Anyone Remember These Times In America?

[BullGear]

I was 12 years old in 1973 and my dad would drive to the gas line and we'd sit there for hours. Sometimes we'd pack a sandwich and on the rare occurrence we were way back in line he'd get out and walk around letting me inch the car up when the line moved.

 

[whatsupdoc]

I remember it around 1977.

Edit: looked it up and it was in 1973 and again in 1979 wondered because I had a 1977 car and remember the odd even gas days.

 

[Steel+Killer]

That's a little before my time, but I have experienced similar situations when a hurricane is approaching Charleston.

 

[10ring'r]

Lived it also. Mac

 

[candyx]

Turned seventeen and purchased a 74 Camaro new and we were friends of the gas station owner in town, I remember stopping there at night and he would sell me $5 worth of gas every so often when he had the no gas sign up.

 

[Dead Eye Dick]

We actually drove to Chicago to visit my grandparents during the big gas crisis of 1973. Quite a mess. We had two sealed 6 gallon marine fuel tanks In the back of our little station wagon. With judicious traveling and purchasing, we never had issues. But our vehicle had a ten gallon tank and got much better than 20mpg.

Fraid we might be heading that way...again.

 

[MrSmith]

About the time I got my license. Dad drove a deuce and a quarter. Therefore so did I, when allowed. That model car had another name back then as well.

Was a bit before this but I remember 33 cents a gallon, mainly because Dad was so pissed that it went up from 25 cents per gallon. He said he had no idea how he could afford to drive anymore.

Thank you,
MrSmith

 

[Dogtown]

Yup, I remember you could only get gas on odd or even days depending on the last digit in your license plate. Yay OPEC!

 

[Just Chuck]

Yeah, ‘73. I was one year outta the Navy and trying to make in civi jobs. Drove a little Datsun pickup.

 

[rtB]

I was right out of high school in 79, working at a gas station in the neighborhood. I remember we had to get new pumps because the old ones only had two digits, so they couldn't do over 99 cents.

 

[Alpine 338]

1979 I bought a 71 Dodge Challenger for $700 from the original owner with only 59K miles on the odometer.

We shall see if we see deals again if gas prices keep going? I'm guessing not as it's just easy this day and age to just put it on a credit card and go further into debt.

The government will bail us out, right?

 

[Alphatreedog]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://timeline.com/amp/p/9a7705c4deb4&ved=2ahUKEwjPruj_yMzvAhWIF1kFHX9OCnkQFjABegQICRAC&usg=AOvVaw3gIiuYnyFlSqKNluRqnBVg&ampcf=1

Levittown Pa. had a riot around the gas shortage/prices . Trenton NJ police followed truckers in a small convoy protesting gas prices south on Rt 1 into Pa . They wound up in Levittown with Trenton Cops harassing and playing chicken with the truckers . Shit boiled over into a full blown riot . Official story was a trucker refused to stop for and tried to run down a local Pa cop . Police went after truckers and all the people that came out to see the truckers lost their shit . I was their . Total shit show .
On a side note , all the gas pumps back then were pumps . You could pull up to the pumps after hours a squeeze out a gallon or so from a station due to the pressure that bled forward the meter from the pump at the pump . I may or may not have enjoyed cruise night courtesy of a local station now and then .

 

[Alphatreedog]

As there is no edit I will add that thanks to the foreign policy of spineless twat that was President at the time the Country was in economic pain .

 

[Holescreek]

1973. I was 14 and worked at a Gulf gas station part time. We were the only station open on Sunday at the time. Cars lined up a quarter mile up the street and the line wrapped around to the off ramp to I-35. seems to me that gas was about 42 cents a gallon at that time.

 

[pmclaine]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://timeline.com/amp/p/9a7705c4deb4&ved=2ahUKEwjPruj_yMzvAhWIF1kFHX9OCnkQFjABegQICRAC&usg=AOvVaw3gIiuYnyFlSqKNluRqnBVg&ampcf=1

Levittown Pa. had a riot around the gas shortage/prices . Trenton NJ police followed truckers in a small convoy protesting gas prices south on Rt 1 into Pa . They wound up in Levittown with Trenton Cops harassing and playing chicken with the truckers . Shit boiled over into a full blown riot . Official story was a trucker refused to stop for and tried to run down a local Pa cop . Police went after truckers and all the people that came out to see the truckers lost their shit . I was their . Total shit show .
On a side note , all the gas pumps back then were pumps . You could pull up to the pumps after hours a squeeze out a gallon or so from a station due to the pressure that bled forward the meter from the pump at the pump . I may or may not have enjoyed cruise night courtesy of a local station now and then .

Imagine if we cared as much about stolen elections........

 

[TexPatriot]

Bought a '59 ford 1/2 ton in '72 in high school and didn't even know how to drive a 3 Speed on the column. High school friends and I drove it off the school parking lot and by evening I had the gas/clutch/shift thing down.

Gas was .31gal or something like that and you could drive all day on $2.00. I barely remember any gas shortage.

 

[Alphatreedog]

Imagine if we cared as much about stolen elections........

Different time , when we were quite idealistic , moral and somewhat naive . We really did have and fight for values . Now many would sell their soul to one up the Joneses or get the approval of their woke mob .
We've been trained to not fight . To acquiesce . To surrender , cower and lay prostrate before our oppressors . The vast majority have volunteered to be Unics to fit in and get approval . " We Dammed Few " is even being diluted . I fear we have failed the Republic , the Founders and our Heirs .

 

[supercorndogs]

Wasn't born yet. You old fuckers.

 

[MarshallDodge]

I remember it, not certain on my age but I was less than 10. My parents panicked and traded their Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser on a Vega wagon for better mileage. The aluminum block in that POS kept self destructing so after a few years they got rid of it and went back to a Vista Cruiser.

 

[ggmanning]

I remember my parents buying a Toyota Celica during those times for gas mileage. Later I learned to drive a stick on it and eventually used it as a pasture vehicle rounding up cows. Thing took a beating and never complained. Even when I got a license in the early 84 gas was less than $1 a gallon.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

I remember 77, not 73. But it was on tv. I can’t remember seeing a line here in Mayberry.

Lots of folks up here drove to Canada for gas. They were bringing 5gal cans. My old man bought one of those 250 gallon in-bed tanks for the farm truck in case he had to get gas in Canada. Don’t think he used it once.

We might see them again, tho. Or $10 a gallon.

Sirhr

 

[Moe Ron]

Fresh out of high school. Had a 66 GTO. Paid $900 for it. It was immaculate! Decided to sell it. Had one guy even come look at it. Sold it for $600. Nobody wanted those cars. Bought a 74 Super Beetle. Brand new off the showroom floor. My payment was $85 a month.

 

[Waorani]

Despite the shit of the day, it was good times we'll never get back!

 

[supercorndogs]

Was that around the time we reached "peak oil" and only had a couple hundred years worth left?

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Was that around the time we reached "peak oil" and only had a couple hundred years worth left?

20’years was what they predicted 40 years ago...

Sirhr

 

[MadDuner]

I distinctly remember pushing my’68 Plymouth Belvedere ex-Hiway Patrol car in the gas lines. The 440 in that thing sucked fuel like it was free. My friends called me Adam-12. My16yr old gas pedal foot didn’t know how to be gentle. This is exactly why we need complete energy independence!

 

[SmileMaker]

Senior year of high school drove a 65 Corvair that I bought for $250.

 

[Not a Sniper]

Fresh out of high school. Had a 66 GTO. Paid $900 for it. It was immaculate! Decided to sell it. Had one guy even come look at it. Sold it for $600. Nobody wanted those cars. Bought a 74 Super Beetle. Brand new off the showroom floor. My payment was $85 a month.

You are giving me chest pains dude! 66 Goat for a Beetle?! Oh, the sins of our youths....

One of these damn days, I will stumble upon a 67 Goat and cha-ching, there goes another large chunk of change; just beautiful cars.

For some reason-I recall the gas lines later in the 70's, just before Ronnie, mind may be slipping; no telling.

 

[Wizzer]

I was in high school back then. Was never a line at the town Mobile station because we lived so far out in the sticks wasn't anybody around. Used to drain gas out of the old man's tractor to drive around on Saturday night.

 

[Soulezoo]

I remember better the ones in 73. My dad had a Buick wildcat with that big nail head engine. We were stuck in L.A. We did a lot of waiting in lines.

 

[mike278]

You are giving me chest pains dude! 66 Goat for a Beetle?! Oh, the sins of our youths....

One of these damn days, I will stumble upon a 67 Goat and cha-ching, there goes another large chunk of change; just beautiful cars.

For some reason-I recall the gas lines later in the 70's, just before Ronnie, mind may be slipping; no telling.

Bought a 67 around 1990 for$400. Dropped a 455 and 5 speed super T-10 in it. It was a ditch magnet. It would go sideways in a heartbeat. 3.90 posi helped with that. I miss those days

 

[DCAN]

I remember when gas was still pink and smelled good. I remember stuffing a big block chevy in my 55 chevy and only worrying how to get it to burn more gas! I remember when gas hit 75 cents a gallon and we thought the world was ending. Damn those were good times.

 

[johnnyvw]

The odd/even days were in 79. In 73 I was working in a gas station while going to vo-tech school. Sundays I was the opener, would come in 10 minutes before opening and there would already be a line 100 yards long. This was out in the sticks of PA, about 45 minutes west of Philly (not so much the sticks anymore LOL). In 79 I was an avid skier, resorts in Vermont started guaranteeing gas for anyone who would go there. I always drove VW's, so I had that on my side

 

[EddieNFL]

About the time I got my license. Dad drove a deuce and a quarter. Therefore so did I, when allowed. That model car had another name back then as well.

Was a bit before this but I remember 33 cents a gallon, mainly because Dad was so pissed that it went up from 25 cents per gallon. He said he had no idea how he could afford to drive anymore.

Thank you,
MrSmith

Buick Electra

I was in the gas lines.

 

[Mike Casselton]

About the time I got my license. Dad drove a deuce and a quarter. Therefore so did I, when allowed. That model car had another name back then as well.

Was a bit before this but I remember 33 cents a gallon, mainly because Dad was so pissed that it went up from 25 cents per gallon. He said he had no idea how he could afford to drive anymore.

Thank you,
MrSmith

You talkin bout dat "Lektra to too fi?"

 

[frankxtc]

I was working in NYC in the late 70’s when the gas lines happened.
There was one Exxon station in the Bronx that had gas, we would line up for blocks, pushing our cars as the line advanced through the day.
My hobby was motorcycle racing, I financed it by selling 112 octane Cam-2 race gas.
$5 per gallon @ the track in 197x.
People who knew I had race gas were buying it for their cars, $10/gal, no problem.

 

[Mike Casselton]

Yup, I remember you could only get gas on odd or even days depending on the last digit in your license plate. Yay OPEC!

People would "borrow" license plates just to get gas.
When it first started, the hoarders came out with their truck loads of 5-10 gallon steel gas cans and empty the damn tanks.

I wish we could find a way to run short on stupidity.

 

[Mike Casselton]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://timeline.com/amp/p/9a7705c4deb4&ved=2ahUKEwjPruj_yMzvAhWIF1kFHX9OCnkQFjABegQICRAC&usg=AOvVaw3gIiuYnyFlSqKNluRqnBVg&ampcf=1

Levittown Pa. had a riot around the gas shortage/prices . Trenton NJ police followed truckers in a small convoy protesting gas prices south on Rt 1 into Pa . They wound up in Levittown with Trenton Cops harassing and playing chicken with the truckers . Shit boiled over into a full blown riot . Official story was a trucker refused to stop for and tried to run down a local Pa cop . Police went after truckers and all the people that came out to see the truckers lost their shit . I was their . Total shit show .
On a side note , all the gas pumps back then were pumps . You could pull up to the pumps after hours a squeeze out a gallon or so from a station due to the pressure that bled forward the meter from the pump at the pump . I may or may not have enjoyed cruise night courtesy of a local station now and then .

You mean, stretch the hose all the way out and also let gravity help pull the last few ounces of fuel through the hose into a gas can?

Don't know nuthin bout that either...

 

[Texasflyer]

For some reason i am drawn to cars from 1973, ive owned a 73 opel gt, a 73 nova ss, a 73 mail jeep, a 73 camaro, and a 73 yamaha desert race bike. I dont choose them based on year, but im never suprised either. I wasnt born until the early 80's though

 

[Expert684]

A little before this (early 70's), we would ride our mini bikes to the gas stations up and down the road after they would close, then lift and drain all of the gas in the hose on all of the islands. We hardly ever paid for fuel!

 

[tomcatmv]

Remember it well. I had a'67 Mustang with a 289 and at the time was in the Tri-cities WA and worked for Exxon Nuclear (Hanford). I had an Exxon employee gas card and still had to wait in line at the Exxon station but did get a discount, 10-15 % as I recall.

 

[jungle45]

Yes, ran a "68 GTX" four speed to and from work and drag strip on weekends. Loved gas!

 

[MrSmith]

Buick Electra

I was in the gas lines.

You talkin bout dat "Lektra to too fi?"

Both those. This was Kentucky in the late 60's and early 70's. There was another common nickname used. Can't even say it now days.

We'd get the biggest Pontiac engine they was, punch it out, build it, stuff it in a body and "tape" everything together. Get AvGas at the FBO , drop a few mothballs in the tank and head for the access road to "The Plant", 2 miles long, dead straight and smooth. Run from the tracks either north or south. Enough side roads to get away when the "they're coming" call came over the CB. Then circle the Diary Queen looking for girls till gas was low.

Left there in the late 70's. Hain't thought about those times for quite a while. I like this thread. Need to make a few calls today.

Thank you,
MrSmith

 

[Mike Casselton]

Both those. This was Kentucky in the late 60's and early 70's. There was another common nickname used. Can't even say it now days.

We'd get the biggest Pontiac engine they was, punch it out, build it, stuff it in a body and "tape" everything together. Get AvGas at the FBO , drop a few mothballs in the tank and head for the access road to "The Plant", 2 miles long, dead straight and smooth. Run from the tracks either north or south. Enough side roads to get away when the "their coming" call came over the CB. Then circle the Diary Queen looking for girls till gas was low.

Left there in the late 70's. Hain't thought about those times for quite a while. I like this thread. Need to make a few calls today.

Thank you,
MrSmith

I'm pretty sure I know what can't be said.
Would it be the acronym?

Olds and Pontiac big blocks were quite stout.

 

[BW64]

I remember it but never had to sit in line. I worked const. & we had tanks on all our jobs. I just filled up whenever I needed it.

 

[Rthur]

Remember 10 gal rationing.
Not being in/close to a large city it wasn't as common in the sticks/fly over country.
Here is a clue.
2018 was the first time the US was a net petroleum exporter since 1973 when monthly records of this began.
How many times I remember hearing how we are going to run out.
How many times I heard we should use up their supplies and save ours for the future.
Fucking the people buying gas and the workers.
Strange as how many assholes say we have to go to electric cars by 2030.
In essence we will never run out.
Another scam perpetrated by .gov.

R

 

[Waorani]

Last estimate I heard floating around in the industry a few years ago was minimum 200 years supply of crude in the ground given estimated growth in consumption and likely advances in exploration/extraction technology. Doesn't matter though because we're already what, 2 years into our remaining 12 before we're cooked/flooded?

 

[Winningdog]

Yes sir I remember, June of 73 you could buy a case of beer and enough gas to drive around and drink it with $5.00. a year later a different world. Was in Fayetteville N.C. in 73 long lines at the stations could only get 5 or 10 gal. At a time. Used to take all day and 3 or four stations to fill up.

 

[Mister Ridge]

What happened with diesel back then? Obviously it's not as popular as today, but somebody was buying diesel, right?

 

[Aries256]

Lol my mom wasn’t even in high school yet lol y’all are old farts.