Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion To gut or not to gut gas pumps? That is the quest

In the past I have gutted every pump that came into my possession. I just found this real clean G@B 914 twin which I posted in the showcase section and many people say to leave it original and not gut it including some close friends. It is SO heavy. I gut them for that fact and that they will never be used as a real pump again. I have never heard someone say I will pass on that pump because the guts were gone. It also comes down to safety, who wants that thing to tip onto you or wrench your back when moving it around. Anyway I was going to get started on that today, sat down and had second thoughts. The inside looks like new. I am sure it just comes down to personal choice, I don't see how it would increase/decrease the value later on. What do you think? Thanks, Todd.

Leave it alone.
When they're gone,they're gone and no one is reproducing pump guts today.
I'll personally drive farther & pay more for a pump with it's guts intact,and have for my Sunoco Wayne 511 Blenders.





..and I like my oil cans with all the oil left in them too.

Leave it

As a newbie here. I would say gut it BUT keep the parts in a corner of the garage. When I got my 36b the guy asked if I wanted the pump which was in another corner. If I want I can put the pump back in one day.

I can't think of another item that gets "restored" by throwing half of it away. personally I would leave it.

There have been threads in the past about this. Most pump guys do not want the guts but some do. I always tell myself that I want to leave the guts in an earlier or rare pump but always end up guting them. They are just too heavy with them and you have a double. If I owned it I would gut it. Another reason I like the guts out is I use the ones that open easily to store things including spare parts. I do have two that I never got around to gutting. One is a 36B clockface that still runs and has good suction but will end up getting gutted unless I sell it before I get to it.

I'm thinking that if the pump is taken out then what you have left is called a "cabinet". It's anybody's choice if they want to be a pump collector or a cabinet collector.

A big reason to take the guts out is because it's EASY.... anybody can do it and the guys who have no talent for restoration can feel like they did a part of it by removing everything possible.

Nobody ever argues about taking the guts out of a visible pump because they are needed to hang the handle on and maintain the low center of gravity. But there goes the argument of how smelly it is and the potential for leaks. If they were truly worried about the problems associated with leaving the pump in then a bracket could be made to support the pump handle and some weights could be added to the inside base of the pump.
Go to any farm auction and you can usually find header weights that could be used to that end.

Here's my Tokheim 36 just as I got it with no clean-up whatsoever......... I don't see how anybody could justify gutting it. Like dodogas used to say on here while he was still posting........ "it's only original once".

Well Todd. You could just sell that pump to me and then you wouldn't have to toil over this decision!
I say remove the pump and motor carefully (no...not carefully with a saws-all!) and hang onto them.
Post the picture of the guts in that pump.

Here is my 36B-DP. It is not as nice and clean as huskybob`s. It rattles when running because the motor pully is worn out. This pump was in use at a station until 1968 and then stored indoors sense.

RE-Lidding EMPTY CANS

That's not a good example DB,as you replace lid with a new one once the original is removed.

No one is replacing the pump guts with new ones,once they're removed.

SO, IF your a Sniper/Hunter & have mounted heads, your a Fur Collector because you threw the Guts Out [saved the Globe & Junked the Body]!

Pumps are getting more scarce. Pumps with guts are even more rare. I prefer keeping them as original as possible. People scrap the guts to make $10 at the scrap dealer, I would rather pay $50 more for an all-original pump with the guts. Just my opinion of course.

Personally I like the guts in all my pumps. I have 13 gas pumps and every single one has the guts intact. My opinion is that it truly is not a complete pump without the guts. Just my opinion on this issue..

I've bought a lot of pumps and have never once checked to see if the guts were in it or not. Makes no difference to me in value.

I have sold a lot of restored and unrestored pumps and not once has a pump failed to sell or fail to yield my asking price because it had been gutted. Again, makes no difference to me in value.

in my opinion, the argument about future values is without base and validity. Ever notice what a restored Model A or T is worth compared to a street rod? Has nothing to do with originality but rather what people want and like.