While looking through an antique store, I stumbled upon a spotlight. So far, all I know is that it was made by Unity and it has a 6" lens. It also has "GMC" on the crown piece, instead of the company name, Unity. My questions are, does anyone know around what year cars this would have fit? Is it for the drivers side or passenger side? Is it for a truck, instead of a car? Any info would be appreciated.
May not be as old as you think, Unity still produces those spotlights and the crest names. I would believe that the old Unitys only had the name 'Unity" on the crest and all the car name crests are new products.
Fred, Check the link below. About 1955, my Dad owned a 49 Ford 4-dr with one of these Spot Lights mounted through the driver side windshield post. I was about eight years old and thought the Damn Thing was Cool. jcmarz is correct in the fact that you can still Buy a New Light. The newer light (as shown in the link) and the old light in Dad's Ford look to be the same. If you can open her up check to see what volts maybe shown on the bulb (6 or 12) If your bulb is 6 volt the light may have been an accessory on a GMC panel or Pick Up. That would date it at about 1954 and earlier. Good Luck, Jeff http://www.unityusa.com/6-Vintage-Spotlight-12-Volt_p_1832.html
My grandmother bought a new 1949 Ford 4 dr that had a dealer installed one.. It also had a dealer installed rear vacuum windshield wiper...
........I've only seen that on one shoebox Ford and I had to question the owner as I thought it must have been added sometime later in it's life. He told me no, it was a dealer installed option. After a little research on my part ('cause of course I was skeptical) he was proven to be correct.
Looks very similar to the Unity S-6 I put on my 50 Chevy truck if you look under the bracket that mounts to the pillar there might be some stamped markings I think the "L" stamp designates drivers side bracket "25" stamp designates drill template to use. here is a measurement to mine if you want to compare good luck
the differences between what spotlights fit what is all about the length of the shaft and the bracket that screws to the body, the different brackets are still available from unity.
The brackets that screw to the body are "universal" for various cars for each bracket part number. Someone should be able to find a UNITY catalog which illustrates the variou brackets and their applications.
And a word to the wise, BEFORE drilling into the window post, check to make sure that there are no wires running inside of it. Don't ask. LOL -Pat
Yes, many brackets are still available and many parts as well. The Unity site last time I looked was a maddening mess but had a lot of information....older car listings, schematic drawings of most older models of the spotlights, etc. Finding your way to the information there will drive you to drink, though.
Could very well be an "official" accessory spotlight. When I had the Plymouth, I picked up a pair of Corcoran-Brown fog lamps that had the MoPar script; come to find out they were offered through MoPar dealers. Here's a page out of the 1960 GMC Accessory catalog;
the bracket is also used as a drill guide The Model number is shown in your second pic in the first post I just cannot make it out its stamped Model number S-? Chicago U.S.A. if its S-6 its for a truck if it something else you can run the number
Thanks guys! All good info. Before making this thread, I found and checked Unity's website. As mentioned, they still sell spot lights, but confusing is a light way of describing their website. So, I came here. I do remember S-something, on the lights body, so I'll go back and check again. The reason I'm interested in the light is because I'm planning a new build. Something with a roof, for rainy days and going to work. I noticed the spotlight and thought it would be cool to start a build from something odd, like a spotlight. I have narrowed down my car choices to a Chevy Belair '51-'54 or a Ford of those same years. Which would set my build style as a mild custom or a "bomb". Either way, a spotlight would work great and I'd already have one. So, I'll continue to do more research and decide if getting this one is a good idea. And as mentioned, it would look out of place on a T Bucket.
Your basic light was i think used from maybe right before WWII into the 1960's, with several different lengths. One rough dating tool is the bulb...sealed beam on later ones, reflector and small bulbs on early variants of that style. Quite a few brand-name top things are still available as well as the basic Unity one. Bracket and rill jig are a big deal on earlier cars especially, along with right length shaft, as there is often very little wiggle room between a usable installation and one the interferes with steering wheel or dash. And a badly angled hole through 8 layers of tin and some upholstery...well...
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