, and 46.
I know where to get a brand new RV15 no problem. Just bought a RV25 off PinballCharlie I'm going to fix and put a Blue dome on.
Getting ready to buy a well worn RV26 with (i think) a worn Spitfire dome off Chargerlighting I'll have to totally go through. Like buying a rusted out Caddy ambulance and making the best of it.
Still going to keep looking for an affordable RV45 and a 46. as my budget allows.
I sold a dozen or so of them on here a few years ago. I bought several lots of them on eBay. Don't give up too easy... they ARE out there.
