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A while back I was given a lead about an old gas pump or two in the basement of an old funeral home. Curiosity got the best of me and I went hunting. Sure enough in the basement was a fairly weathered but complete Wayne 70; Apparently it had had been used to fuel up company cars years ago.

This got me wondering:

Where is the most interesting place you've stumbled upon a pump
(or pumps) to purchase (or in many cases not be able to purchase)?
I'm wondering about un-restored pumps that have been in that "interesting" location for many years not just recently placed there by a collector.

What have you found and where?


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Years ago I bought a Wayne 505 at a McDonalds.


FREEDOM oil items wanted.




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I have hauled pumps out of cow yards with the cows licking my trailer and truck.

I have hauled pumps out of chicken coops complete with their decorations and inhabitants.

You have to be ready to get a little dirty in the pump collecting game.

Last edited by RandyM; Thu Apr 06 2017 11:41 AM. Reason: Spelling

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On a related note,In 1976,our family rented a houseboat on a lake for a week.We were a big Camping family,and thought we'd try something different.
It was in a HUGE flooded quarry in Indiana somewhere I recall,where exactly today I don't know,but wish I did & could find it again to re-live my youth.
Anyway,after they give you a tutorial of how the boat works,you have free reign of the lake,and all the lakes connected to it for 7 days.
We sailed around all week and laid anchor for awhile to fish & swim,then weigh anchor and move on.It was great fun & an experience at the age of 12.
One day Dad dropped the anchor,and when we went to pull it up,it didn't let go...caught on something on the bottom.
Dad unraveled all the anchor line,(Damn if he was going to pay for a new 100' long nylon rope),then tied a boat buoy to the end of it.We high tailed it back to the dock,and told the rental company what happened.They said it's probably snagged on a tree,as this quarry is full of them.
So Dad,me & one of their strongest employees headed back to the anchor in a speed boat,as Mom & my sisters stayed on the housboat the dock.
When we attached the line to the speedboat,he threw it in high gear and spun around,hoping to release the anchor from whatever was holding it..Tons of mud stirred up,water came sloshing in to the speedboat as it was pulled under,but no anchor..The guy said they usuaully release by now,so repeated his efforts.
Huh,nothing.
We did this same routine for about an hour,before the anchor line finally released and was free.As I pulled the line up while the guy drove the boat,there was a large piece of metal hanging on one side of the anchor,that clearly was man made.It looked to be a piece of curved pipe with a trigger on the end.As we were heading back to the dock,the rough neck said it looks to be a gasoline nozzle.Said people have been dumping ***** in this lake for decades,and it was probably a gas pump down there.Said when the Houseboat rental re-aligned with a different oil Co. to pump their brand of gas on the dock,they probably removed the old pumps and dumped them out in the middle of the lake.
Said the odds of us spread over the miles of that lake finding a gas pump had to be a million to one shot.
They noted it on their map back @ the dock where it was for future reference.
I was told decades ago that HouseBoat quarry doesn't exist anymore as it dryed up.
Wish I could go back there again.It was a bout a 1/2 days driving distance from Chicago is all I recall,as we were Home fairly fast.


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Ok I'd say the lake qualifies as most interesting!


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Once I got the bug and started collecting Gas & Oil years later,my mind always wondered what kind of pump exactly that was down there...A Visible or a computer pump?...and what brand!


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Found these two at a dairy farm

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Cold pizza, it was probably Monroe reservoir in Indiana? I bought a Wayne 505 out of the loft of a barn, the farmer had to use the tractor to get it down!! Said he put it up there 20yrs ago not wanting someone to steal it for scrap.

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Much appreciated Chris,that looks to be it,via Google maps & image.We had a small feeling it was south of Indy..And I should've said a Reservoir,not a Quarry.
Both Mom & Dad have passed away today,& just before they did,told us it dryed up years ago,so they can't help me & sisters find it today.
I'm probably going to make an un-related trip out that way either this or next summer,so I'm going to make it a point to stop by there.
..Maybe bring my SCUBA gear and a flat bed. smile
THANK YOU SO MUCH!


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About six years ago I decided that I really had to have a gas pump. I looked high and low and nothing!Than one day I was at a good freinds old truck garage, there was old junk in the bushes everywhere! I asked him if he had any old gas pumps kicking around, he said his father gave them all away years ago. So I asked him if I could snoop around a bit and take a look. HE smiled and said sure ,just dont get lost. About five minutes later, I came across a M@S 80 sunoco script top laying on its side. I picked upright, to find it was in very good shape! Walked out of the battle field, told him what I found,asked him if he would sell it,he said no but you can have it! Since then he passed away at the young age of 50.So every time I look at this pump I smile and think of him!

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great stories smile

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In my quest to find my first pump I located what I would later find out to be a Neptune. It was located behind a fence in an old car dealership. I tried for months to contact the building owner. When I finally did make contact he was very vague and would not say if he would sell it or not. So, after a period of time I saw him again and he said he would not sell it as a friend had given it to him. He said I do have two pumps I will sell you. I said I only wanted one pump. (this was before the sickness really got hold of me) So I agreed to go to his house and see these pumps. He pulled out two older marginally restored Wayne 70s. I did not know what they were but I knew they were too expensive for me. I asked how much and he said $1000.00 for the pair. I scooped them up and I have suffered with the petro sickness ever since!


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