Maybe just me, but after watching the wanted section and trying to find parts for years, have come to the conclusion the guys with the old pumps and parts are either just not here anymore or dying out.
Watching some of this and then finding that it is easier just to ask Scobie for a part to have remade or whatever. Ron will not be here forever, but hope he will. Newer pumps seem to be able to find parts, but older ones just go begging. No more fast answers from the guys here because either their numbers are going down quick or there is just a lack of knowledge. Restoration either full blown or just to make it look original is just about finding all the parts. Are the older pumps just in that many collections and the guys just not going on here or the other side to answer?
Need to have a ability to get some motivation by the more knowledgeable collectors again somehow.
We all can't travel across the USA to go to a swap meet in center of the country. Maybe someone can suggest another venue for finding parts.

As time goes on and more pumps get restored, Less parts become available. THAT is GREAT for the hobby as it keeps your rare item rare.
To me that is what true collecting is about, SEARCHING for that elusive rare part.
There is nothing missing or out of the ordinary here IMO
We all seen what the INFLUX of reproductions have done.

Good points, just seems the ability of collectors to help has greatly diminished over the last 3-4 years.

Craig-maybe your questions are getting harder. lol

There are less of the early members that come to the site. It seems like if you need something it is like the old days, you have to call people or go through social media, which could lead to leads to call or email other people. Also not everyone looks at the want ads. One time I posted a part want with no luck and then contacted Tom Buckles who sells parts and he had what I needed. He is a member here and did not see my ad. Some times it takes more than posting a want ad.

I reached out to Tom Buckles 2 weeks ago; then last week, no response. Anyone know about Tom?

If you called him on his cell, then it is odd that he did not respond? Emailing him sometimes doesn't work? His cell is 765-571-0586. Paul www.severngaspumps.com

I don't do a lot of really old and rare pumps but still have a tough time finding some things for even the popular models sometimes. On here, sometimes you get an immediate response and other times nothing, but that's kinda how it's always been since I've been here the last five years or so. Let's face it though, the pumps and parts are getting more scarce every day and some just don't part with things as easy as they used to. It seems that the big change of late is the responses to questions on a certain pump or part but that's largely due to losing Dick. He was a constant every day here and would always shoot his opinion right back to you. The rest of us check the site when we can but sometimes not every day and a question or post can move down the list pretty fast in those forums and get lost if you don't read back a page or two. As for Tom, he's pretty busy but will usually always answer an email, even if it's not right away. You can always send it again, sometimes the email gets missed or deleted by accident. Just my two cents worth.....GB.

Ron isn't allowed to ever retire!

Hey, I'm out here!

Please let me explain why I may be hard to get sometimes. I still work a full time job with the US Postal Service, I supervise the main Indy vehicle maintenance facility, 20 + Techs and over 1000 vehicles. By the time I get home, there just is not enough hours in the day to answer emails and return phone calls and then pull and ship parts. I do not advertise but word of mouth has me shipping pumps and parts literally all over the world. I know exactly why Ron Scobie has to pull the plug sometimes just to get caught up.

Now with all those excuses out of the way...LOL....There is light at the end of the tunnel, I am retiring from the Postal Service Jan. 3 216!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will be doing this full time and loving it and I will be able to help a lot more people out. There is not much I don't have for the more common pumps, for those of you that have stopped in, you can understand the scope of my inventory. And Jim has made a web site for me that I can put to good use. It's just in the early stages, I am looking forward to doing more with it. www.gaspumps.us

Even when I can devote more time to this I encourage the patronage to all the others that help support and supply this hobby, it takes the entire community to make this world go around.

Best wishes, Tom

PS......Paul, my cell is 765.571.0568

Tom, congrats on your upcoming retirement!

Good to hear Tom, lets round up some more of your early guys with the knowledge.
Thanks again for the parts

Congrats on the retirement soon! Yeah!

Tom, I knew that.... I just hit your number in my cell and it never fails. Getting old makes the mind invert numbers at times, LOL. Paul www.severngaspumps.com