Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Petroliana Value Questions Value Please on 2 Rush Pumps

Attached are photos of 2 Rush Model H pumps with modifications. Tinted glass tanks are intact. Forgive my use of incorrect nomenclature. I noticed the following items that have been modified: Handles are not Rush handles, on/off handles have been sawed off, one pump has been converted to wet hose by removing the valves inside tank, locking hardware missing beneath the packing nut on one pump, bonnet swivel seems to be missing 1/2 on 1 pump, pump handle lock gizmos appear to be hand made, 1 set of gallon markers missing. What value would you place on these pumps?

I know the cylinders are worth $1,200 for the pair.

These look like fairly nice pumps but as you have listed they have a lot of problems. Most of the parts that are missing are not reproduced and are very hard to find. You could use what you have to have replacements re-casted. If you look close at the clearance between the casting and the glass cylinder you will notice it is very tight. This make removing the cylinder very very hard to do without breaking the glass. Looks like one cylinder has been replaced, so it should come out without any problem. I have never seen a locking device on the opposite side where the pump shaft comes out to the handle, like I see on the red and blue pump. I think someone haded that to the pump. A lot of collectors like the Rush stove pipe so that's in your favor. Now that they are not in original condition I would restore them if they were mine. Without seeing them in person, I'm going to figure one good cylinder and two pumps with missing parts at $2,500 to $2,800. One with fewer missing parts is worth more than the other.

Thank you for the pricing info. If anyone knows Rush visibles, it would be you! To be clear about your pricing, less than $3,000 for the pair?

The red cap on the side has "L-C Fill Cap Co., Jacksonville, TX. I am guessing someone rigged up the pump so the could fill the underground storage tank (UST) through the fill port in the side of the pump and not through the fill port in the top of the UST. I guess the lid under the cap is a way to vent the UST. Outer cap was probably not air tight.