Jump to content
American Road Magazine
Celebrating our two-lane highways of yesteryear…And the joys of driving them today!

Lube Bay On Lake Quinault (us101), Washington


Recommended Posts

Lake Quinault is on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, a couple of miles off US 101. My wife and I were doing a little scouting for a planned trip around the beautiful Olympic Peninsula Loop, which is described in another thread here, and we stopped at Lake Quinault.

 

To my great delight, the Chevron Station there was still operating its lube bay, or service bay, and the operator was obviously neat….a good sign whenever you are looking for automobile service. But it wasn’t his clean up habits that caught my attention, it was the bay and shop itself. It could have been taken right out of the 1950’s when I worked in a service station to earn college money.

 

Just about everything was there, from fan belts hung along the wall, to the mandatory pin ups. A few things were missing…. there was no compressor powered lube gun (but there was a small hand lube gun) and the hoist was not in the floor. The accessories were there below the oil bottles, but the oil was in bottles, not cans.

 

But there was one small jewel that many people would not recognize and that was the leak tub. The metal tub in the third picture goes back at least as far as tires with tubes. Small leaks in tubes are tough to find. So the leak tub was full of water, and you inflated the tube and slowly turned it around in the tub, until the leak was apparent by the bubbles it produced.

 

ARQL.jpg

 

Lake Quinault form US101

 

ARQStation.jpg

 

The Chevron Station with its Lube Bay at Lake Quinault

 

ARQGarage.jpg

 

The Work Bench, Pin Ups, Tools, and Accessories…right out of the 50’s

 

ARQGarage2.jpg

 

The Leak Tub

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dave,

What great photos. The flowers and water and mountains are surely what we all think of on a scenic drive. And that Chevron find takes me back as well. My old garage just going back to the 70's is now a clothing boutique, and not nearly as much fun as visiting the old shop. Thanks for the moments of nostalgic bliss.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fourth by my count and it's a picture you didn't include in the other thread. I thought I just couldn't find it. :D

 

Dave & Denny

 

I looked for a Triumph for Dave in my 1957 lube guide, but didn’t find one. However here is the page for the 48-54 Hudsons, which Alex might appreciate.

 

I apologize in advance for posting such a bit of trivial historical interest, and the 1000 mile lube is thankfully long gone. Alex, take a look at all the places (fittings, etc) that required attention on an old Hudson, every 1000 miles!!! No wonder service station owners could stay in business! Now its candy and coffee that keeps them going.

 

Oh, Denny, I figured this nice little station would get buried in the other thread...and 4th it is!

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

Dave

 

ARLubeHudson.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...the 1000 mile lube is thankfully long gone.

I believe that, when most of us cry about the loss of the service station, we're thinking of the "personal service" of pumping gas, friendly greeting, cleaning windows, etc. But the service station got its name because cars really required a lot of frequent service. Today, with sealed joints, bearings, & batteries, and 7500 mile synthetic oil, it's pretty much "just add gas" and go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...