Gasoline in the 30's and 40's

[cadillac512]

A pic posted on the HAMB a couple days ago.

[tubman]

"73 Octane"? Can you even run a camp stove on that stuff?

[deuce_roadster]

I thought leaded gas came in the 50s with higher compression overhead engines.

[Kurt in NJ]

in a 1933 tube up book they list different timing settings for regular and ethel for the model B 4 cylinder.

[rotorwrench]

The tetraethyl lead was one thing but the gasoline formula was also different at the time. The catalytic reforming process wasn't developed and put into use before 1949. This allowed the lower grade naphtha to be changed to a higher grade.

The old tractors were still running on Kerosene back in the 20s & 30s. Poor folks used wood gas in some cases.

[Model51]

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I think the license plate on the left of the picture has a 1940 date. If so, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator, that 15.4 cent gas is the equivalent of $3.48 today.

[ford38v8]

The cheapest I remember was 23¢ a gallon during a gas war.
I don't remember any regular lower than 85 octane.
I do remember white gas, but forgot what it was used for.

[5851a]

I can remember 26 during gas wars. I wasn't driving then. White gas used for Coleman lanterns and stoves at the time. Granma's cabin used Coleman lantern for lighting and a Serval propane fridge.

[tubman]

Camp stoves.

[ford38v8]

Anyone remember canned heat? I've used it on camping trips. I think it's still available.

[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.

[ford38v8]

David, the gas wars I spoke of were in the late 50’s, when stations on opposing corners of intersections would compete for customers. One would drop his price lower than the other only to find he had to lower it again sometimes in the same day to stay competitive.

[fordor41]

In my town gas was .15/gal in 1959. we used to buy .50 worth of gas and drive around most of the night

[Karl]

Originally Posted by Model51

I think the license plate on the left of the picture has a 1940 date. If so, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator, that 15.4 cent gas is the equivalent of $3.48 today.

I read somewhere that if you take any major commodity and compare its relative price with 50 years ago it is cheaper (relatively) now to what it was then.

[ford38v8]

Originally Posted by Karl

I read somewhere that if you take any major commodity and compare its relative price with 50 years ago it is cheaper (relatively) now to what it was then.

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.

[tubman]

In the early sixties where I lived, $5 was good for an evening's entertainment. Gas was $23.9 a gallon, so 2 bucks got you all you needed. Hauenstein or Cold Spring was $.25 a bottle at the muni. At the end of the evening, we got the "45 cents for a three course meal, at McDonalds!". (A burger fries, and a shake even.) I was making about three and a half bucks an hour at the local Red Owl supermarket (union job) and living at home, so life was good.

[DavidG]

Alan,


Same as in the '50s only twenty years later when the competition once again went bonkers.

[ford38v8]

When I was a kid, the soda shop on the Avenue had 4 large (to me) fishbowls on the counter containing penny candies. He sold new comics for a dime, paid 3¢ for used comics and resold them for a nickel. I'd go collect bottles at the rear of the grocery next door to pay for a comic and a cone with two scoops and sprinkles for a nickel each. Just the other day, the local ice cream parlor changed their payment policy to plastic only.

[rotorwrench]

After that recent Crowdstrike update glich, it might not be a real good idea to go full on plastic. My wife and I went to a local restaurant last weekend and it was cash only. I still carry the stuff just for such emergencies as power failures and the like. Some of the young people these days can't do math without a calculator so power outages can shut a business down.

[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.