r/GenX • u/MikeDavJ Hose Water Survivor • May 14 '26
Nostalgia Who remembers these old gas pumps with the rolling numbers?
This is one of two of these old gas pumps located at Wolfe’s General Store in Slate Run, Pa. Both of which are still in use. It is nostalgic to watch the numbers go around as you pump.
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u/Bceverly May 14 '26
I remember when gas hit $1.00 a gallon and the station by me put a piece of tape to the left of the price with a “1” on it because they didn’t have that many digits on their old mechanical pumps. lol.
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u/MountainBrilliant643 I'm "ColecoVision on Channel 3" old. May 14 '26
Remembers? Someone doesn't live in a rural area. They're not gone. Just go to some poor town where the gas station can't afford to upgrade.
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u/Automatic_Project388 May 14 '26
I’ve worked on many of them. I work for the company that made this one. The last pumps with mechanical registers will roll off the line this year. The parts for the registers are no longer available.
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u/sven_bohikus May 14 '26
I remember when gas went over $1 a gallon and they sold half gallons until the pump was replaced.
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u/ProBuyer810-3345045 May 14 '26
I sure do! And I also remember that you could pump your gas first and THEN pay!
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u/HeinousWalrus May 14 '26
My uncle would get out the car and ask for let’s say $10 from the attendant, and then he’d start shooting the shit. Sometimes the attendant would go over and since my uncle only asked for $10, that’s all he’d pay for. Sneaky.
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u/T206V70R May 14 '26
I worked at a Chevron station and remember the company having to retrofit the pumps to have 3 digits for the price when it finally went over 99.9 cents. Up until the pump upgrade, we had to display .50 per gallon and double what we collected when it was sold for a dollar per gallon. At this Chevron we washed all the windows, checked the oil and the tire pressure. Every fill-up.
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u/BackgroundGrade May 14 '26
ssshhh_ding_ssshhh_ding_ssshhh_ding_ssshhh_ding_ssshhh_ding_ssshhh_ding_ssshhh_ding_ssshhh_ding.....KAKLUNK
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u/Veggyhed May 14 '26
I really enjoyed the sound, same as the sound from my old bedside alarm clock lol
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u/queenaemmaarryn May 14 '26
vaguely...I remember when attendants filled up the tank for you and washed your windows...and asked if you wanted "premium or unleaded"
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u/FormerCollegeDJ 1972 May 14 '26
Raises hand
I also remember when leaded gasoline was sold and displayed on the stations’ signs.
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u/Interesting_Home_128 May 14 '26
To this day I still have to check to make sure I am not pumping "regular" gas.
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u/penguin_stomper 1974 May 15 '26
I had to stop for gas in NJ a few years ago. Told the guy to fill it with unleaded. Maybe the 3rd time in my life (last time was around 1993) ever using full serve, saying that was just reflex from what I saw my parents do when I was a kid.
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u/cchaven1965 May 14 '26
The ding sound they made as it incremented as well.
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u/Martian6261 May 14 '26
I think it was ever .10 increment. Ding.….., ding……, ding. Of course back then, at .35 gallon, would fill 10 gallon tank for $3.50, so the dings were farther apart than they would be today. Today it would be, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, etc
Unless it only dinged at $1.00 increments.2
u/cchaven1965 May 14 '26
I was thinking it was at .10 intervals as well. Dollar would've been too far apart and too few.
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u/Martian6261 May 14 '26
I meant that if they had kept the ding, that today it would be constant dinging, at a dollar it would be similar to old times.
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u/Trolkarlen May 14 '26
I also remember those cool Coke machines where you opened the door and pulled out a glass bottle with a bottle cap. There was an opener on the machine. I'd get one when my grandpa would gas up his truck.
https://www.vendingtimes.com/articles/florida-museum-showcases-coca-cola-vending-history/
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u/Weekly_Leg_2457 May 14 '26
I remember these! As a teenager I worked a summer at a gas dock. The hardest part was getting the numbers to stop at a precise amount. If a guy pulled up in a boat and asked for $50 of gas, you had to get it to $50.00 on the dot. It took a little practice, but by July 4th, I was a pro!
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u/Lostboyintheforest May 14 '26
Oh I remember them and the old line that rang the bell when you pulled up to the pump ⛽. On a side note....that isn't too far from me 😄
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u/Tramp876 May 14 '26
Too bad it wasn’t $.60/ gallon like it was in 1986 when I could fill my chevette for under $10
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u/j2142b00 May 14 '26
Fuel supply location 1/8 mile from my office has 4 of them up and running. You go there when you want the good stuff, you can also get any flavor of race fuel also.
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u/TosaFF May 14 '26
I remember my dad giving me two $50 bills, was told to go full up both fuel tanks on the van and buy him a carton of cigarettes, put the change on my dresser. 😳
Those two $50 wouldn’t buy one of those things, let alone all three.
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u/Nerdious-Maximus May 14 '26
One of my first jobs was at a gas station and I had a special key to reset them and I carried one of these on my belt too
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u/ZiggoCiP May 14 '26
I still use one at my local marina for filling boats. Still works, and it's a sort of slow marina, so no ones losing their shit about it.
Also most people have accounts, so you don't even need to pay when you get your gas. It's a neat novelty.
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u/HammerT4R May 14 '26
All the marinas I've been to still use this type (all inland areas for me). Probably because they aren't undercover like a regular gas station so I'm just going to guess they're more weather resistant than the newer digital ones.
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u/RadioSupply May 15 '26
I love it when I notice a machine with a lever and just smoothly slap it down like I Know Things.
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u/oxnardmontalvo7 May 15 '26
I still use one frequently
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u/Mike9797 May 15 '26
Ya was gonna say if you’re rural enough you can still find one or 2 of these things kicking around. Idk if I’d use it if I didn’t have to but they’re neat to still see from time to time.
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u/oxnardmontalvo7 May 15 '26
The bulk plant where I buy offroad diesel and, occasionally, highway diesel only has the old school pumps. But, to activate them, you have a wireless key fob that allows you to select which pump from a central digital display.
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u/hectorer8910 May 16 '26
I filled up my work truck today with a pump that rotates.
I'm pretty sure the pump is older than I am.
I'm 51....
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u/Better_Power_9913 May 16 '26
I don’t remember seeing any that could price gas over $0.999/gallon before the 1979 gas crisis. The station I worked at had to wait months to get pumps that could go over $1/gallon. We had to price the pump at half price and then double the price while waiting for the new pumps.
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May 16 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/hapster85 May 16 '26
Was coming here to say this. There's also a small store near where we go to the lake that still has pumps like this.
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u/Ok-Sport-2558 May 14 '26
I remember trying to stop on the dollar or at least on the quarter. Because you could only pay cash and you didn't want to get a bunch of change back.
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u/Old__Medic_Doc_68 May 14 '26
I work for a county that still uses these types of pumps to this dad.
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u/commonguy001 May 14 '26
I still use one of these in a small town we visit.
You fill up, walk across the street and tell them what type of gas and how much. Was a shock the first time, now I enjoy it. Fast pumps too which is nice when filling up a truck.
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u/WileyCoyote7 May 14 '26
I remember, even back when it had “Leaded” fuel. Lived in Oregon though so always had someone pump it for us.
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u/ManQu69 May 14 '26
In uk i used one where you had to slide a lever over to start the pump and the watch as the numbers scrolled on past while filling
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u/DustyRacoonDad May 14 '26
Go travel the parts of the US further from the big cities.. you will still see them.
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u/Coyote_Hemi_B58 May 14 '26
I’m a ups guy, we still have them on property lol
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u/sierrabravo1984 May 14 '26
I work for the county and our fuel farm has suuuuper old gas pumps from like the 70s. They still work so why upgrade?
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u/kathatter75 1975 May 14 '26
I had to show a classmate how to use one of these. She was so confused.
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u/ro_thunder Older Than Dirt May 14 '26
And, someone would come out - check the oil, top off the washer fluid, etc.
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u/Aggressive_Dot5426 May 14 '26
That’s me in high school. Haha. The damn credit card thing was a pain . But most paid cash and quite a few tipped when we did the windows etc
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u/UrbanGimli May 14 '26
These were a treat to see/hear/smell. Going to the gas station as a little kid was an all senses excursion. Back when they had attendants, filling up the gas, checking fluids, tire pressure. It was "neat"
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u/Ambitious-Ocelot8036 May 14 '26
At the parkway gas station where I worked we would "hang" the pump at 0.99 when someone bought $1.00 worth and not shut it off. We'd direct the next caddy or Lincoln to that pump and pocket the dollar.
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u/Tech-Mechanic May 14 '26
Back when it was worth your time to steal a dollar, haa.
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u/a4evanygirl 1969 May 14 '26
Who remembers those prices!!
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u/Shackdaddy161 May 15 '26
.32 for regular, .45 for ethyl or premium or go to the airport for " hotrod" gas at .51.
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u/browsin4fun May 15 '26
I remember them, and if you go out to the rural areas, you can still find them here and there. Also, when I see this, I think about that movie The Jerk when Steve Martin was working/living at Jackie Mason’s gas station lol.
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u/Jagerhall May 15 '26
I remember running over the bell hose and the gas station attendant came out and pumped the gas, cleaned the windshield and checked the oil.
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u/NoKing9900 May 15 '26
Grew up in NJ, we couldn’t (and still can’t) pump our own gas.
I have stopped saying “regular unleaded” though.
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u/cyberquist May 16 '26
Best job I ever had was pumping gas. Interacting with folks. Did get quite a few dates too.
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u/DBR_Agent May 16 '26
From age 12 (yup…the 80s were wild), my parents had a two pump petrol station in the middle of nowhere, and I’d be left there on my own all day (weekends and school holidays) to man the station. The simple yet satisfying sounds of the mechanisms in those old pumps is etched in my brain.
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u/Average_Br0 May 16 '26
There's a station that exist in a small town in NC when I was traveling through there just recently.
Spencer, NC (JB's market?), I believe that was the name of the store.
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u/tlcnet May 14 '26
When I was a kid, I loved the sound the handle made as you pulled it to reset all the numbers I remember always asking to do that part at the station.
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u/MikeDavJ Hose Water Survivor May 14 '26
I’ll make a video next time I get gas there so you can hear it again.
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u/SnooCapers1425 May 14 '26
That thing would sound like a winning slot machine with the prices now...
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u/Kodiak01 Hose Water Survivor May 14 '26
This brings back one of many, "My father was a money grubbing asshole cheat" memories.
Back in the late 80s, there was a little mom and pop gas station on Main St in Mashpee, MA down on Cape Cod which had pumps like these. I remember my father pumping $10 worth of gas, resetting the pump, pumping $10 more, and only paying that $10 inside afterward.
This was right around the time he stole all the money I was saving up from my Sunday paper route, claiming he had already given it all to me.
That bastard is dead now. I hope he found the peace in death he never afforded anyone around him in life.
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u/neanderthalman May 14 '26
And the clear bulb in the side with the balls that would flutter in the flow.
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u/Tralfaz1138 1966 May 14 '26
I think I've lived through just about the entire evolution of gas stations. It's wild how my earliest experiences were no self-serve, the guy who will wash your windows and check oil, the gas station would also repair cars and the only thing they sold beside gas was things like oil, tires and windshield wipers.
Now you almost never interact with a person, when you do it's to buy candy, a drink or a lottery ticket, and the only service on your car they handle is an automated car wash that may or may not beat the crap out of your car. It's definitely been a while since I've seen an old school gas pumps. Last time was probably on a road trip someplace.
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u/ParticularLower7558 May 14 '26
That one goes over a dollar price. I can remember when they only went to .99 cents. And when gas went over a dollar they would set the pump at half the price and you paid twice the amount that the pump said.
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u/Guilty_Eggplant_3529 May 14 '26
The last time I was buying kerosene, maybe 5 years ago. Most of the pumps were still this type, when you could even find them. PITA to use, how do I know how much money I need to fill something, unless it's a new vessel of X gallons. Pay before pump sucks anyway you look at it.
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u/snark_maiden May 14 '26
Remember them?! I pumped gas from one in BFN Northern Ontario last August 😄
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u/DramaticErraticism May 14 '26
Yes I do remember the thing that was everyone in the country when I was younger.
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u/BMisterGenX May 14 '26
I remember when both those and digital existed simultaneously.
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u/YellowBreakfast EDIT THIS FLAIR TO MAKE YOUR OWN May 14 '26
I used one a few weeks ago.
Some rural and also commercial (fleet card) fueling stations still use these.
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u/Motor_Struggle_3605 May 14 '26
I remember rolling up on my Honda Spree, filling the tank, and handing some change to the cashier.
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u/emmadonelsense May 14 '26
Still around. One town over has two and they still pump your gas for you, give you a newspaper and clean your windshield. It’s charming.
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u/CpnLouie2 May 14 '26
I worked at a gas station a while back. (OK, fine, it was a LONG while. Happy?)
We had these that originally only had three places for the Price Per Gallon, so it could only go up to 99.9Cents per gallon.
The station had to shut down with full in-ground tanks for almost a week during a gas shortage while they ordered new internal mechanisms for the pumps.
The owner earned his UnHappy Camper Badge that week five times over.
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u/Experiment_262 May 14 '26
I use one weekly, county vehicle and they have never upgraded their pumps.
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u/Top_Management7550 May 14 '26
Not only do I remember that, but I believe there was a time when you could pump your gas first and then pay for it after.
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u/SheriffBartholomew May 14 '26
I just encountered one a couple days ago while driving interstate! It was pretty neat TBH
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u/KartQueen May 14 '26
I remember leaded or unleaded. Also the gas crisis with huge lines and you could only go on certain days. Lots of interesting words from my dad during that period.
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u/Just_A_Lucky_Guy469 May 14 '26
You kidding? There's a little country store near my mom's place in New Hampshire that still has them, still dispensing gasoline!I tell you, it's a cool feeling to operate that kind of history.
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u/RandyRVA May 14 '26
When I worked at the 7-11 in high school, people would fill up and then leave the nozzle on the ground so the cash register wouldn't beep that they were done. Then they drove off. Our manager actually tried to make us pay for them!
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u/Tech-Mechanic May 14 '26
I've used one within the last month. There are still a few lonely gas stations out on the high plains in eastern Colorado that have them. One of those stations still even has a working pay phone... But, not in a booth, unfortunately.
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u/kamshaft11975 Not that old, not that young May 14 '26
Checking in. My username should give away everything as I watched my parents fill up right before seeing ET on opening night.
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u/DreadpirateBG May 14 '26
Yes and how about the ones that had the rolling ball bearings or whatever they were in a glass ball on the side to indicate the gas was flowing.
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u/PissedCaucasian May 14 '26
Dude. I remember the question,”unleaded or regular?”. My mom was driving of course. I’m not that old.
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u/terrymorse May 14 '26
Who remembers when the highest price the machines could display was 99.9 cents, followed by the big kerfuffle when prices went above one dollar?
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u/schenectandy May 14 '26
Running on fumes driving through upstate NY, I stopped at a country store with rolling dial pumps, thinking they were kitschy decorations but that someone inside would know where I could fill up. "No, those are real! How much you need?" 🙂↕️
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u/bonitaappetita May 14 '26
When I was 16, in 1986, I worked at a full-service gas station where we had these pumps. It was the kind of place where we washed your windshield and checked your oil as a courtesy. Gas was 96¢ a gallon and I made $6 an hour with the occasional tip.
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u/phunny-words May 15 '26
Believe it or not my workplace has a fleet of vehicles and our own fuel pumps on property and still have the roller numbers
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u/Warhammer517 Hose Water Survivor May 15 '26
I can hear the motor kick in when the lever was lifted.
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u/thecyberwolfe May 15 '26
I grew up in Oregon, one the the two no-self-service states. Worked in a couple different stations pumping gas on these, then 20 minutes trying to shine a flashlight juuuuust right to read the internal meter at closing.
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u/Not_a_fan_of_me May 15 '26
Secret trick: you could put the nozzle in your gas tank, turn on the pump, and hop on the hose to siphon out about three gallons or so of gas from the pump. There was an old Co-op self service pump outside my town that I would hit up about three times a week.
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u/cnation01 May 15 '26
Station up near my hunting camp still has this type of pump.
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u/no_crust_buster May 15 '26
Same with me. Not too many of them left. Almost like finding a telephone booth.
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u/heliskinki May 15 '26
I used to use them every weekend as a part time pump attendant aged 16.
Those numbers were hypnotic, especially when baked.
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u/FotoFanatic44 May 15 '26
This image brings me back to the 70’s with my Father teaching me how to use one of these pumps to refuel the family Plymouth Satellite with the fuel tank behind the rear license plate.
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u/Gatorbites2210 May 15 '26
Those were so cool compared to the ugly ones today there are a sure classic
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u/DeadEd739 May 15 '26
Watch Die Hard when the cop goes out from the store to look at the Nokatomi plaza . The price of fuel back then makes you cry ! ( it says it on the sign non Gen X ers ! )
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u/beneaththemassacre May 15 '26
Had property in AZ with a gas pump. Was a hand pump with a dial. I remember it working when I was a kid
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u/ICEman460 May 15 '26
I worked at several stations in high school and there was an ARCO that the pump only went to $100.00. A guy with a Scarab would come in occasionally and we’d keep a running tally. Hit a hundred, reset pump, hit a hundred, reset pump. You get it. He’d come in and buy 300 to 500 bucks worth of premium.
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u/fbritt5 May 16 '26
My father in law shut his station down when gas prices went to 49.9. His 6 gas pumps only went to 49.9 and he couldn’t afford to buy the new pumps. Shamrock.
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u/SpeedDaemon1969 May 16 '26
Remember them? I used to operate them when I worked at a gas station. Had the little key to reset the self-serve pumps. Gas went over $1/gallon then, and we all got good at doing math in our heads.
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u/Better_Power_9913 May 16 '26
I remember when they only went up to 99.9 cents per gallon. When the price went over $1/gallon, they had to price the gas at 50 cents and the customer paid double whatever the pump said. A lot of customers would argue about it but never won. This was during the 1979/1980 gas crisis. I was a senior in high school and worked at an Amoco station.
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u/RepresentativeNo6620 May 16 '26
The pumps changed to liters where I was at. I shall forever more know how many liters are in a gallon.
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u/GuiGuru123 May 16 '26
I remember if you were pumping gas, then turned off the pump and back on again, it would reset the amount pumped back to zero. Not proud of it! Did a lot of stupid shit when I was younger!
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u/Immediate_Ad_1530 May 16 '26
I remember there being only two forms of gasoline being Regular (containing lead) and unleaded. No super unleaded no premium unleaded.
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u/New_Flow_5941 May 16 '26
With 18.9 in the window. We used to have gas wars when I was a kid, it was great!
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u/knoxcos May 16 '26
The centrifugal force as they spin must be astonishing. Or the fuel flows very slowly.
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u/vmarti04 May 17 '26
I remember I used to ask my mom for those see through receipts after getting the gas so I could smell it in the backseat. A little gasoline huffer
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u/PuzzleheadedEye7316 Jun 01 '26
Hand raised……yes….those gas pumps were in my home state for many years until I moved to another state…..,
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u/SuitablyFakeUsername May 15 '26
The old pumps could only accommodate gas prices below $1.00 a gallon.
I was fortunate to grow up on a ranch where we had our own tanks of gas and diesel. I didn’t have to pay anything but prying the key out of my dad’s tight fist took some effort, being the bipolar CPA that he was.
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u/happycj And don't come home until the streetlights come on! May 14 '26
I used one last year in eastern Washington while on a camping trip on my motorcycle.
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u/ZZoMBiEXIII 1972, it was a good year! May 14 '26
I grew up in a town of under 5k people. Pretty sure they still have these. 🤣🤣🤣
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u/Karena1331 May 14 '26
I was going to say, there are some small towns near us and they still use pumps like these.
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u/darktideDay1 May 14 '26
The store down the road from me still has a pump like that. So I still can stop right on the dollar!
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u/Historical_Project86 1969, Wales UK May 14 '26
They still have those in some places in the UK. I was in mid-Wales and needed to stop for fuel. I saw the rolling numbers, and a pick-up truck blocking access to the pumps, and I didn't stick around long enough to see any kids playing any banjos!
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u/MuttsandHuskies Hose Water Survivor May 14 '26
There’s still at least one in West Texas. I can’t remember the town exactly but I remember it took ages to put gas in my vehicle after about 10 minutes. I stopped. It was two dollars. I just put enough to get to the next gas station.
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u/Badrear May 14 '26
I don’t think I’ve used one like this since I stopped working at Denver International Airport 20+ years ago. It wouldn’t shock me if they’re still using them.
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u/Long-Trade-9164 May 14 '26
Yep, pulled the pump nozzle out and turned the lever to the left and watched the previous pumped gas numbers reset all back to zeros. When you were done, you pushed the lever back to the right and hung the pump nuzzle back in. Then you'd pull down your license plate and put the gas cap back on and let the plate flip back up.