1972 service station gas pump pictures?

[srea76]

My father-in-law has 4-5 restored cars and in his shop he has also restored gas pumps from the era of each car he does. I was curious what the pumps looked like in 1972. I thought it would be cool to find one to go along with my truck in my shop. My guess the 1972 pumps are the old ugly square top ones. Anyone have pictures of 1972 gas pump?

[dan42]

Originally Posted by srea76

My father-in-law has 4-5 restored cars and in his shop he has also restored gas pumps from the era of each car he does. I was curious what the pumps looked like in 1972. I thought it would be cool to find one to go along with my truck in my shop. My guess the 1972 pumps are the old ugly square top ones. Anyone have pictures of 1972 gas pump?

I think you're right - as I remember, they are nothing special. But they are a little different from today.

[Rack Man]

[special-K]

They were very different back then.I don't have any pictures.There was polished stainless,they were steel,the numbers rolled/digital,there was even a reset on the side!.I bet you could google some up.They aren't the super antique-y or nifty fifty type,but certainly have the look of the era.Pretty much like these trucks and cars from the era.The are modern classics.

[srea76]

That looks better than I thought. Thanks Guys!

[70 shorty]

Yeah, didnt an attendant have to come out and reset them after every fill up? Being a 71 model myself, obviously I don't remember gas pumps in 72, but I seem to remember later in the 70's that's what happened when my parents went to get gas.

[srea76]

I'm a 76 model I remember pumping gas in the 80s at a small station in my home town. They were big ugly square tops and before a customer pumped he would wind a knob on the side to reset it to 0 dollars and then flipped the on handle to start pumping.

[Sammy]

These are a few pics I took a while back. I believe the restoration of this gas station to be early 70's.
I talked with the owner extensively who had recently purchased the property. His plan was to make an additional parking lot for his business located accross the street. But was convinced by his 10 year old son that it is a part of history to just have it restored. On occassions he allows a local car club to hold a small cruise on the property. All the signs, pumps, inside the station are period correct and work. Makes a nice back drop for the cruises when it is lit up.

[Keith Seymore]

Those are alot older than early 70's.....

I've got some pics of the "gas lines" during the first gasoline crunch in the mid 70's - I'm sure the pumps can be seen in those pics.

If I come across them I'll post em up here.

K

[Sammy]

Couple more I found.
In those days even the air was free.

[Lippyp]

Remember though, in 72 most gas stations would have had older pumps, I can't imagine gas stations change their pumps any more often than once every ten years or so and back then I'd have thought many rural stations could have been running pumps from the 1950's if not older!

[special-K]

I started driving in '71 and remember a lot of old rounded pumps,but no globes.The new ones were squared with polished trim.They were always painted in the oil company colors.That's the main thing.All gas stations were oil company stations,no independents,and they were all still around.I remember when Esso went to Exxon and Cities Service went to Citgo.They started coming out to reset the pumps after '73 when self-service started.They kept the screw out of the knob and keep it off the pump.Before they figured that out you could run up a half a tank or so,reset to $0.00 and start over.They used to keep oil on racks in the island between the pumps,but people started stealing that once they were getting out to fill up.

[Shyguy]

I don't remember the pumps, but I remember working at a gas station in 1970 when I got out of the military in California. Those were the days of "Full Service" gas stations. I would check the oil, wash the windows and check the tire pressure besides pumping gas.

Those sure were simpler times.

[Gobbles]

Originally Posted by Sammy

In those days even the air was free.

Air is still free here! Its about the only thing left.

[flashed]

I have a restored red Texaco pump similar to the one posted by SAMMY and I think its from the 60's .

[kcsa75]

This is probably closer to an early 70s pump. I worked in a Mobil station when I was in high school during this time. I can't find a photo, but our pumps were round. As far as I know, only Mobil had these pumps.

[68shortstep]

A little off-topic, but not really. A gas station story:

One of my very first part-time jobs off the farm was at a full-service Texaco station. 1963 - 64 I believe. Owner's nickname was "Tex" (wonder why). I don't even remember his last name.

Neat trick that Tex taught us teenage kids to use: After the customer left the drive, you had to quick grab the 5-gallon gas can & run out to the pump & de-pressurize the hose into it, before the next customer arrived. By doing that, with the pump still off, you got a burp of about 1/2 - 2/3 of a quart of gasoline into the can, that had stayed in the hose under pressure, & had really already been paid for by the prior customer. The "next guy" buying at that pump didn't get that little bit of gas with his purchase like they should have.

When the 5-gallon can was full, it was to get dumped into the boss' car. Then it was the next-guy in seniority at the station's turn for his free 5 gallons, and later in the day, my turn for my free gas. Had to be a pretty busy day before the low guy on the totem pole (me) got any freebee for himself. At that time, it was about 15 cents a gallon for regular, as I recall. But it was a big deal at the time.

For years after that when I was buying gas anywhere, I always shut the lever on the gas pump off first, & then depressurized the hose into my car's tank before putting the nozzle back onto the pump.

The new computerized pumps don't seem to do that anymore.

The stupid things you think about as you get older.........

[Sammy]

Those pics were from a rural small town station that was out of business and sold sometime between 69 and 70. It is possible the pumps are left over from the late 60's. The max price per gallon on the pump was .99.
The full service stations that had a mechanic that done the tire changes, grease jobs, tune-ups usually had a black hose which rang the bell inside the service bay.

[kcsa75]

Originally Posted by Sammy

These are a few pics I took a while back. I believe the restoration of this gas station to be early 70's.
I talked with the owner extensively who had recently purchased the property. His plan was to make an additional parking lot for his business located accross the street. But was convinced by his 10 year old son that it is a part of history to just have it restored. On occassions he allows a local car club to hold a small cruise on the property. All the signs, pumps, inside the station are period correct and work. Makes a nice back drop for the cruises when it is lit up.

I think these pumps probably date back to the 40s or 50s. That doesn't mean there weren't a few still in use by the late 60s or even early 70s. I can remember seeing these when I was a small child in the 60s and thinking they were "old fashioned."

Sammy, where is/was this gas station? It looks really familiar.

[GOPAPA]

[QUOTE=68shortstep;4340328]A little off-topic, but not really. A gas station story:

One of my very first part-time jobs off the farm was at a full-service Texaco station. 1963 - 64 I believe. Owner's nickname was "Tex" (wonder why). I don't even remember his last name.

Great Story 68shortstep

Reminds me of a gas station job I had as a kid..
I pumped gas (literly) when I was about 12-13 years old .1956 .the old man who owned the filling station and stores name was Pete Lajesse ,,Mr. Lajesse to me..

I ask how many gallons the person wanted when they drove up to the pump ,and then I pumped up that many gallons into the glass globe on top of the pump.. usually 5-15 gallons ,then I would let it drain into the gas tank of the car or truck through the hose hooked to the pump..

Mr. Lajesse had a stool for me to stand on to make sure I was only pumping gas up to the line on the globe for the amount of gallons .. He said beings I was short ,,that I was not stopping on the line saying how many gallons I pumped up into the glass globe..

I also pumped oil from a square tank into glass bottles ..but,,he wouldn't let me put the oil into the cars or trucks ,never did know why ? I would have to call him out to poor it in.. just a kid maybe ..

Just wanted to say 68shortstep that my BIL owned a gas station and shop in Shirley not far from you about 20 years ago ..

this is a hand pumping gas pump.

[Keith Seymore]

This is the one I was thinking of. The photo is dated June 15, 1979:



I forgot I had the rest of these; can't see the pumps in this next one:



A '55 and a '59 Chevy, so 1959 or later:



1964 Pontiac in the gas station, so late 1963 calendar year or later:



1969-ish Impala at the pumps:



1962 Pontiac on the far right, so '62 or later:



1957 or later - if you look over the top of the car you can see the globes on the gas pumps!

[Keith Seymore]

1965 or later (you can see the pumps right at the rear of the streetcar)



1967 or later:

[Valhalla]

Very cool pics. I remember as a kid seeing my parents and grandparents photo's like that.

[Vintage Windmills]

I picture something like these:

[mrein3]

Originally Posted by Shyguy

I don't remember the pumps, but I remember working at a gas station in 1970 when I got out of the military in California. Those were the days of "Full Service" gas stations. I would check the oil, wash the windows and check the tire pressure besides pumping gas.

Those sure were simpler times.

I still did all that in 1988 and 1989.

Originally Posted by kcsa75

This is probably closer to an early 70s pump. I worked in a Mobil station when I was in high school during this time. I can't find a photo, but our pumps were round. As far as I know, only Mobil had these pumps.

This is more what I was thinking when I think of 1970s pumps.