Old gas stations

[Frunobulax]

View attachment 151322
Oh if I could just have one sip!

Looks like the perfect place to sit out front of, nurse an ice cold Coke, and spend the night swapping lies with the locals.

Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[2jakes]

Looks like the perfect place to sit out front of, nurse an ice cold Coke, and spend the night swapping lies with the locals.

Sent directly from my mind to yours.

You expressed it perfectly!

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Various.

Rob

 

[2jakes]

Rob,

That's the grill for my 1939 Ford panel

(this is not my truck but used for demo &
mine does not smoke!)

 

[LizzieMaine]

Various.

Rob

"Metro" was Socony-Vacuum's brand of what used to be called "fighting gas" -- a sub-regular grade used as a price leader in "gas wars." Most of the major companies had similar brands -- Texaco had "Indian Gas," Shell had "Green Streak," and so forth, and these were the brands you'd end up getting for 10 cents a gallon when the price wars broke out. They were given no advertising support at all from the Boys, and the consumer was expected to believe that they were lesser-quality than the regular or premium grades -- but Consumers Union tested several such brands in the late thirties, and found that they were generally as good as the regular grades, absent the lead content.

 

[2jakes]

Gas station/mechanic told me if I wanted
"real gasoline" for my 1946 GM truck,
I had to go to the airport where they had
the gasoline.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Depends on the kind of engine, and what's been done to it. A 1930s-40s engine was made to run on 70-octane gas, so even the lowest grade you get at the convenience store today is basically "hi-test" as far as your engine is concerned. I have to advance the spark on my Plodge to the maximum to get it to run right on this type of fuel. The 93+ octane stuff is for high-compression 1950s-onward cars only.

The real issue is the alcohol found in modern gasoline. It's a problem if you have natural rubber parts in your fuel pump, your carburetor, and your fuel-line hoses, but if you replace these parts with modern neoprene when you have them rebuilt, the alcohol has no impact at all, and you can burn whatever fuel you can get around the neighborhood.

Pre-1950 engines don't need lead additives or any of that other voodoo stuff -- especially not Mopar engines, which came from the factory with hardened valve seats, and will run forever without lead.

 

[David Conwill]

Consumers Union tested several such brands in the late thirties, and found that they were generally as good as the regular grades, absent the lead content.

Is there a resource, someplace, to view old Consumers Union Reports? And perhaps the earlier Consumers' Research Bulletin? Those would be outstanding resources.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I don't believe there is -- I have a pretty good collection of them, including the first issue from 1936, up thru about 1941, that I've picked up on eBay over the years. They are absolutely invaluable for those of us who scavenge our appliances, etc. from the leavings of the Era. Even buying "vintage" you can still get stuck with a lemon if you don't know what you're doing.

Their auto listings were very very detailed, and were a major part of the reason why I decided to go with a Chrysler product when I bought an old car. The Plymouths and Dodges were always near the top of their price class in terms of quality ratings for any given year.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

What year is your Plodge, Lizzie?

I'm partial to picking up a '29 through '31 Dodge Brothers sedan, or '30-'31 Buick Series 50 in my older years, after I retire.

Rob

 

[LizzieMaine]

1941 Dodge D-20, Canadian built. It's basically a Plymouth P-11 with a Dodge nose, and a DeSoto engine. Canadian Chrysler used these hodgepodgedodge models as an entry-level low-price product for the Dodge line. A very good car for the money, both then and now.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Wow, that's a beaut! Is that the original paint?

Rob

 

[LizzieMaine]

I think it was probably repainted in the '80s when a lot of putty was added to the rocker panels and lower fenders -- it came from Nova Scotia, where the winters are even worse than here. But it's the original color, Chrysler's "Regal Maroon."

There's a lot of surface paint scratches on the passenger side where my rosebush always scrapes against it when I'm backing out of the driveway.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Patina like that only adds to it's charm...I can tell it's well-loved.

Maybe you can give an opinion: If your Plodge is a daily driver, do you find it needs more maintenance than a modern car, or does it hold it's own (as far as reliability)?

My wife and I discuss this now and again; she prefers the psychological assurance of driving a new vehicle, while I contend an older vehicle...if properly maintained... can be just as dependable. Maybe not as comfortable or with as many amenities, but reliable, nevertheless.

If I didn't have to drive around 300 miles a week to work, I'd much prefer one of my older vehicles as daily transportation; however, it's hard to argue with the reality of the 35 mpg that my little KIA Sportage affords me weekly.

Rob

 

[LizzieMaine]

When I first got it, there were bugs that needed to sorted out -- it had sat for about five years, and cars don't like that. But as long as I keep up on the oil changes and the greasing, and check the plugs and the points once in a while, I don't find it's any more difficult to deal with than my Subaru. I think the last thing I had that had to be dealt with was a leaky seal in the rear axle, which took a mechanic a couple hours to sort out. I ended up also replacing the rusty vent cap on the axle housing to keep the pressure from building up.

I drive the Plodge daily from late March to late November/early December without major problems. I actually prefer it to the Subaru because I don't like how modern cars are so low to the ground that it's difficult for me to get out of it with any kind of dignity.

 

[2jakes]

I think it was probably repainted in the '80s when a lot of putty was added to the rocker panels and lower fenders -- it came from Nova Scotia, where the winters are even worse than here. But it's the original color, Chrysler's "Regal Maroon."

There's a lot of surface paint scratches on the passenger side where my rosebush always scrapes against it when I'm backing out of the driveway.

Lizzie, do live near the ocean?
What do you apply on the Plodge surface
to keep the salty air from rusting your car?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I can see the ocean from my house, or at least the DuPont factory that dumps its sluice in the ocean.

Plain old Simoniz goes on the surface in the summer, and I don't drive it at all in the winter. It stays in the garage full of mothballs to keep the mice away.

 

[2jakes]

I can see the ocean from my house, or at least the DuPont factory that dumps its sluice in the ocean.

Plain old Simoniz goes on the surface in the summer, and I don't drive it at all in the winter. It stays in the garage full of mothballs to keep the mice away.

I keep my '39 on stands to keep the
tires from getting flat.
I add moth balls around the stands.
This way I won't get that smell on
my panel.

 

[David Conwill]

I keep my '39 on stands to keep the
tires from getting flat.
I add moth balls around the stands.
This way I won't get that smell on
my panel.

Until recently, I thought keeping a car on stands in the winter months was pretty noncontroversial, but one of our readers recently wrote in about a friend who lost his car to a garage fire because it couldn't be rolled out quickly. I might be more inclined to just deal with flat spots in the spring.

 

[2jakes]

Until recently, I thought keeping a car on stands in the winter months was pretty noncontroversial, but one of our readers recently wrote in about a friend who lost his car to a garage fire because it couldn't be rolled out quickly. I might be more inclined to just deal with flat spots in the spring.

That's true, and anything can happen.
But I still will keep my car on stands.