00:00It definitely was one of America's most famous cars.
00:13Welcome to Claremont Collections.
00:16Home to over 300 antique, classic and unique vehicles.
00:26One of the gems in this incredible collection.
00:30is the Golden Sahara.
00:35Back in the late 50s, going into the early 60s,
00:38it definitely was one of America's most famous cars.
00:42It really caused a stir.
00:44People were spoken to and asked what they thought of the vehicle.
00:48One person thought it was a movie star's car.
00:51Another person thought it was just too much.
00:55Other people were interested. It looked like the car of the future.
00:58This is the second Golden Sahara and its inspiration came from an unlikely source.
01:05George Barris thinks up this car because of an accident, a car accident he has.
01:12They drive underneath a flatbed truck, demolish the roof, blow the doors out, basically take a new car and trash
01:22it.
01:23George took the car and turned it into the Golden Sahara One.
01:27Golden Sahara One started the story, but it was the sequel that cemented the legend.
01:33After owner Jim Street took it out on the road.
01:37But then, at the height of its fame, it disappeared from the public eye.
01:42After touring the United States for four or five years, Jim just retired the car, put it back in his
01:48collection.
01:48And after the late 60s, the car was spoken of and different stories were told.
01:54But no one really got to see the Golden Sahara.
01:57Jim Street kept it in his own collection for about 50 years.
02:01And when he passed away, we decided to buy it.
02:03Bought in 2018 for a reported $350,000, the car had seen better days.
02:12Here comes this car and it's an antique yellow gold car.
02:17It had duct tape all over it.
02:19The natural beauty of the vehicle was evident.
02:22This car is a timepiece.
02:24The car deserved to be restored to its glory.
02:28And rebuilding such a unique custom vehicle was challenging to say the least.
02:34The hardest part of the restoration was accurately remaking some of the parts that were custom.
02:39We had a problem with one of the rear tail lenses.
02:42We had a piece that was actually 3D printed, a mold created, and we cast it out of acrylic.
02:47And you couldn't tell which of the tail lenses that I had cast.
02:51The other part of the car that was challenging was the cones on the vehicle.
02:55They're really prominent on the front of the car and some people call them bumper cones.
02:59We had some receipts from the vehicle and it told us that the cones were custom made
03:03and they were made at a place that spins metal.
03:07And we did find a company and they spun the metal and remade the cones and they're beautiful.
03:14And recreating some parts took a little detective work.
03:18After we decided to get a hold of Goodyear and to say can you please make these tires,
03:23Keith Buckley did the research.
03:26He found in the archives.
03:27There was no longer a process to sincerely make neothane tires like they did back in 1960.
03:35So our collaboration with Goodyear brought again the neothane tire.
03:42We use today's technology as they did back in 1960.
03:46So instead of wrapping the rim with a traditional bulb,
03:49we used LED lights that we can now change the colors.
03:52We probably spent close to $200,000 to restore this vehicle.
03:57Along with its incredible look, this car also has some interesting controls.
04:03There was actually four different ways of steering the vehicle.
04:06The traditional steering wheel.
04:08Micro switches on the dashboard.
04:11There's one on the driver's side.
04:12There's also one on the passenger side.
04:14And you can use the Unitrol to accelerate the vehicle, brake, or left to right.
04:22The steering wheel actually detaches.
04:25So you can take it off.
04:26So if the steering wheel was not attached, you'd still be able to steer the vehicle.
04:31This particular vehicle had a small TV embedded into the dashboard.
04:37It also had a reel-to-reel recorder and player in the center position.
04:43And they even mocked in a phone to give you the idea that one day people would be making telephone
04:49calls from their car.
04:51That will never catch on.
04:53Everything about the Golden Sahara was over the top.
04:55It had poppet doors, a vibrating seat, hydraulic trunk.
05:02Even the interior of the vehicle was accented in 24-karat gold trim, mink carpeting.
05:10It even had a bar in the rear, although it may be frowned upon today.
05:15And if you thought there was something familiar about the rear end of the Sahara, you'd be right.
05:20Take this car, take the pearl paint off it, paint it black.
05:24What does it look like?
05:26George Barris' company also built a car for Gotham City's most famous resident.
05:31It looks like the Batmobile.
05:33That's what's iconic about this car.
05:37There are no other Golden Saharas.
05:39There are no other Golden Sahara IIs.
05:41This vehicle would easily fetch over a million dollars.
05:44But to us, it's priceless.
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