1997 Toyota Motorsports Lights

Summary: Another example of automotive themed Maglites are these 2 Toyota lights below. Both were ordered in a fair quantity by Toyota to be sold at their dealerships. They are rare today but not a very popular light among collectors. They are worth around $20 to $60.

Cars and Maglites just seem to go together like peas and carrots. I've written a few posts about automotive themed Maglites before that include:

Hummers
Ferraris
Chevy Trucks
NASCAR
and even a guide to mounting Maglites in a JK Jeep Wrangler

There have been many many automotive logo'd lights made on special orders over the years but not many were in sizable quantities and not many were offered by the vehicle manufacturers directly. Most were ordered through Mag's standard custom orders department by local dealers or service shops. I specifically try to collect lights that are "official" ones done by large manufacturers as a joint venture with Maglite rather than the small volume ones ordered through Mag's regular custom sales.

I have another couple of cool lights that I recently received, this time they are Toyota lights and they were sold very briefly in 1997 through Toyota dealers nationwide and by Toyota at various trade shows, conventions, and sporting events. They are both screen printed 3Ds without the knurling grip. It's a shame Mag didn't make more lights this design after the mid 90s as they are very colorful and look very sleek.

The first is a TRD, Toyota Racing Development, light. TRD is Toyota's performance division similar to M for BMW, AMG for Mercedes, or SVT for Ford. The light is black, red and silver. It reads TRD on one side and Toyota Motorsports on the other. What's interesting is that the light on the chipboard box also matches the light. All other lights I've seen just have a black light on the chipboard box. Mine even came with a sticker from the dealer it was sold at in Virginia as can be seen in the photo below. $49.95 in 1997 is nearly $100 today and more than twice the price of a standard 3D Maglite at the time so it's no wonder why these lights didn't sell well and are rare today. I heard these lights are shown in TRD parts catalogs from that era but I can't seem to locate one. If you have a catalog from around this time please feel free to contact me. My info is at the right.

This light very closely follows the color scheme of the Toyota trophy truck of the mid 90s driven by Ivan "Ironman" Stewart. Stewart saw many wins in the 90s and I imagine this light was done to promote the TRD line of performance parts as well as celebrate Stewart's wins. These TRD lights were also produced in an AA Mini Maglite version although I don't currently own one.

The second light is a Toyota Motorsports light done in a similar pattern to the Flag-Lites. I'll have to do a Flag-Lite post in the future but they are basically a patriotic version of the 3D and AA Mini Maglites. They are still made today in LED models and are not very rare. This Toyota one is identical to those except with the addition of "Toyota Motorsports" at the end as shown below. This was likely done as Toyota expanded their U.S. manufacturing with the addition of a plant in West Virginia and one in Indiana in 1996. These lights may have been sold at dealers but I hear about them more commonly being sold or given away at sporting events, trade shows, and conventions. Mine is brand new but didn't come with a box and unfortunately the owner didn't have a back story. If you do my e-mail address is at the right and I'd appreciate any info.

Both lights are 18,000,000 serials which puts them right at 1997 or 1998. Neither light comes up for sale very often but they aren't exactly big ticket items for collectors either. They are much rarer than the NASCAR lights but still sell for around the same price of $20 to $60 in good condition. Shown below are a few more pics of the lights as well as a picture of my automotive themed Maglites. Most are from dealers and service centers especially the AA Mini Maglites.

As always I'm looking to buy Vari-Beams and Vintage/Rare Mags. Please let me know if you have any, top dollar paid.

Ultimate Maglite Restomod

Summary: I recently built a 3 mode LED drop in with the ability to use a variety of LEDs with different tints. It makes for an awesome Maglite Restomod if I do say so myself.

Most of the posts I do are about historical lights in my collection. However, from time to time I like to make a Maglite tech post as well, either about how the lights operate or about restorations methods and neat modifications. So for this post I'd like to share a light I recently put together myself as well as some lessons I learned about LEDs, drivers, heat sinks, and batteries. Please feel free to provide any feedback if I've gotten anything wrong. This is about the closest to creating a light from scratch as I'll likely ever get. One day maybe I'll have enough time to learn how to use a lathe but for now this has temporarily satisfied my flashlight building curiosity.

I get a few requests here and there to restore old Maglites, especially ones that have sentimental value. Most are true to the originals and leave my workshop with an incandescent bulb. However, occasionally I get requests for "restomods" or original looking lights but with modern technology inside. Up until now the best I could do was a Malkoff dropin. While Malkoff makes one of the best drop ins on the market they have a cool, blueish tint which is very different from a warm old school incandescent light and they are a single mode and very bright. I find myself most commonly using 30 lumens at night. So I decided to advance my limited electronics and LED knowledge and build a multi-mode warm LED drop in.

Driver

For those unfamiliar, LEDs have near 0 resistance, can only operate at a specific voltage, and vary their brightness by current or PWM. You need a driver board circuit to fulfill these requirements. Simply attaching an LED to batteries will likely cause it to be destroyed or it just won't light if the voltage isn't high enough. You could run it in series with a simple resistor but you'd have no way to vary the brightness.

There are many many driver boards available and they operate in a ton of different ways. For this project I need a 17mm driver and I'll get to why in the heat sink choice below. This is a very popular size and there are many options. There are 3 additional considerations when picking a driver.

1. Voltage
I chose a 3V LED as you'll see below so the LED really can't see more than 4.2V. Above 4.2V I risk damaging the LED and below 3V the light won't work. In this case I'll be using a KAI Domain 3V - 9V driver. This type of driver is commonly referred to as a 3V buck driver. It will lower (buck) the LED input voltage down to 3V so it has a far greater input range of 3V to 9V which means it can be used with anywhere from 3D to 6D NiMH or alkalines.

Another choice to accommodate this is a direct drive. In this setup the voltage the batteries provide is not modified, it is fed directly to the light, hence direct drive. Therefore the voltage range is very tight before it will either fry the LED or fail to light. The range of 3V to 4.2V coincides perfectly with either 1 Li-Ion cell or 3 - NiMH cells. 3 - alkalines provide 4.5V so they can't likely be used. This is a simpler driver and Adventure Sport makes one with more than 25 groups of modes otherwise they don't have many advantages over a buck driver.

Yet another choice is a 3V boost driver. It will step up the voltage so a 2D setup can be used. The input voltage on these is 0.9 to 3.0V. I plan to build some 2Ds as well so I'll be buying one of these for a future project.

2. Modes
I want modes for this project because the light seems  to be a lot more versatile and useful with different levels of brightness. I'm basically looking to make a retro ML300L. Modes can be accomplished 2 different ways; either by alternating the light on and off more quickly than can be seen by the eye (pulse width modulation - PWM) or by varying the current flow (amps). Unlike incandescent bulbs varying the voltage will not work since the LED only runs at a precise voltage. I chose this KAI Domain driver because it has 3 modes, 5%, 30% and 100%.

The Adventure Sport direct driver has 25 groups of modes which make the light a lot more useful. This is a tradeoff though because it is direct drive so the battery options are more limited. There are multiple brightness settings settings and multiple strobe and moonlight modes so I'll be using the Adventure Sport driver on a future 3 - NiMH restoration.

3. Current
I want to pick out a driver that provides no more current than my LED is rated for. A common maximum current for Cree LEDs is 2 amps. I also want a driver that can deliver near 2 amps so I get the full output of my LED. Picking a driver that only delivers say 1 amp when my LED will take 2 is only going to give me a max output of 50% of the rated output. Running a 2 amp LED on 1 amp driver will only give a brightness of half of what the LED is rated for. This may not be a bad idea though if you're looking for a single mode light with a specific level of brightness. The KAI driver delivers 2 amps and my LED is rated for a max of 2 amps here.

LED

I want something that has a warm or neutral tint because it looks more like a classic Maglite and there's nothing on the market available. Obviously that narrowed it down some. My other criteria is that it had to be mounted to a 10mm board due to my heat sink limitations. Also, my driver puts out 3V and 2 amps so I need an LED that has a 3V forward (input) voltage and is rated for at least 2 amps. I am really familiar with Cree LEDs so this all narrowed it down to an XP series LED. The XP-Es are low output, low amps so I skipped right over those and went for an XP-G although an XP-L will work just as well. I went with an XP-G 3500K, warm tint for this project as that most closely matches an incan bulb. The XP-G is rated for 700 lumens at 2 amps so that will make a very nice high mode when paired with my driver. In fact I most commonly use the 5%, 30%, 100% mode group so my light will have 3 modes of brightness, 35 lumens, 280 lumens, and 700 lumens which can be accessed by quickly cycling the switch.

Heat Sink

The toughest part is picking a heat sink to house the LED and driver.  I have an old Adventure Sport light with a copper heat sink and that heat sink is the perfect size for a D cell Mag. I actually found out that Adventure Sport also sells an aluminum heat sink that is far less expensive (~$17) and that has dimensions more suited to my project. It uses a 10mm LED board so any stock Maglite reflector can be used with the cam removed. On the backside any 17mm driver board can be used for the LED. As far as I know this is the only option for someone looking to build a custom light. You could make one but I'd wager it would end up looking identical to this.

Shown below are the modifications needed for a stock reflector on the right, and a KAI Domain reflector with a detachable cam on the left. The blue plastic Maglite reflector all the way on the right has had the cam sawn off with a hacksaw near the base. The KAI Domain reflectors have a cam the screws off so they can be used with a stock light or with an aftermarket drop in.

The older (1979-1991) style Maglites were actually machined from 2" aluminum irrigation pipe and have a larger ID than new Maglites. In 1992 Maglite started extruding their own aluminum tube for machining that more closely matched the dimensions of a D cell battery. As such this heat sink is too small for most of the lights I'm looking at restoring. I wrapped it in thick aluminum foil tape for approximately 10 winds until it fit snugly into the ID of the light. The ring at the top is still larger so it still keeps it from being pushed into the light.

And here's a shot when it's all assembled. I used Arctic Alumina epoxy to affix the LED board to the heat sink. The driver snaps into place and all of the wiring is 22 gauge stranded. My soldering leaves something to be desired and I'm working on that. Any tips are greatly appreciated. I'm using 0.6mm solder.

Switch

You've probably noticed that the driver has two contacts, far different from the flange base of a PR incan bulb. The heat sink also fits snugly inside the barrel so the post needs to be removed from the stock Maglite switch. This is actually easier and a benefit of the older Maglites. The switch was cast in 2 parts so the post is easily removed. Newer (1992+) lights require sawing of the switch to remove the post. When removed a spare positive battery contact can be installed in place of the spring and straightened with pliers to to provide a space to hook up the positive driver lead. Sometimes the spot weld on the bulb spring contact can be broken and it can be straightened and used as well. The negative contact can be cut, shortened, and used to attach the negative lead from the driver.

I used spade connectors to connect the leads to the driver board from the switch. They need to be crushed down to fit the thin contacts but they make the switch much more serviceable later on. The negative spade connector doesn't need a shroud because the light is grounded to the body so it really can't produce a short unless it somehow contacts the positive connection. Alternatively the leads can be soldered to the contacts. My switch now works again!

Shown below is how a 1992+ switch looks when complete. There are a couple additional steps and they are a little tougher to assemble. I may add a section here in the future with some more info on assembling a 1992+ restomod but the vast majority of lights I do are the 1979 to 1991 style. Also, please see my switch tech post for general info on how the Maglite switches work.

The Light

As with most of my builds reflector and lens is key. I almost always opt for a KAI Domain MOP or OP reflector to really even out the beam and make it more floody and overall more useful. For this light however I re-used an older SMO KAI Domain reflector which has more throw. I also added a KAI Domain glass lens that allows for better light transmission, is more scratch resistant, and won't be affected by the heat on the high mode.

The total cost, excluding tools, on this build is as follows:

Adventure Sport
$17 - Heat Sink Pill

KAI Domain
$4 - 3500K Cree XP-L LED on 10 mm board
$6 - BD39 Driver

Total LED Drop in Cost $27

Optional
$10 KAI Reflector
$4 Lens

Obviously this isn't worth it from a financial standpoint because you can buy a brand new ML300L for around $40. Add in a couple hours of my time and the cost gets up there pretty quick but I do think they are very cool and make for a real tricked out one of a kind restomod Maglite. The first one of these I did went to a fellow who restored an old K5 Blazer and wanted a beat up old school 6D light to match the truck. If folks are willing to spend big on an old truck or car what's a few bucks for an old Maglite to go with it?!

And last but not least, please find a few beam shots with comparisons from a couple other lights below. The first 3 show the 3 modes, 5%, 30%, and 100%. The 30% and 100% modes are tough to differentiate because of the SMO reflector and its throw. At a distance, or with an MOP reflector, they are much easier to tell apart.

And shown below is this warm, 3000K, XP-G vs. a Cool ~5000K Malkoff. The 3000K XP-G looks like is has a much more yellow tint but the picture may not have come out correctly because it doesn't look that yellow in real life. It is more the color of the morning sun. The tighter hot spot of the SMO reflector on the Cree warm XP-G can also be seen vs. the greater throw of the OP reflector on the Malkoff.

Overall I'm very happy with the end product. I have to work on my soldering technique a little bit because it overall looks very sloppy. I'm always amazed at how clean the business end of a Malkoff looks. It's a work of art I have not yet mastered. For my first build I'm really happy and I learned a ton. I wrote this to help others understand the selection process for LEDs, drivers, etc and to provide a guide in case someone else wants to restomod a Mag. If anyone has any feedback (good or bad) I shoor wood appreciate it!

I should note that I will also put these lights together for anyone interested. I have a large stock of old, vintage Maglites and I can also modify any D cell donor Maglite. My contact info is at the right if you have any interest.

As always I'm looking to buy Vari-Beams and Vintage/Rare Mags. Please let me know if you have any, top dollar paid.

1982 3C Silver Light with Prototype End Cap

Summary: This 1982 3C is rare because it is one of the only early C cell finishes I've ever seen. It is also rare because it has a very early prototype version of the extended "store-a-bulb" end cap instead of the flat end cap that is supposed to come with these early C cells.

I  have always liked the very early Maglites from 1979 to 1986 the best. They really show how Maglite was still developing and refining their timeless design. The newest addition to my collection is one of these lights. There's not much I get in the way of surprises any more but this one sure was. Finishes on the early 1979 to 1986 lights are very tough to come by. Up until I found this one I didn't think early C cells had any finish options other than Vari-Beams even though blue is listed on early package inserts. Finally after ~10 years of collecting I ran across an early C cell finish! It's not listed on any of the early package inserts. This light is a 3C, 38,410 serial which puts it at about 1982. It has the early stamped TM bezel and the barrel is stamped "Patented Made in U.S.A.". For those interested in these differences throughout the years please see my C Cell Quick Dating Guide.

The other big surprise on this light is the extended tail cap. C cells in this range are only supposed to have the flat end cap as shown on the Vari-Beam on the right below. Even later C cells have a different style extended end cap which is shown on the left below. So it's not like this one has an end cap that was swapped with a later light. The knurling matches the knurling on flat end caps from around that time so I don't believe it's from another light either.

Through my contacts from the early days at Mag I am pretty sure this is an early prototype or trial run extended cap. This was likely done to test the tooling required to produce this end cap and to test the marketability of it. A handful of these were likely produced as a test run and then sent to retailers once the quality was determined to be acceptable. That makes sense because the prior owner lived in Michigan and he was the original owner who remembered purchasing it off the shelf at a sporting goods store locally in the early 1980s. I also believe this because I know this to be the case with some other lights as well. I have an early Camo finish that was a test run as well as some oddball finishes from 1979 too. Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed!

As always I'm looking to buy Vari-Beams and Vintage/Rare Mags. Please let me know if you have any, top dollar paid.

1985 3D Dealer Special Light

Summary: During the 80s a Maglite was the most expensive light on the market. Maglites could be customized through Maglite's dealer and service network. This is an example of one of those lights that was special ordered by a well to do contractor. It has a one of a kind silver bezel and lanyard ring end cap.

Ok ok, forgive me while I reminisce for just a paragraph. If you want to skip my nostalgic ramblings and go right for the technical info please skip to the third paragraph of this post.

Every year both brick and mortar stores and knowledgeable salesmen become less and less. Stores are replaced by online retailers and salesmen are replaced by impartial customer reviews. In some ways this has lowered prices and led to more honest opinions but for those old enough to remember a dealership and an honest salesman there is just something missing about this whole new shopping experience.

As I've previously covered Maglite used to operate an extensive dealer and service network. Prior to the mid 90s these dealers and service centers were primarily based out of small hardware stores, sporting good stores, and law enforcement suppliers. These locations were pretty much where anyone would typically go to buy a flashlight. These stores were staffed with trained salesmen familiar with the light output, run time, and specifications of the lights. Maglite actually sent employees around to train the salesmen on the specific features of each light so they could be more profitable and provide better information to potential customers.

This experience was not unlike buying a car. Seeing how as these lights were $100 to $150 in 2018 dollars it's not unusual that so much time and care was taken with each buyer. This was the most expensive flashlight you could buy at the time. Which brings me to the light that is the subject of this post.

Maglite had an extensive parts catalog and some options for lights. It was rare that the lights were customized but this one was. It carries a silver bezel and very rare silver lanyard ring end cap. It looks very similar to a Vari-Beam with it's color scheme and seeing how as it's a 1985 model it would have been from right after Vari-Beam production ended. The silver and black was likely done to jazz it up and make it easier to find in a dark room. Shown below is this Maglite next to a Vari-Beam from around a year earlier.

This particular light came from the estate sale of the owner of a large electrical contractor in Iowa. The owner special ordered this light with the lanyard ring end cap and silver bezel from a local sporting goods store and used it for many years. The light is very clean which shows he took very good care of it and likely valued it very much. This is the only light I've ever seen with a silver lanyard ring end cap and I have not seen a Maglite part number for this accessory. The stock anodizing is very difficult to remove without an industrial strength acid so I do believe this end cap is genuine given that it has a matching bezel.

As always I'm looking to buy Vari-Beams and Vintage/Rare Mags. Please let me know if you have any, top dollar paid.

2006 3AA LED Mini Maglites

Summary: Maglite briefly produced an LED 3AA Mini Maglite when they first brought LEDs to the market. These were the only 3 cell Mini Maglite they produced and as LEDs improved they were dropped and are very rare and collectible today.

Up until this post all of my previous posts have been about classic, incandescent, Maglites. Well I guess some of the first generation LED lights are starting to become classics as well and I've had a few inquiries about an unusual LED light that Maglite produced when they first started selling LED lights, the 3AA Mini Maglite.

Most folks know about the ever popular AA Mini Maglites. They started in 1984 and I did an earlier post about their beginnings and about the differences between the generations. Maglite started selling LED lights around 2003 and I have not covered any of them on my blog. As far as I know there isn't a collector market for any of them except the odd 3AA Mini Maglite. Before I go any further I should post a few pics.

As you can see the lights are quite a bit larger than a 2AA Mini Maglite and you could kind of say that defeats the purpose of the Mini Maglite because it has always been intended to be a compact, portable light. I believe the reason why this was done is because the first generation LED emitters were not very efficient. They required quite a few volts to produce a desirable amount of light and the run times were not very long. Folks I know that have used this light have told me that the run times were less than an hour whereas a new 50 lumen LED light on 2AAs will run for 3 to 4 hours. I believe once the second generation of LEDs came around in 2007 or so that these light were then discontinued.

Shown below are beam shots compared to a 2AA Incan Mini Maglite. The LED is on the left and the Incan is on the right. The tree is about 20 feet away or so. The LED Mini Mag is much brighter than the Incan. It is easy to see why folks preferred the LEDs even if initial run time and tint weren't the best.

As with most Maglites, collectors tend to gravitate towards large cell lights that were not popular during their initial production run. This is evident with the 7Ds, 7Cs, and 5 & 6Cs. Like those lights these 3AAs do go for a god dollar on auction sites and forums. The going rate for one new in box, NIB, is anywhere from $50 to $100 depending on the finish.

I don't have a ton of info on these 3AAs. I think they were produced from 2003 to 2006. The serial number on my black one is in the 1,000,000 range and the blue one is in the 850,000 range which makes me think there were a lot of them produced. Like most other lights though I think many were stored with the batteries in them and then tossed when they leaked which is why they seldom come up for sale today. I have seen them in the standard finishes, black, blue, red, and silver. If anyone happens to have any production ranges or any additional information on them please contact me, my e-mail address is on the right.

As always I'm looking to buy Vari-Beams and Vintage/Rare Mags. Please let me know if you have any, top dollar paid.

2005 President Bush Inaugural AA Mini Maglites

Summary: These are one of the five Maglite "giveaway" lights and were produced for the 2005 Inauguration of George W Bush. There were 40,000 given away to those in attendance. They have special laser etching commemorating the event.

I've previously detailed all the rest of the official Maglite "giveaway" lights. These were lights that were made in large quantities for special, historical events and then given away for free by Mag Instrument. There were only 5 total and 3 of them were for inaugurations of President George HW Bush and George W Bush. The complete list is as follows:

1989 President George HW Bush Inauguration AAA Mini Maglites
1994 Lillehammer Olympics AA Mini Maglites
2001 President George W Bush Inauguration AA Mini Maglites
2001 9/11 Donation 3D Lights

Maglite has produced many custom laser etched lights through their special order program but these were all for orders placed by companies and the like. None of these were produced for Maglite for significant historical events. Maglite has also produced some other small quantity giveaway lights like for the opening of President Reagan's library opening and as giveaways at small events. However most of these were produced in quantities less than 100 which makes them especially rare or non-existent today. The 5 "giveaway" lights above were produced in quantities of the thousands or more and are generally regarded by collectors as being the 5 official Maglite "giveaway" lights and are well sought after over other laser etched lights.

I've been hunting for a 2005 President Bush Inaugural light for a long time and I'm not sure why but they are tougher to find than either the 1989 or 2001 Inaugural lights. 40,000 copies of each were supposedly produced but I almost never see the 2005 ones for sale. I was able to trade one of my rare Ferrari lights for this one with another collector. I often trade if I come across something I really like as I have a ton of lights and some duplicates. It's also sometimes the only way to get a unique light from another collector.

So, what is it? Well, if you've been reading my blog you'll know that Tony Maglica, the founder of Maglite, is a staunch republican. As such, he's created giveaway lights for the inaugurations of President George HW Bush and President George W Bush. Tony is extremely patriotic having come from almost nothing in Croatia to making a fortune selling the most popular and for a long time the most premium flashlight in America. He's also been very dedicated to American manufacturing and jobs, refusing to send his production outside the U.S. I imagine he wanted to give a little back to the country, and his political party of choice, by producing these giveaway lights.

A 2001 George W Bush Inaugural light is also shown above with this 2005 light. The 2005 lights aren't as unique as the 2001 lights because unlike those they have knurling on the barrel. I like the 2001 lights better because the inscription is more readable and they really look a lot cooler with the smooth barrel. I'm guessing they were probably given the knurling to differentiate them from the 2001 lights. Aside from the laser etching they are a standard blue AA Mini Maglite. I do not believe they were delivered with batteries or packaging unlike the 1989 lights. This was likely done to keep cost down and because so many of the 1989 lights were ruined when their owners left them with batteries for a long period of time after the inauguration.

With this light I am finally able to complete my Maglite "giveaway" collection. Shown below are all 5 of these lights together. These really are an interesting piece of Maglite and American History. I know it's a little after the 4th but I hope I'm not too late with this patriotic grouping of Maglites.

As always I'm looking to buy Vari-Beams and Vintage/Rare Mags. Please let me know if you have any, top dollar paid.

1988 6D Mystery Serial Light

Summary: Shown below is a 6D Maglite I purchased that is new in box, NIB, from 1988. However, it has a serial with an A at the end and the serial belongs to a much earlier light. It was either a "warranty replacement" or an error in the stamping.

Through some of my contacts from the early days of Maglite, online forums, and other collectors I am usually able to research out many of the unusual lights I come across. Every so often though I am stumped. I previously posted about a "mystery" self defense type light and now I have another light that is new in box, NIB, with a very unique serial number.

As can be seen in the photos above this light has a serial number of 60087325A. It is the only light I've ever seen with a letter at the end, in this case the A. Newer, panther, style lights have either a C or D at the front end of the serial but I've never seen any lights with a letter at the end. I'm certain it's not altered since it's NIB. The back of the package has a date of manufacture of November 1988. The rest of the features are correct for 1988 as per my D Cell Quick Dating Guide. The light has the correct R bezel and still has the extended grip. One problem exists though. The serial number would have been much higher in 1988, approximately between 190,000 and 300,000. 87,325 matches up with 1983 light and that date was confirmed when I e-mailed Mag Instrument with the serial number. A 1983 light would have had a different bezel, one with the TM next to Maglite because the Trade Mark was still pending.

When I inquired about this light to some of the folks I know I got back 2 theories but no one was certain on the origin of this light:

1. An early employee of Maglite vaguely remembered re-using the serial numbers of lights that came in with a warranty issue. The original light would have been scrapped and he said that Mag Instrument may have then re-issued the serial number except with an A suffix on a new production light. This would be similar to star currency. An American piece of currency that has a star after the serial denotes that the original bill was destroyed during the printing process due to an error. This theory makes sense to me because the lights would have been just about 5 years apart so it's likely in that 5 year period that a light could have come back under warranty. The fact that an A was used and that the serial numbers correspond to actual years are support as well.

2. This could have been an error that resulted from an incorrectly set up stamping machine. Maglite quality control is very very tight. There are only a handful of error lights I've seen or heard about and none of them involve the serial number. Even the ones I've seen have had very minor errors or defects in workmanship. It is possible though that the machine either exceeded it's limit and the numbering turned over or it was setup incorrectly resulting in this odd serial.

The original owner of this light purchased it directly from a mail order police supply in 1988 and kept it as a backup for the one he used regularly. He didn't remember any special paperwork coming with it and as far as he knew he purchased a run of the mill light. It wasn't until recently he noticed the A at the end of the serial and he contacted me through my blog. I was lucky enough to purchase this light and I told him if I ever came across any info I would be sure to send it his way. If you have any info or theories please feel free to contact me. My e-mail is on the right side of the page.

As always I'm looking to buy Vari-Beams and Vintage/Rare Mags. Please let me know if you have any, top dollar paid.