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00:00What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
00:02Up next on American Restoration.
00:04The 1964 World's Fair Escorter.
00:07Wow.
00:08I'd like you to bring this thing back to life.
00:10Oh, man.
00:11By the looks of it, I got to rebuild the whole piece up
00:13again, and I don't know where I got to start.
00:15Woo!
00:17I was looking for a gift for my mom.
00:18There's a lot of gardening.
00:19This is a keen cutter.
00:20Very, very old.
00:21That's pretty awesome.
00:22Tyler and I don't have the best track record when it comes
00:24to giving estimates.
00:26Hey, Kyle, check this out.
00:27You'll always be the first employee of the month.
00:29Hell no.
00:30I got to walk out of the room and look at you on the wall, too?
00:33I'm going to fix him up this time.
00:35What are you doing?
00:38Look at a man's workbench.
00:41You see his passions.
00:44His work's in progress.
00:47The things that drive him crazy.
00:51Projects that?
00:53You get the point.
00:55Anyway, every workbench tells a story,
00:58and this is ours.
00:59American Restoration.
01:06Every item that lands here at my shop tells a story.
01:09And occasionally, we get something in that tells even a bigger story,
01:12because it's tied to a special event in history.
01:15Hey, Rick!
01:16Oh, my God.
01:18Look at that thing.
01:19I've brought multiple items to Rick.
01:22And this thing here is the biggest and the bulkiest thing he's ever had to do for me.
01:27This thing is incredible.
01:29It's a 1964 World's Fair Personal Escort.
01:33Yeah.
01:34I remember these at the World's Fair in New York, right?
01:36They were designed to look like they were just floating around.
01:38It's kind of a unique vehicle.
01:40It looks futuristic.
01:41It looks like a time machine.
01:42So many people had a connection to that World's Fair,
01:45that it's just one of those pieces that you just hate to see it go to trash.
01:50This would transport people around, right?
01:52All around the fairground.
01:53The World's Fair was basically a huge expo where companies and countries from around the world
01:58would come together to show off their state-of-the-art technology.
02:02The World's Fair that stands out the most was the one in New York in 1964 where this shuttle was used.
02:08It was expensive, right?
02:09Yeah, like $9 an hour, I think it was.
02:11That's insane.
02:12That's insane.
02:13You got your own personal driver.
02:14Yeah.
02:15Where did you find this?
02:17A lady called, said she had it in her dad's front yard.
02:20He bought it off the original owner.
02:21Wow.
02:22But once the kids grew up, they just sat there, stayed outside for the next 28 years.
02:26Oh.
02:27I've researched it.
02:28I found three.
02:29That was it.
02:30Wow.
02:31The most complete one out there.
02:32Right.
02:33Big Mike really struck gold with this one because this escorter is really rare.
02:37They only manufactured about 150 of them for the fair, and most of them were jumped after it ended.
02:43This is a great picture right here.
02:45Look at that.
02:46It's got the fleet seats, everything.
02:47It's so cool.
02:48Top of it was built out of oak.
02:50This is fiberglass.
02:51This is all fiberglass, and it was.
02:52It was all hand-built.
02:54The other thing that's really cool is that the steering, it was designed to where it goes totally
02:5990 degrees, so you basically could turn on a dime.
03:01Think it's worth saving?
03:02Oh, it's definitely worth saving.
03:04The escorter is going to be one hell of a challenge.
03:07I've seen less rust in a junkyard, but hopefully when it's done, it's going to be totally badass.
03:12Because it's such a massive project, I've got to get my guys ripping into it right away.
03:17Well, Rick, I'd like you to bring this thing back to life, sparkling again.
03:21I'm thinking the fiberglass alone, redoing the fiberglass.
03:24I've got to go through the motor, and then by the looks of it, I've got to rebuild the frame, okay?
03:28I've got a lot of wood.
03:30I've got, wow.
03:31We've got the meter.
03:32We've got a taxi meter.
03:34Some upholstery has still got to get in here.
03:36Rework that seat to where it moves back and forth.
03:38Oh, man.
03:42This is basically a car.
03:44To do the whole piece up again, I'm going to start at $15,000.
03:48Woo!
03:49And...
03:50Wow.
03:51And I don't know where I'm going to go from that, but that's where I've got to start.
03:54And don't kill me if I go to $20,000, bottom line, okay?
03:57Well, it is Vegas, and you know what?
04:00There's God.
04:03Let's see what I've gotten.
04:04This is the part where peanuts and a prize.
04:06Whoa.
04:09Oh, this is nice.
04:10Wait, wait, wait.
04:11These are yours?
04:13You been out all night?
04:17So we good?
04:18It's like we got a deal.
04:19You're a funny son of a bitch.
04:22Rick quoted me a price of $15,000 to $20,000 on this vehicle.
04:25But, you know, it's Vegas.
04:27I think it's time to take a gamble, and what's the old saying?
04:30What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
04:33My wife will never find out about this.
04:35Good morning, Rick.
04:36How's it going?
04:37It's going good until I looked at this thing.
04:38The first step to restoring this world's fair escorter is to have my guys tear this thing totally down.
04:48There's absolutely no way to get parts for it, so first we got to assess the damage.
04:53I'm already torn into this.
04:55This thing's been sitting outside for decades, so all the parts are rusted through.
04:59The motor actually had some animals living in it, and all the fiberglass and the wooden pieces are all rotted out.
05:06Holy rust.
05:08This thing's bad.
05:10Really bad.
05:11I recently came up with an employee of the month program, and Kyle won, and his picture's going up on the wall.
05:21What do you think?
05:22Looks good.
05:23It's awesome, huh?
05:24Yeah.
05:25Hey, Kyle.
05:26Yes, sir.
05:27Come here, bud.
05:28Check this out.
05:29Nice.
05:30You'll always be the first employee of the month, and then we'll put the rest of them across here.
05:34Hell no.
05:35I gotta walk out of the room and look at you on the wall, too?
05:38Not only is that picture on the wall outside of my room, but it's outside the wall of the bathroom.
05:43Every time I come out of the bathroom, out of my room, wherever, I gotta look at Kyle more.
05:47It gives you motivation, cowboy.
05:49Motivated for what?
05:50You do a good job.
05:51Get an employee of the month.
05:52That's all I do.
05:53Cowboy, you got the opportunity.
05:54You could be here next month.
05:55Right, right, right.
05:56Right here, man.
05:57I was late, so that screwed this month.
06:00Yeah, he's gonna have to shoot for next month.
06:02Poor cowboy.
06:03For the month after.
06:08Is that him, dude?
06:09Right there?
06:10I don't know.
06:11Let's go.
06:12The other day, I got a call from a guy that's looking for a unique item for his mother's birthday.
06:15David?
06:16Yeah.
06:17How are you?
06:18Good.
06:19Nice to talk to you.
06:20Nice to meet you.
06:21Nice to meet you.
06:22So on the phone, you kind of said that it's your, was it your mom that's into gardening?
06:26Yeah.
06:27A lot of gardening.
06:28I immediately thought of a piece that Tyler and I picked up not too long ago.
06:31A tool sharpener.
06:32That's pretty awesome.
06:33Yeah?
06:34That's simple, too.
06:35Mm-hmm.
06:36This is a keen cutter.
06:37Very, very old.
06:38Very simple.
06:39Not a whole lot of working parts to it.
06:41So how does it work?
06:42You just jump right on it and start pedaling.
06:44Tyler's gonna demonstrate and stuff.
06:45Jump on that bad boy.
06:46Guarantee I'll break it.
06:47Hope you want it restored.
06:49You've gotta hold this side of the seat up.
06:52That's awkward.
06:53Here.
06:54It's gonna take a little bit of coordination.
06:55Yeah.
06:56You gonna get all right with that?
06:57Yeah.
06:58This thing is rickety.
06:59I'm sitting on it, trying to demonstrate to the guy how it works, and it's not stable at
07:03all.
07:04We're definitely gonna have to do some work before this thing is safe for his mom.
07:06Yeah, it's not hard.
07:07I mean, it does, there's not a lot of, like, resistance or tension or any of that.
07:11Yeah, this is perfect.
07:12It's simple.
07:13It's practical.
07:14My mom will definitely use it.
07:16So what all do y'all need to do to this to get it back good shape and all?
07:19I mean, we'll have to take the whole thing apart, do the body work.
07:22I mean, getting everything straight and fitted before we go putting a color on it.
07:26Yeah, so if y'all can do the research and try and figure out what the original colors
07:29were and so forth, that'd be perfect.
07:32Okay, the only thing that Tyler and I really saw that kind of we weren't sure about is the
07:38wheel itself.
07:39It's got a major crack, and it's going all the way down.
07:42So my guess, we're gonna have to find a new one.
07:44I feel like it wouldn't work right if we just tried to repair it.
07:46Right.
07:47So how much do you think this is gonna run me?
07:51Tyler and I don't have the best track record when it comes to giving estimates.
07:55So I'm gonna give this guy kind of a ballpark price.
07:57I'm gonna check with the brother.
07:59Low end, I'm gonna say here at 2,500.
08:02If we have to go through trouble against the stone, you're looking at 2,800.
08:06Well, I think that'd be good.
08:08Really looking to do something really nice for my mom, and I think this will be perfect.
08:12Sounds good.
08:13Very good.
08:14Awesome.
08:15Appreciate it.
08:16Let's go on in.
08:17When we first picked this thing up, I figured it would be sitting in the bone yard for another
08:21century.
08:22But guess what?
08:23Pick the right thing, found the right customer.
08:25My track record is impeccable.
08:27There's not one of these in the world that works.
08:30So all this pressure's on you right now.
08:32It's gotta fire.
08:33Cross your fingers.
08:34Here you go.
08:35What are you doing?
08:36I'm making Kyle look like a man.
08:38Do you know how disrespectful that is?
08:40You gotta admit, that is pretty funny.
08:41The guys took apart the world's fair escorter, and as I thought, the frame and everything
08:55in it is totally destroyed.
08:57Since it's impossible to find parts, Dave's removing all the badly rusted panels, refabricating
09:02them, and then welding them back together.
09:05While he's doing that, Jeff's fixing up all the holes and cracks in the fiberglass.
09:10Robert's rebuilding the supports for the roof, which were originally made out of wood.
09:15And I've got my best mechanic, Ed, working on the engine.
09:18It needed a total rebuild because it was completely shot.
09:22Hey, Ed.
09:23You did everything, right?
09:24We did pistons, rigs, connecting rods, rod bearings, even a new crank shaft.
09:29Yeah, it's basically a total rebuild, right?
09:30Total rebuild.
09:31I was really worried that it's even gonna work.
09:33There's not one of these that work in the world.
09:36Wow.
09:37So all this pressure's on you right now.
09:38I'm telling you, as you're building this thing, that it's gotta work.
09:41It's gotta fire.
09:42We'll know right here real quick.
09:44Turn the switch on, and there's your starter button.
09:46Okay.
09:47Yeah, cross your fingers.
09:48You ready?
09:49Contact.
09:50Here we go.
09:55Oh-ho!
09:56Whoa!
09:57Yeah!
09:58That's awesome.
09:59First time!
10:00That's awesome!
10:03Oh-ho!
10:04That thing works perfect.
10:06That's cool, dude.
10:07Good job.
10:08Good job.
10:09I'm stoked Ed got this motor running, but we still do it.
10:11We still got a long way to get this escorter totally working.
10:24Kyle won Employee of the Month, and I've accepted the fact that he totally deserves it.
10:28So I think it's time I paid him a little respect the cowboy way.
10:32I'm gonna fix him up this time.
10:34A little bit of time to create this stuff.
10:36I mean, we can't just...
10:38Cowboy, what are you doing?
10:40I'm making Kyle look like a man.
10:42Oh, my God.
10:43Do you know how disrespectful that is?
10:45He's the ass kisser of the month.
10:47I'm tired of looking at this every time I walk through here.
10:49What if you were up there?
10:50Can we draw on your face?
10:52I ain't never gonna be up there.
10:54You gotta admit, that is pretty funny.
10:56Normally, I'd be up there helping Cowboy tag the photo, but my dad would have my ass.
11:01All right, it's kind of funny, but my dad's not gonna like that.
11:04So take it down and then get back to work.
11:06He looks like a purple Santa Claus.
11:07He's never looked so well.
11:16Hey.
11:17How are you doing today?
11:18I came to Rick today to drop off an early 1930 Maytag antique washer.
11:23I'm just looking to get it restored here.
11:25Okay, let's get it out.
11:26My grandmother had one of these.
11:28And, you know, we were always fooling around with the ringer.
11:30And every once in a while, my sister's hair would get caught in the ringer.
11:34And then, of course, I'd have to go sit in a corner.
11:37Here you go.
11:38This is about the 30s, right?
11:39Yes.
11:40Maytag was the staple back in that day.
11:43They're still around.
11:44They still build, you know, washing machines.
11:46They make refrigerators, dryers.
11:48I mean, they even did cars.
11:49You know, so they dabbled.
11:51After releasing their first hand-operated washer in 1907,
11:55Maytag expanded their business to the first electric washing machine
11:59and grew to be the largest manufacturer of them in America.
12:02What do you plan on doing with it?
12:04I'd like to keep it basically how it came out of the factory.
12:07The factory of colors, if possible.
12:09You want it to work, too?
12:10Like, you're going to do laundry?
12:12Yeah, my wife's getting tired of using the washboard, you know.
12:17It's an agitator, but it's not just an agitator.
12:19It's a gyrator.
12:20It does both.
12:21And this is copper.
12:23That's copper?
12:24Yeah.
12:25It's like where you put the soap through there when it was moving.
12:29And this, oh, this is like stock.
12:32Yeah, it's stock.
12:33This is a pretty big problem, actually.
12:35By that not moving at all, something's either frozen or broke.
12:38So it's not missing any parts, but that piece down there is not working at all.
12:42Yeah.
12:43So we're going to have to investigate that.
12:44Right.
12:45So all I'm looking at is probably your gyrator being rebuilt.
12:50Yeah, but if you mend that and it's not mended exactly correctly,
12:53when things start spinning, it's going to start doing this.
12:55You're right.
12:56You're right.
12:57It's going to have to be balanced.
12:58You know, that's sort of a variable for the restoration.
13:00It is.
13:01The gyrator is the heart of this washer, and it's going to take a lot to fix it up.
13:05When you factor in all the polishing, sanding, and painting, we're looking at a lot of man hours for this project.
13:11To do the whole thing the way I just said, I'm looking about $6,500 to do that whole thing.
13:16$6,500.
13:17Yeah.
13:18I should have sat down first, huh?
13:20I didn't realize it was in that bad of shape.
13:23You think, well, all the pieces are here.
13:24It's not too expensive.
13:25Yeah.
13:26I do see a lot of work.
13:27There's some parts we've got to make.
13:28A lot of polishing, painting, fixing.
13:30Yeah.
13:31I wouldn't think about that.
13:32You know what I mean?
13:33You weren't ready for that, were you?
13:34No.
13:35Huh.
13:36You know, it's in your court, you know?
13:37Right.
13:38I know what I can do.
13:39I can see what I've got going on there.
13:40The thing I'm going to have to pass is a little bit more than what I was thinking.
13:43Well, I'd really love to do it, but at the same time, if you can't, you can't.
13:46Thank you very much for bringing it down.
13:47Oh.
13:48It's just awesome to look at this kind of stuff.
13:50We'll help you load it up.
13:51Okay.
13:52This is a really cool machine, and it would look great restored.
13:55But if it's not good for the customer, there's not much I can do.
13:59After I heard a $6,500 bombshell, I didn't want to spend the rest of my life on the couch.
14:09We've been fixing up this Keen Cutter tool sharpener, and we're right on schedule,
14:13because the client's on his way.
14:15Hey, babe.
14:16What's up?
14:17This is David.
14:18He bought that item from Ron.
14:19You know, the one you've been working on?
14:20Oh, yeah, yeah.
14:21Hey, Rick.
14:22Nice to meet you.
14:23Good to meet you.
14:24Good to meet you.
14:25This is my mom, Londa.
14:26Hi.
14:27How are you?
14:28So this is a prize for my mom, and she has no idea what it is.
14:29None?
14:30None.
14:31None at all.
14:32This is a prize.
14:33My mom really loves gardening.
14:34The sharpener would really be handy on all of the gardening tools for her to keep sharpened.
14:38Plus, it's one less thing my dad has to do.
14:41Are you ready, guys?
14:42Oh, yeah.
14:43Here we go.
14:44One, two, three.
14:45Oh, man.
14:46Oh, my list.
14:47That is beautiful.
14:48That is awesome.
14:49So do you even know what this is, Mom?
14:50This looks like you would use it to sharpen tools or something with.
14:55That's exactly what it is.
14:56It's a king cutter tool sharpener.
14:58It just took my breath away when I saw it.
15:00Awesome.
15:01Because I could really, really get a lot of good use out of this.
15:05This company was, you know, started in, like, the 1800s.
15:08Because there wasn't power in certain places, we're pedal operating.
15:11This was, like, the only way to sharpen your farm equipment or hand tools.
15:14Yeah.
15:15We take for granted nowadays the power tools, you know, back in the day.
15:18It was all hand stuff.
15:20When David came and looked at it, it was ruined.
15:23It was all rusted out.
15:25All these pieces were really bent and twisted.
15:27We pounded it all straight, got all the rust off.
15:29And then we powder-coated it so that when you get on this now, you actually can use it.
15:33And it's not gonna, nothing's gonna chip or nothing like that.
15:35The stone itself was cracked, so we got a big one.
15:38Put that on there.
15:39It's a little bit different of a stone.
15:40The other was sandstone.
15:41This is more of a granite stone.
15:42We wanted to paint it the stock color when it came out of the store.
15:45All right.
15:46So we shot it the black.
15:47Ted did some pinstriping on there.
15:49At least give it a little bit of pop.
15:50Man, it looks great.
15:51It does.
15:52It looks fabulous.
15:53It does.
15:54So does it work?
15:55Oh, I can't wait to see it getting used.
15:56Who's gonna do it?
15:57I'm gonna let him try it out first since he gave it to me.
15:59Yeah, I agree.
16:00Okay.
16:01Here's my scraper.
16:02And then I'll pour some water in here.
16:04That's just for cooling.
16:05You're gonna dip your tool in, and then you're gonna go to town on the grind.
16:08Okay.
16:09Let's try this thing out.
16:10See if I can get this turning right.
16:20Yeah, this might be the next craze at the gym.
16:22You know, everybody get their tool.
16:23It was a lot of fun to actually pedal the thing.
16:26Something this old and works that well is pretty amazing.
16:29I sure do thank him for getting it.
16:31You bet, Mom.
16:32So, Rick, how did we do on budget?
16:34Usually, when Ron and Tyler go and do prices, I'm usually really worried.
16:39But this time, everything was good, so we're on budget.
16:41Great.
16:42So, thank you guys very much.
16:43Hey, thanks so much.
16:46Awesome.
16:47Let's go in the office and finish the paperwork, and we'll go ahead and get it loaded.
16:50The final step to a restoration is assembly.
16:54What is the best way to mount your hard rubber tires to your wheels without damaging?
17:00A, use a pry bar.
17:03B, cut the tire, then glue it back together.
17:06C, soak the tire in hot water.
17:09D, none of the above.
17:11The answer and more coming up.
17:19What is the best way to mount your hard rubber tires to your wheels
17:23without damaging them?
17:25The answer is C, soak the tire in hot water.
17:28After a minute or so, the rubber has expanded and allows you to put it on the rim without damaging the rim.
17:36Let it cool, and it'll shrink back to its original size.
17:39This will work for any other hard rubber tire that goes on your tricycle or your wagon.
17:44How's it going, guys?
17:46Good.
17:47How's the escorter doing?
17:48Wiring done.
17:49We just got to connect it when we put the body on.
17:51Ed, the motor's totally finished, ready to go?
17:53Yes.
17:54So the pucks on the brakes all got remade, right?
17:55Yeah, they're brand new, remade out of something else.
17:58The whole frame was history.
18:00All the floor pans were ruined.
18:01It really looks good.
18:02I'm ready to go ahead and put the body on if you guys want to give me a hand.
18:05Big Mike is going to love it.
18:07Let's go ahead and just finish out all the electrical.
18:09We'll get the top on it, and we're done.
18:11Good job, Ed.
18:12Good job, Roy.
18:13Good job, Dave.
18:14Good game.
18:15Good game.
18:16Good game, Rick.
18:17Awesome, awesome.
18:23Kyle.
18:24Big Mike.
18:25How's it going, brother?
18:26I brought some friends with me.
18:27We're here to pick up an escorter.
18:29Oh, yes.
18:30Rick's been working on it.
18:31How you doing?
18:32Nice to me.
18:33Rick, got that thing done yet?
18:34I'll go check on it.
18:35I'll be right back.
18:36I came down to Rick's today to pick up my World's Fair Greyhound escorter.
18:39I also brought the family with me that I bought it off of.
18:42They were the original owners.
18:44Are you excited, Mom?
18:45Yes.
18:46Of course I am.
18:47There we go.
18:48That's the sound I remember.
18:49Look at that.
18:50All aboard for the 1964 World's Fair.
18:53Wow.
18:54Is that something else?
18:55That brings back memories, I'll tell you.
18:57This thing is nuts!
18:59What the heck?
19:01What do you think?
19:03I think this thing is awesome.
19:04You need a ride to the World's Fair.
19:06I'm ready to go.
19:07Wow.
19:08Who'd you bring with you?
19:09Beautiful.
19:10This is the original family.
19:11How you doing?
19:12Oh.
19:13They owned it.
19:14Jane?
19:15Hi, Jane.
19:16Good to meet you.
19:17Linda.
19:18Good to meet you.
19:19Check it out.
19:20I mean, check out the front.
19:21Every little thing on it is exactly like it was.
19:23It's amazing.
19:24We had that around for a long time.
19:25It was a major part of our life.
19:26You know, I was sitting in the backyard playing with it, but it's in a better place now for
19:30everybody to enjoy.
19:31I just think the whole thing is so beautiful.
19:34It's like reincarnated.
19:37First of all, we had to take it apart.
19:39It was halfway apart, and it was just, sorry, trash.
19:43It was trash.
19:44I agree.
19:45And I only could see the fiberglass on the outside.
19:48So when we took it off, we found out that the whole frame itself was so rusted.
19:53Nothing would come apart.
19:55Everything was rusted solid.
19:56So Jeff, my guy that does fiberglass for me, he took this top, and he took this piece,
20:01and he just went to town on it.
20:02Our fabricator, his name's Dave, he ended up cutting everything off.
20:06He went and remade brand new parts, and then he had to weld it all back on again.
20:10The motor has all been redone.
20:12Ed, my mechanic, found original Onan parts.
20:15We put them all on.
20:16As far as the art's concerned, this is all reflective vinyl.
20:20Really, really expensive.
20:21It's got the new gauges in it.
20:23It's got the new voltmeter.
20:24It's got the new fuel gauge.
20:26It never had taillights.
20:27It's got reflectors in the back.
20:29But the headlights are actually taillights to a Hudson, because I couldn't find parts.
20:34They really work.
20:35And they really work.
20:36They do.
20:37They really work.
20:38Check that out.
20:39Oh, yeah.
20:41Cool.
20:42So now the whole thing is totally structurally sound.
20:45You can ride down the road with it.
20:46I want to go for a ride.
20:47You want to go for a ride?
20:48I do.
20:49Let's go.
20:50You're driving, Michael.
20:51Can we take it for a spin?
20:52Go ahead, jump on in there.
20:53You guys get all comfy up there in those executive seats?
20:56Yes.
20:57Go ahead.
20:58Have fun.
20:59All right.
21:00We'll see you.
21:01We'll see you down the road.
21:02You say down the road.
21:04Well, where we're going, we don't need roads.
21:09Go.
21:10Everybody wants to see this thing.
21:11They want to sit in it.
21:12They want to ride it.
21:13They want to drive it.
21:14I mean, I think it's a good investment.
21:15And with the World's Fair's anniversary coming up, I mean, this is the perfect vehicle
21:17to escort people back in time to their memory.
21:18Just the way we remember it.
21:19Amazing.
21:20Absolutely amazing.
21:21Tyler made me clean up Kyle's picture even though my version looked a lot better.
21:22Just because I can't put something on it doesn't mean I can't put something over it.
21:28Now, there's a picture I don't mind looking at all day or all week or month.
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