Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Showcase and Stories, Petroliana A Couple Road Trip Pictures

Not nearly as good as most of these posts nice stuff and awesome finds. I have a few pics. Mostly I find things in antique stores and meet people that way and get leads and phone numbers. Have also met people on this site.
My first pump Hudson, Wy
McCord muffler Bonners fairy, ID
Lee tires with order card Tea, SD

Some more wish I had taken more pictures the day of since I travel so much. The Phillips was in storage unit in South Dakota. The neon 66 I bought on Facebook drove to Wisconsin to pick up. 42 hrs in 2.5 days. The American was my very first sign. Found it a couple of weeks after I moved to Utah.

Ok Kim, I am going to give this story a shot. It is hard for me to compare my stories to yours. You are a great original picker. Anyway, my wife I was driving down the interstate or some huge highway going around NYC pulling my junky trailer. I was constantly about to have a wreck or run off the road looking for leads. LOL. Anyway this dealership was visible from the elevated major highway and I saw these signs. It was an operating dealership in White Plains, NY. So I jump off at the next exit and wound around trying to navigate back where I was to find the dealership from "ground" level. I find the dealership and walk in asking to speak to the owner. Guy says "who are you". I said I want to talk to him about the signs which he did. Great old man. He asked which ones and I said all of them. He said that he would sell me the big letters because GMC no longer made coaches. I paid him that day and grabbed a couple of socket wrenches, grabbed a ladder from his service mgr, got on the roof and had no idea how "BIG" they were or how I would get them down. My wife and I lowered them down with a rope using the frame as leverage because of the weight (picture below). I asked about the others and He said the GM might be making him replace them in the next few years, but to stay in touch; and that he would call me if anything happened. I was thinking to myself "good luck". One thing about junking in New England is business owners are rich guys and a few thousand dollars doesn't do much sometimes. So I kept in touch with him for several years and one day the phone rang. Yep, he said "do you still want these old signs". I said "yes sir, when do you need me there". He said his sign guy would take them down and put them on my truck. 2 months later in the spring I was there with his sign guy who took all the signs down on the ground. I had to load them with my wife because the union workers would not help. Anyway, this was a great ending and I never got the window neons because I could not make the timing work and the owner was finished. The dealership is no longer there and the property was redeveloped. I had to strip the ugly maroon layers of paint off each letter; all the cans were rusted out, and I hand made the new metal cans for each letter in my garage, mounted the neon and restored them all. I think the "M" on GMC was 12 ft. wide. I have a couple of more stories worth sharing, but no pictures except maybe here in my house. There were not really any picture phones back then and I didn't take pictures when I found something. Enjoy!

Wow talk about ambitious. You've got some cujones, hopping on a high roof and lowering a sign including its 12 ft wide letter. And the best part your wife helped...willingly.! Amazing. Great signs.

I had to work on this guy for a couple of years to finally get all these Union signs . He is a great guy and we became friends .

I found this in Biggs Ca.about 30 years ago,it was on the side of a rice granary or elevator,actually 1/2 of a sign.It was fastened with spikes,tough time getting them out on an extension ladder.

36"

You guys might get sick of me but here's some more pictures . I got these 4 Texaco poles with two of them having the signs in them out on a farm in Wellington Utah . I also got some other things and I almost didn't take these ,at that time they really weren't worth much then and they are such a pain to move around ..

I have to say that I am enjoying this thread a great deal. Thanks to everyone for sharing their trips down memory lane with the rest of us.

Regarding the “Theatre” seats , Kim …

I met a San Franciscan collector via “Craigslist” that has a lot of San Francisco related stuff. He knew a collector that was able to pick stuff from the FOX THEATRE demolition in San Francisco back in early 60s.

What a shame City of San Francisco got rid of a piece of history.

At any rate, Jim was able to get a seat from the fella but the seat got damaged while stored in storage (mice go to it & damaged the fabric). Jim saved the ends.

On my visit to his house to get an oil painting, I saw the seat ends & asked about them Jim told me all the story about the theatre (he used to go there with his parents for shows)

Jim offered to sell them to me. I could not refuse. All original paint …

I do not have any hunting stories because I am more a shopper than hunter. I have got some stuff on leads but do not count them because I did not find them. Here is the haul from one of the leads.

A friend of mine got a find on his property. He was working in an area where there was an abandoned well and found a Flying A sign covering the opening.

Funny how the big old signs and poles were so worthless not that long ago Peter! I walked away from 4 near mint complete Texacos also about 25 yrs ago myself! all stacked up real nice and he told me to take the pile for $700. I considered it but he was about 200 miles from home and no way i was going to drag a trailer back and get them! Needless to say a few years later they were gone! Lol

This is a great thread. Really enjoying the pictures and stories. Keep em coming!

Ok here is another road trip to Price Utah area . I had no clue what the sign was under the paint and the owner didn't know either . I made a deal to buy it went and rented some scaffold and managed to get it down , he wanted me to take the pole to but to my regret now I said no thanks . I new it wasn't a Utoco or American because the size was different and there was a few places where you could see green porcelain . Anyways got it home and there you have it . That guy holding up the sign is a much younger version of Me .