Photos of Vintage Auto Dealerships, Repair Shops, and Gas Stations

Henry Fette Ford, Main at Madison, Clifton, NJ. Asserted to be 1952. Age of building unknown.

Building still there. Looks like it, nothing architecturally distinctive, however..

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Today
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Location and date unknown. This one, a Texaco 'mega-box" (three-bay, canopy) outlet. Company design, streamline modern, porcelain clad, late40's-early 50's , would be my guess.

I put it here because I was looking without success for an affordable one with mixed-use zoning. It's not a competitive building design -- no place for a convenience store,l real estate for only 2-3 pumps, only 3 bays for services, etc.

Hobby garage (if affordable), or reuse as different kinda business (restaurant, small equipment repair, etc).

I'd like to have one like this one, but usually stratospherically priced IF you can find one, on corner lots in urban areas, and at 70+ years old they've been remodeled (porcelain painted over, canopy torn down, etc) all to h**l, AND in "rough" zip-codes.

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Tonawanda NY GM engine plant. Big block Chevys.

Side story.. I was in that plant once. They were shutdown at the time. Some engineering and quality types were freaking out over some measurement that was being taken with a height gauge. They called around and we were the only calibration lab that could come right away, although we charged them a substantial rush fee along with 8 hours minimum. I think it was $1200 IIRC.

I got there, set out my gauge blocks and the calibration procedure... and a copy of the manual for the height gauge in question. Checked it and it was well within spec etc. They told me what they were checking and when I told them that the height gauge wasn't accurate enough to make the measurement that they wanted, they all started looking at each other and everyone saying "You mean NO ONE LOOKED AT THE MANUAL" and one guy said "So that's what we get for $1200?". I just shrugged my shoulders, finished the paperwork and pounded a calibration sticker on it.

So I had about 5 hours in the car (Round trip Syracuse to Tonawanda) an hour screwing around watching their safety video, about an hour (if that) doing the job. I got a hot dog and some onion rings at Ted's on Transit Rd and was home by 2:30. They weren't happy that they didn't do their homework.... Good day for me though... LOL.

We never got anymore work from them, which we had figured going in.

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1950 Desotos being welded. This is one of the more interesting pictures I've come across. Note the counter-balances to support the spot welders. This is all robotic now.

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Cooperative gas station in Minneapolis, Marion Post Wolcott, 1941
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Gas station, Benton Harbor, Michigan 1940
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Arthur Rothstein, Gas Station Butte Montana 1939
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General store and gas station, Venus, Florida – Marion Post Wolcott, 1939
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Gas station along Highway US 50, Winchester Virginia –1940
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Melrose Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana crossroads store bar, ‘Jook Joint’ and gas station in cotton plantation area – Marion Post Wolcott, 1940
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I posted one of these pics earlier (#2127). This shows the jig and the stripe tool a little better.

What surprises me is this first car is a Catalina 2+2 and the second is a GTO. Same guy, same shirt, doing the work on what looks to be a different line.
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Another Harley Servi-Car in tow. Note the tire rack on the back of the Harley.

1932 Ford Victoria.


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