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Art & Inspiration The Two-Bay Garage

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by J.Ukrop, Feb 24, 2017.

  1. J.Ukrop
    Joined: Nov 10, 2008
    Posts: 2,789

    J.Ukrop
    SUPER MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    J.Ukrop submitted a new blog post:

    The Two-Bay Garage

    [​IMG]

    Continue reading the Original Blog Post
     
  2. Michael Ottavi
    Joined: Dec 3, 2008
    Posts: 266

    Michael Ottavi
    Member

    Being an antique dealer, my eye went to the office window and it looks like Mr. Knoch had his fingers in many pies, from the penny scale in front (much older than the gas pumps for sure) to the vases and painting above the door! Once you start digging through old "junk", it gets in your system in many forms.
     
  3. 61spit
    Joined: Sep 6, 2013
    Posts: 13

    61spit
    Member
    from Iowa

    There are still a lot of those 2 bay stations left here in the Midwest. We have a few in our small town. One had the bays closed off to become a convenience store. One now houses a van rental business that uses the bays for service of their vehicles. Another was a convenience store for a while and now is a service area for a used car dealer. The largest one - a four bay - is still a full service gas station that does all types of service work. You just don't see the kids hanging around the station having a soda and tinkering on their cars like we did.
     
  4. the-rodster
    Joined: Jul 2, 2003
    Posts: 6,945

    the-rodster
    Member

    I worked at a Texaco just like that one in the 80's. It was full-service and we
    checked the oil, inflated tires, and washed the windshield of every car.

    They were all identical because they were built from pre-fab panels made
    of porcelain coated steel.
     
    shawnsauto1 likes this.

  5. the-rodster
    Joined: Jul 2, 2003
    Posts: 6,945

    the-rodster
    Member

    I have this sign hanging in the man cave...

    [​IMG]
     
    olscrounger likes this.
  6. van Dyck
    Joined: Jan 16, 2017
    Posts: 12

    van Dyck
    Member

    Many were expanded to three bays. One bay needed to be available for grease jobs, oil changes or tire installations. The extra bay allowed for work to be done in case of one bay being tied up due to waiting on parts (which happened all to often).
     
  7. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    I would love to find one to make a shop for the toys. Doubt there's any left in SoCal as the land is too expensive. Eastern AZ I'd be on it in a heartbeat. Working in ground single post a plus!
     
  8. flamingokid
    Joined: Jan 5, 2005
    Posts: 2,200

    flamingokid
    Member

    Even in the late 70s and early 80s,us high school rodders hung out at 2 bay garages,talking cars,girls, and cars.Heck,I remember one station that bought military surplus for resale.I could get a WWI vintage Colt 1911 for 29.95 or 4 for a 100.00.They came in those big cardboard barrels and were the best investment I ever made.Racing gas,speed parts,and a friendly old guy that would let you work on your car after hours.We had it good.
     
    olscrounger likes this.
  9. the rodster, so did I. I even had 1 guy ask me to check the antifreeze in his covair 1 time. I went around to the rear motor and lifted the lid and then said to my self. W.T.F. this thing is air cooled. The driver didn't even know that.{he had just bought the car} LOL. Bruce.
     
    LOU WELLS likes this.
  10. I worked at one [Enco] after getting out of the military in '69. Jack, the owner let me swap my 57 Pontiac over to a 389/4 speed on his lift. Charged me $20 a day to use it. It looked like the one in the photo.
    Jack always made me take the little ol lady who came in with a 41 chevy pickup every week. She bought $1.50 in gas and made me check EVERYTHING including battery water and tire inflation. Even the oil in the air cleaner! Washed all the glass in the truck. Jack would start chuckling the minute her tires hit the bell...and she'd harass me the entire time!
     
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  11. KJSR
    Joined: Mar 7, 2008
    Posts: 2,494

    KJSR
    Member
    from Utah
    1. Utah HAMBers

    Great stuff right there!
     
  12. olscrounger
    Joined: Feb 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,770

    olscrounger
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I worked in one like this in Merced in 64-65 at night after my regular day job. Had to do the full service when gassing their cars as well. At night some strange folks would come in wanting to sell things. As flamingokid said above-I bought a nice 1911 with a big ammo can full of ammo for $20-shot all the ammo and sold it for $20. Bought a real nice Colt 1st gen single action in 38-40 as well for $30 with ammo and shot it all up too and sold it for $30.
     
    LOU WELLS and flamingokid like this.
  13. Roger Roadster
    Joined: Sep 23, 2008
    Posts: 63

    Roger Roadster
    Member

    When we were in high school a good friend of mine worked at an Enco at nights pumping gas. He was the only one there. It was a three bay shop, we helped him wash the floor in exchange for using the lift to do minor tasks on our cars. This was in 1971, I had a $600. 67 Camaro SS RS, He had a 69 Rambler Scrambler , and my other two friends had a 69 Superbee 440 6 pack and a 65 Dodge with a 426 wedge. We had a great time. I also had my 30 two door sedan that I drove all the time! Those were simple days!
     
    classiccarjack likes this.
  14. veedolpaul
    Joined: Jul 11, 2009
    Posts: 152

    veedolpaul
    Member

    They just knocked down the last two in my home town. Both two bays, one originally Texaco later Shell. The other was Gulf in the 60`s and 70`s when I was a kid. Lot`s of memories gone for a new CVS.
     
  15. woodbutcher
    Joined: Apr 25, 2012
    Posts: 3,310

    woodbutcher
    Member

    :D Yes indeed.Brings back many memories.Good and thankfully very few bad ones.And Joey,thanks for a neat thread.
    Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
    Leo
     
  16. The old Texaco station I worked at as a teen one summer was very similar to the one posted with two garage doors.

    [​IMG]

    The island had two pumps but they were this type.HRP
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2017
  17. About three years ago they tore down Fred's two-bayer Chevron in our town. One of the guy's had worked there since after school high school '68. You could drop by and use the tire machine or hook up to the scope. Great guys, of course bought all our gas there.
    In high school worked in a few, Skelley, Citgo, Standard, Phillips 66. The guy working the night shift always had a cool car backed in or parked in the lane of the farthest pump island, sometimes inside.
     
  18. most of the stations like that are gone around here. i worked in a couple as a teen. i remember them like this: out by the road a tire rack was rolled out, to show off the merchandise, a couple cars would be lined up along the property line, the hood of one resting on the roof exposing the empty engine bay, a car without a tranny and another with a catch pan underneath. anco wiper blade box in between the pumps and a black air hose that "signaled" the bell when a car ran over it, ran into the building. the offices had a soda machine and a rack for snacks, some old, some older. and a chair, that was wornout, for a customers to sit in if they had to wait for their car or a ride. an oil rack held an assortment of fluids for sale. a step down into the bays there would be a key rack on the wall and a small service desk. hoses and belts on a rack on the wall on the right side, windows on the opposite wall. between the bays a tire machine sat and high on the back wall was the tire rack that was too high to reach unless you stood on the work bench that ran below it. there was always something apart on the bench. the back room behind the office had the drum lathe, furnace and cases of oils, antifreeze washer fluid etc. hooks on the back wall so the uniform guy could hang up the cleaned uniforms. behind the stations a pile of old tires/rims an overflowing 55 drum of scrap metal and a couple motors with worn canvas tarps over them.
     
  19. I worked at a two bay Sunoco station like that . It was on a busy corner and had an entrance off both roads with fuel islands on both sides of the lot - kept you going on a busy day running from one side of the lot to the other- this was 1977-78 and you could still get 260 Sunoco- the good purple high test gas- used to get all the hot cars in town coming in to fill. The owner taught me about keeping a clean shop- he was one of those old time mechanics that could do the dirtiest jobs and never get greasy past his wrists. Used to have me wash the floor on Saturday afternoons- a small brush with varsol to clean all the grease spots - then scrub the floor with a brush and soap, wash it with a hose and squeegee -A lot of good memories there- love to have that shop in my backyard today!


    Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  20. oldcargary
    Joined: May 6, 2010
    Posts: 212

    oldcargary
    Member
    from devore, Ca

    Worked at Shell and Chevron stations, at the time thought of it as work, now it was really good times...
     
  21. Blade58
    Joined: Mar 5, 2012
    Posts: 363

    Blade58
    Member
    from apopka ,Fl

    Had the same exact looking Texaco station on Highway 57 and 29th street Lorain, Ohio
     
  22. GMC BUBBA
    Joined: Jun 15, 2006
    Posts: 3,420

    GMC BUBBA
    Member Emeritus

    Yep mine was Colemans Esso in Livingston Tennessee. Same two bay design with a grease pit outside for trucks and semis etc. I Worked most school nights and weekends. Some great memorys for sure . The place did everything and we didnt have tool boxes , all the tools were hanging on the wall, great tool control , just walk thru and check out the wall. Tire changer in the middle and we sold Atlas Plycron tires .
     
  23. Raiman1959
    Joined: May 2, 2014
    Posts: 1,427

    Raiman1959

    There are still a couple of the old style gas stations around my area, but....they ''are not'' gas stations...they've made them into pizza parlors; one a funky café-deli with tables outside complete with umbrellas; and one is a dry cleaner store....I drive by, and for some reason...really makes me melancholy when I glance. Maybe I've simply gotten way too nostalgic the past few years (probably!)....things and places are so drastically different, that I don't relate to the 'new' realities of rapidly changing ideals

    ....I know modern business' need buildings and such to operate, ...but, gas stations represented a real aspect to the car ideals for most of my youth to middle age...now, most gas stations around here are food & slurpee counters, with a few pumps outside, that are sticky and grimy to the touch, and trash is never emptied from the trash bin, not to mention no washer fluid for the squeegee:(....ya' can't find a smile if your life depended on it.

    I worked at a ''full service'' Texaco station when I was a high school kid (there were 4 of us wearing uniforms) .... complete with checking oil, tires, washer fluid, and washing the front AND back windows....also, we ''never'' locked the bathrooms under any circumstances! (I cleaned them every day with inspection!) We knew everyone, and usually by first name basis, and how much gas was needed by the ''gallon''...not the cash payment....and 98% were devoted customers for years & years ....man, times have sure changed!!!
     
  24. AV8 Dave
    Joined: Jan 3, 2003
    Posts: 680

    AV8 Dave
    Member

    In '63 there was a similar style two bay station (one of many in our town at that time!) on my bus route to high school, Pandora Esso. The owner was a racer and ran a '34 Ford coupe at our local oval track. The car sat in one of the bays overnight and each morning it was parked outside on the lot. I always made sure I had a window seat riding the bus so when it turned the corner I could check out the racer. The following year, they built a B class modified sportsman in the back of one of the bays and I got to see it come together thanks to my daily rides. This car ended up the '64 season points champion.

    I later worked at a Home station which was also similar but they had added additional service bays as, in addition to doing general vehicle repairs, it was also a Massey Ferguson dealership which sold and looked after the tractors and equipment on many of the surrounding farms. I was a front end man (pumped gas and did fluid level checks with windshields washed on request!) and mechanic. I recall the brand of the warning bell for the pump traffic was a "ServiSignal". They had a "Champion" spark plug cleaner that got used a lot. Learned a lot of cool stuff including filling tractor tires with air and water plus an additive to keep the water from freezing! Later on I almost took a similar job at a Texaco two bay but at the last minute got a better offer for more money. Still some of those stations around but the majority are long gone. Regards, Dave.
     
  25. classiccarjack
    Joined: Jun 30, 2009
    Posts: 1,465

    classiccarjack
    Member

    Man times have changed... I guess that I am getting old. If you greet someone today, and try to be nice to them, they think that you are a creep. I would love to be greeted and get my oil and tire pressure checked! I do it on my own and frankly would welcome the kindness and the experience while getting gas. Oh well... Time marches on...

    Sent from my XT1585 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
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  26. jnaki
    Joined: Jan 1, 2015
    Posts: 9,291

    jnaki

    Hello,

    Walking home from elementary school, I always stopped at this Mobil Gas Station that was on the corner of the main drag on the Westside of Long Beach. Those guys knew my mom and dad, but always treated me as a great kid since I was interested in cars. They had a single office for the gas pumps, but in the back they had a two stall open garage for the repairs. The front office had the cool waist high Coke Machine that had a lifting lid. You had to slide the glass Coke bottles out of their tracks into the front section, pay your money, and then you lifted out the glass Coke bottle.

    But, after the Coke, the most interesting thing was what was going on in the back stalls. Of course, the usual family cars were in for some repairs, but one day I saw my favorite custom Ford F100 truck parked in front of the lift ready to leave. I have described the truck in other threads, but the most tell tale look was the chopped top with the bright Tahitian Red paint job. It also was lowered, had chrome reversed wheels, white tuck & roll upholstery and it was the coolest truck that I saw, almost everyday, in our neighborhood. The owner had a retail shop several blocks down the main drag and parked his truck out in front daily.

    I was always enthralled at watching those mechanics work on cars and besides wanting to be a fireman, I had the urge to be an auto mechanic. It was like putting a giant puzzle together with unknown facts. I was a puzzle fanatic and fixing cars just seemed like the most fun job in the world. Those mechanics never talked down to me, even being a little kid. As I got older, the interest from that garage never waned. Soon, I was getting small parts and weekly gas from that station.

    Jnaki

    The mechanics and the gas station owner always liked my cars, but, by then, I was able to do the work myself. I must have learned from osmosis…just watching.

     
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  27. 2 more doors
    Joined: Oct 7, 2013
    Posts: 74

    2 more doors
    Member

    You just described the Gulf station at the edge of my town. Today it's a used car dealer. The local service stations are a dieing breed, today out at the pumps are Arab looking good gentleman and the bays are full of cases of Gatorade, Snapple, and cartons of cigarettes to be sold were the service desk has been converted to a convenient store. I worked at a gas station as a teenager pumping gas and it seems that jobs like that that were great for young kids in high school to earn money for their first car are taken by people who need them to pay their mortgage. WHAT HAPPENED?

    Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
    Model A Vette and tb33anda3rd like this.
  28. Hamtown Al
    Joined: Jan 17, 2007
    Posts: 2,899

    Hamtown Al
    Member Emeritus
    1. Virginia HAMB(ers)

    I still have my Dad's old Pure Oil station that he later ran with "independent" gas. We got rid of all tanks by late 90s.
    Now rented to folks that pump concrete for large pours using really big trucks.
    DSC00303.JPG
    I'm pleased to report that my Dad employed many a young man giving many their first job and was patient in teaching them about dealing with the public and how to work on cars. Most of them went on to be a success in life.
    It was very rewarding to get letters of condolence from some of these same young men that recounted how much my Dad's help and guidance had helped them over the years. I knew most of them over the years and many turned out for his funeral or later sought me out to convey their sorrow at his passing and their appreciation for all his past help and guidance. Like most sons, I felt my Dad was a great guy but it was quite comforting to the family at the time to realize so many others shared the same thoughts. The family was not aware of many of the stories shared by those past grateful kids.
    My family has pretty much given up on getting me to part with the old service station... it is still alive with the many ghosts of times past to me.
     
  29. Hamtown Al
    Joined: Jan 17, 2007
    Posts: 2,899

    Hamtown Al
    Member Emeritus
    1. Virginia HAMB(ers)

    Forgot to mention that my Dad opened his station in March of 1955 and ran it until the end of 1985 and then "sold" the business (for $10, no joke) to his right hand man who originally came to work as a student co-op in high school in the 1960s. I brokered the sale of the inventory and equipment between my Dad and his former employee... they kept arguing about the value of this and that... Dad said less and the former employee said should be more!! Nearly all the final numbers were derived by me from what the two of them said and finally got them to agree to. Each wanted to be CERTAIN that the other was not cheated in any way.
    We rented the building to him until he was taken by a brain tumor about 10 years later. He would increase his own rent without discussing it with my Dad every now and then. That usually ended in some kind of negotiated new rate.
    It was a pleasure to see them operate.
    Of course, my Dad still usually "came by" to check on them... and maybe help out if they needed it.
    Both were happy with the arrangement and that was all that mattered to them.
    I'll look for some old pictures.
     
  30. H380
    Joined: Sep 20, 2015
    Posts: 483

    H380
    Member
    from Louisiana

    Stations only make 10 cents a gallon profit on fuel. The Gas pumps are just to get you to buy the stuff in the over priced convenience store. The $6 dollar Doritos is what keeps the lights on. For fun look up how much money you need to put into a bond to bury a gasoline tank.
     

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