finally started construction on my island , pumps & light pole project. its only been in planning stages for 16 yrs... i've mentioned it in other posts, but decided to compile everything in one thread that i can update as progress moves along. besides the island, i also have one of the rectangular sinclair signs to restore & hang on the building behind the pumps (gilbarco 96c's) & a matching gilbarco short commercial/farm pump that will probably be stenciled as a "super flame" kerosene pump.

set the pumps & light pole spaced where i wanted them & assembled the main form for concrete:


built templates for the mounting bolts to be set in the concrete based on height of pump bases:


dug the trench & laid the conduit for electricals today. the 96c's dont have an access door on the side like other pumps, but i'll be fabricating one to give access to a main switch to turn everything on/off together. i'll make a bracket to fasten the box to the frame once its in position.


i didnt get any pics of the pumps before i started teardown, but both are pretty solid & skins/doors are straight.



only issue was one had ad glass, the other didnt.


took about two hrs to convert the non ad glass doors to ad glass versions. i used the window frames from the other pump for layout. cut/snip/weld...





i used strips cut from the extra section that was removed to make the edge pieces that curve in towards the glass. the trickiest part is the ad glass opening is 1/8" shallower than the window opening, so had to trim that edge down a bit. pump frames head out to the powdercoater tomorrow.

Great work done. ... can't wait to see it all done

Looking good, so far!!!

Wow! A lot of work!! But everything looking great!!

Just a thought but, your electrical access problem could be solved by simply hard wiring the pumps and putting a switch or timer inside the shop. That way, no access door would be needed. A simple inexpensive timer can be set up to light the pumps at a certain time and shut off at another? I've done a few of these and the timer works great. Another option is to use an electric eye at the pump but the pumps would remain on all night. Paul www.severngaspumps.com

Looks good!

On your way to a awesome island!


________________
Kurt

i've kicked myself numerous times for not adding a box/switch for this inside when i wired the shop. the inside walls are the same type metal thats on the outside & to do it now, i would have to remove about 20ft of cabinets, countertop, sewing machine & possibly drop the t.v. just to get the walls bare to remove the metal to do something. i have seriously considered looping a timer into the system, but still want a main switch for times i dont want it on.

Looks great so far

main switch + a photo eye

thats the way I prefer them.

since this is for more than one piece, i would mount the photo eye directly to the switch casing. the eyes are just as cheap as a timer and you don't have to reset them all the time in case of a power outage or time change. would only cost about $8-9 to add this to your setup and get rid of the timers idea.

There are also astronomical timers that automatically adjust for the date..... I set my pumps to come on for an hour at dusk.

More expensive - but you just need one. Just another option.

Ray

I also use an astronomical timer and have been very pleased with it. It turns on my sign lights at dusk and goes off at 9:45 every night. The timers also have a manual switch if I ever want to turn it on earlier or have it stay on later.

really nice!!
you know your pole will look great. Just put one up.

Looks good. Nice work on the door.

thanks for all the kind words/advice. i'm really excited about finally getting this going after so many years in the planning. reality has set in about how short life really is after finding out two guys i know (my age) passed away lately. one from cancer, the other from a massive heart attack. gotta make the time to do something for myself every now & then instead of thinking, "i'll get to it later/someday"...

One thought, if you could make the ends oval. Just measure back from the ends and cut equally on both sides. You can get a piece of flexible siding ton make the curve. You won't stub your toe and it will look mor authentic. Just my .02

Wish I had the location to put one!

Usually we use 1/8"Masonite or a 3 1/2" piece of sheet metal would work better for making tight bends. also you dont have a deep seam to fill after you strip. You would have to extend the ends a bit...

jim,

thought about making some small radius corners like i have on these other small pads i'm pouring at the deck entrances. i have some thin ga tin i'll be inserting first to smooth the seams & using the wood as a reinforcing backer. will this work o.k.? in theory i think it should, but you have more experience with what works/fails in this field.



i would like to fully round the ends on the pump slab, but with where the large pad for the shop will be & the sidewalk going in, the island would be almost touching both with fully rounded ends & i dont want it to look "cramped" so think this would be a good compromise.

That is awesome.

things kinda came to a halt for a few days due to all the rain first of the week. the big slab & island was scheduled to be poured on mon/tues but 6" of rain killed that. plans are for the big slab to be formed tomorrow with concrete poured mon. i did get some work done on the pumps this week. got all the skins except three doors outside & sandblasted (forgot how much i HATE outside blasting, been spoiled with my inside cabinet). also stripped down the light manifolds & painted those, will wire them tomorrow & replace the sockets on one when UPS drops off my parts order. also got the top section of the light pole painted/clearcoated today. been trying to go slow & take it easy since my back went out weds. glad it doesnt hurt when i'm standing so i can do some work, but that bending over when i drop something is a killer! also started working on some small parts for a gilbarco 1000 i'm doing for a customer. will get some progress pics up tomorrow

have the concrete scheduled to arrive monday. got the big pad formed up friday.


couple of pics of the pump progress. got my parts order in friday, unfortunately, they sent the wrong globe faces. hopefully a simple fix, still waiting to hear back from someone on a solution.

one step forward & two backwards. they sent out another set of globe faces & they were the same as the first. i went into great detail providing part numbers etc. when i called. after the second set arrived i called back & was informed that they no longer carry the faces i originally ordered, switched the part numbers but never updated the website. not sure why they couldnt have explained this BEFORE sending out(and charging my card) for the second set. needless to say, some "customer service" skills are severely lacking! on to some progress...

concrete is finished, i even poured a small pad to set a bulk "lubester" tank on.






making a little progress on pump panels. since these will be outside pumps, i'm not going into as much detail as the inside ones. the insides of the panels will not be painted to match, i'm leaving them in 2 coats of white epoxy primer.


pump frames should be back from powdercoater on friday.

also finished up & shot some color on the bottom section of the light pole. may assemble/install it this weekend.

light pole is up!

I'm enjoying the progress you are making. Thanks for including us, especially the photos.

Your "life is short" comment really hit home with me after another guy I went to high school with died recently. I'm now working on my petro project that has not had much progress in the last couple years.

thanks jim!

sad thing is, after i posted that, a neighbor passed away a couple days later & then an old friend of the mrs was murdered. just gotta take the time to enjoy a few mins each & every day as we aren't promised tomorrow.

been busy with other things, but finally went & picked up the pump frames today & got them mounted.

Looking good. .. can't wait to see it all done

Very nice..really enjoy following this.

Gonna be SAWEEEET!!!!!

That's very Nice !!!



Sid

What's the cabinet between the garage doors?

Looks like a Coca Cola vending machine.

its an old vendo 83. after the pumps are finished its going to be next in line for new paint.

took a little time today & fabricated the door in the pump side panel to access the switch for the lights. i made the door & hinge assy based on access doors from other pumps.







to make it blend in a little better since 96C's didnt have a door, i made it the same size as the "contains lead" sign. i still need to fabricate an inside flange for a weatherstrip to help seal out the elements & fabricate the latch, but that shouldnt take long. also painted a couple of the other panels tonight.

painted some panels yesterday:

Making some good progress. Awesome fab work.

thanks dave! got the skins assembled on the ethyl pump at dusk last night & wired in the electricals.

Steve looking fantastic!!

One thought if you, or anyone, ever has to make a false/hidden door like that again. Allow the "leaded gas" plate to hang over the edge of the door a bit. And maybe some kind of magnetic latch. That way if the plate pulls close to the pump skin you wont ever see any gaps. With strong enough magnets you might even be able to put in a thin seal. Just a thought.

Like I said, looks great!!!

Looooking Gooooood!!

Excellent workmanship! I have enjoyed following along with this journey...

bitting my fingernails..... it looks great !.... eager to see both up and lighted up !
;-)

Looks great can't wait till its done. Want to bring the grandson by think he would get a kick out of the island if that's ok.
Concrete guy come back and fix his boo-boo?

Looks great...Fine installation.

Your light pole looks crooked - or maybe an optical illusion. I have one on that looks the same.

Ray

What brand of paint are you using? Very nice

That all looks so amazing...very nice work

Can’t wait to see this project finished…. Job well done.

kinda like this? lol! finished this up yesterday..

loyd, stop by any time. you know you are always welcome!

ray, light pole is off a little, but these are cell pics (i'm lazy)& for some reason, tall thin objects get distorted. maybe because the lens on the phone is so small?

scott, epoxy, primer & clearcoat are SPI products, color coats are PPG.

thanks again guys for all the nice comments!

painted a few more parts over the weekend. got the "shell" of the green HC pump asembled. also painted one of the doors today & put the decal on/ i like to let decals sit 24 hrs before i clear over those to prevent them from bubbling.









i was pleased with how the hidden access door worked out.





a couple of "night pics"

amazing work...!!

This is like watching a tv show every week! Can't wait till next weeks episode!!
BTW, that Sunoco pump in the back there deserves it's own spinoff show.
Coming along veeeery nicely!!! And very nice fab work!!

Sunoco Pump had its day it was in the for sale section several months ago. Think it sold if it didn't fall thru.

yes, sunoco pump has been sold to another member. i'll be doing a resto on one of those pretty soon though. where the sunoco pump is currently sitting, i have a short commercial gilbarco pump that i'm thinking about doing up in the sinclair super flame kerosene to put in the spot. one project at a time....

Ditto!

Pictures do not do it a justice!

Hen

Coming along and looking great.

It is looking awesome!

down to finishing the doors. put one together & installed it today. this one is one of the converted doors that was originally non ad glass.

Looking good!. Coming together nicely.

after a week of vacation, then 2 weeks trying to get caught up from the week i was gone, i finally got back on the doors. hope to get the back two finished up next week, one is almost ready for paint & the other not far behind that.







night shot:

That turned out great!...nice job.

that is totally awesome...

Looks great!

You have made quite the progress on that and they look awesome! Good job.

Nice job!! Well done!!
I'm curious, do you have a footer under that island? I'd like to do something similar at my place and I'm concerned about the concrete shifting and heaving from the freeze/thaw cycle. Then again, I'm in northern Ohio.....

Looking very good, keep up the great work. Fantastic

I am green with Sinclair envy . What a wonder job you did ,those are stunning ......keep us more pictures coming if you add anything else.

as soon as the pumps are done, i'll start on the restoration of this sign that will go on the bldg behind the pumps. also have a 48" HC sign to redo & hang on the pole at the other end

yeah, dont have any freeze problems here like up there. down here, it freezes just enough to make the grass crunchy, then gets warm again & turns into a mud pit!

Excellent job, looking forward to your redo of the Sinclair signs.

. Can't wait to see it !

think you found a calling.....you can manufacture and install those for those of us that can't! Great job.