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01-04-2013, 08:06 PM | #1 |
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Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
Remember when stations offered REAL SERVICE. I like the one station offering "Corn Gas" and can only guess why the idea didn't last long.
http://hipspics.freewebspace.com/gas/gas.html |
01-04-2013, 08:23 PM | #2 |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
How are the cars taken up and down. Was this one day parking are long trm storage? Paul
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http://MODELABASICS.com/ How Things Work on a Model "A" Ford Fordbarners, Feel free to use the pictures on my site to answer questions and create tutorials/tech articles. |
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01-04-2013, 08:33 PM | #3 |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
This is my favorite... not on that link though.
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1929 Model A Barn find. California car, just a few more parts to find. Interior, steering box (rebuild), and I am sure much more! |
01-04-2013, 10:04 PM | #4 |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
Even though those above photos depict more modern facilities, before cars, there were many vintage multi-story horse & buggy garages in larger cities.
One would enter the garage, get out of one's buggy, & an attendant would lead one's horse to a D/C electrically operated elevator with pull rope up & down operation & proceed to the stories above. If one wanted, one could buy additional services included horse watering, feeding, brushing, changing shoes; buggy wheel greasing, buggy cleaning, harness repair; etc., etc. Expensive buggies were made by Fischer, Frazier, & similar manufacturers who later made car bodies. In about 1905, some enclosed buggies such as "Kozy Cab" with front windshield, upholstered seats, & (2) glazed sliding doors on buggy sides cost about $3,000.00 or so. When motorized vehicles later came out, they used the same D/C operated elevators to stack vehicles. |
01-05-2013, 03:19 AM | #5 |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
Not an old pictures but when I was working at a Texaco in the mid 90's. They let me work on good cars after I was done with new cars.......notice the prices. I didn't start taking pictures for a few years, so I only have a few before it closed down.
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01-05-2013, 08:08 AM | #6 |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
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I could fill up my brand new 1959 Cushman Super Eagle gas tank (2 gallons) for 50 cents and ride for a week. The hard part of that job was trying to find where the gas filler was on each car - some behind the left taillight lens, some hidden elsewhere - I think it was just before most cars had the spring-loaded rear license plate that flipped out to reveal the hidden gas cap.
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Fred Carlton Life Member AACA 44 year member MAFCA Editor of The Restorer magazine, official publication of MAFCA 12 years Life Member Dallas Model A Ford Club (44 years) 23 year member & founder Lone Star Model A Ford Club Chairman 35th Model A Ford Texas Tour 1998 (state convention) Chairman 42nd Model A Ford Texas Tour 2005 (state convention) Charter Member Ford Model AA Truck Club If you aren't driving your antique car frequently, you might as well be collecting clocks!!! Last edited by lookin-backtexas; 01-05-2013 at 08:14 AM. |
01-05-2013, 09:43 AM | #7 |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
The elevated parking was usually for the day or shorter times, not really long term. I can remember many like that in NYC and others where you drove into a garage like entrance and then cars parked "up stairs" by an attendant. Remember space in large cities very expensive.
When I pumped gas in the 60's, every car had the oil, water and batt ck'd, sometimes tire pressures, and the w/shield washed. All this at 5 gals for a dollar. Made one dollar an hour. Paul in CT |
01-05-2013, 10:45 AM | #8 |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
I worked in a full service station in the 80's for a high school job. My uncle owned it. It had full service or self service. But if you were standing around you gave the self service cars the same full service experience. Check oil, transmission, clean all windows, fill windshield washer tank, pump gas.
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01-05-2013, 12:57 PM | #9 |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
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01-05-2013, 01:28 PM | #10 |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
Here's how it worked these "old timers" were pretty ingenious.
Only problem was elevator breakdowns and waiting your turn for so long with your fingers crossed that the elevator didn't break.
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01-05-2013, 08:00 PM | #11 | |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
Quote:
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01-05-2013, 08:49 PM | #12 |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
Ditto, and we also checked the power steering and brake fluid. For $1 or less gas we had to wash the front and rear windows. For any purchase over $1 we had to wash all the windows. I can still remember the first convertible rear PLSTIC window that I started to wash, and the owner told me not to do that because it can scratch the window.
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01-05-2013, 09:05 PM | #13 | |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
Quote:
Fred
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Fred Carlton Life Member AACA 44 year member MAFCA Editor of The Restorer magazine, official publication of MAFCA 12 years Life Member Dallas Model A Ford Club (44 years) 23 year member & founder Lone Star Model A Ford Club Chairman 35th Model A Ford Texas Tour 1998 (state convention) Chairman 42nd Model A Ford Texas Tour 2005 (state convention) Charter Member Ford Model AA Truck Club If you aren't driving your antique car frequently, you might as well be collecting clocks!!! |
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01-05-2013, 11:00 PM | #14 |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
A family friend once told me that it apparently was common for service stations to 'check' belts and hoses and miraculously find a 'cut' in a hose. Good thing he caught it at that station. Can anyone confirm this?
Mike
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01-06-2013, 12:12 PM | #15 | |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
Quote:
I'm sure it happened in places. During the 50's I worked in at least 3 different places where it didn't happen and never heard of a local place that helped create failures. All were on US 12 with heavy tourist traffic so the opportunity existed. Most of our replacement business income was tires, exhaust systems, and tune ups. |
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01-06-2013, 12:22 PM | #16 |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
I worked in several full service stations in the early to mid 70's, the best job's of my life. Guys came and hung out setting on benches and eating hot dogs sold out of an electric skillet. when I worked the weekend night shift all of our friends would come in and shoot the bull while riding around on the circute. Some may not like this but back then at Christmas eve the station owners set out a huge spread in the bays with food and a lot of booze, every one went around from station to station sampeling the refreshments. This is one recent institution that we will never get back, it's a shame, thats where we learned about cars, girls and life.
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01-06-2013, 01:07 PM | #17 |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
In my opinion, this would still be a very unique, profitable, viable car service option today in upward income communities:
In the late 1940's through the 1970's I knew of two (2) extremely reputable service station owners that had mostly widows for repeat customers in their thriving car service businesses, which was a sideline to normal service station activities. Two (2) employees would go to a customer's house, pick up her car, bring it to the service station, and fill it with fuel; check and/or change oil & filter; check, balance & rotate tires, plus fix air leaks & provide new tires when needed; check lubrication; check and/or flush or winterize radiators; wash & wax cars & clean interiors; provide tune-ups & air filters; etc., etc. They maintained log books for recording routine maintenance & would call customers to remind them when their cars services needed. Word got out quickly among these widows not only that their cars lasted far longer; but, that they were never stranded on the highway with busted heater hoses, broken fan belts, dead batteries, etc., etc., & that every time they turned the switch, the car started. |
01-06-2013, 01:19 PM | #18 |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
I remember when I was a teen in the 60s and going to Fla. on a trip from Cleveland with my buddies and my dad warning me to be careful at the stations on the interstates checking your oil and rubbing it off the stick before showing it to you. He called it short sticking. Then they would take an empty can from the oil display rack by the pumps and pretend to add a quart or two. They would just put the spout in the empty can and you couldn't tell if they added some or not.
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01-06-2013, 01:41 PM | #19 | |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
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01-06-2013, 08:28 PM | #20 | |
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Re: Gas Stations that offered SERVICE
Quote:
I still remember I stopped at the local Taco Bell, and got food during cruise night. I am getting in my Jeep and an officer pulled behind me blocking me in saying he was going to cite me for cruising and some other stuff. I held up my bag and said "I'm a customer and just came out of the restaurant." He berated me some more and I told him to move his damn car so I could leave if that is what he was telling me to do. I am still surprised I didn't get cited or arrested once I got an attitude. It was only a few years later that it got shut down completely with the same martial law mentality.
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1929 Model A Barn find. California car, just a few more parts to find. Interior, steering box (rebuild), and I am sure much more! |
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