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00:00That's definitely the .44 Magnum,
00:01the most powerful handgun in the world.
00:03Up next on American Restoration.
00:06What is that?
00:07It looks like a safe.
00:08I've seen a lot of safes come through here,
00:10but I've never seen one this damaged.
00:12Before you brought it here, did you get your stuff out?
00:14No, it's never been open.
00:16Man, I can't wait to see what's in here.
00:18This thing's, like, giant.
00:19Man, that thing is awesome!
00:21So Henry Ford has some in a museum?
00:23Yes.
00:24And you want me to restore it?
00:25That's cool.
00:26Okay.
00:27Holy crap.
00:28Wow.
00:29Interesting. Fine.
00:31I think he's gonna be kind of pleased.
00:33I mean, how do you plan on doing this?
00:35It's just a hunk of joke.
00:36I know it's gonna break his heart.
00:37I think I'm gonna have to give him a call,
00:39tell him I can't do it.
00:41Look at a man's workbench.
00:44You see his passions.
00:47His work's in progress.
00:50The things that drive him crazy.
00:54Projects that...
00:56You get the point.
00:58Anyway, every workbench tells a story.
01:01And this is ours.
01:03American Restoration.
01:10Is that gonna come flying down on us?
01:12Oh, no, what's in it?
01:13Every day here at the shop, we get deliveries.
01:15Some are bigger than others.
01:17It really makes me anxious to rip into it
01:19and see exactly what we got.
01:21Hi.
01:22Hi, Rick.
01:23Rick, I'm Laura.
01:24It's nice to meet you, too.
01:25Good to meet you, Laura.
01:26Is this yours?
01:27This is mine.
01:28We're just getting it unscrewed.
01:29Hold on one sec.
01:33There, man.
01:34That thing is awesome.
01:35It's a Custer Car, an amusement park ride.
01:38I'm here at Rick's because I want to get the Custer Car
01:40repaired and restored, and I want to make it look awesome.
01:44It's pretty wild looking.
01:45I've never seen anything like it.
01:46I mean, could you imagine driving?
01:47This looks like it's got a motor in it.
01:49It does.
01:50Oh, man.
01:51That thing's so cool.
01:52It was supposed to off-road, actually.
01:53So in the amusement park, it was riding around in the dirt,
01:55not on the asphalt.
01:56Exactly, and it was made specially to do that.
01:58Ah.
01:59So amusement park owners didn't have to build a special track for it.
02:02Right, right.
02:03You don't usually see these things in amusement parks nowadays.
02:05They're usually on rails and stuff.
02:07Where'd you get this thing?
02:08Actually, it's my husband that got the interest in this car.
02:11Okay.
02:12It was originally from Cedar Point, which is an amusement park in Ohio.
02:15Right.
02:16And as a child, he rode in it, and as time went on,
02:19my husband turned into the general manager of Cedar Point.
02:22When this thing became up for auction,
02:24he picked it up with no thought of how he was ever going to get it restored.
02:27I mean, what's he want to do?
02:28He want to hang it?
02:29He want to sit it?
02:30What's he want to do?
02:31I would like to see him being able to use it and run it around the cul-de-sac.
02:34Okay, okay.
02:35So drive it.
02:36You want to drive it?
02:37Yes, exactly.
02:38Is there any more of these around?
02:39I have looked, and I cannot find any that are for sale.
02:43I do know that there are two Custer cars at the Henry Ford Museum
02:47because Henry Ford bought two Custer cars for his grandchildren.
02:51So Henry Ford has some in a museum?
02:53Yes.
02:54And you want me to restore it?
02:56That's good.
02:57I think you're up to the challenge.
02:58Do you think everything's here?
02:59I know there's an engine in there.
03:01If it works now or it doesn't, I have no idea.
03:04I was told that motor doesn't have enough horsepower to push this car.
03:09I'd like to have an engine that works.
03:11So it sounds like we got a little bit of custom.
03:13We've got functionality.
03:14That's a must.
03:15It's definitely functioning.
03:16Absolutely, yes.
03:17We make sure it's safe.
03:18They definitely make smaller, more powerful motors.
03:20But to change the motor over, we're going to have to do some redesign.
03:23Okay?
03:24We'll paint it all red and chrome the front end.
03:27Get some good tires on it.
03:28This car's awesome, but I'm seeing a ton of challenges.
03:32Because this thing's so rare, parts are going to be really hard to find.
03:36On top of all the parts, this thing was originally made for a kid.
03:39So it's going to need a bunch of modifications to meet the customer's expectations.
03:44To do everything here is about $6,500.
03:46Okay?
03:47So what do you think?
03:49I'd say go ahead and do it.
03:51All right.
03:53You bet.
03:54I know it's a very old car.
03:55I'm not even sure how he's ever going to find these parts.
03:57But I just want to see it looking fabulous.
04:04Holy crap.
04:05What is that?
04:06It looks like a safe.
04:07It looks like it fell off the trailer.
04:09I've seen a lot of safes come through here, but I've never seen one this damaged.
04:14I mean, this thing is trashed.
04:16I'm Rick.
04:17Good to meet you, sir.
04:18Good to meet you.
04:19This is Kelly, my wife.
04:20Hi, Kelly. How are you?
04:21All right.
04:22So how did it end up like that?
04:23It looks like somebody tried to break in it.
04:24Yeah?
04:25It got disfigured.
04:26That's all torch cutting, right?
04:27That's all torch cutting.
04:28Holy crap.
04:29They cut all the hinges off.
04:31Well, the deal is you can cut the hinges off, but there's still bolts running through
04:36the bottoms and into the door.
04:38When you cut all that off, it still won't come open.
04:41I think it's just absolutely nuts that somebody actually took the time to go at this thing like
04:46they did.
04:47They weren't professional robbers.
04:48Let me just put it that way.
04:49They were stupid criminals is what they were.
04:50It was granddad's safe with all his possessions.
04:53He passed the heavens, and I'd like to restore it.
04:57My granddad was never a believer of banks.
05:00He believed in his safe.
05:02There's a lot of contents in it that are very valuable.
05:05And in his memory to him, I'd like to pass it on, but you sure can't pass it the way it is.
05:09One, I want to know, after they tried to get in there, and before you brought it here, did you get your stuff out?
05:14No, it's never been opened.
05:15So it's still in there right now?
05:16It's still in there right now.
05:17I'm anxious to get in there.
05:18So we got two things here.
05:20I mean, he's hoping that it looks pretty.
05:23I'm just worried about getting the thing open.
05:26I want to take a better look at this, okay, so we can get some kind of an idea what we got going on here.
05:30Yes, sir.
05:31All right, well, I'll be in my office.
05:32Okay.
05:33Call me if you need me.
05:34Getting into this thing is going to be a big challenge.
05:37Then actually making it look good is something else entirely.
05:40If we can get in this thing, there's a chance we can restore it.
05:44But I don't really know at this point.
05:46They blasted through stuff, and they did a lot of damage.
05:49It's very ornate.
05:50All this art on there is beautiful, and when they torched this, they ruined all this art.
05:55So we're going to have to guess on how to recreate this.
05:58This is in such terrible shape that I would do as much as I possibly could to start over again.
06:05It's not just basically restoring it.
06:07I'm going to be building it.
06:09With all that in mind, I think I'm looking at about $8,500 to do the whole thing.
06:13Okay?
06:14I'm good for it.
06:15Thank you, sir.
06:16All right.
06:17Come on in the office.
06:18I hate to leave here today and not know what's going to happen.
06:20My biggest fear would be that Rick come to a dead end and just have to break the pins, break open the door,
06:25just get the contents, and it was a trip all for naught.
06:32What are we calling this thing?
06:33Custer car.
06:34You start cussing people out.
06:36Custer.
06:37Heck, yeah.
06:38The safe is going to be a massive job, and I can't get moving on it until the safe specialists can get in it.
06:43They should be on their way over now, but in the meantime, I got Cowboy and Roy starting on the custer car.
06:48What the hell are you doing?
06:51Pie.
06:53Lunch first and on to the rest.
06:55Hell yeah.
06:56All right.
06:57Let's go.
06:58I need me some bologna sandwiches.
07:01For I ain't stolen them.
07:04Hey, guys, I'm Rick.
07:05Rick, good to meet you.
07:06What do you got for us?
07:07I'm glad you came, man.
07:08I got a big problem, is what I got.
07:10As you can see...
07:12Wow.
07:13Somebody did a little number on trying to get in it.
07:16Let's see.
07:17I'm really excited to get it open, but we don't really want to damage anything, so I brought you over here to take a look at it and just sort of tell me what you think.
07:24We're gonna have to drill a few holes, kind of look inside, see what's happening inside there, see if there's working mechanical parts.
07:30With a burglarized safe, you never know what you're gonna find.
07:32There's all kinds of damage that could be done, so there's nothing easy about this.
07:37First, you have to defeat the lock.
07:38The handles are broken off there, so you have to try and get the bolt works to turn and open the bolts.
07:43Then you gotta pull the doors off.
07:47Okay, I think we got it, Rick.
07:48No way, really?
07:49I think so.
07:50Let's find out.
07:54Oh, it's coming open.
07:55You ready to lift it?
07:56Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
07:57Okay.
07:59Awesome.
08:00It looks like they got the doors beat on this thing, which is a big step in the right direction.
08:05And right now, I'm dying to know what's in this thing.
08:08I mean, it could be anything.
08:09Here we go.
08:10Oh!
08:13Holy crap.
08:14Wow.
08:15All right, so the motor's here.
08:16Yeah.
08:17How's it looking?
08:18It's looking like it's too big.
08:20Rick!
08:21I hear something.
08:23Look at that!
08:33Recently, I had a customer bring an amazing, but really beat-up safe that he wants to get restored.
08:38Before we can do any work on this thing, we have to open it up.
08:42So I've got a couple of the best safe-crackers in Vegas here, and they've just about got into this thing.
08:47Here we go.
08:49Oh!
08:50Wow.
08:51Whoa!
08:52Here, hold that.
08:53Oh!
08:54Holy crap!
08:55Wow!
08:56Ooh!
08:57Smell that?
08:58This thing is full of money!
08:59Check this little mother load out!
09:01Whoa!
09:02Somebody didn't trust the bank?
09:03No!
09:04Oh!
09:05Oh!
09:06I mean, this is solid, full of money!
09:10Oh!
09:11Somebody's life-saving, and it's incredible!
09:13This is crazy.
09:14This whole safe is filled with coins and bills.
09:17That's definitely the .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world.
09:20But there's also a bunch of old, cool other stuff that I don't even know what it is.
09:24Oh, wow.
09:25Check this out.
09:26War metals.
09:27Yeah.
09:28You know, the customer said to me that there, you know, he thought there might be money and
09:31guns in it, but I had no idea, and I know he didn't either, that there was this much
09:35stuff in there.
09:36We rarely open safes where you actually find something in there.
09:39I can't believe this thing.
09:40It's like a treasure chest.
09:42But now that we've got it open, we've got to catalog everything in there and learn a little
09:46bit more about the contents.
09:48But I still got to figure out how the hell we're going to restore this thing.
09:51Thank you very, very much.
09:52Anytime.
09:53Take care, guys.
09:54Take care.
09:55This is unbelievable.
10:03Yo, Rick.
10:04Adrian's here.
10:05Hi, Adrian.
10:06How you doing?
10:07How you doing?
10:08What's that?
10:09Oh, these are my tokens for my sapo game.
10:12Sapo?
10:13What's that mean?
10:14It means frog in Spanish.
10:15Cool.
10:16I can't wait to see what's inside here.
10:17I wanted the game restored because it's really rare and it's been in my family for a long
10:21time.
10:22My God, that's so cool.
10:23How old is this?
10:24My mom's son of the family said they've had it from the early 1900s.
10:27Awesome.
10:28Basically, you take the tokens, you stand about seven to ten feet back, try to make it in
10:33the hole.
10:34You play up to 20,000 points.
10:35Yeah, it has a drawer.
10:36It slides out.
10:37Oh.
10:38Oh, it tells you the points.
10:39It tells you the points.
10:40I could just see playing the heck out of this.
10:41Yeah.
10:42So, how do you see this being restored?
10:45I don't want it, like, museum quality.
10:46I want it to still be able to be played.
10:47Okay.
10:48But still, you know, be a lot nicer.
10:50Feel free to show some creativity on it.
10:52Okay.
10:53The metal has been dinged and dented everywhere.
10:55Okay?
10:56In order for me to make it straight again, everything has to be pounded out by hand.
10:59You know, the trays, we'll take this, blast all this, straighten all these out again.
11:02The wood.
11:03I want to make it sturdy.
11:04Yeah.
11:05And I want to make it hard.
11:06I want to make it last a long, long time.
11:07You know, I'll be fine if you, uh, change it out.
11:09In order to do all that, I'm looking at about 1,900 to do the whole piece.
11:121,900's a small price for, uh, the hundred years it's been in my family.
11:15Yeah.
11:16Yeah, yeah.
11:17Right, you good?
11:18Awesome.
11:19Good?
11:20All right.
11:21Thanks, Adrian.
11:22Awesome.
11:23When Rick said it was 1,900 hours, I was a little shocked, but, uh, I'm super excited
11:24to get it back home and play with my buddies in my man cave.
11:33Hey, Dave.
11:34Hey, Rick.
11:35How you doing?
11:36All right.
11:37So the motors are here?
11:38Yeah.
11:39How's it looking?
11:40Looking like it's too big.
11:41The client for this Custer car wants a lot of modifications.
11:44It's got to be more powerful and go faster than it did back in the day.
11:48And now she just called to tell us she wants a kill switch installed for safety.
11:53So Dave and I are figuring out how to make it all work.
11:56She wants to be able to see your kid driving around.
11:58Oh, my God, they're about to run into a tree.
12:00I'm going to save them because I'm mom, and I'm going to hit the switch and shut them
12:04down.
12:05Where is that kill switch?
12:06Right here?
12:07Okay.
12:08Yeah.
12:09We want to keep the integrity of the car looking old.
12:10We want it to look like it was done in the 30s.
12:12Why don't we just put everything right under the seat?
12:15It's hidden.
12:16We'll cover all this in sheet metal, and then we can run our lines for the brakes through
12:19here, run our fuel line through here.
12:21So that's all hidden.
12:22The fabrication end of this back right here, you're going to be here while.
12:25We've definitely got some challenges ahead of us, but the customer's always right.
12:29So what they want, they get.
12:31Okay, bud.
12:32Thanks, Rick.
12:33You bet.
12:34Oh, boy.
12:36Help!
12:42After we got the safe open, we started to catalog the items.
12:46But there's a bunch of things in there I didn't know anything about.
12:49So I called my friend Mark Hall Patten down to take a look.
12:51He's a local historian who shed light on pieces for me in the past.
12:55How you doing, Mark?
12:56Doing all right.
12:57What have we got here?
12:59It's full of money, documents, guns.
13:02I think he's going to be kind of pleased.
13:04Yeah.
13:05It's an interesting find.
13:06And then there's some weird stuff that I'd like to know about.
13:10So what do we got here?
13:11Well, I mean, he's got all these twos.
13:13Are these twos, like, collectible or?
13:15When $2 bills stopped being issued in any large numbers, a lot of people thought they
13:20were going to become really valuable, so they'd buy packets.
13:23Well, a $200 packet is worth $200.
13:26$200.
13:27Yep.
13:28So what else do we have here?
13:29All right.
13:30This is a little .22.
13:32It's a modern version of a derringer.
13:34Yeah.
13:35In the 19th century, they were called belly guns because you wanted to shoot somebody
13:39right in the belly.
13:40If you were going to shoot them, they were really close in.
13:43All right.
13:44This, this is just some foreign currency.
13:47This is an interesting one.
13:48This is a Brenton mark.
13:50This is German currency from 1923.
13:52Wow.
13:53In the early 1920s, inflation in Germany got so bad that you were being paid three times
14:00a day.
14:01As, as soon as you got paid, you went out, you gave your cash to your wife and she bought
14:06anything she could because the money was losing value that fast.
14:10Right.
14:11It was really helpful to have Mark over to explain what some of these items are.
14:15That way, when the customer comes to pick up a safe, I can tell him what some of these
14:18items were used for.
14:20I learned a lot.
14:21That's very cool.
14:22Thank you very much for coming by.
14:23Not a problem.
14:24Thanks a lot.
14:25Appreciate it.
14:26We'll see you later.
14:27Thanks.
14:28Thanks.
14:29Hey, Rick.
14:30Hey.
14:31Adrian's here.
14:32Oh, hey, Adrian.
14:33How you doing?
14:34How you been?
14:35Pretty good.
14:36How about yourself?
14:37Good.
14:38Good.
14:39So you ready to see this?
14:40I'm ready to see the game.
14:41Yeah.
14:42Getting kind of nervous.
14:43Nervous?
14:44Super excited.
14:45I don't know.
14:46I don't know what it is.
14:47You excited?
14:48You don't know which it is?
14:49Definitely.
14:50Well, you remember what it looked like.
14:51It was a piece of crap.
14:52It was a little raggedy.
14:53I think you're going to be blown away.
14:54Come on.
14:55Oh, man.
14:56I didn't see it.
14:57My early 1900s frog toss game.
14:59The game has been in my family for about 100 years.
15:01So I'm really excited to finally see it.
15:03Ready?
15:04One, two, three.
15:06Oh, my God.
15:08Holy .
15:10Oh, my God.
15:12This is not the same game.
15:14Yeah, it's the same game.
15:16Yeah, it stands up pretty good.
15:18I think Rick did an amazing job.
15:20The paint job, everything about it looks great.
15:22Holy cow.
15:24What did you do to it?
15:25Oh.
15:26I got to know.
15:27What we did is we went through the wood.
15:28We did new wood.
15:29You know, ran down the sides.
15:30You remember it was sort of pine, and we wanted to make it a little more sturdy.
15:33So we built it out of maple, okay?
15:35Cut the exact same sizes, all this in here.
15:38But then you can see how shiny the wood is.
15:40Yeah.
15:41I mean, it's like glass now, okay?
15:43Oh, wow.
15:44You got the zappos across there.
15:45I knew you wanted that on there.
15:46Yeah.
15:47It looks amazing.
15:48The tray, we ended up powder coating it so that it wouldn't, when you would throw them,
15:52they would take a little bit more beating.
15:53Yeah.
15:54You know?
15:55So we did that.
15:56These, you can see that I didn't polish them all the way out.
15:58We wanted to leave them a little bit shiny.
15:59Yeah.
16:00So you got a lot of the dings.
16:01It's been hit a lot.
16:02And then, of course, the frog.
16:04Frog.
16:05Frog got all polished out.
16:06I mean, it looks all shiny now.
16:08The other thing is on the front, this is the original handle.
16:10Yeah.
16:11But the tray, it was pretty trash.
16:13Yeah.
16:14So we went through and we did that.
16:15Oh, wow.
16:16So you got your scores all in there.
16:17Scores in there, yeah.
16:18Yeah.
16:19So now it's not as trash.
16:20Do you remember?
16:21It was pretty rusted.
16:22Oh, it was, yeah.
16:23It was beat up.
16:24Yeah.
16:25It was a little bit of a surprise to see the game in, you know, perfect condition.
16:27I've never seen it like that before, but I'm sure it's going to get a lot of use now.
16:31I'm nervous right now.
16:32Here we go.
16:37I can't wait to get this game home and show everybody, because it's the .
16:42You know, it's so cool to do something like this.
16:44Yeah.
16:45It was fun to do.
16:46No problem.
16:47Thanks very much.
16:48Thank you very much.
16:49Really appreciate it.
16:50Let's go back inside and do some paperwork.
16:51I got to get back to work.
16:52Over time, copper can develop an ugly tarnish or patina from oxidation.
16:58What food product can be used to remove the ugly tarnish off of copper?
17:05A, mayonnaise.
17:06B, butter.
17:07C, jelly.
17:08D, ketchup.
17:09The answer and more coming up.
17:22What food product can be used to remove the ugly tarnish off of copper?
17:31The correct answer is ketchup.
17:34As you can see, this copper penny is no longer shiny.
17:37So here's what you do.
17:38You stick your copper into the ketchup, let it sit for about 10 minutes, pull it out, wipe
17:46it off.
17:47Bam.
17:48The vinegar and acidity in ketchup removes all the oxidation, leaving you with a clean
17:53piece of copper.
17:55What's up with that safe?
18:04Did you get it open?
18:05Yeah, I did.
18:06Come on.
18:07I mean, it's full of somebody's belongings.
18:11Wow.
18:12I mean, this safe is tore up.
18:14It's not even the same safe.
18:16It's just a hunk of junk.
18:18I know he's really, really wanting it restored, but somebody has just, unfortunately, absolutely
18:24destroyed this piece.
18:26It's just too far gone.
18:28I think I'm gonna have to give him a call, tell him I can't do it.
18:31I know it's gonna break his heart.
18:32This is a first for me.
18:34I've never had to tell a customer I can't complete the restoration.
18:38It's absolutely killing me, but this safe is way too badly damaged to safe.
18:43At least I can tell him that I got it open, and he's got some really interesting stuff inside.
18:48Hey, JR, it's Rick Dale.
18:50I got some bad news.
18:54Although I had to deliver some crappy news to JR about his safe, I get to reveal this
19:01bad custer car to Laura.
19:03That custer car's out here somewhere.
19:05I've seen Rick working on it over there.
19:06I'm here today to pick up the custer car that he's been restoring for me.
19:10When I dropped the car off, I didn't think there was any hope in saving it.
19:13It was really messy.
19:15It was very rusty.
19:16I thought it was ready for the scrap heap.
19:18Rick!
19:19I hear something.
19:20Look at that!
19:21Oh my gosh!
19:22Oh my gosh!
19:26When I saw Rick drive out in that car, I was amazed.
19:41I couldn't believe it was the same car.
19:43I just love everything about it.
19:45It is fabulous.
19:46I love it, especially that it drives.
19:48Yeah.
19:49But I did this for my husband.
19:51He has no idea about this.
19:52Still, no idea.
19:53He has no idea.
19:54He is going to be shocked.
19:55Awesome.
19:56He is just going to be shocked.
19:57Awesome.
19:58The color is fantastic.
19:59Look at the chrome on that.
20:00I know you said you were going to do that.
20:02Remember, it was all bent.
20:03The front was punched in.
20:04Terrible.
20:05These here, the headlights were all rusted.
20:08Oh, they were about ready to fall off.
20:10Yep.
20:11That's wonderful.
20:12You know, we got the body off.
20:14We started pulling off the bumper car part of it.
20:17When we pulled that off, there was no structure left.
20:20So what we had to do was build a whole frame on the inside.
20:23Now the car has structure, so when you turn, it doesn't twist or break.
20:28I love this.
20:29Yeah?
20:30This is beautiful.
20:31It is leather, and any time you get leather like this, I mean, this is like riding in
20:35a, you know, little Ferrari, you know?
20:37Okay.
20:38Down here is actually your control panel.
20:39It's tucked away underneath the seat.
20:41So, of course, the horn.
20:43It's loud.
20:44It's loud.
20:45I love it.
20:46Well, you want them out of your way, right?
20:48Absolutely.
20:49And then this, of course, is your on and off switch and kill switch.
20:52These are your original wheels with, you know, new tires, of course.
20:55Sure, sure.
20:56But we went and chromed them.
20:57You can see that's just exactly, this is exactly like it was back in the day.
21:00Oh, my gosh.
21:01You know, you had the old motor in there, and we wanted something a little more reliable,
21:07right?
21:08Okay.
21:09Okay.
21:10Whoa!
21:11The motor's 13 horsepower.
21:13Everything in that area there has all been fabricated, bottom line.
21:18Oh, that is amazing.
21:19When you came down the driveway, I could not believe it.
21:22I've never seen this thing run.
21:23Run.
21:24Now, my husband saw it run when he was probably eight years old.
21:27And to see it run and to buzz around like you did, that is amazing.
21:31What a great gift.
21:32What a great, great gift.
21:33I think so.
21:34It's the best gift I could ever give him.
21:36And I think that it is a quality piece, and I can't thank you enough.
21:39Awesome.
21:40Thank you, Rick.
21:41Awesome.
21:42Good.
21:43Okay.
21:44Let's go in the office.
21:45We'll finish up the paperwork, and then we'll get it crated, and you can put a bow on it
21:49when you get home.
21:50I certainly will.
21:51I'll see you next time.
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