Gasoline in the 30's and 40's

[sidevalve8ba]

Early 70's in East Tennessee there was a gas war and a certain Amoco station had regular at 19.9 a gallon and hi-test was 21.9. Shaefer beer was 95 cents a six pack at Drug Fair. My how times have changed.

[tubman]

Originally Posted by sidevalve8ba

Early 70's in East Tennessee there was a gas war and a certain Amoco station had regular at 19.9 a gallon and hi-test was 21.9. Shaefer beer was 95 cents a six pack at Drug Fair. My how times have changed.

Are you sure about that date? I remember the early seventies being the time of the oil embargo and lines at the gas pumps. It is etched in my mind, as I was the proud owner of a brand spankin' new '73 Rivera "Boattail", much to the derision of my best buddy, who had purchased a new Vega at the same time. Three years later, I was the one who was laughing when the aluminum engine in his nearly new Vega took a dump.

I would have purchased a couple of those six packs.

[sidevalve8ba]

Positive. I'd just graduated from college. 1971. Just think, a buck would buy 5 gallons of gas.

[v8fordman]

Originally Posted by DavidG

As Alan notes, 25 cents for a gallon of regular is the lowest that I can remember in the midst of a gas war. That was in the late 1970s and only briefly.


And then there is the brilliance of Jimmy Carter's freezing of gasoline prices.

I remember the 25 cent gas in the 70’s. I worked in our family business and my dad paid me a penny a gallon to pump the gas and a nickel if I put a quart of oil in. Everyone got their oil checked and their windshield cleaned if they wanted it. Imagine telling having to pump a 100 gallons of gas to make a dollar. I hated seeing a Volkswagen Beetle show up.

[Gene1949]

Originally Posted by ford38v8

That’s just not true. My most major commodity is my wife of 61 years and counting, and I can tell you right now that she’s not relatively cheap.

My wife of 56 years used to be a cheap date. Now probibly the most expensive commodity on the place

[ford38v8]

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Originally Posted by Gene1949

My wife of 56 years used to be a cheap date. Now probibly the most expensive commodity on the place

I lied. We have not been married 61 years, it’s only been 58 years but feels much longer than that.

[Als48]

I remember when my folks ran a country store which sold Gulf oil products around 1957. The common gas purchase for teenagers was "a dollar's worth", which would buy about 4 gallons of gas, if I remember correctly.

Al Hook

[ford38v8]

What is eye opening and very sad today is going to a gas station and looking at the previous transaction amount in the pump as some very small fixed amount like $10.00.

[tubman]

Originally Posted by ford38v8

What is eye opening and very sad today is going to a gas station and looking at the previous transaction amount in the pump as some very small fixed amount like $10.00.

Look on the bright side. It may have been someone out for a ride on their motorcycle.

[highbeams]

- worked at an eight-pump gas station in high school 1963-'65.
Regular typically .28 cents. Ethyl typically .32 cents.
one diesel pump, one marine gas pump for cars trailering boats jammed in as well.

(busy place, cars coming in at both directions. (full service)

[mrtexas]

Gasoline in the 30s was very low octane, lead added a significant amount 8-10 numbers. Gasoline was mostly distilled from crude straight run gasoline and naphtha with octane in the 70s. That is why Model A and early v8 motors were such low compression ratios. Thermal cracking existed and Houdry fixed bed crackers made some gasoline out of heavier stuff. Most of the modern refinery processes to raise octane were developed in the 40s/50s like alkylation, residual coking, hydrocracking, platinum reforming, and catalytic cracking. Alkylation developed around 1940 made very high octane as it produces iso-octane(100 octane) and lead added made fighter plane aviation fuel. Today gasoline produced is up to 50% of crude oil distilled for high conversion refineries.

[ford38v8]

How many remember the Standard Oil Training Stations? There were typically 8 trainees on duty at all times, all with freshly pressed white uniform, garrison cap, and blue bow tie. Several trainees would enthusiastically converge on every incoming car to deliver full service, including tire inflation, every window washed, etc. They would get brownie points for sales beyond gas, so they learned all the salesmanship tricks for oil, belts, tires, wiper blades.
Trainees being more prone to human error, they one time forgot to torque my Mother's lug nuts after a tire sale, resulting in an expensive teaching aid for the daily training classes.

[ford38v8]

Originally Posted by mrtexas

Gasoline in the 30s was very low octane, lead added a significant amount 8-10 numbers. Gasoline was mostly distilled from crude straight run gasoline and naphtha with octane in the 70s. That is why Model A and early v8 motors were such low compression ratios. Thermal cracking existed and Houdry fixed bed crackers made some gasoline out of heavier stuff. Most of the modern refinery processes to raise octane were developed in the 40s/50s like alkylation, residual coking, hydrocracking, platinum reforming, and catalytic cracking. Alkylation developed around 1940 made very high octane as it produces iso-octane(100 octane) and lead added made fighter plane aviation fuel. Today gasoline produced is up to 50% of crude oil distilled for high conversion refineries.

Very informative, thank you. May I add, before all that, gasoline was an unwanted byproduct from the production of kerosene.

[Steve51]

Factoring in inflation many commodities cost somewhat the same as they did 20,30, or 40 years ago. $3.50 gas now is similar to .30 cents in 1972 factored for inflation.

[Karl]

Originally Posted by 1952henry

Lead was introduced in the 20s as a way of increasing octane, which allowed higher compression. This gave better performance and efficiency. The higher the octane, the slower the burn.

Yep and Henry ford didn't like it -He was making his own unleaded gas at the time