When I was a gas jockey I really disliked having to kneel on the hot pavement in order to access some of the very low center-mounted gas fillers, especially those on GM cars.
One of our regulars when I was a pump jockey/grease monkey (my first job in 1966) had a 62 Galaxy, the behind the plate filler was the lowest I dealt with. I remember them well, they kept meticulous records of gas use and maintenance.
As I recall, Corvette Stingrays (would those be C2s?) had the filler under the medallion on the rear deck.
Yup!
And, you had to be VERY careful that no gas dripped from the nozzle after filling those tanks. I canāt recall any other models where you had to go across so much of the body in order to access the gas filler.
I used to sit on the trunk while the gas dispensed. I suppose you canāt do that with customersā cars.
I love wawa, I really wish they would open stores further north. Iām in NH and the gas/convenience stores are abysmal compared to wawa.
I also did time as a gas jockey at an Esso (now Exxon) back in the 1960s. As a car pulled in, the tires rolled over the hose to the signal bell, letting me know a car pulled up to the pump (a trip down memory lane for those of us that remember the bellā¦).
I ran out and asked the driver, āFill her up?ā and he replied, āYes, with regular.ā He then handed me a key and I opened the gas cap cover expecting to find a locking gas cap only to find nothing there, not even the filler spoutā¦
He laughed and said to open the trunk. In the trunk, I found an old outboard boat motorās 6-gallon gas tank tied in the trunk. The hose to the gas tank ran down through a hole punched in the trunk.
He explained that he drove over something and damaged the gas tank. He tried to have it repaired but there was too much damage and he could not even afford one from a wreck. He said that he also could not afford to have the mechanic replace the old one, so he left it off and put this old gas tank it itās place. He said it worked just fine, he just has to stop for gas more oftenā¦
Years later, when I reminisce about this, and I remember that I was so taken aback by that I forgot to ask him if I could check his oil (another standard practice back thenā¦). I suppose that if he did need oil, he would probably have asked if there was any spare oil in the drain pansā¦
Does anyone else remember having a ācloth Tiger Tailā hanging out their gas cap?
I remember the tiger tail and also remember some competing stations advertising We remove tiger hair from your tank.
We started the gas flowing, then did all the windows. Checked oil on request.
But when cruising usually got gas from competing stations that had freebies such as beer steins with a 10 gallon purchase.
⦠plus the radiator, upon request.
Our station was very close to a point where traffic would get tied-up after coming out of the Lincoln Tunnel, and many of the cars were running very hot when they got to our station. One A-hole driver asked to have his radiator checked, but failed to mention that his Pontiacās temp gauge was already in the red zone. My co-worker, George, was hit in the head with the flying radiator cap, and his arm was scalded by the steam from the overheated radiator.
Later that day, the station manager posted a sign at the pumps:
No radiator checks under any circumstances!
If a customer insisted on having his radiator checked, he would be instructed to pull over to the bays and the manager would make him sit while his engine cooled down.
once in a blue moon I still see a tiger tail sticking out of the gas cap.
last month I saw a fake arm sticking out of someones trunk. made me laugh.
When was the last you saw a Garfield cat hanging in a window?
Its been a few years. I think the last time I saw one was probably 10 years ago.
Another thing do you remember the cats that sat on the back window deck with the cats eyes wired into the turn signals to flash when using the turn signals?
back in the day I had a skull in my pickup trailer hitch that the eyes were the turn signals. and both came on for brakes. I think they still make them.
Thanks for the memory I have not seen or thought of that one for years. I do remember one time in Texas seeing a Cadillac with a set of long horns on the grill that had turn lights in the tips I think it must have been homemade as I have never saw another one like it.
when I was younger I had a 1978 cherokee chief with a CB and a large pa speaker under the hood. I had to cut the horn part to make it fit. then me and my friend would park It in front of a club by the front door. we would go in his truck with his cb and park a little ways a way. when the girls would walk to go in we would talk to them through the pa speaker. saying hey your cute. and they would look around seeing where it was coming from. hey come and pet my hood. some would come over and pet the hood looking inside and seeing no one. sometimes it would go on for 15-20 minutes. stupid things we did back then.
Stupid but fun.
I think that was a major item for JC Whitney.
I do believe you are right.
Look in my driveway.