A couple years back, I was able to buy a VELTEX themed gas pump from my good friend "Swabby" out in Idaho. I've always been a fan of the Veltex company and their advertising items, and this fit in perfectly for me. It was a Tokheim 39 tall with 4 ad glass, in terrific condition with original paint and another bonus--it was an original stationlighter pump!
I love stationlighter pumps and I had thought it would be fairly easy to find a lighter to put on the top! NOT that easy, I found out! I searched and searched, and I found a couple that I could buy if I purchased the complete pump, but they sure weren't in stellar condition by any means. I decided to wait it out and advertise my search here on Old Gas, and to spread the word amongst other gas pump collectors, in the hope that something would eventually turn up? It didn't take long to realize that there were a heck of a lot of other collectors looking for the same item and my chances of success were pretty slim!
I had about given up, and had actually priced the pump a couple of times to individuals that chanced thru my shop. It was something I had kind of given up on and was rapidly coming up on the "sell that thing" list! LOL, THAT'S WHEN IT HAPPENED!
I was looking thru the for sale ads on Old Gas, as I usually do every day, and I'm sure many of the rest of you do too, because I am often late for a really good deal that someone else has just spoken for! I chanced on an ad that Dan McFadden had placed for a couple of really nice Texaco Skychief pump plates! Now, these are a fairly common item, but I have always thought of these as one of the nicest looking and colorful pump plates out there! These are often overlooked because of the vast amount available but the Texaco people did a fantastic job designing this plate and I have always admired them. These two plates of Dans had a special attraction to me, as they were not only in 9+ condition, they were dated 1948, the year I was born. Now, I really didn't need more Skychief plates , as I have a few already, but I decided to contact Dan and make an offer for both of them. Dan was very gracious and accepted my offer and then the conversation turned to other collectibles, as is often the case when collectors get together and talk about items they have seen! The conversation dragged on for some time and we were about to end the phone call when Dan told me that he was going to get busy and get back on Old Gas and list another item. Curious, I asked what the item might be and just about fell out of my chair when Dan told me that it was a Tokheim 39 stationlighter! There was a big pause in the conversation while I got my breath back and I slowly told him about my search and how long it had been. I asked him for pictures and told him that I would take it if it looked the way he had described it. He assured me that it would and the next day I had the pictures as promised. Not only was the lighter itself in great condition, there were several more items included in the package. This was a "complete" stationlighter with an original Tokheim 39 top, the mounting assembly, the electrical piping, the double switch assembly, and even a stationlighter pump tag! Everything needed to convert a regular 39 into a stationlighter pump! Turns out that it had been repainted in the past, but the colors would work out just fine for my pump, so I got back on the phone with Dan and made arrangements to have him ship it and the two Skychief plates to me.
This whole thing was a total surprise to me because of the fact that I had kind of given up on ever finding a stationlighter for my pump, and maybe its just old age getting to me and I don't try as hard anymore? I pondered the whole scenario for some time and wondered why this had happened? Was it FATE, or were the gas pump gods watching over me? I have been very fortunate over the years in my quest for the elusive "RARE GAS PUMPS", and have always resigned to the fact that diligence and fate play a big part in it. Of course, there's that thought about the "Gas Pump Gods" too??? I wonder??? LOL
The first three pictures are of my Veltex pump and the last picture shows the new "Lighter" attachment that I got from Dan! Thank you DAN!!!
Last edited by K W FRITH; Sun Feb 04 2018 11:39 AM.
