Jack: Check this out.
Jack: This is the mobile recording truck.
Danielle: Stop it right now.
Mike: Wow. Danielle: Are you kidding me?!
Mike: You're always getting into something cool as hell.
Jack: You hear rumors of things like this.
How there was a recording truck that's one of those mythological things
That maybe didn't even really exist.
Bill: It recorded bob seger's live bullet, kiss alive!
Mike: Really?
(crowd cheering)
Jack: Our hope now is to make it a working
Recording studio on wheels again.
Mike: But what do you want us to do?
Bill: Well...
Jack: There was a trailer attached to this truck.
Jack: And they made a walkway
Between the two, so they could go back...
Mike: Oh, like a little dog run? Jack: ...Extra tape machine,
Generator, so...
Bill: So it's a vital part of this thing.
But don't know where it is.
And that's why we were getting ahold of you guys.
Jack: Can we find that?
Mike: Oh, you're looking for this specific one.
Jack: Yes. Bill: It's custom-made.
Danielle: So there's only one of them.
Jack: It may not exist anymore.
Mike: That's a tall order, dude, to be honest with ya.
Jack: We had dealt with mike and antique archaeology before,
So I knew that he would understand the beauty of this truck on its own.
Mike: Alright man, let's do it. Jack: Alright.
Danielle: My brain's already like, ch-ch-ch-!
Mike: I think jack knows
That this is really a shot-in-the-dark.
Danielle: Hey, bill, how're you doing?
Bill: I found a handwritten sales receipt from about 2005,
And it's got a lady's name on it.
Danielle: Holy cow! Alright, this is fantastic.
Bill: I mean who knows, maybe this lady's still got it, you know?
Danielle: This isn't by any chance janie ambrose, is it?
Janie: Yes! Danielle: Oh, I've been looking for you.
(upbeat music)
Robbie: We are in the middle of florida here.
Diamond dave: Mm-hmm.
Robbie: Dude, I cannot believe that danielle
Tracked this trailer down.
If we can confirm that this is the trailer...
Diamond dave: Yeah. Robbie: It's gonna be amazing.
Robbie: Dave has worked for my brother for over 10 years.
He's kind of like a swiss army knife, you know,
You can put him on rebuilding an engine, fixing a fender,
But then I can send him across country to go pick up something.
You know what? I'm going to need him today.
Robbie: No wonder nobody wants to be down here in the summer months, man.
It's so freakin' hot!
Robbie: God, danielle can't friggin' send me
Some place that's cool?
Mike: It's 50 degrees here, man.
(laughing) mike: It's 50 degrees here.
It's nice and cool this time of year.
Danielle: So, we're going to go see a gal named liz.
It's her father's collection. Mike: Okay.
Danielle: Her father did pass within the last year,
So there's a lot of moving parts.
And they're trying to clear out properties
And trying to move stuff along.
Mike: Okay. Danielle: He lived right on the lake.
Mike: What kind of stuff does he have?
Danielle: Well, I mean, he's got automotive,
He's got mostly motorcycles.
1930s, right around there. Mike: Yeah?
Mike: What do you mean, like indians and harley?
Danielle: Indians, yeah. Mike: He does!?
Mike: You've been holding this information this whole time.
Danielle: I'm a wealth of information.
Mike: Indians and harleys, and you didn't tell me about it.
Danielle: If I had told you about those motorcycles earlier,
You wouldn't have shut up the entire ride.
Mike: You're right, I wouldn't have.
Danielle: ...Nothing but those motorcycles the entire ride.
Mike: It'd give me something to look forward to!
Danielle: You get to hang out with me,
What else do you want to look forward to?
Danielle: That's every person's dream.
Robbie: I think it's right here.
Here's the photo, right here, I see--
Robbie: There it is, right there, there's the trailer, man!
Diamond dave: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Robbie: Alright, let's do this.
(knocks on door)
Robbie: Janie? Janie: Hello, yes.
Robbie: How're you doing? I'm rob wolfe,
You talk to danielle on the phone?
Janie: Oh, oh yes, about the trailer?
Robbie: Yeah, and I'm excited to see this thing.
Janie: Oh, oh wow. Robbie: This is my buddy, dave.
Diamond dave: Nice to meet you. Janie: Hi, nice to meet you.
Robbie: He's kind of the muscle, I brought him for just this.
Diamond dave: Let's see what happens though, huh.
Janie: Okay, yeah, it's right over here.
Robbie: How long have you had this thing?
Janie: Oh, it's been sitting here about 10 years,
But I got it in about 2005 from pennsylvania.
Robbie: And what'd you use it for?
Janie: Hauling my stuff from pennsylvania, moving here to florida.
Robbie: This is it, this thing? Janie: Here it is.
Yeah, I'm excited to get it outta here.
Robbie: What?! Wow.
Robbie: This thing does not look like the pictures, at all.
Robbie: Wow. Janie: Yeah, it's been sitting here quite a long time...
Robbie: Holy cow.
(keyboard clicking)
Mike: The front yard of all these places is basically lake huron.
Danielle: Massive, massive backyard
And lake huron front yard.
Mike: Yeah. Wow, what a beautiful place.
Danielle: Right? Look at that view.
(honks horn) mike: Hey-hey!
Elizabeth: Hey. Joel: Hey, how're you doing?
Mike: You liz? Elizabeth: Yes.
Mike: Hey, I'm mike. Elizabeth: Hi, mike.
Mike: Nice to meet you. Hello. Danielle: How're you doing?
Mike: This is dani. Joel: Joel.
Danielle: Good to meet ya. Elizabeth: I talked to dani on the phone.
Danielle: Good to meet you, finally, in person, huh?
Elizabeth: I went to a lot of car shows,
Which were really boring for a little girl to go to,
But when I spent time with my dad,
It was usually doing something like that.
Mike: Your father was an antique motorcycle collector?
Elizabeth: Yes, yes.
Mike: Did he go to the davenport meet?
Do you know if he ever went to davenport, iowa?
Elizabeth: He drug me around when I was a little kid.
Mike: Okay. Oh, you went on all the treasure hunts?
Elizabeth: I went on the treasure hunts, I did.
Mike: Very cool. Elizabeth: So, yeah.
Elizabeth: I grew up in a garage.
I learned early to get the longest screwdriver,
Because I had to stick it in the choke of the car
When he was trying to start it.
Elizabeth: He made me know a lot of things
That a lot of girls don't know. (laughs)
Elizabeth: It's not every day there's a motorcycle in the den, but...
Mike: Oh my gosh! Elizabeth: We've got one!
Mike: I love the way he's living.
Danielle: Yeah... Mike: Whoa!
Mike: This is unbelievable,
That the first thing you see when you walk in a dude's house
Is a skirted 4-cylinder with a sidecar,
Sitting right there in front of you.
Mike: I've got eight motorcycles in my house.
Elizabeth: Oh my gosh. Mike: So it's cool to see this.
Mike: You want to surround yourself with the things that you love.
And it doesn't matter how big they are, you're going to do it.
Mike: It's an inline 4-cylinder,
And then you've got these skirted fenders.
It sounds and looks like a locomotive
Going down the road, you know? Elizabeth: Yeah.
Mike: Up to this point, there had been a number of american inline 4-cylinders
On the road. Brands like ace, cleveland, henderson.
But when indian started skirting their fenders in 1940,
Dropping that fender to the side
With that sexy airflow line,
That streamline look, that was a game changer.
Mike: So how long has this been in here?
Elizabeth: About 20 years. Mike: No kidding!
Joel: Easily, yep. Mike: Did he ride this, ever?
Elizabeth & joel: Yes.
Elizabeth: I rode in the sidecar.
And I don't recommend it.
Mike: Yeah? That's a gorgeous sidecar.
Those indian sidecars are getting harder and harder to find.
Did he restore this?
Elizabeth: Yeah. This one came in pieces.
Mike: So he built this from what, an engine?
Elizabeth: Yeah. It was literally a piece of rust.
He rebuilt everything,
And he would search out the original parts.
Elizabeth: He worked at chrysler.
He did the paint line,
He worked in the marine division,
And he did some of the machinist work.
It was a good job for him.
Mike: Did he do the engine on this?
Elizabeth: I believe so. Mike: No kidding.
It's got a hydraulic front end on it.
It's got a telescopic front end on it.
Elizabeth: Yeah. Mike: Indian didn't do this until the '50s.
Mike: The front fork on this bike is a telescopic front end
Off of an indian from the 1950s.
Mike: They stopped building the 4-cylinder in 1942.
Mike: Okay, so this would have had a leaf spring front end on it.
So he wanted to make it more comfortable
And maybe sit more upright on the bike.
Mike: I know what he's trying to do.
He was building this bike as a rider.
It wasn't something that was period-correct.
Mike: And he's also laid this piece of metal
Over the side to make this look like the side of the tank is chrome.
Mike: This is probably stainless or something
That he's put on the side of the tank
To bring a different element to it.
Elizabeth: Yeah. Mike: I mean, this is no museum-quality restoration.
This was lovingly restored in a way
To where you didn't have to worry about putting it through the paces.
Elizabeth: He wasn't meticulous about some things
Being 100% authentic.
He did it to where it was his.
Joel: He did. Elizabeth: He made it his.
Mike: Have you guys decided what you're going to do with this?
(sighs) elizabeth: We're probably
Going to have to sell it.
Joel: Yeah. Mike: Okay.
Elizabeth: We're going to be moving eventually.
So we have to pick and choose
What we can and cannot take with us.
Mike: Mm-hmm. Elizabeth: So...
Mike: If the bike was built to period with a leaf spring
Front end on it, just had a little bit
Of a different restoration,
It can bring as much as $65,000.
Elizabeth: Nice. Mike: But it also depends on how it runs.
Because to do this engine,
A 4-cylinder engine, to rebuild it,
Is a minimum of 25 grand.
And then a lot of people get blown away by that
Because it's only a 4-cylinder engine.
Elizabeth: Right. (laughs)
Mike: But the guys that do it, that's what they do,
And they specialize in it.
Mike: I'm completely interested in this bike.
But we literally just walked in the door.
And elizabeth has mentioned that he has other bikes.
So I'm just going to kind of step back
And take it all in before I pull the trigger on anything.
Mike: This is a pretty cool piece.
This would have been like a bar top piece.
It tested your grip.
Mike: This is a trade stimulator,
And it's the perfect one for any bar.
It was something for you to do,
It was a little competition in the room.
Maybe everybody would circle around,
Dropping coins in this thing, drinking beers.
The longer you were in the bar,
The more money you were going to spend.
And you could walk away as a champion.
Mike: Oh, he's even got a penny in there.
Joel: There you go. Mike: Let's see if it works.
No. It's not releasing anything.
I think basically what he did was,
He just cleaned it up the best he could
And maybe he was gonna get to it or something.
Elizabeth: Right. Yeah.
Mike: This is worth like, 300, 350 bucks.
I mean, obviously a little bit more if it worked.
Elizabeth: Right. Mike: Like 2-and-a-quarter, I'd do that.
Elizabeth: Sure. Mike: You want to do that?
Elizabeth: Yep, I'll do that. Mike: Okay, I appreciate you.
Alright, man, thank you.
Danielle: Now we got to get it fixed
So we can see how strong you actually are, right?
Mike: I know, right? I know, I love it.
Robbie: So you had it sitting here for 10 years.
Janie: Yes. Diamond dave: When you got this,
Did you paint it or do anything to it?
Janie: Yeah, I painted it years ago.
Diamond dave: What color was it under the white, could you tell?
Janie: I believe it was white.
Yeah, there's a little bit of color... Underneath of it.
Robbie: There's some yellow right here.
Robbie: This thing does not look like the pictures, at all.
It's got a tree growing up against it.
The axle looks like it's never even been moved off this property.
But it is the right size, and it's from the right era.
Robbie: Can we look inside it? Can I see what's inside?
Janie: Yeah, sure. Robbie: I want to look
At what we're dealing with.
Robbie: Hoo! Wow.
Janie: Yeah, it's kind of rough shape.
I had someone help me redo the floors and some of the walls.
There was actually like carpet on the walls and...
Robbie: Was it like, shag carpet?
Janie: Yeah. Robbie: Wow...
Diamond dave: That "qp" means "quiet, please."
There'd be no reason to have a "quiet, please" sign
In a trailer, unless it was used for some sort of recording.
Robbie: The outside of this thing looks like it's trashed.
But the inside, it had a purpose.
Robbie: This door opens up, and connects to the front truck.
Diamond dave: Okay, so there's like a little transition bridge into that main truck.
Robbie: Into the main truck. Diamond dave: A regular trailer
Is not going to have two doors right around the corner from each other.
So having that door in the front that would actually
Connect to the main rig was a big piece to that puzzle.
Robbie: This is the trailer.
Diamond dave: That is so cool. Robbie: It's so crazy, man.
Can you imagine lynyrd skynyrd on set recording?
Robbie: You're sitting here like this.
Diamond dave: Yeah. Robbie: It's in bad shape.
But the fact of the matter is, it connects to the truck.
And that's why third man records needs this piece.
Diamond dave: This is the real deal.
Robbie: This is rock 'n' roll history.
Robbie: Man, you're sitting in freakin' royalty here.
Mike: Can you see ships out here every once in a while?
Elizabeth: Every once in a while, you can.
Mike: Very cool. It's beautiful.
Mike: The american dream looks different to everybody.
And this was his.
Danielle: Holy cow!
Mike: Look at that view, he's got that big view,
He's got the diving helmets here.
Mike: He's looking at the water.
Have you guys thought about what you're doing with the diving helmets?
Elizabeth: I'm pretty sure we could let a couple of them go.
Mike: I look at something like this and I think about
20,000 leagues under the sea, you know?
Danielle: It's like, art meets industry, kind of, you know?
Joel: Absolutely. Mike: What about this one, dani?
Danielle: Let me take a look.
Danielle: I knew there were gonna be diving helmets on this pick,
So I did a little research ahead of time.
Danielle: Everyone wants one,
But they're really hard to find out about,
Because there's only a couple of people who really have that information.
Leon... Mike: Yeah.
Danielle: In florida. Mike: He's the man.
Mike: Dani said that you wrote a book on...
Leon: On diving helmets. Mike: ...On diving helmets.
And she said it's like, literally the bible.
Danielle: So I reached out to leon ahead of time.
He taught me what to look for, to know if it's functional,
And to know the value.
Mike: A couple of these look like they're reproduction.
Danielle: Geez louise... Mike: These two right here.
Elizabeth: Yeah. Danielle: The way that you can tell
If it's a reproduction normally, is the screws won't move.
Or the fittings aren't right,
Or the color's just a little too good,
Or there's no pitting in it.
Elizabeth: He just liked them for the looks.
Mike: Yeah, absolutely. That's what it's all about.
Mike: Heck yeah. Elizabeth: Yeah.
Mike: What about this one? Danielle: Ooh, you got it.
I believe this is russian.
I think this one will retail
For right around 1,400 in the shop.
Mike: What are you thinking on it?
Elizabeth: 8? Danielle: I think 8's fair.
For sure. Mike: It's very cool.
Look at that one, that's cool.
Danielle: This is a japanese one.
This toa? This is the best one of the lot.
That one's going to go for maybe around 2,500 at the shop.
Elizabeth: What do you think?
Mike: I don't know, like 1,800?
Elizabeth: I think we could do that, I think we're good.
Mike: Okay. What about this one, what is this?
Danielle: This is chinese. This one would be like 1,400.
We did 800 on the other one that was 14.
How's that work for you? Elizabeth: I'm fine with that.
Danielle: Yeah? Sweet. Mike: Okay.
Mike: I think they're brilliant, man.
Joel: The real deal.
Mike: I got to ask about the moto-meters.
Mike: So you know what these are, right? As far as like,
I mean, they're the radiator cap,
But they're also telling you the temperature.
Elizabeth: Right. And there's not many girls
That know that, but I do.
Mike: I'm sure you do, he taught you well.
Mike: He taught you well. Elizabeth: Yeah.
Mike: Everything was so beautiful.
There was so much design,
There was so much effort and thought
Put into making things functional
But making them bad-to-the-bone.
Elizabeth: He made the little display things for them,
As he bought them.
Mike: He grew up in a time period
When these cars were on the road,
Cars that used moto-meters.
Yes, they were older cars,
But he would have lived through that.
Elizabeth: His grandpa's car had them.
His dad's car had them.
Elizabeth: He started collecting
When he was probably four years old.
Mike: Really. Elizabeth: Yes.
His grandpa would load him up in the wagon,
And they would walk out two or three miles to the junkyard.
And my dad would say that it would be so hard
Because they would get all their treasures into the wagon,
And little four-year-old bill
Would have to walk all the way back.
Because there was no room in the wagon.
Mike: That's what we used to do as kids too.
We'd walk the railroad tracks down to the junkyard,
Hop the fence, and just look around at all the old cars.
I mean, these things were like dinosaurs to us.
Mike: I've never seen so many of them in one place.
Joel: That's true, yes. Elizabeth: Yeah.
Mike: This is a lifelong collection.
Mike: It's unbelievable that he collected so many,
That he found so many.
Mike: There's 42 of them right here.
Joel: Wow. Mike: Some are very simple,
And then others are very elaborate.
Mike: Most of these here are in the retail range
From $200 to $300 apiece.
If you wanted to sell all of them...
Mike: I'd be a player possibly on all of them.
Elizabeth: Okay. Mike: I'd feel comfortable
Like 150 apiece, you know.
That would be 6,300.
Elizabeth: I think that would be fair, don't you?
Joel: I think that's fair, yeah.
Elizabeth: Get them into somebody's house
That looks at them and adores them like my dad did.
Mike: Oh my gosh, absolutely.
Robbie: Janie, do you know the history on this?
Janie: Someone told me that they made some music
Or something out of it, but that's all I knew about it.
Robbie: Believe it or not, this was a piece of rock 'n' roll history.
Diamond dave: The truck and trailer together were a mobile rig.
And any big band in the '70s
Like bob seger, isaac hayes...
Robbie: Kiss...
Diamond dave: Everybody recorded
Live albums with this. Yeah.
Janie: I was just like amazed, I'm like, I had no idea
That all these famous people were affiliated with it.
Robbie: Have you ever had an offer on this?
Janie: Yeah, a couple of years ago,
Someone offered me like a couple of thousand.
And at the time, I had this full of stuff,
And I would have to get a shed or something.
Robbie: Right. Janie: That wasn't enough money
To like, get something else to put it in.
Robbie: Looking at it, it doesn't look like anything that special.
But the fact that the history is there.
Third man records will pay for that history.
They want this piece to connect it to the original truck.
Robbie: What would it take to buy this today?
For me to haul it out of here today?
Janie: Uh, I would at least like 5,000 for it.
Robbie: It's in a little more rough shape than I thought it was going to be in.
Look at the roof, man, it's like, loose...
Diamond dave: Yeah. Robbie: And the back, look at this...
Diamond dave: Oh yeah. You can see-- don't jump too hard.
Robbie: I already know, that's what I said.
Diamond dave: The back end of that's gonna come right out.
Robbie: There's no way in heck I'm towing this thing home.
The tires are rotted off of it,
The brakes aren't working, there's no lights on it.
It would probably fall apart on the highway.
Robbie: I've driven trailers behind me,
And the whole top come off of it.
Diamond dave: I believe it, and this would be a good
Candidate for that. But I think some of the mold is holding it on.
Robbie: I can deal with two flat tires, but all four flat tires...
Robbie: What we're gonna have to do is we're gonna have to put this on a flatbed.
Tell me how we'll get it on the trailer, dave.
Diamond dave: This is beyond-- robbie: I thought I was gonna
Winch this up on the trailer, it's not gonna happen.
Diamond dave: No, I thought so too. But I knew when you invited me
To come that it probably wasn't easy.
(laughs)
It's always something like this.
Robbie: I know I told you the history behind it
And I know you're excited about that,
But at the same time, it's going to take some restoration here.
I'd like to be at like 3,500 on it.
I mean, it's all about condition.
Janie: Would you be will... I'd be happy if you could give me 4.
Robbie: 4.
I'll tell you what, I'm doing it.
4,000. I'm gonna do it. Janie: Alright.
Robbie: We'll have to figure out how to get it out of here.
All we need is a rollback, dave.
Let me make some phone calls.
Robbie: Let's do it. Get on the horn.
(laughs) robbie: Get on the horn.
Mike: What's going on with this pump?
Is this something you guys might sell?
This is a pretty common pump made by wayne.
The globe on the top is reproduction.
And then he's branded it.
Elizabeth: The pump has been there since 1990.
He wired it so it would light up at night.
Elizabeth: That's the coolest porch light you could ever have.
Mike: The skin's pretty decent on it.
I mean, it's nice that it's got the original cylinder.
Joel: True, those are always broke.
Elizabeth: I just noticed those numbers on there.
Mike: Yeah. I think I can get a couple of grand out of it.
I'd be in it for like, 1,400 bucks.
Joel: That was higher than what I was thinking.
Mike: Okay. (laughs)
Mike: Argh! Hey, thank you.
Danielle: No one wants to move a pump around all day, mike wolfe, nobody.
Mike: You're going to help me load it, right?
Joel: I guess, I'm right here.
Danielle: Even if they say they do,
They don't really want to.
Mike: Dani! Look at this green!
Danielle: It's amazing. Mike: Yeah.
Mike: Indians are some of the most beautiful motorcycles in the world.
Mike: It's 1934.
Mike: So have you ever heard this bike run?
Elizabeth: I have. But it's been a long time.
Mike: It's been a long time? Elizabeth: Yes.
Danielle: Oh, she's pretty.
Mike: Yeah, the tanks are pretty crusty.
Mike: Indian motorcycle company started in 1901.
Harley started in 1903.
Both of these companies made very few bikes.
Mike: But indian is considered the first
American motorcycle manufacturer.
By 1904, indian was making 500 bikes.
By 1913,
They were making like 32,000 bikes.
By 1920,
They were the largest manufacturer of motorcycles
In the united states.
Mike: This was a big chief.
This was a 74 cubic-inch big bike.
They made a scout that was right below it.
Mike: In 1922,
They introduced the indian chief.
And each year, it got better and better.
Mike: Let's sit on this thing.
Mike: This is a 1934 chief.
Mike: It's a good-looking bike.
This was the bike to have back in the day.
It's really difficult to find a pre-war indian.
Mike: You know, something that doesn't have skirts on it.
Elizabeth: Mm-hmm. Mike: You know, the '46,
The '47, the '48,
99% of the time, if you see an old indian,
It's those three years.
You know, and that's the iconic years, the skirted indians.
Mike: But a lot of guys like stuff from this time period,
Because it's more of a deco time period, you know.
Mike: These are streamline, they're deco.
There's a lot of hardcore indian collectors out there
That consider this the golden age of the company.
Mike: This is an accessory,
This speedometer was an accessory
And it actually says "indian" on it.
It's got the jewel light here.
It's done up, man.
But unfortunately, the restoration's not that great on it.
Mike: I love these bikes so much, I'm looking beyond
The type of restoration that's been done to it.
I mean, but this is a rider's restoration.
Mike: Yeah, look how heavy-handed this pinstripe is, feel that.
Mike: This isn't really pinstripe.
When I feel it, that's tape
That's been wrapped over the fender on the sides
And on the tank and stuff.
Mike: God, I'd love to be able to hear some of this stuff run.
Joel: I know. Mike: I wish I could hear it run,
But that's not going to happen today.
Mike: Hmm. Washer fell off something.
Elizabeth: Oh... (laughs)
Mike: I kicked the bike, and the kicker almost falls off.
(laughs) so, but you know,
It's like, they just haven't been ridden in years.
Mike: Okay. Oh, you got another one up here.
Joel: Yep, yeah. Mike: And there's a 1937,
With a goulding sidecar.
Mike: Look at that sidecar, dani.
Danielle: Oh! Joel: Yeah, look at that.
Mike: That's like a rocket ship, man.
(laughs)
Mike: Goulding makes some of the most
Beautiful sidecars out there.
I mean, it looks like a rocket ship going down the road.
Mike: See this leaf spring front end?
Joel & danielle: Yeah.
Mike: That's what would've been correct on the 4-cylinder in the house.
Mike: And this has got the soup can speedo on it too.
This fender light is wrong, this headlight is wrong.
Mike: Now the '37's got the wrong tanks on it,
They look like 1946 tanks.
It's got a vl exhaust,
It's got the wrong headlight,
It's got the wrong air cleaner.
It's got like a 1940s truck signal light on the front fender.
But man, this thing is still cool!
You know, because it exists, it's there.
Mike: I mean, again, you know,
Somebody was restoring the bike the way that they liked it, you know.
Elizabeth: Right.
Mike: Can't hear it run, can't shift it, can't ride it.
But usually when you find a motorcycle
From this time period, it's a basket-case.
It's missing tons of parts, it's not even a roller.
And a lot of time, guys will build bikes out of an engine, you know.
So here's a bike that's got an older restoration,
And it's together, and it looks good.
Mike: Oh, you got a servi-car.
Elizabeth: This is my favorite motorcycle.
Mostly because I can reach the pedals
And it won't tip over! Mike: Yeah.
(laughs) mike: Okay. Have you ridden this?
Elizabeth: I'm not that great at it.
But I get where I'm going.
Mike: So this is your favorite one,
You're going to ride this. Elizabeth: This is my favorite.
Mike: I don't blame ya. Elizabeth: I have a couple more bikes in a pole barn.
Mike: Okay. So what's going on with these cars?
Did he drive these cars?
Elizabeth: Um... We did.
The auburn is definitely one I'm keeping.
Mike: It's beautiful, man.
Elizabeth: I can't let that one go.
Elizabeth: When he moved up here, he retired,
And this became his life.
Joel: Yeah. Mike: Really.
Danielle: What a wonderful life. Elizabeth: Yeah.
Mike: So far, I've looked at
An indian 4-cylinder,
A 1934 chief, and a 1937 chief.
And they're saying that they have more bikes.
Diamond dave: Is he gonna fit?
Robbie: Heck yeah.
Joe: How doin'?
Robbie: Good, how you doing? Appreciate you coming.
Joe: Yes, sir. Robbie: Got to get this
On your trailer and then on my trailer.
Joe: Sounds good, man.
Okay, there. Tie that one right here.
Robbie: Keep going. There you go right there, man.
Diamond dave: The tires might come off, but the wheels are rolling.
Robbie: I don't care about-- yeah, the wheel are rolling.
Diamond dave: Yeah. Robbie: This trailer,
If you pull it the wrong way, the wrong direction,
It feels like it wants to pull apart.
Robbie: Yeah, you're good. Yeah!
We just got to get it backed up,
Put it right here on that trailer.
Joe: That trailer there? Robbie: Yeah.
(upbeat music)
Robbie: We're right on that edge.
Diamond dave: Oh my god...
Robbie: Whoa! Eee...
Robbie: This guy is like a surgeon with the flatbed.
But I thought it was going to fall off.
I thought it was going to tip over.
Joe: Alright. Robbie: Good job. Thank you.
Diamond dave: Thank you, joe.
Oh my god. Robbie: Appreciate it.
Robbie: Damn my heart went through my mouth, I was like oh.
Robbie: Thank you so much, thank you so, so much.
Janie: Thank you. Robbie: Ugh!
Janie: Bye, drive safe, guys!
Robbie: Rock 'n' roll! Janie: Bye.
Robbie: Man, I'm riding on a high right now.
We might be able to make it all the way to detroit tonight.
Diamond dave: Okay. Robbie: It's only like,
I don't know, 16, 17 hours. I'll take first shift.
Diamond dave: Yeah, yeah, that's fine with me.
Robbie: Okay. Wow! Diamond dave: Man...
Robbie: So cool, so cool.
Elizabeth: As you could see at the other places, we're running out of room.
Mike: Yeah. Elizabeth: My dad stored
Some of his most favorite things in here.
Danielle: Ooh. Elizabeth: Yeah.
Joel: Come on in. Elizabeth: Come on in.
Mike: Wow.
Danielle: You got all kinds of stuff in here.
Mike: In this building, there's a lot to take in.
I'm seeing cars, I'm seeing boats,
I'm seeing advertising, I'm seeing gas pumps.
Mike: Look at that! He would run this up and down the lake out there?
Elizabeth: Once in a while, yeah.
Mike: Whoa. Joel: It has seen the lake.
Mike: Oh my gosh.
Danielle: These are the crème-de-la-crème of wood boats.
Mike: Wow. Dani look at this thing.
Cobra one. Dang!
(wolf whistles)
Mike: They're very rare models.
The condition is incredible. I mean, they're mind-benders.
Mike: So he had to be like,
The king, when he went to the boat shows.
Elizabeth: Yeah. Danielle: Are you gonna hold on
To these ones? Are you gonna keep all these boats?
Elizabeth: Yeah.
Mike: I can understand
Where's she's coming from on the boats.
She got a connection there,
And I'm sure they were her father's pride and joy.
Elizabeth: I hate to say it, but he always said,
"if I die, don't have a garage sale."
(laughs)
I mean, he would always...
Joel: Always, always say that. Elizabeth: Always say that.
Don't put $5 on this at the garage sale.
Mike: So have you thought about what cars you want to keep in here?
Elizabeth: Um... Mike: You guys kind of
Kicked that around a little bit? Joel: A little bit.
Mike: Elizabeth is still trying to navigate and figure out
What she does want to sell
And what she doesn't want to sell.
Mike: I can see you behind the wheel of this. (laughs)
Elizabeth: I don't know, I like the pierce-arrow, myself.
Mike: Oh, you got a cord and a pierce-arrow.
Mike: So is this something that you guys
Have thought about selling? What's going on with this car?
Mike: Every time I looked at one of the cars,
Popped the hood on it, got inside of it, looked around it.
You know, elizabeth was just kind of like...
I don't know.
Elizabeth: It is one of my more favorite cars.
Elizabeth: Since my dad passed, um...
It's very emotional seeing everything
That was so dear to him,
And he put so much hard work into it.
Mike: Your dad had such great taste.
Elizabeth: Hoodie, huh.
Mike: You know, I can tell in her voice
That some of these things, they're very close to her.
And I get that, I understand that.
Mike: What about this sign here? That white star gasoline.
Elizabeth: Yeah, I don't really have any attachment to that.
Mike: Yeah? Joel: No.
Mike: In that condition, 1,500.
Elizabeth: Sounds good to me.
Mike: Alright, shake the hand, dani.
(laughs) danielle: Boom, boom!
That was a double shake. Mike: Thank you.
(upbeat music)
Robbie: There's a bug in your ear?
Diamond dave: You put something on me?
Robbie: It was red looking. It's right here.
Robbie: It's right there. It's in your pocket.
Wake the hell up. Diamond dave: Eyes on the road.
Robbie: You're supposed to be freakin' navigating.
Diamond dave: This is your left coming up right here.
That was your left!
Robbie: Dude, I can't take a left there,
I got a trailer on the end of this thing.
Diamond dave: It just took you four seconds to tell me
You couldn't take the left, you could have taken the left in two seconds.
Mike: Alright, there's the harleys,
Okay, I'm looking at them like,
Look at this! Yeah!
Mike: This is a 1936 harley vld
With a goulding sidecar.
Mike: So he loves these goulding sidecars, man.
Elizabeth: Yeah.
Mike: Harley made a vlh,
Which was an 80-inch, and the vld was a 74-inch,
But it was considered high performance,
Hotter cams and ported cylinders.
Mike: This is a pretty rare bike.
This is a '36, was the last year of the vl.
When they were making this bike,
They were making the '36 knucklehead.
Changed everything for them. Joel: Yeah.
Mike: This is a beautiful bike. So this is, again, same thing,
Rider's restoration. Joel: Yeah.
Mike: I could see it's missing the toolbox.
It's got the right headlight,
It's got the right spotlights,
It's got the earlier spotlights on it.
Got the right ammeter. This is an accessory speedo.
Look at these caps on here, man. (laughs)
Mike: Maybe he made these, I don't know.
Elizabeth: He could have.
Mike: Got a later air cleaner on it.
Woo!
That's what I'm talking about.
Mike: This is a desirable bike as well.
I mean, a jd is a desirable bike.
Mike: From 1921 to 1929,
Harley made the jd.
This is a '24. This is a pivotal year
Because this is the last year of the loop frame,
And it's the first year of the big port motor.
Mike: God, his paint job, man.
You ever heard of earl scheib? Danielle: Yeah.
(laughs) mike: He's an earl scheib, man.
Mike: So this sidecar, this frame is really rough.
It's super pitted.
Joel: Oh yeah.
Mike: You know, look at that, man.
What are you guys thinking about doing with these?
Elizabeth: We're going to have to sell them.
Mike: Yeah? Elizabeth: Yeah.
(deep exhale)
Mike: To find one of these bikes would be incredible.
But there's five bikes here.
Five.
Mike: Woo! Joel: Yeah.
Danielle: I love it when mike buys motorcycles.
I encourage mike to buy motorcycles,
Because they bring in a good amount of revenue,
And they never sit around.
Someone's always wanting to buy a bike.
Mike: So these have probably been sitting 20 years too?
Elizabeth: Oh yeah. Mike: Yeah, see.
Elizabeth: I would say, at least.
Mike: Yeah... It's tough,
You know, without hearing these things run...
Elizabeth: Right. Mike: That's the biggest thing.
Mike: Here's what I know. There's five bikes here
That haven't ran in 20 years.
I can look at the quality of the restoration.
Mike: Then I'm looking at all the incorrect parts
That are on most of the bikes.
Okay, that's the stuff that I can see.
Mike: What I can't see, or hear,
Is the bike's running,
Feel the bikes shifting, riding the bikes.
And that's where I'm just kind of...
In my mind trying to figure all this out.
Because to be honest with you, I love all of the bikes,
I love the '24 jd, the '36 vl,
The 4-cylinder, the '37 chief,
The '34 chief. They're all incredible bikes.
This is one man's life.
This is his hard work.
Mike: He's had his hands on every single one of these bikes.
And so I'm trying to navigate which one I want to buy...
And that's hard, because each one of them have something
Really special going on, in my mind,
As far as like, the year and the type of bike.
(deep exhale)
Uh...
(clicks tongue)
Mike: Um...
Mike: All of this is overwhelming, it's like,
I need a moment to kind of...
Just step back, look around at some other stuff
And decide what I want to do here.
Diamond dave: Is this the longest you've ever been quiet?
Right here?
Robbie: Wake me when we get to... Detroit.
(diamond dave humming)
Robbie: No, no. No humming.
Danielle: I've been eyeing that lion sign over there.
Mike: I'm not a boat guy,
I'm kind of a car guy,
But I'm a motorcycle guy.
Mike: You know, I'm looking at everything here
And it's like, I'm just, my thoughts
Are just with these bikes.
Danielle: So liz, this lion sign right here,
I'm really interested in. It's pretty ravaged.
Elizabeth: Right. Danielle: But it's porcelain.
Danielle: I know there's different versions of this lion sign.
This one's pretty rare.
Danielle: Is it double-sided?
Elizabeth: I... Don't know.
Danielle: Is this one you wanna sell?
Elizabeth: Sure. Joel: I think we can do that.
All: Yeah.
Danielle: I'm thinking three grand.
Danielle: I'm taking a little bit of a risk,
Because I can't see the other side of it.
But I don't see this sign very often,
So I know for sure if I've got it in the shop,
Someone's going to come in and buy it.
Elizabeth: Could we do like, 32?
Danielle: You know what? Actually, this birdcage back here...
Elizabeth: Mm-hmm. Danielle: I've been eyeing this
Since we've been in here.
Look how cool that is.
Elizabeth: That is cool.
Danielle: It says, "these birds were caught stealing gas
And replaced with lively ac spark plugs."
So how about if we do...
These two for 34?
Elizabeth: I think that's fair. Danielle: Yes, alright.
Danielle: I know that this piece will sell in the shop,
Because we've bought one before and it sold...
(snaps fingers) ...Like that.
Mike: Let's see what this looks like inside here.
Mike: There are some significant bikes here.
Mike: That's clean, man.
Mike: That's what I understand the most,
And that's what I'm hoping to leave here with.
Mike: It also depends on how they run.
Elizabeth: Right. Mike: You know.
Mike: Every one of these bikes has value
If it runs right, it shifts right.
Mike: To rebuild a 4-cylinder engine
Is a minimum of 25 grand. Elizabeth: Right.
Mike: I mean, in my head, my head was just spinning
As far as like, you know, the what-ifs and everything,
And the incorrect parts, and trying to straighten things out.
And it, I mean...
Mike: After looking over everything, and, um...
Just kind of assessing, you know,
What the bikes are going to need to get them running.
I'm looking at the type of restoration
That's on the bike, what's incorrect parts-wise,
And what's correct parts-wise.
Even the smallest thing, like this sidecar frame
Being as broken and pitted as it is,
I mean, it all affects the number.
Elizabeth: Right. Mike: Um...
Mike: After looking at the bikes
And crawling around them,
And just trying to decide on which one
I want to walk away with, it's like...
I don't want to leave any of them behind.
Mike: I'm thinking about all the bikes.
(joel whistles) mike: That's the 4-cylinder in the house,
That's the '36,
That's the '24, and the '37
And the '34 chiefs.
Mike: There's five bikes here,
Which is five times the issues.
But, also five times the opportunity.
Mike: I'd pay 135,000 for all of them.
Danielle: $135,000.
When I heard the number,
It stuck right here in my throat.
Mike: That's where I want to throw my hat in the ring.
Elizabeth: Okay.
Mike: That's all five bikes that we've looked at.
Mike: $135,000 for five bikes
Is 27 grand apiece.
Are some worth more? Man, I hope so.
It depends on how they run.
But that's where I felt I needed to be,
With the quality of the restoration,
The incorrect parts,
And just the fact that I have no idea how all of this stuff
Is going to pan out when it comes to getting this stuff running.
Mike: I've got a friend that ones a museum
In maggie valley, north carolina.
He's worked on a lot of bikes for us in the past.
Elizabeth: Mm-hmm. Mike: And I would love
To get these up there and...
Joel: True. Elizabeth: Right.
Mike: ...And get his hands on these. With his help,
I think we can get them running and put them back on the road.
Mike: Each one is going to be a journey,
Whether it's tires, or cleaning the fuel tank,
Or finding the right part,
Or making the bike shift, whatever it is.
There's so many different things
That could happen with one of these bikes.
The lynchpin is how they are mechanically.
That is the deciding factor on the real value.
Joel: Think we could have minute to maybe discuss it, maybe?
Mike: Absolutely, absolutely. Joel: Alright.
Elizabeth: My dad's handprints are all over those.
Joel: Yeah.
Elizabeth: And he spent a lot of time with them.
And he was very proud of them.
(tense music)
Joel: We can't hold on to everything.
The opportunity is here and...
(sighs)
Mike: Over and over again in my mind,
I have imagined this situation
With my daughter, charlie.
Mike: I think every collector does.
You know, once you start acquiring so much stuff
That's even overwhelming to me, sometimes,
When I think about all the parts and all the bikes
And all that stuff that I've worked so hard
To collect over all of these years,
If something was to happen to me,
How would charlie navigate that, you know?
So I can empathize with what elizabeth is going through.
Mike: So have you guys thought about it at all?
Where are you going to be on
Them or where you want to be on them?
Joel: Yeah. Elizabeth: When I saw mike
Looking at the bikes, and I seen, you know,
His excitement, of course,
Spouting off a lot of things that I didn't know.
(laughs)
Elizabeth: That kind of made me
Feel less anxious about getting rid of those.
Elizabeth: We thought about it, and...
I think that we could do that.
Because we want someone to really appreciate these.
Elizabeth: We don't want them to sit in a garage.
Danielle: For another 20 years, right?
Elizabeth: Right, right. (laughs)
Elizabeth: We want somebody to enjoy them
As much as my dad did. Mike: Appreciate it.
Mike: All of these things represent something
That none of us can buy, and that's time.
Danielle: Awesome. Mike: Well, we're going to get them running.
Elizabeth: I know that he's going to do what's right for them,
And hopefully get them on the road
And somebody enjoying them.
Elizabeth: And doing what they were made to do.
Mike: Woo! Danielle: Well, we cleaned you out today, didn't we?
Mike: You know what I'll do, I'll send you guys some video
Of the bikes running. Elizabeth: Yes.
Mike: The reason these things are still all here
Is because people love them the way her father did.
That's why they're here.
So you know, hat's off to him
For the life that he had here.
(honks horn) danielle: Bye!
Mike: It's a beautiful home, right on the lake.
Robbie: This is a hell of a vacation I took you on, isn't it?
Diamond dave: You know those camps you go to
Where the men bang on drums, you cry,
And you realize that we're all here together?
That's been this whole experience with you and I in this truck.
But with more crying.
(robbie laughs)
Mike: I don't actually yell at my dog, okay.
She can't hear very well. (phone ringing)
Danielle: Oh, hold on, hold on, this is bill.
Hey, bill, how're you doing? Mike: Hey, what's up?
Bill hey guys, I'm great.
Mike, I guess your brother
Dropped the trailer off over at the warehouse.
The warehouse guys said that it's down there.
Mike: Robbie's like a road warrior, man.
Danielle: I know. Mike: Have you seen it?
Bill: No, I haven't seen it.
Jack and I are still in the studio
Working on something we gotta finish up on this record.
But we're going to get down there as soon as we can.
Mike: Dude, we're still picking in michigan.
How far are we from detroit? Danielle: Hour 45.
Mike: Okay, we're an hour 45, according to boss lady.
Bill: Okay great, that'll be perfect timing.
Maybe we can meet you down there.
Mike: Alright man, thanks! Danielle: Sounds good.
Bill: Okay, see you soon. Alright, awesome.
Mike: Thanks for the heads up. Danielle: Thanks, bill.
Mike: You and bill are the ones that are gonna take
All the credit on this thing. Him finding the paperwork
And then you bird-dogging the lady.
And then robbie too, robbie and diamond dave
Went to go get it, it's like, I didn't do anything.
Danielle: Your team's supposed to make sure you don't have to do much.
Mike: I know. No, no, I'm just excited they got it, you kidding me?
Mike: I can't wait to see this thing.
Alright, there they are, look at 'em.
(honks horn)
Danielle: Check it out!
Mike: Whaddup! Jack: What's up? We did it.
(laughs) mike: We did it, dude!
Danielle: Look at this. Jack: I don't know how you did it.
Danielle: Oh, it's so cool.
Jack: To see that van and the trailer
Brought back together and remarried and reconnected.
I mean, I just can't imagine anybody could not be turned on
And smile from that and get some inspiration from that.
Mike: Look at this. Jack: Wow.
I mean, come on, give me a break, that's incredible.
Jack: Reunited and it feels so good.
Mike: Jack's passion for this project is definitely contagious.
I mean, when you think about history of that truck, the recording.
Bill: Over here was the lounge, where everybody would sit.
This was where the tape machine was strapped in.
Mike: Anybody from sid vicious to bob seger.
You know, so the ripple effect of the body of work
That this vehicle produced is huge.
Bill: Looks like they had a ramp that was on this hinge, and it--
Mike: Yeah, it rested here. Bill: Yep.
Mike: It rested on here, so that's what this hinge is.
Mike: And then look at this.
You've got the same latches on this vehicle.
Jack: So this was the side tarp for the walkway.
Mike: The trailer from 20 feet away looks like the trailer.
But once you start crawling around inside of it
And doing the forensics, you realize
That it is "the" trailer.
Mike: There's no doubt this is it.
Jack: Oh, this is it, absolutely.
Mike: I mean, it really is legit.
Bill: Hey, look at this, guys.
Mike: What is it?
Bill: It looks like the other one of those.
Mike: Oh, it's the same hook. Bill: Yeah, but it's the missing one.
Mike: Oh! Look at that!
Bill: And it's been sitting in that box for 20 years.
Mike: Oh... Right there. Jack: Look at that.
Jack: How cool is that, that that was in this trailer?
Bill: Proof positive. (group laughing)
Jack: So here's where that record light goes, man,
Right there, on the outside there.
Look at it. Danielle: Holy schmokes.
Jack: How cool is that? Bill: I had no idea.
You've done it, you've cracked the code.
Jack: That was it. God put me on earth here
To just find that one thing.
(laughs) danielle: I love how it says, "record... Ing".
(laughs) mike & bill: Record... Ing.
Mike: It's pretty cool to go over the small details
With these guys, because every time
We talk about one, they get more excited.
And I get that, because this is a big piece to the puzzle.
Jack: That's a little bit come loose on there.
Jack: Oh there, you can see the tooth.
Mike: Is it? Oh yeah, there you go. Here, you want this now?
Danielle: You got it!
Mike: If they really wanna do this
And do it right, they need this trailer.
And this is it.
Danielle: Yeah! (group cheering)
Mike: If you would see this on a lot for, I don't know,
300 bucks, you'd walk away from it.
Mike: This is all gone down here, this is all rotted out.
Mike: But it's the history, it's the connection it's got
To the recording source.
And that's what makes it priceless.
Mike: Dude, it's so cool. Danielle: It looks so cool.
Danielle: It's so neat to see them next to each other.
Jack: It's just great to find these little... Clues of the proof of it.
Mike: ...Little gangplank right here.
Jack: I can't wait for us to just bring this back to life
And have the first band record through it,
And see what they're gonna do with it.
Jack: The great thing about it is we don't have
To do any restoration to this,
It looks exactly like it did in the pictures.
(group laughing) jack: Perfect shape.
Mike: At least you have the bones.
Jack: Oh yeah. Mike: You have the bones to do it right now.
Jack: They're back together now, we can start like,
Figuring out a restoration that, you know, combines them both.
Jack: I want to get to the future by embracing
The beauty of the past and marrying it with what's good right now,
And see if we can find a new path.
This is one of those ways you can do that.
Mike: I'm excited for you guys. Danielle: Every piece of this
Has come together just like a puzzle, just like a story.
Danielle: It was meant to be here with you.
Jack: Yeah, it feels that way, it really does.
Mike: I kind of just stood back and watched it unfold.
And I'm really proud,
Seriously proud of dani and robbie and dave.
Bill: The crazy thing is that this is the first time
These things have been together in detroit in like 45 years.
Bill: We couldn't have done it without you.
Mike: I can't believe we did it.
Danielle: I know, I'm so excited.
(group laughing) danielle: It's so exciting.
Mike: All of those guys pulled together
And made this happen.
Danielle: This was awesome. Jack: It was excellent.
Jack: When I play live shows, how cool would it be
If this thing was up and running and we could pull over to milwaukee
Or to des moines or something and record a show on the tour,
And release it on vinyl through the plant and everything.
I mean, how cool would that be?
It's just another way to inspire us,
To get us thinking about doing things we wouldn't normally do.
Jack: That would be amazing to see that just kind of pull up
At a venue and then we can just plug in and record.
(rock music)