So for this month let’s talk about ad glass. The ad glass is the glass insert on top of the pump. The insert should not be confused with the globe. All of the glass inserts were made specifically for the pump they where going in. There are many different pump companies, so there are many different glass sizes and styles.
The company that made the ad glass would also paint them to the desired gas company paint scheme. These would have been made at the nearest glass maker to the station as possible so they wouldn't have to be shipped too far and take the risk of breaking in route to the station. The printing on all of the glass is identical, just the size of the glass differs. The largest piece of ad glass can be cut down to any size needed to fit the pump.
Some of the pump manufacturers, like National, have large curved glass. The pumps they made that had the large glass was the National A-62, 360 AD, and the A38. Another pump that has special ad glass is the Martin & Swartz (M&S) 80. Those were a flat and curved glass. There are 11 different sizes and 4 different styles of the way the glass was cut, the styles are as follows: flat, curved w/rounded corners, flat w/ chamfered corners (a chamfer is a beveled edge connecting the two surfaces), and flat w/square edges. The sizes are as follows:
3 1/4" x 10 3/4" (Curved w/ Rounded Corners Bennett 900 & 1000 Series)
3 1/2" x 10 1/8" (Curved w/ Rounded Corners Tokheim 39 & 300 Series)
4 1/4" x 10 1/4" (Flat w/Chamfered Corners Wayne 70 Sides & 100 Series)
4 1/4" x 10 1/4" (Flat w/Chamfered Corners Wayne 60 & Bennett Pumps EXCLUDING Bennett 900 & 1000 Series Pumps)
3 3/8" x 11 3/4" (Flat with Square Corners Wayne 500 & 600 Series)
5" x 9 7/8" (Flat Tokheim 36 Side Glass)
5" x 10 1/4" (Flat Glass Tokheim 39 Side Glass)
5" x 11 1/4" (Flat Glass Most Erie Pumps)
5" x 12 1/4" (Flat Most Gilbarco Pumps & Tokheim 36/39 Front & Rear)
5" x 12 5/8" (Flat W/ Chamfered Corners Wayne 70 Front & Rear)
5" x 12 5/8" (Flat Glass Most Bowser Pumps)
WOW! That's a lot of numbers, but they are all vital information when restoring pumps. To get the best parts, you can use this article as a reference for your pump restorations.