Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion most popular brand

just curious as to the most popular oil brand when it comes to restoring pumps.

Probably Texaco. Mobil, Shell, and Sinclair are probably close seconds.

Wes

I HAVE:
3-MOBILGAS (1 IS MARINE)
1-TEXACO
1-LION
1-RICHFIELD
1-GULF
1-PHILLIPS 66
1-CALSO
1-AMOCO
1-SINCLAIR
1-FLYING "A"

EXCEPT FOR THE LION, THESE ARE ALL EAST COAST BRANDS AT ONE TIME.

DOC @ TAG/WEST

A few years ago, it was ANY pump that was painted red [TEXACO, MOBIL etc.]. But now I think it is leaning towards the Black, Green, Orange or Yellow painted brands [Gilmore, Polly, Shell, Gulf etc.].
jm2c
Dick

4 Texaco Two red, two silver. Am giving serious thought to doing apump basd on colors. Polly, Gilmore,other great colors.

someday i will finish my gulf marine... blue and white... m&s80.. plain and simple. red and white pumps are a dime a dozen with polly colors right behind. BUT... do em' anyway you feel... hmmmmmmmmm... kinda partial to the red and cream scheme too... hmmmmm... who did that...

I'm guessing D-X, but I have been wrong before.
Ken

Hey kmann, how about a cream and red Wayne 50A show case with a bearcat globe. One day soon. I think mobil texaco shell but out on the west coast you see alot of polly and richfield. I think it depends on your area. Richard

Customers are ordering pumps both restored & reproduction in Texaco (Star & Firechief) about 4 to 1 to any other brand. Next would be Mobil, then probably Pollygas.

Just depends what you intend to do with the restored pump...If you intend to keep it, paint it whatever color/scheme you like best. If you intend to sell the finished product, TEXACO (painted in Dodge Viper red) is always a good choice. Last year I restored 26 pumps, and have already done 3 this year. My best sellers are Polly (3 color) and Gilmore (4 color)..Another thing about selling restored pumps,,,folks on the left coast really don't want east coast/midwest brands. They want to stick to the west coast brands they are familiar with....Warren

Here is a shot of a pump I did in Marathon with my own color scheme. I wanted a pump with diffeent colors instead of red, and white and blue.

go git' em' gator... i think those colors are class !!!... i got to check some of the pump archives on this site... the one i saw might have been either a gilmore or on the dx as ken said... sorry squick.. i can't pull that pic up here at work.. not your fault... some are blocked out here.... check it out when i git' home..

kmann

Nice resto!
I like those Canadian GB's with the extra crome.
thanks for the peek.
Claes

From reading these posts, guess I am the only guy who has a Sunoco pump. When I first started collection pumps, I always said I was not going to do Texaco - EVERYBODY HAS TEXACO PUMPS ! Then I said - not gonna do a Mobil pump - EVERYBODY HAS A MOBIL PUMP ! I am going to do my tall 39 in Texaco(thinking about red and CREME), and I will probably do a pump up in Mobil as well. I want one of EACH BRAND ! Brady

1Petrofan. I may get flamed for saying this. On the one hand I believe people should be able to paint their pumps whatever they want....but, (you knew that was coming) I am enough of a purist to encourage you to paint it a true Texaco red and not add the other colors. Whenever I see a two toned or a green, even the trim, Texaco gas pump. In the back of my mind I still say, "that's not original" Please take this comment in the spirit for which it is ment. I screwed up on my Texaco pumps and didn't paint the bases black and it still bugs me. Good luck with your project, whatever color(s) it ends up.

Alex, Your opion with respect for the other guy. There is nothing wrong with that. That is what this sight is truley about. Richard

Thanks, Richard. I appreciate the comment. I have always wanted to come out to your area and look for oil and gas items. Nice part of the world.

AMEN Alex! Keep 'em RIGHT! EVERY OTHER antique/collectible hobby rewards authenticity - if ours doesn't now, it surely will down the road, no matter what God-awful color scheme is 'hot' THIS week...

...saw the pics from Barrett-Jackson and the pumps I saw looked right out of a carnival , just needed some clowns in gas station attendant attire to complete the scene... ...I'd just as soon look at authentic rust than 15 metal-flake colors and fantasy decals/signage...

Alex come anytime you want. Richard

I SEE YOUR POINT ALEX BUT I WALK THE FINE LINE HERE. I TOO LIKE TO SEE THINGS THE WAY THEY WERE BUT NOT EVERYBODY THAT SEES THE MONA LISA IS GONNA LIKE IT. KINDA LIKE DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS. I WANT TO DO MY PUMP IN GULF MARINE... IF YOU EVER SAW ONE THAT WAS CONSISTANT WITH MAYBE 4 OR 5 MORE... PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT THE COLORS WERE. SO I GOTTA TRUST MY OWN INSTINCT. YEAH... PUMPS DONE IN METALFLAKE OR PEARL.... WELL... THATS WHAT THE OWNER WANTED. BY THE WAY... IF YOU COME ACCROSS ONE THAT WAS STRIPED BY VON DUTCH LET ME KNOW... I WOULDN'T TOUCH IT.... NO FLAMING HERE BUD JUST MY 2 LOUSY CENTS... HEY... DIDN'T WE JUST WALK DOWN THIS ROAD NOT TOO LONG AGO ??????

It seems like most people who are doing their first pump, whether they restore it or have it restored always seem to go with Texaco whether it be Eythl, Fire Chief etc, etc. I am not sure why other than maybe that is what they see as an iconic symbol, in fact the last 7 or 8 customer restos that we have done have been red and white with some type of Texaco brand, its kind of a joke between Seth and I as I am more adventuresome and like to get a little wilder. Most people could care less that they were originally 1 color, they want the "BLING!" they saw one somewhere and they want one like that. I keep a running tally and of the nearly 200 pumps we have done in the last few years I think almost 100 of them have been a Texaco product, from there it is maybe no more that 6 or 8 of any other one brand except maybe Mobil. I myself love the limited run 15" globes and decals so that I can let'r rip in the design.

i see that zach.. any take on a gulf marine ????.. color combination ????... not the gulf diesel.. i got one here beggin' to get done... wish i was closer to you guys... seen the work and i really want this one DONE...

I agree with Gulfiend in that some folks are getting a little psychadelic in their restorations in an effort to just be different. I think they look like Bass Boats, all metal-flaked & candy, yuck!!! I for one, enjoy a solid colored visible with the hardware & casting finishes making up for the lack of color. Zach & I did a cast-base 10 gallon Mae West for a customer in D.C., and we did it solid gulf blue with a nickle-plated regulator handle, cylinder rods, & conduit. We then did a mirrored stainless decal for the long access door (Guaranteed Liquid Measure)and Zach air-brushed the embossed lettering on the access doors in gulf orange. We threw on a gulf orange globe body & pump handle. All in all, it was probably the most visually-pleasing pump that I've seen us do. Again, I love seeing metal compositions/plating/polishing used as the second color. Someday, I want to do a pump solid black with brass hardware & castings!

Kmann, what type of pump is it that you have in mind doing in Gulf Marine, then what specific pump plate are you basing your colors off of, then globe or no globe, if you can email me some specifics I will tell you how I would do it then you can take or leave it or just laugh, and NO when I said I like to do things a little wilder I mean wilder not clownish or cartoonish. In fact I am just finishing a Erie clockface for the auction that I did as close to original as possible, it was the one that we have used in our catalog to show what parts we sell.

The Erie clockface Zach is referring to was pulled straight out of a bulk plant and was yellow skins, red top/mid-section/base with the outline of a shell decal. Zach is putting it back as close to right as he can.

no zach... i won't laugh...

kmann...so you want to restore a pump as Gulf Marine...

First off, I'm assuming you have a trapezoid-shape Gulf Marine pump plate, as this is the only Gulf pump plate that says only "Gulf Marine". This sign supposedly was used 1963-1971, but I believe the sign was actually used 1967-1973 or so, based on my research. Prior to "Gulf Marine", Gulf sold "Gulf Marine White" and "Gulf Super Marine"...I believe "Gulf Marine White" was replaced by "Gulf Marine" - hence my later timeframe...I don't have any literature that shows all three brands marketed simultaneously...

...Now, in the late '60's, Gulf was pretty particular about pump/brand imaging...usually (if not always) if one of these signs was found on a pump, the pump in question was a short chrome-top G.O.C. spec pump (made by Wayne, Bennett, Southwest, et cetera) - basically the same silhouette but with little variations, primarily nozzle fork, on/off switch...from 50 feet they look the same...

...OK, assuming you want the pump to look like it did back in the day, the pump would be solid white with a blue base...I have a photocopy of Gulf pump specs from the late '60's...maybe I can find it and post it for you...

...Now, if you have a DIFFERENT sign than the one mentioned above, you need to forget about restoring that pump and sell me the sign!!

[This message has been edited by gulfiend! (edited 02-01-2006).]

[This message has been edited by gulfiend! (edited 02-01-2006).]

ummmmmmmmm... yup... different signs... man ... i thank you for the info but they are the real deal 10.5 round gulf marine white gasoline signs. i just want to get them on a pump that i been meaning to get done for a long time now. per se i am not a pump collector. prefer to take my frustration out on signs and cans. but i am on this "outboard" kick... so... just want to get "r" done. again.. thank you for the info..

kmann

...W-O-W - I've only been able to score one of those signs, myself...got a matching globe too - but it is a single lens! So, I guess when I do a pump it will look awesome from the front!

...well, if I can't talk you out of the signs, I might as well give you the specs for a 1950-1956 Gulf Marine White pump...

..firstly: your sign would have been replaced around 1956 by the rectangular "Gulf Marine White" sign...so you gotta small window there...but, to be correct, at the VERY least your pump needs to be pre-1956...

...now the specs: everything I have with that pump sign has the pump painted the same as the Good Gulf - namely, solid orange pump, blue base...the orange should be a little lighter than the one listed in all of the paint codes, and the blue should be much darker, like the blue on your sign...

...Oh, yeah - NO "Contains LEAD" signs - Gulf Marine White gas had no lead added, and wouldn't have used the signs...

...that's it - not too fancy, but sharp just the same...I'll post a scan tomorrow of a picture from my reference materials...hope that helps...

...and I'd love to buy those signs if you ever get tired of them!

thank you !!!... it seemed that ANY color was schlapped on these pumps. the colors you stated look like they might have been put on a gulf dieselect pump which i also have the original 10.5 plates for and also a marine fuel... might have to take some liberty for the gulf marine signs... i promise it won't be gaudy.. lol.. thanks for steppin' up...
kmann

...damn, so that's where all of those signs went - you've got them all! Need a PAIR of those!

...Dieselect I'm not too sure on...while I believe they were - for the most part - the same as the Marine White pumps, I actually have two photos that show a different Dieselect pump...it looks like (1) top half dark blue (2) bottom half white, (3) with an orange 1" stripe at the color split...now it's a black/white photo, but that's what I'm getting from it...I'll see can I find that photo as well (might be a little tough)...

...I'd like to see some pics!!

...and someone out there PLEASE find me a nice, clean pair of round Dieselect signs...and a globe, too...geez...!

don't want to hog this tread... i'll email you...

kmann

I am a Texaco collector, but you Gulf guys have my curiosity now. Hope you guys get to post some pics. And I would like to see that pump. Post some pics as you are going through the process. Traditional or not, I would like to see it.

alex... i sent gulfiend some pics... he is welcomed to post em' here if he wants.. quite frankly.. i don't know how... posted some pics in the past so i hope you guys don't mind repetition. just want to get the damn pump done..

kmann

Alex - I am not quite as sensitive as others might be - I appreciate your post on keeping the Texaco colors pure. I am always open to suggestions, and the more I dive into this hobby, the more I appreciate it. I was just looking over a tall 39 on Feebay done up in Texaco red - looks pretty good, but it has the Petrox plates on it. I did a 6' Erie in Sinclair HC with green sides and red doors - LOOKS AWFUL IMHO, you think I'd learn. I hate it so much, I haven't finished putting it back together. I am still having a great time playing with these pumps and being active on this site. LONG LIVE THIS SITE ! Brady

I too, looked at those pumps at Barrett-Jackson and thought that they were well suited to the type of person that would shell out $125,000 for a "recreation" hemi GTX.

Vern