New Ahooga Horns from Suppliers
 

Did my best to search and didn't find what I was looking for (but did spend 2 hours looking at other things the search brought forth ;))

Anyone buy one of the new USA-made ahooga horns from any of the suppliers? I believe all the suppliers are selling the same ones - from A & L Parts

Wondering how they are - in terms of quality and sound? Specifically, the 12 volt version.

Any feedback on either 6v or 12v appreciated.

Sent my horn to Jim Diehl in Michigan for conversion & repair, but he has become ill and isn't able to work on them. You may want to sent best wishes his way.

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Why not clean up a Hutchins?

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I bought one of the 12v horns from A&L back when they were still selling to the general public. It has worked just fine.

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I have repaired a number of horns and converted several to 12 volts and they work fine. I also have a new 12 v horn from a US vendor that works perfectly.

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@Carlg & @Synchro909 - Thanks for the reply re: supplier horn.

Probably the way I'll go...

Additional replies will be appreciated.

Found several threads regarding A & L, in general, that were positive...

@Ronn - a Hutchins?

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I bought a 6 Volt horn back when A&L was selling to the public (same as CarlG) and it has worked fine for many years. It was money well spent.

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Thanks @Al in NY

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I very recently (DEC 2023) bought a 6V Sparton from Snyder's, Part #A-13802-R6.
The first one they sent was defective, but they very quickly made good on it, and the replacement they sent out works flawlessly - I'm very happy with it.

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Thanks @SDJason.

Appreciate the feedback...

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I'm curious, why would folks buy brand new horns for $325 when you can buy a well-restored original from any one of several private sellers for less than that? I'm not mad at anyone, just curious from the POV of market research. Like, what's driving you to pay more for that product? Just having the warranty?

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I bought a 12v horn directly from A&L in 2018 for $100. Adjusted it when I installed it to get the correct sound and it has performed perfectly since...a quality product! I believe that A&L now only sells to vendors so if you are interested in the A&L unit you should ask the vendor who their supplier is.

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@Gary678* - thanks for the input. And great idea to verify supplier's source.

@alexisaki - after research on reputable rebuilders and finding many not in the business anymore; then settling on a gentleman who got great references from people I trust; sending the horn to him; and him not being able to continue the work due to illness; after waiting 4 months - I'm going with the new horn for the timing, as well as the reliability and, yes, a period of warranty... Oh, and the fact I, personally, don't have the talent, nor the patience, to do the conversion/rebuild myself :rolleyes:

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Thanks all - I'll follow up and let you know how it turns out.

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Don't forget that not all A owners are living in the US, i am not in the market for an Aoogah, but if i had to, i would go to my preferred seller. Getting a private seller to send a shipment to europe and then, on this side of the pond, get it through customs, is a real chore. I rather spend a bit more and get it from Snyders.

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Hutchins is a repro horn- made in the 1970s-very inexpensive.
generally sell for 35-100. and always on ebay. I have a few floating in my shop at all times.
they look good and sound good. sometimes they are chrome and need to be scuffed and painted.
they are 12 volt

https://youtu.be/679144L9wiA?si=qrI891Fz40W68MyP

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Hutchins also made 6 volt horns. They work well, but don't look quite like an original.

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agree dd. nice for a driver, not a points car.

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Well, mine certainly ain't no points car. :D

I refer to it as a "warm rod" ;)

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I run across Hutchins horns for sale but sellers often don't know whether the horn is 6V or 12V. How does one tell which?

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One of the key things is when you get an original horn rebuilt, all you are getting is the motor rebuilt. Most of the time, the projector and cover needs bodywork and paint, and many times the screen and the tag also need replacing. With a new repro, it is ready to bolt on without any assembly or paintwork.

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Sounds like there’s a niche open for a small-time operator who did motor repairs and had a big stock of good sheet metal parts so he could fully restore cores.

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I doubt it. I have the capability to fully restore horns. I'm not sure I could do it for less than the $325 cost of a new horn.

Purchasing the "core" horn, parts needed to restore the horn (tag, screen, etc.), hardware plating, sandblasting, priming and painting of the horn, and the associated materials would likely exceed any profit that makes it worthwhile. Then add in my time.

Just the amount of time to prep the area to prime or paint, and the clean up afterwards is several hours!

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What hitman says is pretty much true across the board.
Ask Brentwood Bob how profitable selling rebuilt shocks is.

a labor of love.

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It is worth noting that while the new A&L horns were very close to being aesthetically correct, they are not close enough to be judged in MARC/MAFCA competition. I think there will always be a place for the reproduction horns within the hobby, AND for the horn restorer too.

Re: New Ahooga Horns from Suppliers
 

I Believe that Hutchins horns came out in the late 1950s/early 1960 when all new cars were 12 volt. There must have been a few 6 volt versions available for older cars. When new, there was always a decal/sticker on the chrome horn cover stating the voltage. Over time, the stickers were removed, painted over, or deteriorated to the point that you can't tell. However, if you try a 12 volt horn on a 6 volt battery, if it hardly runs, it's a 12 volt horn.

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At least three as I own them. Surprisingly, I continued to collect Hutchins horns until I found the apparently elusive 12V version, which as you say barely moves when put to 6 volts.

AND - the 6V version on 12 volts you'll have trouble holding them in your hand to test them.

My observation - the 6V horns were all black, and the 12V version has a chromed bell. The back portion was painted blue.

Joe K

Re: New Ahooga Horns from Suppliers
 

I refer to it as a "warm rod" ;)
__________________
or maybe "tepid"?


very good point Joe. Ive only bought and seen the 12 volt models
just picked one up off ebay last month for 28. shipped to my door and yes it works fine.

Re: New Ahooga Horns from Suppliers
 

After receiving a notice of a reply to this thread, I realized I did what bothers me about a lot of threads - that I promised to follow up and didn't.

I apologize.

I did end up buying a 12 volt horn from Snyder's. It looks good, sounds good and has been operated frequently over the last year+.

If you want a horn that works and looks good, I can confidently recommend the horns available from the vendors.


The reason I say 'warm rod', is because it ain't nobody's 'hot rod'. Mostly stock stuff for a nice driver with some modifications to make it reliable & fun to drive - not faster & louder.

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Nothing more frustrating than a horn the works sometimes and not others. I assume people buy new ones for reliability.
Years ago the repro diaphrams were too thick and sounded like a moo cow.

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Al Lepore did a fantastic job of designing and manufacturing the Sparton replica horn. I have had them for many years, and they are fantastic in appearance and operation. However as Brent mentions, the price of the A&L horn has exceeded the price of what you can buy a restored original horn for.

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Updraught, do you know how thick a "good" diaphragm is?

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No, can't tell you off hand.
The repo ones were sold in the late 70's early 80's that I know of. Swapping back to an original made a big difference. Maybe the metal wasn't hardened properly? Back when most repo stuff came from Argentina.

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I’ve had a hand full of horns rebuilt. I haven’t had one work correctly. As dedicated as I am to origional I will now buy new.

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Yup - that's why I went that route; I did what I could with my original horn, but it was intermittent at best - being a needed safety item, I absolutely wanted reliability.


Even if buying a new one was costlier than sending my old one in for refurbishment somewhere, I'd rather have an out-of-the-box guaranteed working horn when I press that button.


I care more about it doing its job than possibly saving a little $ (I suspect the cost of getting out of whatever trouble warranted having to use the horn in the first place would FAR exceed (in both time and money) whatever the savings may have been, if any).

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We have one of A&L's Sparton horns it is perfect in every way. Love it, very quality unit very well made....

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Does anybody reproduce the 1932 horn?

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Has anybody actually measured the thickness of an original diaphragm I would like to know so I can tell if mine is original or 1 of the thicker reproduction ones.

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Just measured an original (Canadian), .020"

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Katy, with your .020" thick diaphragm, how does the horn sound? You happy with it?

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