Hmm, you willing to use LPF ballasts instead of HPF? If so try these or this ballast. Both look NOS although the GE is older than the Universal.

I might be interesting in buying one of the GEs though since shipping seems pretty reasonable for 2 ballasts.

Ahh Thanks. I'd rather have the HPF if ic an find them but i bookmarked the GE ballasts in case i can't find one.

I've seen the HPF versions pop up from time to time on eBay but I think some of the fluorescent collectors on LG might have a spare HPF F40 ballast, you might want to try asking there.

Hmm. I think i may. Thanks for the tips! If i can't get a HPF/HBF one, I can always fall back on the GEs in the ebay listing...

Did they upgrade the lighting at your grandpa's auto shop or something?

Nope. This fixture has been on the wall above one of the three garage doors ever since my grandpa has owned the shop and it has never worked (not that one 40W lamp would've made any differece in his shop anyways lol) I put in a new lamp and starter and it still didn't work so i asked if i could have it. He said if i could remove it, it was mine. The fixture had been put up before the cinderblock wall was painted so the fixture was sloppily painted over. It's gonna be a PAIN to sand all the lumpy yellowed white paint off the fixture housing lol. The inside is actually unpainted so i guess the fixture was originally unpainted? I'm thinking of painting it with some sort of silver paint to give it that bare metal look. I'd never get it to look good without painting it since I'm going to have to sand my breath out trying to get off all the coats of white paint on it. When i opened it a TON of dirt just dropped out. it's amazing how the fixture didn't go up in flames! The wires were totally stiff. i touched one of the wires and the cloth insulation just turned to dust.

Anyways, i know my grandpa has his intentions, but i doubt he'll ever get around to upgrading his shop's lighting lol. If the lights were mounted higher up it'd probably solve the whole problem. The issue is that he replaced a bunch of the high output fixtures with slimline strips in the past because he didn't want to pay twice the amout of a slimline lamp for the HO lamps. There are the following lights at his shop:

-3 4X F40T12 troffers (one with missing lens). They all have VAL-MISER Valmont Electric ballasts.
-2 2X F96T12/HO reflector/industrial fixtures. I want to score one of these if i ever can...
-2 2X F96T12 slimline reflector/industrial Lithonia fixtures.
-3 2X F96T12 slimline strip lights that are oldish looking.
-9(-ish) 2X F96T12 slimline lithonia strip lights.
-1 2X F40T12 relector/industrial preheat fixture
-1 1X F40T12 rapid start strip light
-1 2X LOA F40T12 so called "preheat" shoplite.

I relamped all of the bad tubes and the shop isn't really that badly lit. He just needs to maintain the existing lights better lol. Or have me do it since he's constantly over his head in work and i enjoy fixing the lights. He's having an electrician install fluorescent lights in the basement of the apartment that he rents out. Currently there are a few pull-chain lights that don't give enough light. plus him and my grandma always forget that they're pull-chains and leave them on. I'm hoping to be with the electrician (since he's a family friend) and help install the lights (ie he'd do the wiring and install the top and I'd probably install the rest of the light and lamps). I'm not sure what kind of lights they'll be using. They will probably be F32T8s though...

Cool, hope you can participate and learn!

Thanks. Yeah i hope so too! I know my grandparents mean well but sometimes they don't always stay to their word (when they don't it's becuase they can't) I forgot the stupid camera too!

Hope it works out!

Hey aaron here's the ballast

Interesting!!

thanks! The label is very delicate. It was perfect when i first opened the fixture, but it's sort of fallen apart from handling. (though it's no worse than the pic since right after the pic it got screwed into the wall in my laundry room.)