McCoy's Shell Service

05/29/2026

The Model A and dim amber lighting really work well together to create the 1930 vintage vibes at night.

05/25/2026

I had great time at the Palestine Lions Club Memorial Day car show at Leaverton Park today. The Model A ran great and fit right in with the other classics at the show. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and said hello.

05/23/2026

Special thanks to Mark Catt for this matching set of 1930 Illinois license plates! These original plates are the perfect addition to our all original 1930 Ford Model A. Even the color and patina matched the car!

05/19/2026

First test drive is complete for the 1930 Model A!

Last weekend, I decided it was time to be brave and take the 1930 Model A for a first drive. Since arriving at the Station in mid-December, I have been tinkering with the car and recently got it running again for the first time since the 1970s. I never could have imagined it would run so smoothly and would be ready for a road test so quickly.

It was a lot of work leading up to this moment. It took rebuilding the carburetor, distributor, fixing the radiator, installing a new battery, and rewiring the car to put it back on the road. After much trial and error with ignition points gap and timing, the engine now runs like a sowing machine and quickly became ready for a road test.

The destination of our road test was Leaverton Park in Palestine. This would give the car a 3 mile shakedown and would act as a trial run for next weekend when Leaverton Park hosts the annual memorial day car show (I would like to take the car to the show).

The road test proved successful! I was able to make it to the park and back to the station without the slightest hiccup. Once I made it back to the station, I was feeling so confident, I drove the car to Leo and Phyllis Adams house. I was so excited to share the running car with Leo, Phyllis, and Bryan Hare. It was the Hare family that helped make this moment possible, to whom I am forever grateful.

While there is certainly more work to do on the car (wheel bearings, brakes, ect), the project is off to a great start. I'm thrilled that this car is now a living, breathing piece of history that calls the Shell Station home.

PS - If you want to watch the full length movie, checkout the my youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD2ijLCXPCQ&t=1s

05/10/2026

Headlights and tailight rewired. New stock 6V bulbs installed. Need to focus the headlights next. The stock 6V bulbs are surprisingly bright. This old car is almost ready for a test drive!

05/02/2026

Now it's really alive!

After the first time I started the Model A a few weeks ago, I had trouble getting it to start and idle again. It would fire after few cranks, backfire out the exhaust, and not fully start. So I started troubleshooting. Then I found out why they say, 90% of carburetor trouble is ignition.

Turns out my initial points setting was too tight in the distributor. Then after it wore in a little, the points setting was way way too tight, giving me spark trouble. So I adjusted the points gap out, rechecked the ignition timing and tried to restart it. To my surprise, it started up and eventually ran good after it warmed up. With the engine warm, I set low idle and the idle air mix on the carb. The result is what you see here. It purrs like a kitten.

The next steps to actually drive this car once around the block will be to free up the brakes. I am also going to finish rewiring the car and get the headlights working. It's so much fun bringing this old car back to life. Thanks for following along.

04/18/2026

Its alive! A couple of weeks ago, the Model A made some smoke for the first time in about 50 years. I was able to get it started for the first time and let it idle for a few minutes. Here is everything I did to make this possible:
1. Remove, Rebuilt, Reinstalled Carburetor
2. Replaced all ignition wiring and a new key switch.
3. Rebuilt distributor. Replaced and gapped spark plugs.
4. Installed new 6V Battery, battery cables, and battery shut-off switch.
5. Flushed gas tank. Installed filter in sediment bowl. Replaced fuel shut-off valve that leaked.
6. Replaced intake/exhaust manifolds.

Next steps are to install a new leak-less water pump and repaired radiator. Once I get engine cooling, I will be able to let it idle for a long time, so I can tune the carburetor. Once I get it idling, it might be able to go around the block! More updates coming soon!

13 likes, 2 comments. "1930 Ford Model A Starts After Sitting For 50 Years"

03/31/2026

One of the most satisfying experiences of the Shell Station project is when I get to bring something back to the station that used to be here when it was open. I just think its cool when items from the past return home. I have brought several items back to the station that were my Uncle Chauncey's that I saved over the years. These were things like his hand tools, floor jack, some Shell Service awards, and a couple of oil quart display racks.

Sometimes local folks who know their history reach out to me with an item that might have been here. Last Fall, Mary Ann Lackey Fulling stopped by the station and told me the story of this Grapette soda thermometer that she had hanging in her garage.

As the story goes, she and her husband, John Fulling, owned the Shell station after Chauncey McCoy retired, from August 1977 to 1983. Mary Ann explained that she believed this Grapette soda thermometer used to hang in the Shell station and that John had kept it over the years. I was blown away when she said that she wanted to donate it to our station!

After her visit, I went to her house and she showed me the thermometer in the garage. When we took it off the wall, we discovered a note from the past taped to the back that said:
"Thermometer That Always Hung in Shell Gas Station In Palestine. Era 1940s".

I spoke to my Dad, Jim McCoy, and he confirmed that you used to be able to buy grape soda at the station when he was a kid. So we are all certain this came from our Shell Station.

After bringing it home to the station, and a gentle cleaning, I hung it on the wall in the shop. Amazingly, the thermometer still works!

Thank you so much to Mary Ann Lackey Fulling for bringing another original piece back to the station! I am a very lucky to have local folks in our town like Mary Ann that follow and support our project. Its why I always open up the shop for anyone who stops by and wants to see it. Its my responsibility share artifacts like this with the community because it was generously donated by the community. Thanks for reading.

03/18/2026

Great news! We will be hosting our first car show at the Shell Station this summer! Chris Winters is bringing his annual American Graffiti Cruise to Palestine, IL. You might remember this event was previously held at the Dog-n-Suds in Robinson over the past 16 years.

We are thrilled that our 1920s Shell Station will be host to classic cars for the first time since......the cars were new. The show is free to the public and is free to anyone bringing a classic car (no registration fee required).

Come and join us for a night of cars, music, and food.

Event Details:
Date: Saturday, July 25th, 2026
Time: 3 pm - 8 pm
Location: McCoy's Shell Service Station, 120 W. Grand Prairie St, Palestine, IL

More details to come.

Please share with everyone you know. We really want to pack this place with classic cars and hot rods!

02/22/2026

1920s Palestine Ford Dealership Tool Box

Since bringing the 1930 Ford Model A to the Shell Station, I've had a lot of folks stop by to admire it. A few months ago, fellow Palestine resident Pat Sparks stopped by to see the car and surprised me with the story of his grandfather's toolbox. Pat told me that he had an original mechanic's toolbox from the Ford dealership that we once had in Palestine in the early 1900s.

The local Ford dealership operated under a few names over the years, including the Palestine Motor Company, which sold and serviced Ford automobiles and Fordson tractors. Our Palestine Ford dealership, operated here from sometime in the 19-teens to the 1940s, I need to research to find the exact dates. But this early Ford dealer opened during the dawn of modern motoring and sold/serviced a lot of Model T's and eventually Model A's back then. Its very possible that our Model A was bought and serviced here.

This tool box was originally owned by Lee Sparks, who was the shop foreman at the Ford dealership. Over the years the toolbox was handed down to Lee's son, Bill Sparks, and to his son, Pat Sparks. Based on some paperwork found inside, I believe this box dates back to 1923 at least. Being a 100+ year old wooden toolbox, it is in remarkable condition. Aside from being in great shape, it was also stuffed with old tools, including some special tools for early Fords like our model A.

To my surprise, Pat offered to donate his tool box to the Shell Station! Its such a neat piece of history and will have a permanent home next to the 1930 Model A.

After picking it up from Pat's house, I brought the tool box back to the station, took all the tools out of it, sorted them, cleaned each piece, and repacked it. I also built a wooden stand with casters so that I could push it around the shop. My intention is to leave the tool box as-is, and leave it stuffed with old Ford tools and parts. As I learn what some of these tools are, I'm sure they will be used again as I bring the model A back to life. I will also be adding my own model A tools and parts to the tool box. Its pretty neat to have an original Ford toolbox from our local Ford dealership as the perfect companion to our Model A.

Thanks again to Pat Sparks for making this possible. I can't wait to share this old tool box with the public. I have already showed a few folks. The most common reaction I get when I open the lid is "Wow, Its Amazing!".

Thanks for reading.

YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/emfUjoHOxVo

02/12/2026

You may recall that Steve Meadows and I collaborated on a 48"x48" carved Shell sign earlier this year. That big yellow Shell is still hanging in the shop and will eventually be moved outside when I get my sign pole done.

Well, we had so much fun doing the first one, we decided we should do a second one. As we did with the first sign, I did the pattern for the design, Ronnie Hawkins provided the 2" thick poplar, and Steve Meadows did the amazing work of the carving and painting the sign.

You will notice that this Shell is a bit different....its RED! This sign was patterned off of an original Super-Shell pump plate. A pump plate is a 12"x12" porcelain sign that would have been bolted/riveted to the door of a gas pump. You can actually see signs like this on the Shell gas pumps in our 1947 photo below. Even though the original signs were only 12"x12", doing a huge one (48"x48") sounded more fun, so we made a big one. Super-Shell was a grade of gasoline that you would once buy at our Shell station. I have always liked the original design and thought it would look good on a carved Shell.

This sign was finished this week and is currently hanging in the station. It will most likely stay inside the shop for most of its life. But I might put it outside on the sign pole for special events once I get the sign pole built and installed.

Thanks again to Ron for the lumber! And thanks again to Steve for crafting such an amazing piece for the station. Please enjoy the carving video that we captured. Its pretty cool to watch Steve make the sign come to life! Thanks for reading.