I also wonder why Federal bought that clutch from B&M. But some of the older ones really coasted. You rarely see an old C5,etc., that didn't coast well. And when Ellis Funeral Home here in Midland put their new 1954 Ford Station Wagon ambulance into service in 1953, they mounted an S8B on the left fender. It replaced a nice old 78B doubletone siren that went with the ambulance they sold when the Ford wagon was bought. That siren would outcoast anything I ever saw. Early one Sept. morning in 1956, a kid got hit on a motorscooter right behind our house. Dad called the ambulance and police, and then we went to check on the kid. He had an apparent broken leg. We could hear Ellis' ambulance coming, and as the ambulance rounded the corner onto the street behind us, the driver let up on the siren and allowed it to start its downward coast. The driver was by himself, which wasn't uncommon back then, so Dad helped hobble the kid to the front seat of the ambulance. After waiting another 5 or 6 minutes, the driver told Dad to let the cops know he was headed for the hospital, and off he went. In total that ambulance sat there for the better part of 10 minutes, with that old Siro-Drift just rolling away with no evidence of slowing down. I asked Kevin why they did away with that clutch, and he said that they had problems with them locking down all of a sudden w/o warning. I don't think I've ever seen a C5 or 70 series lockdown like that.Henry455 wrote:All of my Federal products have had the simple ball & ramp clutch. When acquired, some of the sirens were in pretty bad shape but the clutches were always in good shape. Always wondered why Federal when to the screw clutch.
Return to “Other Warning Systems - Indoor, Outdoor and Vehicular”
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 22 guests