Motor meter? Very rare Arco Motector

[JO BO]

Never saw one like this before says Scout on one side bottom pic   What are the other 2 as well? 

Edited May 4, 2022 by JO BO (see edit history)

[keiser31]

Maybe the Moto Meter is for a pedal car. The middle item is a black-out light from a military vehicle. The rusty item is a cab clearance light.

Edited May 3, 2022 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[intimeold]

The top one is an aftermarket cab light; seen on 1940's 1950's trucks

 

I could use the center one; I have one that is rusted out.

 

intimeold

[JO BO]

Thanks for the help on these. the motormeter sure is heavy high quality and has a spring in the green colored glass. wish i could make out the name of it..kinda looks like acme but doubt it and has Scout on the other side.

[TheMoneyPit]

It took a while but this is as close as I can find to yours. This is from the Jack Martells book “Antique Automotive Collectibles” and it’s called an Arco Motector - which looks and works like the top of an old percolating coffee pot… or am I showing my age??

[JO BO]

Thank you so much.  You are correct on Identifying it.  Sure unusual item. Had never seen one before.  

 

I just now tried to find one online and Worthpoint has 2 stating they are super rare  but I don't have an account so couldn't check to see what they sold for.

 

Theirs are marked Chief whereas mine is Scout ...kinda sounds like an Indian motorcycle following 

Edited May 4, 2022 by JO BO (see edit history)

[nzcarnerd]

In New Zealand up until the 1960s at least - I am not exactly sure when the requirement was dropped - any car towing a trailer at night had to have a small blue light on the roof. The one on this circa 1950 Vauxhall Model LIP is very similar to the rusty light above. The olive green registration tag on the windshield tells me this photo taken between mid 1958 and mid 1959. On a good day the 139 cid ohv six of the Vauxhall made 54 bhp - at the time considered enough to haul a small to medium size -maybe 15 ft - caravan (travel trailer to Americans).

 

 

The location is the South Island Southern Alps. The hunters are most likely after tahr, a type of mountain goat imported specifically for hunting. - What is a tahr? · New Zealand Safaris

 

 

 

 

 

On the subject of trailer blue lights the 1932 Morris Minor in this 1956 photo also has a more basic one, but with an 847cc side valve four making not more than 20 bhp it wasn't going to tow anything more than a small open trailer, perhaps for a sailing dinghy, or for taking garbage to the tip.

 

 

[TheMoneyPit]

5 hours ago, JO BO said:

Worthpoint has 2 stating they are super rare…

 

Theirs are marked Chief whereas mine is Scout ...kinda sounds like an Indian motorcycle following 

Rarity almost never equals valuable, especially in aftermarket parts. I suspect it would sell between $65 and maybe $100 on an internet auction IF there’s two bidders fighting for it. If it had a factory connection that MIGHT be different. It’s a very fickle market…

 

And the Indian theme was popular but motorcycles are typically air cooled so you’re not going to see any Indian sporting one.

 

Good luck, but as an advanced mascot collector I know I would not be a buyer just because it is super rare (which is the most abused word in the world IMO)…