Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Tokheim 39 restoration - keep the guts?

I have a Tokheim 39 tall gas pump I am going to restore and mount in front of my workshop. Do you guys usually leave all the pumps, motors, etc. inside, or remove it when doing a restoration. I would think it would be worth more if it was all original, but will significantly increase the weight of the pump.(would be harder to steal though!) Any thoughts? Thanks!

We restore several pumps a year for many customers and always gut the electric pumps. We even gut the rarest pumps. If you are concerned about future value you could always keep the guts incase the next guy wanted them.
Good luck!

It's just personal preference. I'll admit I'm a purist, I consider any gutted pump just a shell. Sure they are heavy, that's the way they were. And as far as the odor issue, sure it's gonna stink unless you restore the internal mechanisms as well. I just like to be able to open the door and see the pump just as it was when it was new, tags and everything. And they are kind of interesting to work on, and give you lots of practice making your own gaskets!