Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Nostalgic junk?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Nostalgic junk?

    The day before I had to leave LA... I took the van on side streets about 45 miles to take my sister out to lunch... I hate the freeway traffic and figure if I'm going to be stopped it might as well have something to look at...

    Anyway... one of the places on my drive was the neighborhood I grew up in... little town called Cerritos. On the corner of South and Carmanita was the Union gas Station I worked in as a kid... it wasn't my first job or even a wrenching job... I was simply a pump jockey... The Station was my life in High School...

    So you can imagine how bummed I was to see it being torn down... ( to put up a Starbucks? )... Just sitting there watching the boss man walked up and asked if he could help me ... and I asked there was any way I could snag something that would serve as a reminder of the place... and he was more then kind... gave me a few minutes to wander and snatch up the Bells for the pumps and the phone... They are twin bells with some kind of solenoids that actuate a ringer.... have 3 wires coming out of them...and they've been painted ... 30-50 times...

    Very cool piece of my history... now to get them working in my shop here in Alabama... ( we have power around here somewhere )....

    K

  • #2
    Re: Nostalgic junk?

    that is cool .I spent the first 13 years of my life in the city of orange left in 74 dads job moved him to va been here ever since.the house is still there found it on gogole earth.never been back want to some day.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Nostalgic junk?

      I've tried to keep stuff from the teams I've worked for. I've some helmets, driver suit, team uniforms. Probably nothing any else would want, but they're cool to me.
      Cognizant Dissident

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Nostalgic junk?

        Keith you're always doing something interesting, thought provoking, or fun.



        Glad you got the avatar worked out...
        There are very few people in this world who's opinion I value, you are not one of them.

        300 in 1999

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Nostalgic junk?

          You know Mike it's funny... I have no interest in finding this out... but at my funeral... I hope everyone says... "he left nothing on the table"

          I'm loving every minute of it... Like that side street trip... It would have been easy to sit there in traffic and whine... but it was easier to get off the damn freeway and meander... I had plenty of time and what better way to spend it?

          Ultimately I was rewarded with a Buzzer for my shop that will always have meaning... Perfect eh?

          K

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Nostalgic junk?

            Same here, the path less traveled for the most part.
            HRPT 2004LH 2007LH 2008

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Nostalgic junk?

              Are those the bells that had hoses that would set them off when you ran over them? I used annoy the gas station attendants as a child by jumping up and down on them while Dad filled the tank.

              I think those old gas stations are so cool from their architecture to their fuel pumps. Too bad another got knocked down. Canyon Service just closed in Santa Monica. They would give me an old style bottle of Coke with every fill up. I guess it will get trashed to make room for another monsterous beast of a house.

              Stone or Rock Service station out on Mulholland Hwy is another one of my favorites.
              BS'er formally known as Rebeldryver

              Resident Instigator

              sigpic

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Nostalgic junk?

                nahhh these are electric ... not sure how they worked to be honest... didn't really have the time to write much down... just snagged the Bells and Pulled real hard on the wire to make it come with me...

                seems like these were the ones we always had... I know of the air hose type bells and they were much simplier then this... Our station was built in the mid to late 60's .. I worked there in 72-74 or so...

                K

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Nostalgic junk?

                  The electric ones would be easier to wire up in your shop. Just need some kind of pressure switch. The kids will have a blast setting it off for hours and hours.
                  BS'er formally known as Rebeldryver

                  Resident Instigator

                  sigpic

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Nostalgic junk?

                    Such a heartwarming story and no pics ??? Shame on you...! ;)
                    www.BigBlockMopar.com

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Nostalgic junk?

                      Fair enough... I'll get a picture

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Nostalgic junk?

                        I grew up right next door to a gas station.The old man that owned hated kids.We'd wait til he sat down and ride our bikes across the bell just to piss him off.(maybe thats why he hated kids)Let me know whne you get it hooked up and maybe I'll take a road trip your way and bring my bike.LOL

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Nostalgic junk?

                          Man... How cool is this... I got the junk working today...

                          I have a buddy that's a pretty fair pilot... ( okay he's the Armys top experiemental test pilot ) Anyway Alan came by today to get me to weld something for him on his airplane ... and I told him the story about the bells.... Next thing you know we've got them tore apart on my bench and then hooked up to my phone line... and Wahhh laaaa they work like stink... just like they are supposed to...

                          Keith ( and yeah we took his stuff out to another freind to weld it )... ( ya know this is a pure lie cause I mentioned 2 freinds in one day)

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Nostalgic junk?

                            Originally posted by ksj1
                            I grew up right next door to a gas station.The old man that owned hated kids.We'd wait til he sat down and ride our bikes across the bell just to piss him off.(maybe thats why he hated kids)Let me know whne you get it hooked up and maybe I'll take a road trip your way and bring my bike.LOL
                            LOL! We used to do the same thing as kids! It was an old Exxon station in town. We had a different motive though. The old man actually liked kids and we would run over his air hose so he'd come out and give us candy! The old man passed away in the late 80's and the family sold the gas staion to a man who turned it into a taxi business.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Nostalgic junk?

                              I had it tough as a kid. There were no bells at the gas station, because they hadn't invented bells yet. In fact, they hadn't invented gas. Had to put coal in the ol' traction engine to take our dates out on a Saturday night - took 'till Sunday morning to get up a head of steam, so we never did well with the ladies. Had to mine the coal, as well. And we were glad to have it.....

                              Still, it's fun to hear you kids reminisce about recent history -
                              Dan

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X