To restore the originals you'd have to carefully remove them , take them apart and strip them of all of the old, more than likely lead based paint , replace all of the gaskets and wiring (more than likely asbestos!)  the socket (I'd guarantee the original isn't UL rated !)All this would need to be done off site which means the community would be without lights for however long it took the contractor to restore them . Plus , what happens if you acccidentally break something ?  Add in the environmental costs of disposing the hazardous materials to the restoration cost and restoring the old would probably cost at least 3 times what new costs . 

As far as I know, a cycling lamp causes wear on the ignitor and possibly the ballast insulation if left neglected for too long as the ignitor would keep attempting to restrike the lamp over and over again when the lamp goes out. Ideally, you would want to replace your lamp as soon as possible.

How bad is a cycling lamp for a fixture? I have a Hps Wallpak, and the lamp cycles. I think it’s cool looking, but I know it is hard on the components. How bad is it to have it running for maybe 2 or 3 hours?

 PM me your Zip Code and I can find out . I't may take me a bit tho.

How much is shipping to central Florida?

I have that ballast! Just got it today* but no 35 watt High pressure sodium lamps. Too bad! I need to get some more diverse lamps.

 I have a few 35w HPS . I'll never use them .  If you pay shipping , I'll send them to you .

An individual lamp is 3.25A and each lamp is half the arc voltage drop (135V) of a 1000W M47 probe start metal halide lamp (270V). When a pair of 400W M59 probe start metal halide lamps are wired as a series pair, the arc voltage drops of both lamps sum up together at roughly 270V.

Isn’t one 400 3.25 amp? Or is two together 3.25 amp?

You could run both of them in series, but I would recommend reducing the capacitor value to ensure they run properly. You would need to get a clamp meter to ensure that they are running at the proper 3.25A they require.

How mad would it be to run two 400 watt metal halide lamps in series on a 1000 watt halide ballast?