Shops, Barns, Varmints, and Trucks

Gas station help

Printed From: Unofficial Allis
Category: Other Topics
Forum Name: Shops, Barns, Varmints, and Trucks
Forum Description: anything you want to talk about except politics
URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=207651
Printed Date: 07 Aug 2025 at 7:42pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com

Topic: Gas station help

Posted By: bobkyllo
Subject: Gas station help
Date Posted: 02 Aug 2025 at 9:59pm

I have acquired a few items from an old gas station in my local town. One of them being a tire cabinet. They use to store tires in it. It is free standing about 7 or 8 foot tall. Probably 14 or 16 foot long. 2 big steel doors that slide like barn doors. At one point the station had pure oil painted on it. Then when they switched brands to union 76 that was painted on the doors. Again they switched brands to cenex fuels. But this time they just painted it red and white.

I'm looking for pictures of these cabinets in use. Perhaps what the person has painted on theirs etc. I have thrown the idea around of putting my business name on it. But I like the old time fuel station brands also.

What are your guys thoughts

Replies:

Posted By: Wispitfiremike
Date Posted: 02 Aug 2025 at 10:27pm

That would be a neat project that is not often seen as I doubt many still around. Maybe find some pictures to pick a scheme from or a brand unique to your area or era for that matter. If your company logo doesn't seem correct maybe try to redo in an older format. Post a picture too. Any old auto or service stuff is cool to see.

Posted By: truckerfarmer
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2025 at 7:49am

I may be wrong, but I'm guessing the front was painted with a tire brand. As I recall growing up, service stations only carried one brand of tires. I tend to think the cabinet came from a tire manufacturer.

-------------
Looking at the past to see the future.
'53 WD, '53 WD45, WD snap coupler field cultivator, #53 plow,'53 HD5B dozer

Duct tape.... Can't fix stupidity. But will muffle the sound of it!

Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2025 at 12:04pm

If it were me I’d do it up like Dinoco from the Cars and Toy Story movies. Unless you knew for sure the original and how it really looked.

Posted By: bobkyllo
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2025 at 12:21pm

Some had tire brands yes. But father recalls this one advertising the brand of fuel that was being sold.

Posted By: Wispitfiremike
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2025 at 10:08pm

Looked thru quite a few service station pictures in google images and di dn't see a single cabinet. Sort of recall some of these being inside along side a lift or outside but along garage side away from the public so to speak. Pictures of logos on here may be a tough find.

Posted By: BuckSkin
Date Posted: 04 Aug 2025 at 9:02am

Was born in a small town filling station and my father stayed in business until he died in 2014.

The way it almost always was, the filling station "owner" only owned the lot and building; the gas company he was contracted with provided ALL the essentials for selling Gasoline, fuel, and lubricants, even the air compressor belonged to the fuel company.

That being said, we were free to sell whichever and however many brands of tires we wanted as the fuel company was not in the tire business --- some were.

Back in those days, if you had four sets of tires on hand, you had just about any vehicle that came along covered --- cars that is.

Today, a tobacco warehouse wouldn't hold one set of every available size.

Most filling stations were cramped for space and new tires could be stored outside in those locking cabinets.

If the fuel company you were contracted with also sold tires, then the tire cabinet probably belonged to and was provided by them and may or may not have the fuel brand painted on it; it could even be painted with the logo of their tire brand.

If you were free to sell any (and as many) brand of tire you chose, then, if you were selling enough tires, the tire distributor might provide you with a cabinet or several.

Those old tire cabinets are rare as very few have survived.

In this day and time of meth-head thieves, one wouldn't last a week sitting outside.