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So I'm getting ready to tear into my first pump restoration and still somewhat unclear of how far to take it. I've restored a few cars through the years but never anything like this. I know with vintage cars there is many different grades of restoration, Some just plain expensive and insane if you ever plan to do anything with the car besides keep it locked up in a glass dome and rush in with a feather duster every time a speck of dust falls on the hood.
My plans with this first pump is to restore it, sell it and use the $$ to fund my Habit, oops....Hobby. I want to put together a piece I would be proud to display myself but obviously not so extreme that I can't ever sell it without loosing my shorts.
Is there any such thing as a standard for pump restoration?

What parts should always be replaced and what ones are OK to repair, clean and reuse? confused


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IM KNOW VETERAN BY ANYMEANS AT ALL ,BUT I SEEN YOUR POST, ON YOUR NEW FINDS ! THE TOKHEIM 39, I HAVE ONE AS WELL! BEING THAT YOUR MECHANICALLY INCLINED, YOU WILL HAVE NO PROBLEMS AT ALL! I HAVE TAKEN APART MY WHOLE PUMP 4 TIMES NOW ,BECAUSE THATS HOW I LEARN! "HANDS ON" THESE THINGS ARE A PIECE OF CAKE! I KNOW EVERY NUT & BOLT ON MY PUMP,,,,,BUT.................BE CAREFUL ,BECAUSE LIKE AN IDIOT,,,,,WELL, HERE IS A LIST OF THE FIRST AND ONLY PARTS I BROKE SO FAR!LOL THE HINGE "LOWER" HINGE ,WHEN YOU OPEN THE DOOR AND PULL THE LEVER TO POP THE DOOR SKINS OPEN,MINE WAS ROUGH,A LITTLE BENT AND DID NOT SWING RIGHT,WELL ANYWAYS IT BROKE! VICS 66 HELPED ME OUT ON A NEW HINGE!NEXT THE SIGHT GLASS!WHEN YOU REMOVE ALL THE SCREWS AROUND THE SIGHT GLASS,"BE CAREFUL"MINE DROPPED AND BROKE!THIS WAS A VALUABLE LESSON,I WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN! THIS TOKHEIM IS A PERFECT STARTER PUMP FOR SOMEONE LIKE MYSELF NEW TO PUMPS! THEY SEEM TO BE SIMPLE AND MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE IM LEARNING ALOT ABOUT MY CURRENT PROJECT!HERES THE ONLY COMPLICATED PART ,THE VEEDER ROOT COMPUTER THATS ON YOUR PUMP,I WAS TORN, BECAUSE AS MY PROJECT MOVED FORWARD,MY COMPUTER WAS STLL FILTHY,GRIMEY,AND SO ON,BEING A PERFECTIONIST I HAD TO GET MY COMPUTER OVERHAULED,TO MATCH THE REST OF MY PUMP,SO I JUMPED OUT THERE ,AND ASKED,THERE ARE SOME FELLOWS ON THIS FORUM THAT WILL AMAZE YOU WITH THERE ABILITY TO OVERHAUL COMPUTERS! JOE IS ONE OF THEM, HE HAS GIVEN ME VERY VALUABLE INFORMATION ON MY VEEDER ROOT AND HOW TO BREAK THIS BAD BOY DOWN! HE ALSO REBUILDS VR ON THE SIDE!HIS PICS ARE AMAZING,THEY LOOK BRAND NEW! ANYWAYS AS FAR AS WHAT TO REPLACE ON YOUR TOKHEIM WILL DEPEND ON THE CONDITION OF ALOT OF LITTLE PARTS,AND HOW FAR YOU WANT TO TAKE IT! WHEN I FOUND MINE IT WAS MISSING A WINDOW ON ONE SIDE!SIGHT GLASS BEZEL WAS MISSING ON ONE SIDE,SO MOISTER HAD GOTTEN THINGS A LITTLE ROUGH!ANYWAYS, I WANTED EVERYTHING TO BE AS ORIGINAL AS POSSIBLE ,SO I KEPT MY PORCELAIN PUMP FACES,THEY WERE FINE,I WILL REPLACE THE SIGHT GLASS BEZEL,IT WILL LOOK BETTER,ID TAG,RESET CRANK,ALL NEW RUBBER FOR ADD GLASS & WINDOWS!IM SURE YOURS WAS CAPPED OFF UP TOP SO YOU WILL NEED TO GET A GLOBE MOUNT,"IF YOU HAVE PLANS FOR A GLOBE" BUT FOR THE MOST PART JUST WING IT, THE BEST THING I COULD HAVE DONE IS TEARING IT DOWN AND PUTTING IT BACK TOGETHER AGAIN ,AGAIN ,,,I KNOW MY PUMP TODAY AND THAT HANDS ON EXPERIENCE HELPED ME THE MOST!WRITE SOME STUFF DOWN IF THAT HELPS,TAKE A PICTURE,OR WHATEVER HELPS YOU THE MOST TO REMEMBER WHAT YOUR DOING, ANOTHER TIP IS PREPPING FOR PAINT,MAKE SURE THAT YOUR DOORS SWING CORRECTLY AND THEY ARE NOT SCRAPING ,JUST CHECK YOURSELF ON HOW EVERYTHING FITS BACK TOGETHER,SO YOU DONT SCRAPE YOUR NEW PAINT JOB! I HOPE THIS HELPS YOU ON YOUR NEW HABIT! HAVE FUN! HERE ARE SOME BEFORE AND AFTER PICS! WHEN I FINISH THIS PUMP I'LL PROVIDE MORE PICS,IM AT THE OFFICE ,SO THESE ARE THE SAME OL PICS I HAVE HAD FOR AWHILE,GIVES YOU AN IDEA ANYWAYS I,M PAINTING ALL THE GUTS RED& GREY ,HOPE THESE HELP!

1TO.jpg 2TO.jpg 3TO.jpg 4TO.jpg
Last edited by diesel; Tue Feb 23 2010 12:00 PM.

CHRIS
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MORE PICS

5TO.jpg 6TO.jpg 7TO.jpg

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If you are going to sell it do not restore it. Sell it as is. You will have better luck. Let the person buying it restore it as they want it.

Keith


Drive with Care and Buy Sinclair!! I buy Sinclair globes, signs, cans, ect.
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Thanks for the info. and heads up Dies.! send me some more pics as you have them and I'll do the same.
Originally Posted By: diesel
MORE PICS


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sure i will, i have alot of current pics i'll forward you later,pics always help me! anyways ttyl


CHRIS
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I agree with Keithia, sell the pump as is, if you are not going to keep it. Why put all that money and time into restoring a pump and make $200.00 when you can make a $100.00 now for doing nothing.
Plus, what are you going to restore it to. Guaranteed, if you restore it to Texaco, the first guy to see it will say, "Ide buy that pump if it was Mobil."
There are plenty of buyers for a unrestored pump, but you really narrow down your market when you restore it.

Jack Sim


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Chris,
You better trial fit those 39 doors & top before you paint!!!!
The trim on top is notorious for stripping the paint off as the door slides up into position if not fitting correctly.


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Originally Posted By: jkyocom
Chris,
You better trial fit those 39 doors & top before you paint!!!!
The trim on top is notorious for stripping the paint off as the door slides up into position if not fitting correctly.
oh believe me Joe ,i take heed to your comments! you had mentioned that awhile back,and after vics 66 sent my hinge ,i got right on that!it took me awhile,i had to bang out some imperfections but they swing & slide like silk now! and belive me they were rough! our bodyshop guy lent me some tools that i did not have, to work with the metal on the skins, to get it right! oh and has any one else used bondo & filler for imperfections on there pumps? long term dose it hold allright or is there another method used to smooth out blemishes on the skins?


CHRIS
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Hmm...I guess I never looked at it that way. Maybe I'd better rethink my strategy, huh?
So as for the other part of my question. How far do you take it to have it considered a good restoration in most eyes. Is there a standard or do you just do the best you can and do it to your personal liking? confused
Originally Posted By: Jack Sim
I agree with Keithia, sell the pump as is, if you are not going to keep it. Why put all that money and time into restoring a pump and make $200.00 when you can make a $100.00 now for doing nothing.
Plus, what are you going to restore it to. Guaranteed, if you restore it to Texaco, the first guy to see it will say, "Ide buy that pump if it was Mobil."
There are plenty of buyers for a unrestored pump, but you really narrow down your market when you restore it.

Jack Sim


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Thanks for the tip but believe me a car door, hood, or trunk can make life just as miserable and destroy a very expensive paint job real fast! One thing I've learned to do on anything that is getting a finish is to mock-up and adjust all the parts before any paint goes on. then break everything down again and make ready for paint. cool
Originally Posted By: jkyocom
Chris,
You better trial fit those 39 doors & top before you paint!!!!
The trim on top is notorious for stripping the paint off as the door slides up into position if not fitting correctly.


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Come on guys.A lot of you have looked at the post but no one has answered his question: "is there any such thing as a standard pump restoration?"

Well Kid,IMHO,no,there is not.You are working with a 39,a common pump.I've seen them sell with a "rattle can" restoration for $600 to $800 while I've turned down $1,800 on mine twice.Any and all in between above and below.I think there is no way any of us can explain all the variables in those ranges;I'm not even going to try.

I think Jack and Keith just gave you some really good advice.Oh,by the way,I stopped restoring pumps for sale years ago because I got tired of working for $5 an hour!LOL.

Just my experience,nothing more.

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You want opinions..okay.

First, it's a Tok 39, don't spend much money on it, period. You restore cars...how much time and money would you spend restoring an entry level car??

The more rare and valuable the pump...the more intricate and detailed the resto in my opinion.

Secondly...if you're restoring it with the intention of selling it...don't spend much money on it because you probably won't get it back. I agree with the opinions above...sometimes you're better off selling an entry level pump unrestored vs. trying to restore it and make out ok.

Thirdly...if you do restore it...make it a Texaco, Shell, or Sinclair. They seem to sell the quickest.

But..above all...have fun and do what you want. Everybody's got an opinion of what constitutes a restoration. My gosh..we've seen enough sparring about that over the years. smile

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Un-restored, Daily Driver, Rat Rod, Show, Museum! It's yours, do as YOU please, you'll never please everyone.

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I vote PAINT BRUSH!!

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I guess I will chime in here. Take it as far as you think it should go. Some people keep the pumps in them and some dont its a personal preference. I would also think that the general population who are buying it could care less if the pump is in it or not. I have had a couple of pumps that i have painted the inside of the panels as nice as the outside. Once again its a personal preference. But I also agree with some of the others here its a tok 39 and i have two of them and love them so i can say this. Dont put much money in it. If you can make the veedor root work it is always a nice touch.


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I looked at your pumps again. If the short 39 is the one you want to sell It looks good as is. It is getting harder to find unrestored pumps in as is displable condition. I would start by gutting it (most pump collectors do not want them)and try selling it unrestored. If you can not move it or get what you want then restore it. I restored a couple I wish I had not and they can not be unrestored.


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Matt,
Put those 39L's in direct sun for the next 40 years to get that original Patina look back ! LOL

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The only recommendation I would have, IF YOU DECIDE to restore and sell is completely rewire all electrical from top to bottom. If the conduit is full of the black hard bakelite insulation it is very difficult and time consuming to melt it out and remove the old wiring. It is even harder to repull new wire thru all that conduit. You may be able to stip and reuse the very end of the light header and sockets.

You do not want to sell a pump and have it burn someone's house or garage down or your own for that matter.

Good Luck and enjoy
Larry

Last edited by LarryIvy; Tue Feb 23 2010 10:23 PM.

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How far should you take it?

Two stories.

In the early 90s, I was set up at Columbus selling stuff. Guy pulls in across from me, unloads 4 pumps the size of yours, doesn't matter who made them. From where I sat, they looked nice, different colors, etc. Waited about a hour, went over to look at the pumps, opened one of the door to look inside and it almost fell off and the inside looked like he had never even cleaned it, but "It was RESTORED."

A few months later, on the phone to a guy in Calif. He was telling me what he did when he restored pumps. He said he chrome plated the frames.

How far should you go, somewhere in between these to guys.

Jack Sim


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We restore pumps and over the years have seen the same things that Jack mentioned above. Our restorations are done with the resale factor in mind as that is the business I'm in. Having said that, we have seen a pump like yours with a bad paint brush finish, a new globe, decals ,old hose and dirty nozzle sell at shows for $900-1000. Check out my site. www.severngaspumps.com the restorations are done right, in my opinion only, with parts rechromed, auto paint, porcelain signs, new globes with polished alum.base, new chrome end hose and original beadblasted and clear coated nozzle. Electric is in perfect order. Even comes with lightbulbs. Priced fairly and we have little trouble selling these. As Old Iron said, yeah, we probably are working for $5.00 an hour but that's better than nothing! Our business started as a hobby thing anyway and I still enjoy it. Good Luck. Paul

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Thank you ALL for the information and opinions! I think I'll just run with it and see where it goes. If someone doesn't come along that loves it just as much as me then I'll just keep it around, After all can a guy really ever have too many cool looking pumps in his shop? If I run out of room I'll just tell my wife she has to get ride of her bedroom set so I can start storing my pumps in the bedroom!! wink
I'll post pics. as I progress, Thanks again all!


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joe make sure your wearing a helmet when you tell the wife that!!LOL


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I don't see nothing wrong with pumps in a bedroom; I've two in a bedroom of my house. Of course I'm not married. I was talking to a old time collector at a auction one day when a six foot Frontier sign came up for sale. He asked me why I didn't buy it. I told him I didn't have room for it. I had just told him the story of the pumps in the bedroom. He turned to me and said "Make it into a headboard". Mitch

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nothing like "Rarin to go" on the headboard.LOL


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Haha, that would be an amusing one for a headboard. We've talked about getting a trapezoid Sinclair sign for a headboard. Maybe. wink

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Not at my age. Mitch

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I don't restore pumps to sell, but I have sold three. I restore to my specifications, which lets a buyer see what it is and, if he wants it, we are both happy. I use farm implement single phase paint on the outer panels, rattle can the frame and inner panels, new rubber and repop pump plate, ad glass and globe. I usually pick up my ad glass and globe from Carlisle or Hershey, so I don't have to pay shipping charges. Pergle will bring whatever you want to the show and even guarantees that you won't break the globe before you get home. This keeps my cost down. I have a friend that only uses one decorated ad glass and pump plate on the front and uses plain glass and no plate on the back to keep the cost down. I have "graduated" to wanting the more desireable pumps, I buy common pumps now when they are cheap and sell them like I find them, I would never restore one for the sole purpose of selling - I am too big of a chicken to try that. Brady

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"Common" pump delima;
you can spend a month of your time, and a lot of capital as an investment restoring one,
only to make a few hundred dollars on your return....squat after figuring labor, electricity, etc.

Or buy it at a good price, turn it at a small profit w/ no work involved.....then repeat.
I found it to be more fun doing it that way, than to work for
.50 c an hr.
I would rather be out hunting than in the shop sanding grin grin


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I now know what I'm going to do with the short Tok.! It came to me in a dream the other night ( well not really but that sounds good. ) Actually I was reading through some OLD posts that sparked an idea and.... well it grew from there! I'm going to....Wait for it.... shocked - Sorry can't tell but I'll give you a hint....no billet.
Tear down starts tonight and I'll post pics and clues as I progress.
Have a great weekend! wink


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