Service stations my Dad filled up at..

[carviewsonic]

I remember most of what is shown in this video (DING DING!) from my childhood, especially on summer road trips to visit relatives. A couple of comic books from a rotating rack in the service station, and a bag of chips for each of us kids kept us happy for a few hours.
By 1980 when I started driving, these kind of stations were mostly gone, replaced by self serve stations with small kiosks to pay at.

 

[nomas]

I remember stopping at the gas station with my Dad . He would tell the guy " Gimme a couple dollars of Regular ". I always asked him why didn't he just fill it up ? Back then a couple of dollars would **** near fill it up .

 

[FT92]

i remember when 5-6 bucks would pretty much fill up my dad's 70 impala. if i remember gas was like 29 cents a gallon

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

I remember stopping at the gas station with my Dad . He would tell the guy " Gimme a couple dollars of Regular ". I always asked him why didn't he just fill it up ? Back then a couple of dollars would **** near fill it up .

I remember as a kid the regular at the Gull gas station was 15.9 a gallon.

 

[Bud]

I remember back in the 50's certain stations would give out drinking glasses with cartoon character's and other such stuff. Dad was always good to fill up where we could get a freebee. I can also remember in the mid 60's pulling in and getting a dollars worth of fuel.

 

[Fla]

I remember topping off the gas tank on my my Honda MC one time and it cost me a whooping 11 cents! Two nearby gas stations were having a "gas war" and gas was only 17cents/gallon and my 90cc Honda only held 1.1 gallons.

OTOH I was only making $1 per hour back then too.

 

[BIGJ552000]

i remember when 5-6 bucks would pretty much fill up my dad's 70 impala. if i remember gas was like 29 cents a gallon

So equivalent in purchasing power of today which is around $50-$60...gotcha

 

[MolaKule]

I remember topping off the gas tank on my my Honda MC one time and it cost me a whooping 11 cents! Two nearby gas stations were having a "gas war" and gas was only 17cents/gallon and my 90cc Honda only held 1.1 gallons.

OTOH I was only making $1 per hour back then too.

Growing up in St. Louis stations would often have gas wars and prices would often dip to 13 cents/gallon. We would get our gas on Saturday near Soulard Market, which had the lowest prices.

 

[ctrcbob]

Forgot the Pin Up Girl on the calendar on the wall.

 

[John105]

Scary to think that having bought my first new car in 1998, I filled it up myself at $0.769/gal. I remember feeling ripped off the first time I paid over $2, $2.139 in Yonkers, NY.

With my dad I remember $0.379.

I read something too—back in the days of the service station, they wanted to attract female drivers. And in doing so, bathrooms required cleanliness, and so they were kept clean. What happened?

 

[NYEngineer]

My mom used to get two dollars worth of regular for her 65 Tempest convertible. It had a 215 six. That gas would last her all week. When they put gas in the 383 four speed Charger, it got High test. My dad, my brother and I still say high test for coffee. No one else ever knows what we're talking about.

 

[Fla]

My mom used to get two dollars worth of regular for her 65 Tempest convertible. It had a 215 six. That gas would last her all week. When they put gas in the 383 four speed Charger, it got High test. My dad, my brother and I still say high test for coffee. No one else ever knows what we're talking about.

I still use the phrase "unleaded" for decaffeinated coffee. Not that I would ever drink that stuff.

 

[Kira]

Per the video: The tenths-of-a-cent window wasn't always a 9.
It allowed for fractions of a cent per gallon tax amounts.
I remember seeing 6/10 cent amounts in western states.

And the video failed to mention black and white Scotty dog magnets.

 

[Allaneddie]

Dad ran a Gulf station. +
In town we also had Mobil, Esso, Sinclair, Atlantic Richfield. Only Sunoco is left and it is full service. Mom bought all her gas at the Atlantic Richfield (the owner was a family friend). At one time they gave you Plaid Stamps as a benefit from buying the gas. Cleaned windshield every time.

 

[FordMan59]

I remember the going price of regular at $.289 where dad usually filled up in the late '60's. I bought my first car in July '77. I'm pretty sure the first fill up in it was $.569 gallon. I remember one gas war as a kid where gas got really cheap. I think it was either $.099 or $.109 plus the new station that brought on the gas war was giving away a free candy bar with the purchase of so much gas. Seems like it was a free candy bar for each gallon but I don't remember for sure.

 

[NYEngineer]

And the video failed to mention black and white Scotty dog magnets.

My grandmother had some of those! I always wondered where they came from.

 

[loneryder]

My younger sister's boyfriend's dad owned several "cheap gas stations" and during TG or Xmas breaks I would work in them. Pumped gas, checked oil and even sold qts of re-refined motor oil. Got time and a half for working holidays and loved it. Later with my first car, a 57 chevy beater, I used that re-refined oil as it burned a lot of oil. In college I had a 64 Bug. For $2 I put gas in it, got a pack of cigarettes and a 6 pack of beer. Everything was 25 cents. Liven the life!

 

[Number_35]

I remember topping off the gas tank on my my Honda MC one time and it cost me a whooping 11 cents! Two nearby gas stations were having a "gas war" and gas was only 17cents/gallon and my 90cc Honda only held 1.1 gallons.

OTOH I was only making $1 per hour back then too.

However, I would be glad to fill up for 11% of my hourly wage.

 

[Number_35]

Who remembers Esso's "Put a tiger in your tank!" campaign c. 1966?

Dad had the tiger tail on the radio antenna for a few days.

 

[PimTac]

Texaco back in the day. The smell of gasoline was something. Must have been the lead.