I wish to share this Martin & Schwartz experience, one I’m sure many have gone through. I first saw this pump on a farm north of Lexington Kentucky. The skins were on one side of the trailer, the frame and bonnet (what was left of it) were on the other; buried behind about six other pumps. What attracted me to this M&S were the narrow, square body and the face plate. I passed on it that day, but I kept thinking about, especially the M&S plate on the front. I researched it but could not find a model number. I could not even find any type of M&S Visible that resembled this pump. It didn’t take long to realize that I would have to fabricate most parts. Finally, after about six months, I decided to drive the three plus hours to buy this pump. When we started to pull it out, we discovered it didn’t have a base and the bottom of the frame had rusted out. Also, the bonnet had numerous cracks. I thought long and hard about buying this due to parts not being available and the overall condition of the pump. I decided what the heck, buy it.
I started calling friends looking for parts. I posted on this site asking if anyone recognized this pump. I knew Phil McCauley had a square, St Louis visible that resembled this M&S and went to look at his to get an idea of what type base I needed. I found this same St Louis base at Tom Buckles. While at Tom’s, I also picked up a handle to which I have no idea of where it came from and a nozzle. Unfortunately, the base was much bigger than the M&S and had to be cut down. I shortened the height and had a piece of quarter inch, flat steel cut to fit the inside and then had it welded in. This allowed a flat surface to weld the frame onto the base.
I took the pump completely apart and sand blasted the base, frame, bonnet and skins.
The next adventure was the frame. My good friend, Ernie Martin cut the rusted pipes off and welded on new ones. Fortunately, there were a few places on the bottom of the skins left to give us an idea on the correct height of the frame. We screwed couplers on the bottoms of the pipes so we could adjust the height in case our measurements were off.
Fixing the skins was the biggest challenge of this pump. I went to several places asking if they could make patch panels for the bottom. I didn’t want a bondo or puddy bottom. All stated they couldn’t replicate the tight bend for the corners. Finally, a place in Elizabethtown Kentucky took on the job and made a perfect set. Ernie cut the rusted pieces off, and welded on the patch panels. He did an excellent job.
I had all the cracks on the bonnet (which is a Rush) fixed. I have no idea of how a Rush bonnet ended up on this pump. A respected member on Old Gas suggested that during the 30’s and 40’s, many people used whatever they could find to keep their pumps working. We had to modify the bonnet to get the electrical conduit to fit. We had to cut the handle down as it was way too long. The business that fixed all the cast iron cracks and holes cut the handle down by about 13”. We made a short piece to resemble locking the handle down. That is why the Texaco decal is towards the bottom and not centered on the pump. I special ordered an 8 inch decal from Jim at T-Ways; the front was too narrow for the standard size. He also made the “GASOLINE” decal.
Once all the welding and fabrication were complete, we put it together. To our surprise, it all fit. Ernie did all the body work, and painted it – base coat/clear coat.
This is rather lengthy, but I wanted to share this experience. Don’t think I’ll ever buy a pump knowing that I cannot find the major components. I had serious doubts about this wondering what was I thinking when I bought this. But having said that, I would gladly do it all over again now that I know how it turned out. I would appreciate it if anyone can further help me identify this pump. I had more pictures of the renovation, but couldn't put them all on here.
