I'm going to use these Semi cab lights on sides of my stainless skinned dragster trailer. Bought this pair at a swap meet on Sunday, and would like to find a second pair, but I don't know what I'm looking for when it comes to Make-Model-Year. The rim has GUIDE M-85 stamped into the side and the glass lens has the same cast into it. The rims are 3 1/2" in diameter. The housing is cast aluminum and pretty heavy which tells me it wasn't made recently....40's or 50's ???
Those are cool looking lights. I don't know what they're from, but I think I've seen those glass lenses and trim rings reproduced. Maybe you could cast the housing in silicone rubber mold compound to make a flexible mold, and then pour some rigid polyurethane casting compound into the mold to make as many duplicates of the lamp housings as you need, and use repro lenses and trim rings on your home made housings.
I have a pair with brand new lenses if you want another pair. i picked them up for my sedan and ended up not using them
the lights are called watermellon lights. It is hard to find the glass lenses for them. Most of them online are LED lenses that are out there. the new ones are plastic and not the nice aluminum ones like the ones you have. I think they came on kenworths, and peats
Guide made lights for a number of different truck manufacturers and I'd say that these were more of an accessory than a factory product. There is a guy on ebay in the USA who deals in old truck lights - type in "marker lights" or "cab lights". I bought a NOS set from him and he's good. I think his ebay name says "Papa .......something.
The HAMBer I got them from said he took them off a semi's roof years ago and did not remember the make. I'm getting the set kustomkulture has, but would still like to have extra red glass lenses and rims.
I wouldn't mind having a pair of these. Source? Or, I happen to have an excess pair of 38 Desoto sedan tail lights with lenses and stands, if someone wants to trade even up. Later, Gary
They, or something really similar, was on GM buses up til 1959. Used as corner markers, up near the roof. Amber in front and red in rear. Nice stuff, change the bulb from the flap in the bottom.
I drilled out the old single filament socket, filed the hole square, and popped in a new double filament socket from the auto parts store. Now they will be perfect for run and stop lights....and look cool as shit on the sides of the trailer, up by the roof. Looked on Ebay for the tail light guy, but only found chrome plastic shit from China.
We called them Bus lights out here. Yes they were on Big rigs till lately. My 68 KW still had the metal one with glass lenses. They went to plastic soon after. A hotter bulb would melt the plastic ones. We used 1006 or 106 cant remember. That was the bright single filiment ones.
This is their shop link http://stores.ebay.com/A-M-LIGHTING-AND-ACCESSORIES Some Chinese crap BUT heaps of vintage stuff too. I'd email them with a pic and see how you go.
Yeah, I saw similar ones on some old 50's buses in a junk yard a few years ago. I didn't have the tools, time or a ladder to try to remove them at the time. They are very cool if you can integrate them into your build.
I remember the "Trailways Bus Line" busses circa 1950's had some cool torpedo light on them kind of like those. Trailways served southern Iowa from Omaha to Burlington and then to Chicago. They had two large ones on the front and rear corners of the roof and three smaller clears on the front center and three smaller ones center rear top. The rears were red lenses but were not stop lights. The large corner ones on the front had clear lenses and the large corner ones on the rear corners wwere red, again not brake lights just running. Large ones would be really cool brake lights. Would probaly be very hard to find unless you know of a bus graveyard. _______________________________________________________________________ Like I told the kid, "Your music's not too loud, it just sucks!"
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