[Lloyd-TX]

Originally Posted by ITSBACK

E heads win!

Huh?

[ITSBACK]

I grew up in Long Island when I had my first goat back in 1986 and we used to treat our cars to CAM 2 which was 110 octane and purple.

[Forrest]

For some reason I'm thinking that the sunoco 280 was 112 octane? Am I wrong?

[66GTO Jim]

I worked at a SOHIO Gas Station (Standard Oil of Ohio) in 1966 and 1967. Our premium was called Boron and it was about $0.32 a gallon. Sunoco 260 was about $0.35 a gallon then. Sunoco had a dial from 190 (cheap) to 260 and about 4 grades in between. We only had two grades of gas, Extron (regular) and Boron (premium).

The real old timers will get a kick out of this one. Back in the 60s, the customer was truly KING. A customer pulled in and told me abruptly to "FILL IT UP WITH ETHYL". Being 16 years old, I had heard the old term "ethyl" for gasoline but had no idea what it meant. I asked the gentlemen what he meant and he started to get upset, "ETHYL, ETHYL, FILL IT UP WITH ETHYL!!!". Finally, one of my coworkers walked by and said ethyl was Hi-Test (premium to you younger folks). So I grabbed the BORON hose and the guy must not have been familar with SOHIO gas and thought EXTRON was our Hi-Test because the name sounded like it would be. He started yelling "ETHYL NOT REGULAR, ETHYL"! I had to get the manager to explain that Boron was our "ethyl".

When I pumped gas, were wore uniforms embroidered with our name and "MacKeigans Sohio" above the shirt pockets. We were required to ask if they wanted us to check their oil and we always washed their front and rear windows. Mini-skirts were the latest rage so there were some girls with very dirty windshields that took some extra attention. Yes, we had the rubber hoses by the pumps that went "ding ding" when a car ran over them so you knew a customer was there. There were 4 bays with lifts where we did light mechanical work, especially "oil and lube" and we would always have to stop and run out to pump gas no matter what we were doing. The air pump was not only free but we would check the air in their tires and fill them up if they were low.

The best part was I worked evenings after school as part of a "work/school" program as I was taking Automotive as my Major. Many very cool musclecars and hot rods would pull in for gas. Many guys would not let us look under the hood to check the oil, not wanting to give up their "secrets". The night managers girlfriend had a midnight blue 65 GTO Tri-Power 4 speed. She came back and gave me a big hug after I did a mini-tuneup on her car. She told me she could once again go around a corner and not downshift out of 4th! I can still smell her perfume from that hug. The musclecar era of the 60s were a great time to be a teenager with "wheels". Jim

[lust4speed]

I worked at a Shell station that didn't have the auto shutoff nozzles - had to stand there and hopefully listen for the gas starting to bubble up into the filler neck. If there was any extra noise around we couldn't tell and the gas would shoot out and usually get us. The nozzles would stay on high and spew gasoline everywhere until it was clicked off manually. It was a very happy day for us pump jockeys when the owner finally broke down and purchased the new nozzles.

[Coach]

I worked at a Shell the summer of 1970 as a gas jockey. You would hear the ding, run, not walk, out to the pump, get the gas started and then ask if you could check the fluids, tires, and clean the windshield.

If you did a really good job you might get a 50 cent tip out of the driver. Over the course of a night the tips alone could get you enough to take a date out to a movie and a malted.

Man life really was simpler back then!

[My442]

Don't forget S&H Green Stamps, free drinking glasses, and steak knives.....

Always had give-a-ways to bring more people in.

[milkcrateracing]

Originally Posted by My442

Don't forget S&H Green Stamps, free drinking glasses, and steak knives.....

Always had give-a-ways to bring more people in.

\

I still have about 15 or twenty each of the Shell States of the Union and Presidential bronze coin sets. I broke all my drinking glasses.

[ERIC AULL]

When i was little (early 60's), my father filled up at the SINCLAIR station "up on the corner". The guy new his name. They used to give out bars of soap shaped like green dinosaurs. That was the company logo......I will never forget fighting with my brother and sister over whose turn it was to keep the soap! I also still have a "Simon Bar Sinister" glass from a gas station....CITGO maybe. I also remember collecting STP stickers to put on our school books. And of course the after school "full service" job pumping gas. The boss didn't pay much but after the shop closed, you were allowed to bring your car in and work on it. Part of your job was to clean the shop before closing, so the day mechanics (gods) could go to work. Thanks Carl,Joe and Benny where ever you are! Eric

[Kitch428m21]

......and the NEHI soda machine out front which cost a dime and slide the bottle out on 'tracks'
In the first 2 bays at the Atlantic station where I always hung out, the two guys who worked there had a "Heavy Chevy" and a "GT37" because they told me they couldn't afford the insurance or payments for the real deals.

For the first time at that time I started seeing 'no lead' gasoline labels on the pumps ('71)

...and one last thing to humor our younger crowd here, their most expensive car battery was $27.
I thought that was highway robbery. lol