About 3 weeks back, a gentleman posted a question about value on Old Gas, and he posed the question about what he called a Wayne 800. The picture showed the pump in its resting place of many years, and it was sitting on a metal junk pile!
I posted that even a Wayne 800 as a pile of junk would still be worth 5K. I had the presense of mind to send him a PM informing him that if he was searching value for the purpose of selling it, I would be interested! It didn't take long before I had a reply and of course a further question about how much I would offer? It was easy to explain about the distance I was from the pump and how difficult to make an offer on something so valuable, yet impossible to accurately examine! He offered to send more pictures, and once I received the pictures, I was able to give him a price range that I would be willing to deal within, but my final offer would have to come with me standing there by the pump.
The price range was satisfactory(several thousand dollars) and I was invited to make the trip and possibly buy the pump! I didn't like the idea of driving 925 miles to POSSIBLY buy a pump, so I asked if it would be satisfactory to have a friend that I trusted come over and do the dealing for me, and he would bring cash! This was no problem for him and yet it relieved me of a tedious journey if we weren't able to come to terms, or if there was hidden damage that would cancel my interest in the pump!
John Kramer and I have been doing pump pickups and pump transport for each other for quite some time, so it was only natural that I call him and ask for his assistance, since he was only 70 miles from the pump. John even went so far as to cancel his morning deer hunting plans in order to help me with this little deal! Now you KNOW a person is dedicated when he gives up a deer hunt for a pump trip! LOL
I already knew that the pump was a possible partial 805 half, but I needed confirmation and I needed competent examination of the pump in order to determine just what I would pay for the pump! Of course, I had complete faith in John and knew I could rely on him to act in my best interests!
John arrived at 9 AM the next morning and made a thorough examination of the pump and called me with the details. I gave him a modified price range to work in and told him to get it as cheap as he could. It just so happened he was up against a pretty tough cookie, and he would sell the pump, but he was bumping up against the upper reaches of my limit! I finally got the call that a deal had been reached, and the pump was loaded into Johns truck, ready to be transported home. I reminded John that the seller had a friend with a couple pumps for sale, and he needed to examine that avenue too. He responded that they were already on the way to the friends house, and he would phone me later with the results.
When John called a little later, I almost fell out of my chair when he sent me pictures of what he had been able to purchase! He sent pictures of a beautiful Wayne 60 showcase pump that was straight, with no issues, and in its original paint! AND in addition he sent pictures of a 5 foot hanging Marathon sign that was in a 9 condition! John explained that the Wayne 60 was a no brainer for him, but he really wasn't a sign guy, but just had to have it when he saw the Marathon. He even priced it to a guy the next day, but when the man didn't respond right away, and he got the sign all cleaned up, he decided to keep it and made plans for a pole to hang the thing from! It was a pretty exciting day for John and just as exciting for me!
Next up was arranging my schedule for the 925 mile trip to pick up the new pump! I was able to go the next weekend and left on a Friday evening and arrived at Johns place by 6 pm the next evening. We examined the pump and removed the base to leave with John, as he has a pattern maker that lives not far from him, The pump was a real half of an 805, but the base had been cut in half at some time and would need to be recast in order to return the pump to its original state!
We talked about the journey John had made and the good fortune that had fallen on both of us when John was so close as to be able to complete the deal, and so fortunate to find the showcase pump and Marathon sign kind of attached to the same deal!
This is the kind of adventure that drives me to seek the next rare find and the kind of thing that John and I will talk about and remember for the rest of our lives! What a blessing it is to have found friends like John, and to be able to share adventures such as this, only because of some old discarded gas pump!
