Old gas stations

[3fingers]

Priscilla's social expectations nor her only-in-the-shadows libido desires.

I'm sure everybody at the club has long suspected Priscilla is a freak if you could ever melt the ice.

 

[Fading Fast]

Perhaps owning a Studebaker does imply a bit of masochism.

I'm also strangely drawn to the attendant there in the back ground, gazing inscrutably from beneath his menacing John L. Lewis eyebrows at the unfolding scene. What does he know -- and how does he know it?

He could be her Howard Roark, life is very interesting.

 

[EngProf]

I think that's a late-50s Studebaker Hawk, which the Boys had positioned to be the South Bend equivalent of the Ford Thunderbird -- a bourgie pseudo-sports car for the type of driver who didn't dare to go full-walrus with the whole sports car thing, but wanted to seem sportier than he actually was. This particular guy is probably less the Bold Innovator On His Way To The Top than he is Chip, the ineffectual middle son of the company founder who's just washed out of Brown, to come home to a mid-level managerial job in procurement. He hasn't got a chance with Priscilla Climthorpe du Sang-Bleu there, but he doesn't have the self-awareness to realize it.

That said, I remain baffled by that belt thing worn with the jack boots. I've never seen an outfit like that before, and if it isn't some kind of sporting gear the only other thing I can think of is that he's inviting Priscilla home to see his collection of whips, crops, and quirts. Ah, The Fifties.

To be a bit more specific, it's a 1957 Stude Golden Hawk. It was "in the ballpark" compared to other sports/performance vehicles of the time since it had 289 c.i., T-Bird had 292, and Corvette had 283.
It's real difference/claim-to-fame was that it had a belt-driven centrifugal McCullough supercharger that gave it 275 HP.
The top-of-the-line Corvette had fuel injection and 283 HP, so it was ahead, but not by a lot, just by the raw numbers. However, the Corvette engine was lighter and the vehicle had far more performance potential, so the S&M guy in the ad would be at a disadvantage in a Stude vs. Vette race.
As LizzieM said, the Golden Hawk was more in the T-Bird class than Corvette, i.e., "more show than go".

 

[GHT]

The horsepower analogy reminded me of a 50's/60's advert for Fina. The advert read: A fine filly of a fuel, or the last word might have been petrol. Can't find it anywhere.
Going back to that Buick. Was it not the aluminium 215 cubic inch block that became the Rover three and a half litre engine? When I researched it, there seems to be a myth on various forums that the design was in fact by BMW. I find that implausible, unless it was some sort of post war reparation. Anybody throw any light on it?

 

[3fingers]

Going back to that Buick. Was it not the aluminium 215 cubic inch block that became the Rover three and a half litre engine?

Yes The aluminum Buick engine was the base for the Rover engine. Didn't Rover stay with that basic design in varying displacements until the 1990's or later?

 

[GHT]

Welcome to the automotive version of What’s My Line and guess today’s mystery guest…
I was born small and light, just 215 cubic inches and 318 pounds, in 1961 in Flint, Mich. I was raised in Europe. My corporate parents were General Motors, British Leyland/Rover Group, BMW AG and Ford Motor Co. I have worked for Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Rover, Land Rover, MG, Triumph, Morgan, Marcos, TVR and others.
Who – rather, what – am I?
If you said the venerable all-aluminium Fireball V8 engine that first saw duty in the 1961 Buick Special, you win. The lightweight V8, which GM ended up selling to Rover, turned out to be one of the industry’s longest-running and most versatile workhorses.
All my research and data I found on this informative website: https://www.aronline.co.uk/facts-and-figures/engines/engines-rover-v8/

 

[EngProf]

Welcome to the automotive version of What’s My Line and guess today’s mystery guest…
I was born small and light, just 215 cubic inches and 318 pounds, in 1961 in Flint, Mich. I was raised in Europe. My corporate parents were General Motors, British Leyland/Rover Group, BMW AG and Ford Motor Co. I have worked for Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Rover, Land Rover, MG, Triumph, Morgan, Marcos, TVR and others.
Who – rather, what – am I?
If you said the venerable all-aluminium Fireball V8 engine that first saw duty in the 1961 Buick Special, you win. The lightweight V8, which GM ended up selling to Rover, turned out to be one of the industry’s longest-running and most versatile workhorses.
All my research and data I found on this informative website: https://www.aronline.co.uk/facts-and-figures/engines/engines-rover-v8/

In its US models it came in both small Buicks and Oldsmobiles, and there were more differences in the cylinder heads, valves, and combustion chambers than the article implies. Buick heads kept their traditional "vertical-valve" or "nail-head" layout, as they were referred to by US hot-rodders. Olds heads, pistons, and combustion chambers were of more-conventional "wedge" design.
This resulted in clearly different outward appearance between the two heads.
Another big difference is that Olds offered a turbo-supercharged version in 1963. To get around the boost/detonation problem, Olds offered a water-methanol injection system using what they referred to as "Turbo Rocket Fluid". (just like WWII fighter planes) If you ran out of fluid there was a fail-safe boost-limiting mechanism to prevent detonation and engine damage.
One of the most unusual applications I can remember was a fuel dragster which used two 215 engines connected together in-line with a big GMC supercharger on each engine.

 

[2jakes]

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob

 

[2jakes]

"This image was taken circa 1947-’49 of the agency with a Dodge convertible and modern Esso gasoline pumps. This building remained in service until it was replaced by an up-to-date 116 x 120-foot concrete building in 1951."
(The Old Motor)

 

[2jakes]

Gulf Pride Service

 

[Fading Fast]

Gulf Pride Service

View attachment 120088

View attachment 120089 View attachment 120090

Art Deco heaven - check
Awesome mullioned tilt windows - check
Iconic service truck - check
Cute fireplug out front - check
Boys from Marketing handiwork (Gulf "Pride") - check
And picture-perfect gas pumps - check

I guess this is what they mean by "it checks all the boxes."

 

[LizzieMaine]

That's a very early specimen of the Gulf Icebox -- they hadn't quite standardized the design yet in the late thirties, and you got a lot of interesting variations like that center insert that didn't show up anymore once they locked in on the basic rectangular box format. The big distinguishing feature of the Gulf style was its use of rounded corners -- which allowed them to say they weren't flat out stealing Walter Teague's Texaco design.

Gulf also went in for neon more than any other oil company -- those big orange GULF letters were very common on the roofs of their stations, but you didn't see them so much as a roadside sign.

 

[2jakes]

Art Deco heaven - check
Awesome mullioned tilt windows - check
Iconic service truck - check
Cute fireplug out front - check
Boys from Marketing handiwork (Gulf "Pride") - check
And picture-perfect gas pumps - check

I guess this is what they mean by "it checks all the boxes."

At first glance, I thought that was a port window on the left side door labeled "Women".

 

[Fading Fast]

View attachment 120101
At first glance, I thought that was a port window on the left side door labeled "Women".

Funny, I love the mullioned windows and the, what look likes, milky wavy glass ones at the entrance door, but wasn't quite sure about the port one on that door. It is an Art Deco look - and I like it - but just wondered about it as it was so different from all the other glass / windows.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Gulf often used glass bricks as a design accent around its front doors during the early years of its "icebox" era. I think that's what's going on there.

It was very common for all companies to use pebbled glass on restroom windows to allow light to pass thru but not to allow anybody to see inside.

 

[2jakes]

Funny, I love the mullioned windows and the, what look likes, milky wavy glass ones at the entrance door, but wasn't quite sure about the port one on that door. It is an Art Deco look - and I like it - but just wondered about it as it was so different from all the other glass / windows.

I was wondering why would there be a window at all on that door with the
sign that reads, "WOMEN.

Edit;
I see that my wondering has been answered!
Thanks LM.

 

[2jakes]

Men & Women in Uniform!

Elizabeth, what's with the belt across his chest?
From your experience with gas stations was this common to wear
what looks like a dress shirt & tie
underneath the coveralls?

No wonder the dude looks unhappy!


Btw: I have coveralls with that material which is super comfortable
when doing chores.

 

[GHT]

View attachment 120109
Elizabeth, what's with the belt across his chest?
From your experience with gas stations was this common to wear
what looks like a dress shirt & tie
underneath the coveralls?
No wonder the dude looks unhappy!

That small change dispenser that the forecourt attendant is wearing wouldn't last two minutes in this day and age. Not only would thieves relieve him of it, they would probably leave him unable to work for a month or two.
When you fill up at an all night garage in the UK, the main entrance will be locked, the cashier sits at a window and you have to pass your card, or pay cash up front.

 

[2jakes]

That small change dispenser that the forecourt attendant is wearing wouldn't last two minutes in this day and age. Not only would thieves relieve him of it, they would probably leave him unable to work for a month or two.
When you fill up at an all night garage in the UK, the main entrance will be locked, the cashier sits at a window and you have to pass your credit card, or pay cash up front.

I might add that the cashier at the all night gas pumps is in a
small room with steel bars all around.
The last time I saw a money changer was on a city transit bus back in the '60s.