For some time now, I have been dreaming about finding an old gas station somewhere further south (which in my case is about anywhere) to restore and have a neat place to get away in the winter months. Kind of an idea with retirement in mind, which is still a few years away. I have been going to the Midwest 40 Ford gathering since Bret Chrismer (@bchrismer) started it in 2000, and I have come to really enjoy the Springfield area and the people I have met there. I asked him and "Super Steve" Rohlman to keep an eye out for something that would fit the bill. On the 3rd of July, Steve sent me a couple of pics that his most honorable adversary, Paul, had posted on the book of Faces of a station for sale in Lockwood, Missouri. He was wanting someone who would want it as a place for car guys to hang out to be the buyer. You will know Paul as Poverty Flats (@povertyflats). It was the right place, and the right price range. Maybe not the right timing, but when opportunity knocks, you had best answer the door! Yesterday was closing, and now after a two and a half month wait, I am the proud new owner! And from the conversations on the phone to meeting him and staying at his place when I went down to tour the building, I also have a new friend from this as well. This will be a 5 year project to get it more or less where I want it, starting with revamping the inside to make it livable for while I am there working on it. I plan to dress it out as an early 60's Skelly station. It has been one in it's past, and I kind of want something that is not currently in business. And I like the colors, too. Here is my new station: I think that as I get it brought back into shape, it will be one of those places people will want to stop and get a picture of their car with. I cannot thank Super Steve and Poverty Flats enough for making this possible. They are both the best, even if they are "arch-frenimies" with one another.
Congrats buddy ! I’m excited too. We need a pop machine and peanuts and slot cars and a magazine rack and benches and etc. And bars on the door to keep Super Steve away.
I do not know if the hoist operates or not. I would suspect it does, but there hasn't been compressed air in there for some time, so it has been dormant for a bit. Bret, I am all for that if there is enough interest. Dale (@Weedburner 40) had mentioned he would like to give it a look.
Yes, that is all in place, and just about have the paint buffed up. Plenty of previously planned things that won't be done on the 40 before we gather, but it will be ready!
Let’s see, building, check, build plan, check, interior, pending, exterior, pending, electrical, check, heating, check, plumbing, check, badges? You don’t need no stinking badges! Carry on.
I picked up a couple of NOS Skelly posters to be framed and hung up in Lyle’s new station. Still looking for more decor.
Looking for a small bed or hand crank wrecker boom for my Poverty Flats service truck to be part of the stable at this cool old gas station.
I am extremely excited to be headed back down there on Thursday, but not much will actually happen with the station other than getting the utilities signed up and things of that nature. The main reason for the trip is Bret's Midwest Forty Gathering, which is always one of the highlights of my year. Poverty flats enlisted some help from friends, and delivered the heating/cooling system that I bought and had delivered to his workplace. That purchase actually happened before closing. Yes, I do sometimes put the cart before the horse... In that vein of thought, I did purchase a gas pump to restore while I was at the Gear-head Get Together in Maple Lake, Minnesota. It is a Tokheim Interceptor, which were made from 1958 to 1962. That fits with my desire to attempt to make the station look like it is correct to the early 60's. And because it is bridging the gap between old-school pumps and the too modern ones, it was more affordable. It will not be going down there yet, as I want to make it look good and get signage on it before it goes to it's new home. It was missing the glass on the other side, which I was told was impossible to find. Luckily, I found one online from a fellow in Indiana that deals in pump parts. I cost over a quarter of the whole pump, but I was extremely happy to get it. I also picked up a tire display stand for Mohawk tires. Originally, I was leaning towards BF Goodrich to seek out, but when I saw this I had to have it. My Dad was a Mohawk dealer in the mid sixties. For some reason I can't get the pic to load out of my phone, so I will have to leave that in suspense for now. But that brings the thought, I want a Mohawk tire to put in it. If anyone has one that would be remotely worth using, please reach out and discuss it with me.
While I didn't have time to actually do anything with the station on this trip, we did a little cruise on Friday so Bret, Dale, and Laura could check it out. I snapped a pic of our little group.
What's in the building to the left? Maybe there's room to expand, put in some bedrooms, commercial kitchen, ......... This could become a money maker. Oh, and you need a cat.
Mebbe needs one of those air lines that you drive over to make the bell going "ping!". "Ding-Ding" Milton's Driveway Signal Bell Alarms Cheers, Harv
That is seriously cool. Tripadvisor says the town already has a Sinclair station- you could be starting some sort of revival. How many square feet of potential do you have?
The building on the left is a thrift store that is ran by volunteers from a local church. The lettering on some long-ago covered windows on the street side of the thrift shop spell out Skelgas, so no doubt, the two were tied together at some point. I do not think there is any opportunity to purchase that, especially considering my limited budget. There is a building behind across the alley that may warrant looking into down the road, though. I think the Sinclair is in a nearby town, I do not know of one in Lockwood. Tripadvisor and similar sites seem to lump an area together sometimes. There is an Amoco that is idle other than the car wash, but I don't feel like it has as much personality as we will be able to bring out in this place. Square footage is limited, I haven't measured out shop space to get it calculated exactly, but the office and two bays combined is probably in the neighborhood of 1200 square feet. The lot is relatively small too. I am considering that an advantage, as it will be a natural limitation for my tendency to accumulate stuff!
The Jalopy Journal
