Old gas stations

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oh no -- a non-regulation Sky Chief pump!! That ought to be painted silver, not red. The Authenticity Police will be writing up that station for sure.

 

[Benzadmiral]

View attachment 110909
Question for the Chevy experts. Did the '58 Chevy not sell well? There were and still are quite a few '59 models around here, but I can't think of a single '58 left.

The '58 was, I think, considered a "softer" car, softer-riding perhaps, than the '57. Though that could have been well after the fact, as car fans got all excited about the mechanical fuel injection available on the '57. My father had one of the Impalas that year: red below, white top, and lots of chrome. He had to have an air conditioner added to it. I never got to drive it, so I have no idea how soft or high-powered it was.

I'd think a pristine '58 Impala would be worth something, as it was the first year for that model.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Rob

The top pic with the snow: Love the Stratoliner Dad appears to be wearing.

The second pic has a very "New Orleans in the 1950s" vibe to it -- a French Quarter or Treme street, weathered houses with shutters, etc. Might also be a Caribbean island with a significant French-speaking population; cf. "Jean Luciani."

 

[EngProf]

The '58 was, I think, considered a "softer" car, softer-riding perhaps, than the '57. Though that could have been well after the fact, as car fans got all excited about the mechanical fuel injection available on the '57. My father had one of the Impalas that year: red below, white top, and lots of chrome. He had to have an air conditioner added to it. I never got to drive it, so I have no idea how soft or high-powered it was.

I'd think a pristine '58 Impala would be worth something, as it was the first year for that model.

There were several strikes against the Chevy 1958's from the word "go". It was the first year of having what Chevy historians call the "X" frame, instead of a conventional ladder frame. Among other things this required the use of a two-piece driveshaft - not something people (especially people who wanted to modify it or race it) were used to. Also, getting the exhaust pipes where they needed to go was awkward. They were less stiff in the roll axis so they rode differently. (It took ~6 years for GM to recover the cost of the tooling for those, but they finally went back to the "normal" ladder frames in 1965.)

It was also the first year for the 348 engine - effectively a big and heavy truck engine - which didn't respond like the smaller 1957 283 and was never popular.

Appearance-wise, the rounded fenders (front and rear) made this year less attractive to a lot of people compared to the 1957's. I think the designers realized that and went on to the *spectacular* 1959 rear fenders to make up for it. Around our neighborhood the only 1958 Chevy I can remember was owned by our preacher, which says something about the customer base for '58's.

 

[1mach1]

There were several strikes against the Chevy 1958's from the word "go". It was the first year of having what Chevy historians call the "X" frame, instead of a conventional ladder frame. Among other things this required the use of a two-piece driveshaft - not something people (especially people who wanted to modify it or race it) were used to. Also, getting the exhaust pipes where they needed to go was awkward. They were less stiff in the roll axis so they rode differently. (It took ~6 years for GM to recover the cost of the tooling for those, but they finally went back to the "normal" ladder frames in 1965.)

It was also the first year for the 348 engine - effectively a big and heavy truck engine - which didn't respond like the smaller 1957 283 and was never popular.

Appearance-wise, the rounded fenders (front and rear) made this year less attractive to a lot of people compared to the 1957's. I think the designers realized that and went on to the *spectacular* 1959 rear fenders to make up for it. Around our neighborhood the only 1958 Chevy I can remember was owned by our preacher, which says something about the customer base for '58's.

Said 58 Chevy at gas station

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[1955mercury]

This 1958 Impala sold at auction in Georgia yesterday for $34k.

 

[1mach1]

This 1958 Impala sold at auction in Georgia yesterday for $34k.

View attachment 111681

Honestly, that's a damn nice looking car. The 58s were looked over for years, but I have always had a soft spot for them. Especially the 58 Buicks.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T377A using Tapatalk

 

[Ghostsoldier]

We had a '58 Buick when I was about 6 years old...I loved riding in that big, green monster. [emoji106]

Rob

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Noir.

Rob

 

[3fingers]

Said 58 Chevy at gas station

Look familiar? I hadn't noticed how much alike they were until I saw this picture on another site.

 

[David Conwill]

Appearance-wise, the rounded fenders (front and rear) made this year less attractive to a lot of people compared to the 1957's. I think the designers realized that and went on to the *spectacular* 1959 rear fenders to make up for it. Around our neighborhood the only 1958 Chevy I can remember was owned by our preacher, which says something about the customer base for '58's.

There was speculation (albeit pretty well reasoned) years ago in The Rodder's Journal that the 1959 redesign was the result of something like an internal coup at GM design. The thinking is that sometime in the summer of 1956, after the 1958 models had been finalized, some younger designers saw the "Suddenly it's 1960" Forward Look Mopars and realized that Harley Earl's longer/lower/wider paradigm no longer was going to rule. They and Bill Mitchell then managed to take the 1959's in a completely different design direction.

Like I said, just speculation, but convincing speculation.

 

[David Conwill]

Avert your eyes, Dino fans, this 1939 Sinclair station on Shorpy doesn't have the popular brontosaurus mascot yet!

 

[2jakes]

View attachment 111958

Avert your eyes, Dino fans, this 1939 Sinclair station on Shorpy doesn't have the popular brontosaurus mascot yet!

Before "Dino" roamed the earth!

 

[2jakes]

Warehouse find:

Found a box of empty oil cans in small town old building.

Upon close inspection, I noticed the location.
On the “search engine” I found this:

“Chester Slimp was the owner/operator of Slimp Oil Co.
It was a local small scale oil refining operation. It has been inoperative since 1948."
Building still exists in San Antonio.

 

[Benzadmiral]

This 1958 Impala sold at auction in Georgia yesterday for $34k.

View attachment 111681

That's the model my father had, except his had no fender skirts, and was red with a white top. Though I don't recall the wheels being wire-style, or chromed.

Ron Howard's character drives a white or baby-blue Impala, I think, in American Graffiti. The film is set in '62, so a '58 would have been only 4-5 years old at that point.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob

 

[Fading Fast]

Now those are windows.

 

[2jakes]

Now those are windows.

There’s something about the brick wall building.
Looks like there were windows at one time but were covered.
Also, the small building to the right looks odd somehow.
I can see a car coming in from the left side towards the gas pumps.
But from the right side that small building is at an angle which is
hard to maneuver.
Also note the lack of signs which is rare for the times.

Unless that’s Zazu Pitts driving the car...
"Oh dear...oh my!"


Fading Fast...shall I fire up the Lizzie-Signal ?

 

[2jakes]

William Russell putting the four gallon monthly ration of petrol into a customer's car, Drouin, Victoria. Label: "Home town Australia. Drouin's biggest service station (there are two) is owned by a company consisting of 80 year old William D. Russell and his family. Mr Russell is putting the four gallon monthly ration of gas onto a customers car. Normally he employs 16 ... Sign is for the benefit of United States servicemen using the Princes Highway ...": photo by Jim Fitzpatrick.