Hi,
Question. Do you think gas pumps are or are considered more valuable or less valuable with their internals still intact?
Or maybe it does not even matter? It does add a lot of weight thats for sure. Curious on any opinions.
Welcome to Old-Gas.
this discussion has been going on since Gas Pumps became collectable and the answer always seems to be...do what you want with the inners as some like them complete and others think it's lighter and cleaner without them. The only ones I have left the inners in are the survivor pumps that are still intact to the point that, if needed they could pump gas again.
Prior conversations of the same:
http://www.oldgas.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=320010&page=all
Hi,
Question. Do you think gas pumps are or are considered more valuable or less valuable with their internals still intact?
Or maybe it does not even matter? It does add a lot of weight thats for sure. Curious on any opinions.
like Mike said... age old question. just like the full vs empty oil can question.
short answer is... it doesnt matter, do what you prefer. it will not affect value. sure, some will not want it gutted, but others wont want it with guts.
Thank you both for your responses. Much appreciated. Makes sense.
I would disagree that it doesn't matter anymore. with the interest in survivor pumps recently there are some who will only buy them if still intact and will pay a premium. It sure does seem to me that in the near future the intact pumps are going to be "The Ones" most sought.
I'll always pay more if it still has it's guts intact.
I prefer to buy my visibles with all the guts simply because they are mechanical. I would not buy them otherwise. Electric pumps are different. I prefer to have the electric motor removed because it is simply useless unless you plan to use it. Also reduces the weight significantly. I don't think the price is affected with gutted electric pumps but it is with visibles. It's just my opinion.
Very interesting thoughts.
I gut all the pumps I take to shows. Less weight, less smell. I leave them unrestored. the buyer can restore anyway they want. Easer to move, so you scratch it a little , big deal. I collect pumps and I gut them for the same reasons. The curb pumps and visibles you keep intact. The guts hold them together. IF I had a real odd ball pump I would keep it intact.
I know we all have our opinions about this,but I would rather see this..
Then this..
That's easy! Sell them with the guts intact and the new owners can make their own decision!
I have been collecting pumps for over 40 years and have had 100 + over the years . I used to restore them and sell them . It was the thing to do then. I wish I had kept some of those survivor pumps. My wife is a professional photographer and watercolor artist and always told me to wait until she had captured all the colors that only time and mother nature can provide. I am now down to 7 pumps and all except one have the original colors and patina. 5 have the guts intact and people always want to look inside and seem to like the complete ones better and now I have the appreciation for the engineering involved in these and always look for a complete one . I will never restore a nice patina pump or gut one but then again I don't have to move them around and none are in the house
Very cool to hear all your thoughts on these. I think my guy liked that his pumps have the guts. He has had these for 30 years or so. So none are perfect but they still look good. He's still keeping a few as well. He's always kept his indoors except years ago when he would bring them to shows.
What type of pumps do you have? Visibles, electric ??
I've gone full circle on this topic. When I first started I wanted to gut every pump I bought and do them up with repop plates and globes and throw two different colors of paint on them. A few years later, it could kick myself for taking a couple pumps and removing the aged patina to do it up to make it look like new. I've said it before, my friends do not understand how I can not do up my more recent finds like I did up my earlier pumps, but I couldn't be happier leaving them like I find them, guts and all. Brady
Well im not an expert on these but I believe they are all electric. None have any large areas where you can see the gas being pumped. the 1930 has the clock face for the gallons. Several others range from 1950 to 1960.
I like the comment "if needed they could all pump gas again." About once a month I get a email asking me if I know where they can get gaskets for their old pumps.
Inside the pump and the meter is about one gallon of the worse smelling old gas. Sell this pump to someone, he puts it in his family room, somebody decided to turn the pulley and out comes the gas. That is why I never sold a pump with the guts still in them.
Jack Sim
IMHO guts in electric pumps will always be worthless, never had a soul in over 20 years of collecting ever want to look inside of one. Like everyone said, do what you want. I personally will never pay more for a pump with guts. I'll still gut every one I get. It's the first thing I do when they are unloaded at shop. The beauty to me will always be the external cabinet. To each his own I guess, just have fun!
One reason I gut my pumps is I have limited space so I use the pumps with swing open or lift off doors as storage.
Guts are a great hidden theft deterrent as well.All mine have shown me that.
Makes them very heavy with the guts indeed.
I let the pump tell me what should be done. There is point that the condition dictates what should be done. The ones that are badly in disrepair deserve to have a second life so I restore them. I have pumps restored but most are as they were found. Those are just cleaned up and allowed to be as is. When I do restore them I usually gut them because they end up in our great room which makes it some what easier to handle.
But it is what you want, pretty simple.
I appreciate all the comments and a bit surprised it is more of a hot topic than i expected.
Its been asked so many times. My opinion is I leave the guts in all pumps period.
All I can say is I have never been inspired to buy a pump because of what was inside. But as of lately I haven't gutted any, can't say why I just haven't....
And once their gone,they're gone.
If only new gas pumps looked as good, had as much detail as the old pumps. Wonder if anyone would ever collect a more recent pump. I know I probably would not.
If you're selling them, leave the guts. They're only good for scrap and the work and mess involved to remove them is not worth your time and effort.
If you're selling them, leave the guts. They're only good for scrap and the work and mess involved to remove them is not worth your time and effort.
I wouldn't dare say that. I cashed a $3k check after hauling several loads of pump guts and motors one Friday!
Wow thats a nice check for the internal "scraps"
I'll pay more for one that's already gutted. my opinion is nobody will open the pump or pump gas with it again. So you run a bigger risk damaging the important gas pump parts and your back when moving them with guts (yes even with the dollies and equipment which makes moving them so easy). Again, just my opinion. Its not like an old car where someone will drive it again and it important to have an engine under the hood.
Again appreciate all the comments and feedback. As of now it appears the guts are staying as that is what the owner/collector of these pumps that I am marketing for him wants. All good conversation though!
Who do I contact here to list the pumps I am selling on the forum? Maybe someone here may be interested in them?
Thanks, Tom