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All-Time Great [89367]
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Joe21, what’s the cheapest gas price
Jul 13, 2019, 1:19 PM
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that you can remember? @joe21 I can remember 36 cents per gallon.
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Game Changer [1965]
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As a teen, my gas tank was rusty above the $1 mark !
Jul 13, 2019, 1:23 PM
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Can't wait to hear from Joe21.
Message was edited by: Rustyfoot®
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Hall of Famer [22127]
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Re: As a teen, my gas tank was rusty above the $1 mark !
Jul 13, 2019, 2:03 PM
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I don't remember the price of gas pre-ww2 but it was not much. After WW2 the lowest price in Florida was 16 cents but was mostly 17 cents. Local, state and federal taxes now account for much of the cost. The price of gas edged up to the mid twenties in the early 1950's. On one of my frequent trips from Belle Glade to Gainesville, we went through a small town where they were having a gas war. The price was 17 cents per gallon so I filled up. I told my wife we would try to have an empty tank on our return trip and fill up with that 17 cent gas. When we got back to the small town, the gas war was over and the price was back to 27 cents.
Gas pumps were quite different during that era. We had to pump the gas into the elevated globe. In the globe was a marker at each gallon level. Gas was fed to the car by gravity and one had to keep their eye on the marker to know when to stop. I suppose sometimes we got a "short" gallon and sometimes a "long" gallon.
Kerosene was a big seller, mostly at grocery stores. Kerosene stoves, lamps and heaters in winter created a huge demand. During the depression when people needed a refill. most did not have a cap on the spout so they would get the largest Irish potato in the store and use that as a plug. I imagine most people would remove the portion of potato contaminated by the kerosene and use the remainder for food.
And every rural gas station that had a wheel of rat cheese and a supply of soda crackers had a hand painted sign --- "Eat here and get gas".
Message was edited by: Joe21®
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Top TigerNet [29688]
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Re: As a teen, my gas tank was rusty above the $1 mark !
Jul 13, 2019, 2:34 PM
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All-Time Great [89367]
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Orange Immortal [65928]
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The farmer who lived next to my
Jul 13, 2019, 9:26 PM
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family had a pump like that at his house to fill his truck and tractor. It looked really old in the late '50s so I have no idea how long he had it.
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All-TigerNet [5660]
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Re: Joe21, what’s the cheapest gas price
Jul 13, 2019, 1:24 PM
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There were gas price wars in SC during the '50s. IIRC, gas was normally 29.9 cents/gallon, but during the price war was briefly 19.9 cents/gallon.
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All-Time Great [90414]
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I'm old enough . . .
Jul 13, 2019, 1:24 PM
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to be Joe's son . . . and I can remember gas @ 25 cents/gl . . .
FYI - a pack of cigarettes was 26 cents at the time!!! (Mom was a smoker.)
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All-TigerNet [5660]
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Orange Blooded [2556]
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Re: For Neal in NC
Jul 13, 2019, 2:41 PM
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U.N. The gas price statistics in this story are wrong. The price in1950 was $.0.27. The trend has been as follows:
1930’s——$0.19–$0.20
1940,s——$0.18–$0.27
1950,s——$0.27–$0.31
1960’s——$0.31–$0.36
1973 it was $0.39 and jumped to $0.53 in 1974.
1980 was the first year the price passed the $1.00 mark.
A question for the youngsters, what happened in 1974.
In 1954 when I returned from Korea I paid $1800 for a four door Chevy sedan and headed off to grad school. It had no air conditioning. After getting my MS and then a job at TA&M and having to drive out to Lubbock for a week and to the Rio Grande valley on business I immediately traded to up grade to AC.
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CU Guru [1283]
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Re: For Neal in NC
Jul 13, 2019, 4:06 PM
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This youngster was at Presbyterian College 72-76. I remember the gas lines and paying 50 cents a gallon. There was one gas station owner in Clinton who would allow friends and at least one girlfriend of an employee to fill up after hours and avoid the lines.
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All-TigerNet [5660]
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Orange Blooded [4903]
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I remember when the price on the pumps only went to $0.99
Jul 13, 2019, 1:44 PM
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And there would often be a little sign stuck on the pump that said "actual price is double amount on pump". This was when I was a student and near the end of each semester so poor that I was cashing checks for $2 at the canteen.
Once on the way home and down to less than $2 in my pocket I pumped enough gas to get me home but it was at night and didn't see the little sign. I ended up pumping over $3 of gas. I was super embarrassed and told the owner I would pay him the difference on Sunday on my way back to Clemson. He told me he would be closed on Sunday but don't worry about it. I insisted I would leave him the money but I really don't think he believed me. I ended up leaving him a $5 bill in an envelope slipped under the door that Sunday. Hopefully, he was pleasantly surprised.
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Orange Blooded [2556]
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Re: Joe21, what’s the cheapest gas price
Jul 13, 2019, 1:49 PM
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I remember gas at $0.18 per gallon. Checked the history of gas prices and it was $ 0.18 in 1940 when I was eleven years old. Gas was dispensed from a pump with a glass tank on top with gallon marks to measure how much you pumped by hand.
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All-Time Great [97799]
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I saw it at 16.9 in the 1960 East TN during...
Jul 13, 2019, 2:44 PM
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gas wars. One of my tightaszed grandfathers drove 22 miles to fill up at 16.9 and the price at the Midtown Kayo station two miles from his house was 18.9. He drove an LTD Ford rated at 12 mpg. Old Granddaddy and now I'm just like him, a tightazsed old man.
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Heisman Winner [78829]
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There was a Sav-A-Ton station in Orangeburg, SC that
Jul 13, 2019, 1:59 PM
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got its price down to 15.9 cents per gallon during a "gas war" in the late 60's. NORMAL price for awhile was 21.9. Fill the tank for under 4 bucks.
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110%er [6662]
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Re: There was a Sav-A-Ton station in Orangeburg, SC that
Jul 13, 2019, 2:02 PM
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I remember 17.9 a gallon in Union back in1972. Whew.s
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Standout [303]
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Re: There was a Sav-A-Ton station in Orangeburg, SC that
Jul 13, 2019, 3:53 PM
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I remember the two stations on Pinckney Street at Academy having gas wars about that time.
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Gridiron Giant [15630]
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Re: There was a Sav-A-Ton station in Orangeburg, SC that
Jul 13, 2019, 2:03 PM
[ in reply to There was a Sav-A-Ton station in Orangeburg, SC that ] |
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I remember gas at 25.9 cents and the 19 cent gas wars in the late 60s when going to the beach.
$10 was a tank of gas and 3 pitchers of beer at the Red Carpet. Plus a couple games of foosball.
Message was edited by: saddis56®
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Orange Phenom [14539]
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Man, y'all are bunch of old geezers...
Jul 13, 2019, 2:15 PM
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Lowest I remember was when I was a teenager, maybe 1993.
I filled up my 1989 Escort GT for .71 a gallon. I remember buying a lot of gas those years in the .90 - .99 cent range.
This would have been in Harrisonburg, Va. So, I'm guessing around the same time folks in parts of SC were paying in the mid to low .60 range.
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110%er [4026]
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Re: Joe21, what’s the cheapest gas price
Jul 13, 2019, 2:22 PM
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I'm 73 years old and remember going to Gastonia, North Carolina with my Dad and Grandfather in the early 50's and buying gas for 12.9 cents per gallon. I was in the backseat trying to keep cans from turning over with both of them smoking in the front seat. Luckily we didn't blow up!
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CU Guru [1955]
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I remember a big gas war in '70 or '71
Jul 13, 2019, 2:23 PM
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It was in and around Clemson (my hometown growing up). I hadn't been driving long, but I was a penny-pincher then and still am.
The lowest prices - believe it or not, and it didn't last but a few weeks tops - actually hit 10.9 & 11.9 cents a gallon.
One place that had it that low was the convenience store at 76 & 123 (where a bunch of hotels are now & near the old Tiger Den beer joint). I think it was a "7-11" at the time or a Hess gas pump + convenience store. Might have closed up now, but had many owners & names through the years.
About '77 or '78 gas started hitting around $.75 a gallon & we thought the world was ending.
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Orange Blooded [4903]
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Re: I remember a big gas war in '70 or '71
Jul 13, 2019, 2:36 PM
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They always had the cheapest gas in Clemson. There’s a CVS there now. The Hess was where Starbucks is now.
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All-Time Great [89367]
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CU Guru [1955]
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Hey, by the way...
Jul 13, 2019, 2:41 PM
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My dad was in his mid-teens around 1938-1941. I guess a few friends (don't think he did) had old clunker Model A's or Model T's - & kids would hang out with anyone who had a car.
One of his friends had one such jalopy. Dad loved to tell the story of this friend who'd drive up to a gas pump & would be asked, "How much gas ya want?" His typical answer was, "Oh, gimme about enough to massage the carburetor!" I think I heard Dad tell that story 500 times.
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Oculus Spirit [41647]
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My dad had a '28 Model A in the eary 40's before he
Jul 13, 2019, 2:43 PM
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went off to the war
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CU Guru [1188]
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Re: Joe21, what’s the cheapest gas price
Jul 13, 2019, 2:50 PM
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I am 80 years old, and I remember in my early teens in NC seeing gas war prices in single digits. The lowest I can recall was 8 cents per gal. The regular price when there was no gas war was usually in the mid 20's per gallon. Of course, cars were gas guzzlers then, and why not with prices so low.
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Top TigerNet [28324]
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Re: Joe21, what’s the cheapest gas price
Jul 13, 2019, 3:06 PM
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In 1970 or so, they had a gas war in Charleston and I paid 19 cents a gallon. That lasted for about 2 weeks.
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Tiger Spirit [9231]
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I remember in the 60s when it was in the low 30s - can......
Jul 13, 2019, 3:07 PM
[ in reply to Re: Joe21, what’s the cheapest gas price ] |
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remember when $5.00, for example, would fill-up or be close to filling up your car depending on the car's gas tank size, etc.
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All-Time Great [89367]
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Orange Immortal [67540]
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Re: Joe21, what’s the cheapest gas price
Jul 13, 2019, 3:53 PM
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19.9 during gas war in Rock Hill. I had a '61 Catalina Convertible, it had a 22gal tank and I could fill it for less than 5 bucks
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Standout [231]
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Re: Joe21, what’s the cheapest gas price
Jul 13, 2019, 4:16 PM
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I remember about $.18 to $.20 per gallon in Gulfport MS in the early 70’s. The lowest I remember was $0.15 per gallon in 1968 at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni Japan
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All-TigerNet [11934]
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Adjusted for inflation, isn’t gas about as cheap as ever?***
Jul 13, 2019, 4:20 PM
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Team Captain [470]
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Do gas stations even have gas wars anymore?
Jul 13, 2019, 6:07 PM
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I see QT match Costco in Greenville. That’s about as much of a war as I see. It’s more like a skirmish.
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CU Guru [1507]
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Re: Joe21, what’s the cheapest gas price
Jul 13, 2019, 6:52 PM
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I remember 19.9 cents/gal at the Pure Station on Saluda St in Rock Hill in around 1958.
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Commissioner [992]
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Re: Joe21, I hope you have
Jul 13, 2019, 7:50 PM
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video taped many of your stories. You have done and seen much. RE the subject of gas prices; I am 63 and I think ~25 cent a gal is a cheap as I remember.
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Orange Immortal [65928]
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Those gas wars in the late '60's were great
Jul 13, 2019, 8:51 PM
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I do remember prices below 20 cents but not sure what the lowest was - and they even pumped it for you and gave gifts like mugs, etc.
Of course everything was so much cheaper that you young guys won't believe. After getting home from Nam and Walter Reed . I paid $5200 for a brand new 1971 Corvette .... and got a $300 rebate
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All-Time Great [89367]
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Cool story, this has been a fun thread to read.***
Jul 13, 2019, 9:39 PM
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Asst Coach [893]
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I do remember gas under $.17 a gal - (taxes were $.11 a gal!)
Jul 14, 2019, 5:57 AM
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Wife & I bought our first new car in 1971 at the Charlotte Fiat dealer on Independence Blvd. ‘71 Fiat 850 Spider, 2-seater convertible, Periwinkle blue (she picked the color!), 903cc rear engine, 4sp manual, front disc brakes, Pirelli radials, and 36 mpg on the 6 gal tank.
During the 1971 gas wars at the SC/NC state line on HWY 9 between Pageland SC and Monroe NC, gas was 16.9 at the Mustang station. I could fill the Fiat up for less than a buck.
As Archie used to croon: “Those were the days!”
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Orange Immortal [65928]
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My Vette came from City Chevrolet right down the street***
Jul 14, 2019, 9:08 AM
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Asst Coach [893]
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Re: My Vette came from City Chevrolet right down the street***
Jul 14, 2019, 2:37 PM
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Sweet!! Just up Independence from the Fiat dealer was the Porsche & Jaguar dealer. 911 Targa was around $4,000 - shoulda bought that rather than the 850 Spider! A little farther up was Lum’s - beer steamed dogs and draft in a frosty mug! Hard to beat back in the day!
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Letterman [295]
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23.9 when I was in high school - 1968
Jul 14, 2019, 9:16 AM
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nm
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Solid Orange [1376]
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Re: Joe21, what’s the cheapest gas price
Jul 14, 2019, 10:33 AM
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I grew up in North Augusta. Cheapest I saw growing up was in Anderson SC at a Hess at the corner of 28 Bypass and 24. On the way to my Grandmas farm. It was late 60s or early 70s and was 19.9 cents per gallon.
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Trainer [40]
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Re: Joe21, what’s the cheapest gas price
Jul 14, 2019, 11:12 AM
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Late 60’s gas war in Clemson .19/gal at old Hess station where Starbucks is now. Worse part on the way home going through Anderson was .15/gal
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110%er [3804]
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Re: Joe21, what’s the cheapest gas price
Jul 14, 2019, 2:53 PM
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I recall 17.9 around 1966-67 when some of the mom n pop stores between Greer and Tigerville had gas wars. The 59 Ford Galaxy with a T-bird engine I used occasionally to commute to NGJC then sure sucked it up.
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Replies: 44
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