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

To those who really value that pump mechanism, might I suggest paying 25% MORE for a fully intact pump. Make it a reason to keep it there for the aggravation of keeping a dead weight in a pump.

If you do gut them you can always find another use for the motors. Find a old plow disc, a 3 to 4' piece of pipe, make a mounting plate, 4 bolts and 4 nylocks and walla! A guy could literally make 3 in an afternoon, sell them to your buddies for $100 each and then buy another resto pump . Just an idea.

Not restored leave them, restored gut. Inside displayed(home) gut restored or un restored.

I guess there is a way to hook them up and pump something other them gas through them to remove all left over gas in pump? I have often wondered about this option.

Gut them all. Let God sort them out ! Dave

For sale..... Rare bowser 310 motor,complete,not sure if works,weighs about 1/2 a ton! Make a great buffer...10,000 or best offer! You pay shipping!
Call Mike or Frank @ Parson 6902. .

Thanks for all the opinions. I think it still just comes down to personal preference. Since it will not be moved for awhile maybe I will just think on it for now. Todd.

Here is a pic of the inside. Almost factory fresh. My dad just bought the mate to mine from the same guy. Both came from the same station.

I have waited as 21 of you expressed opinions. I have my opinions but of the above ones Dave Gill has expressed the best one.

Now, let's decide you decided to keep the guts and your goal is to return the pump to as close as you can to what it looked like when it left the factory.

Now, take another look at the pic above and tell us you are going to remove all that, drain all the old gas out of it (remember you have two meters, each containing about a gallon each of some of the worst smelling gasoline) and restore every part(and remember how it all went back together) back to what it looked like when it left the factory.

If you decide to sell a pump that is not gutted and the purchaser is someone who just wants a nice looking pump to put in his man cave. Since both of the meters have a gallon of, well you know what, in them and someone turns the pulley slightly, and....

We all give references to why we should leave the guts in a gas pump, how about selling a WWII bomb that was still set to explode? Would you buy one. Gas pumps have become display pieces, not something that might be used someday, city, state and federal laws have just about told us they will never be used again.

Jack Sim

I know my opinion matters very little, but I would never take the "heart" out of a pump. Hey could you still call it a gas pump, with no pump? As far as the old gas in it. what is the big deal? not too hard to run some hot soapy water thru it.No more gas smell. Jack, would you take the guts out of your AIR METERS? You would just have a cute little empty shell.

RD, you fail to see the reality, Jack's air meters can actually be useful without breaking one's back trying to move them.

I've had many friends and family out in my shop, not once has anyone asked me if the guts were still in my pumps.

I've bought and sold many pumps, not once has there ever been a discussion if the guts were still in them.

Bottom line, it really doesn't matter either way.

If it makes you feel more like a purist then leave them in as you slap on reproduction glass, reproduction replacement parts, and shiny non original paint.

LOL

...I'm not too worried about those 'purchasers'...they're riding a fad, and aren't in it for the long haul - so their opinions about what should be preserved and what shouldn't be, are insignificant...


...your opinion doesn't necessarily equate to the 'bottom line'...

champlinman
Great pic.
No molesting has taken place on the plumbing and still holding their original blue paint coat.
Beautiful..

The excuse that "a bad back over time" is the result of pump still holding it's guts,seems to be the common denominator with a some,especially those whose intent is to find,flip & take them from show to show to show..unless your Dave Gill,who has OCD.
If that is the case,might I suggest a simple exercise routine beforehand as well as a dolly,or maybe a trip to a chiropractor?
I'd hate to see rows of original gutless gas pumps in a museum 50 years from now,each with their bottom panels removed showing an empty void with a sign explaining "owner said he had a bad back".

DB
You can't compare this to taxidermy,as that's a dead animals flesh & organs that will not withstand the test of time unless a beating heart still persists.




Jack,I did just that with 3 separate Wayne 511 gas blender pumps within a few hours for each.One of them I show above.
I just took digital photos of everything beforehand for easy reassembly,but it really wasn't necessary.
Then sprayed WD-40 on any stubborn bolts.
Drained less then a gallon of gas out of the bellows & pipes.
Rinsed out the bellows & pipes with water.
Let air dry a few hours,then reassembled.I didn't "restore" or repaint a thing.Just hand wiped everything down & installed letting the factory finish show.
As Johnny Bench would say,"No runs,no drips,no errors."




I've seen a few war collectors who still have active hand grenades & land mines in their collections and still have all their digits to prove it.
I've yet to hear of any past or current news reports of an unmolested gas pump exploding due to holding active gasoline today.

I've been here for a few years now and can recall this topic coming up quite a few times. I find it interesting that this time there are a lot of people getting all hot and bothered about it. It used to be that most replies were to gut gut gut and gut some more. The tide seems to be changing. The comments that it's not a pump, all you have is a cabinet is a bit over the top though. If you want to keep the guts so be it, don't try and make me feel like I did something wrong by gutting mine. I'm in it for the long haul and don't feel bad at all for gutting my pumps. Nobody that ogled any of mine ever asked to see inside or to pump any gas.