00:00 it definitely was one of America's most famous cars.
00:03 Welcome to Claremont Collections, home to over 300 antique, classic and unique vehicles.
00:26 One of the gems in this incredible collection is the Golden Sahara.
00:31 Back in the late 50s going into the early 60s, it definitely was one of America's most famous cars.
00:41 It really caused a stir. People were spoken to and asked what they thought of the vehicle.
00:47 One person thought it was a movie star's car. Another person thought it was just too much.
00:55 People were interested. It looked like the car of the future.
00:57 This is the second Golden Sahara and its inspiration came from an unlikely source.
01:04 George Barris thinks up this car because of an accident, a car accident he has.
01:10 They drive underneath a flatbed truck, demolish the roof, blow the doors out, basically take a new car and trash it.
01:23 George took the car and turned it into the Golden Sahara One.
01:26 Golden Sahara One started the story, but it was the sequel that cemented the legend.
01:32 After owner Jim Streep took it out on the road, but then at the height of its fame, it disappeared from the public eye.
01:41 After touring the United States for four or five years, Jim just retired the car, put it back in his collection.
01:48 And after the late 60s, the car was spoken of and different stories were told, but no one really got to see the Golden Sahara.
01:55 Jim Streep kept it in his own collection for about 50 years and when he passed away, we decided to buy it.
02:02 Bought in 2018 for a reported $350,000, the car had seen better days.
02:12 Here comes this car and it's an antique yellow gold car, it had duct tape all over it.
02:18 The natural beauty of the vehicle was evident. This car is a timepiece. The car deserved to be restored to its glory.
02:27 And rebuilding such a unique custom vehicle was challenging to say the least.
02:33 The hardest part of the restoration was accurately remaking some of the parts that were custom.
02:40 We had a problem with one of the rear tail lenses. We had a piece that was actually 3D printed, a mold created, and we cast it out of acrylic.
02:47 And you couldn't tell which of the tail lenses that I had cast.
02:51 The other part of the car that was challenging was the cones on the vehicle.
02:55 They're really prominent on the front of the car, some people call them bumper cones.
02:59 We had some receipts from the vehicle and it told us that the cones were custom made and they were made at a place that spins metal.
03:07 So we had to find a company and they spun the metal and remade the cones and they're beautiful.
03:12 And recreating some parts took a little detective work.
03:17 After we decided to get a hold of Goodyear and to say can you please make these tires, Keith Buckley did the research.
03:25 He found in the archives there was no longer a process to sincerely make neothane tires like they did back in 1960.
03:35 So our collaboration with Goodyear brought again the neothane tire.
03:40 We used today's technology as they did back in 1960.
03:45 So instead of wrapping the rim with a traditional bulb, we used LED lights that we can now change the colors.
03:51 We probably spent close to $200,000 to restore this vehicle.
03:56 Along with its incredible look, this car also has some interesting controls.
04:03 There's actually four different ways of steering the vehicle.
04:05 The traditional steering wheel, micro switches on the dashboard, there's one on the driver's side, there's also one on the passenger's side.
04:13 And you can use the unit roll to accelerate the vehicle, brake, or left to right.
04:20 The steering wheel actually detaches so you can take it off.
04:25 So if the steering wheel was not attached, you'd still be able to steer the vehicle.
04:30 This particular vehicle had a small TV embedded into the dashboard.
04:35 It also had a reel-to-reel recorder and player in the center position.
04:41 And they even mocked in a phone to give you the idea that one day people would be making telephone calls from their car.
04:49 That will never catch on.
04:51 Everything about the Golden Sahara was over the top.
04:55 It had poppet doors, a vibrating seat, hydraulic trunk.
05:00 Even the interior of the vehicle was accented in 24-karat gold trim, mink carpeting.
05:09 It even had a bar in the rear, although it may be frowned upon today.
05:14 And if you thought there was something familiar about the rear end of the Sahara, you'd be right.
05:19 Take this car, take the pearl paint off it, paint it black.
05:24 What does it look like?
05:25 George Barris' company also built a car for Gotham City's most famous resident.
05:30 It looks like the Batmobile. That's what's iconic about this car.
05:35 There are no other Golden Saharas. There are no other Golden Sahara IIs.
05:40 This vehicle would easily fetch over a million dollars.
05:43 But to us, it's priceless.
05:46 [Music]
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