Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion New Member- Just acquired a Tokheim Model 870 A

Earl Scheib was in the business of painting cars.
Gas Pumps were made to pump gas & station operators didn't spend all day painting a pump. Most hired a local kid or had Their own kid for MAYBE $.50-$1 a day to paint w/ a 3" Brush!


YES, IF you were a Die Hard Earl Scheib COLLECTOR! LOL

Matt, WHEN did you start collecting Clock Face Pumps?

I'm a new collector and new to pumps as well. First off, it is your pump and you can restore it or not to your desire. That being said, your pump as-is looks great, even with the paint over paint and decals flashing underneath. All you would need to do is clean it up and wire it for lights. Bam! One cool looking pump, country style.

But, it sounds like you're already in the process. It'll look great when complete. If you're looking for parts, just place a posting in the Want to Buy forum for what parts you are looking for. There are also many resources under the Parts tab of the home page. Also, in the For Sale forum, you might find another member selling the parts you need.

Also, you can try attending a Gas Bash or swap meet. I see you're in Nor Cal. There's Fred Stoke's Gas Bash in Santa Rosa on September 21 and 22. This is the first time I'm attending but I understand that this would be a great place to look and learn. Asking questions there and on Oldgas is usually not a problem. These guys are very knowledgable and willing to give out their advice. You're probably discovering that now. Anyways, you're in the right place.

Maybe consider picking up some books on gas pumps. PCM's Guide to Restoration and Jack Sim's Pump Identification Guide are the first that come to mind.

Good luck with your pump and be sure to post progress pictures. I'd love to see how it all comes out.

Ron

db, I did not start collecting clocks. I have two and had three others. I like 870-As and nice as is unrestored pumps. That is why I would not mind having this pump, thats all.

Matt.. I have a 870 just like that with a signal badge in orange with original paint.. 2000 ??? Tom

Clinton your sooo full of *****! All you want is original pumps! Your just telling him that cause it's to far from home for you to save it !

BTW. I love restoring my pumps but I would leave that one alone.

You told me $3K, Tom!

But Dad !!!

Ron- Thanks for your informative post. I will heed your advise and pick up those books. I will try to make it to the show in Santa Rosa. Regarding sending pictures: I'm a bit spooked at this point. People might start throwing tomatoes and booing me!

I'm used to people giving me a bad time because I like to leave things original and they insist that they should be restored. It's weird being on the opposite end!

drdcon.... Is this the color green that was painted over and maybe the yellow was kind of a cream color?
It looks like they painted the cream and green over red and then I'm guessing the next color would have been red as I have found a few pumps like that too.
I know of a Wayne 60 and 40-A that are painted all red just like yours with the same 3 decals and they are original.
Yours sure looks original to me and at least on the computer screen it looks good enough to leave as it, but you are the one who has to be happy with it.
I really appreciate your sharing the before picture.
Have fun with it whichever way you decide to go and welcome to the site.

The problem here is that I see a lot of guys telling you to leave it alone and a few aluding to restoring it. What they are ignoring is the satisfaction of restoring something.

I have been finding and restoring items since the late 1950s, I have restored many gas pumps, but I don't care what they look like when I started, it's what did they look like when I was finished?
If you leave the pump as it is, I will guarantee you that the first guy you show it to will ask you, "Are you going to restore it?"
To me restoring an item is preserving a piece of the past, if you leave it as it is, you are just storing an item, and hoping whoever finds it doesn't scrap it out.

My greatest satisfacation is being able to say "See what I just restored."

Jack Sim

Sometimes "Restored"="Destroyed"

more than sometimes.....:(

Hey men, it's not the Mona Lisa it's a gas pump. Strip that ugly beast and put some nice paint on it. I used to be in the gasoline business and the reason they brush painted them in my area was because the station owner owned them and was too cheap to do them right or they were taken out of service and sent out to a farm etc. Back in those days money was also a lot more harder to acquire and fancy paint on a gas pump was unheard of. I remember my dad going to Gambles Hardware store and buying a qt. of black auto paint and a brush. The old 50 Hudson went from faded blue to black in a hour, the old days and old ways.Not that way today!

That pump is way too cool as is. I love the decals. I vote to leave it as is if it is not too late!!

In my opinion, you definitely have one of the best looking clock-face pumps that I have seen. A very desirable one. A lot of them are just plain-jane and some even ugly. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Enjoy your pump anyway you want to. Cheers, Don.