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00:00Up next on American Restoration.
00:02There it is.
00:03Oh, wow.
00:04I'm here to talk to Rick about my 1930s photo booth
00:07that I'd like to have restored.
00:08It is so awesome.
00:10It may be one of only five like this left in the world.
00:14Wow.
00:14This is it.
00:15This is the Rose Bowl, baby.
00:16I brought Tyler and Bradley out to the Rose Bowl
00:18to experience the granddaddy of all flea markets.
00:20You got the money.
00:21Ron's brought me to a lot of cool places for picking,
00:23but this is by far the coolest place he's ever taken me.
00:26This is basically the holy grail of photo booths.
00:29If you have this, you're the bomb.
00:31You're the bomb.
00:32You're the bomb.
00:32Only one big problem.
00:33It's the technology that just doesn't exist anymore.
00:38Look at a man's workbench.
00:40You see his passions.
00:43His work's in progress.
00:47The things that drive him crazy.
00:51Projects that, you get the point.
00:54Anyway, every workbench tells a story,
00:57and this is ours, American Restoration.
01:10Hey, you guys about ready to get out of here?
01:12Yep.
01:12Hell yes.
01:13All right.
01:13This is really exciting.
01:15I'm sending Ron and the boys out to the Rose Bowl flea market
01:18in Pasadena, California.
01:19This place is so cool.
01:21A great football venue turns into one of the largest marketplaces
01:24in the U.S. I actually got my business started at the Rose Bowl.
01:28I sold my first Coke machine there.
01:30Boy, have we came a long way.
01:32It's a big deal for the company.
01:33It's like a show.
01:34There's an area all the way around the football field where you're trying to sell stuff
01:37and pick some good picks.
01:39Are you coming with us?
01:40I'm not going.
01:41Somebody's got to hold down the fort.
01:42So you guys go.
01:43We've backed up several Coke machines, a slot machine,
01:46and even a barber's chair to take you out there with us.
01:48If it's anything like it was 30 years ago,
01:51we should have no problem selling something.
01:53Hurry it up.
01:53Get down there.
01:54See you later.
01:56All right.
01:56You two, remember, what happens on the road stays on the road.
02:08Take it in to Kyle and get that thing put on there first.
02:11Okay.
02:11He'll go in here and get in.
02:12We've got someone backing up.
02:14Having just sent three of my guys on the road,
02:17it's pretty damn typical that a giant truck is backing into my shop
02:20when I'm short-handed.
02:22There it is.
02:23That is a 1930s photo booth.
02:26Oh, wow.
02:27That's cool.
02:27Let's get it out.
02:28Can we get it out?
02:28Sure.
02:29I'm here to talk to Rick about my photo booth
02:31that I'd like to have restored.
02:32Oh, my God.
02:33This is...
02:34Careful.
02:35Yeah!
02:36This guy had it in his garage,
02:38and I took it from him for $150.
02:40And I want to see if Rick can bring it back to life.
02:42Whoo!
02:43The beauty, huh?
02:45Wow.
02:46It is so awesome.
02:47I've never seen a steal one.
02:49It's all metal.
02:50This was made by Mutascope out of New York back in the 30s.
02:54From what I've researched and what I've found out,
02:57it may be one of only five like this left in the world.
03:01Wow.
03:02Wow.
03:02Yeah.
03:03So it's quite rare.
03:04I mean, it's beautiful.
03:05I mean, this was bus stops, train stations, world fairs.
03:07Right.
03:08And right after World War II, the owner of the company died.
03:11The company went bankrupt in about a week.
03:13Wow.
03:14So I'm trying to teach my son to try to pick up after me,
03:16because as soon as I die, this one's done, too.
03:18I've got actually some pictures of it,
03:19if you want to take a look.
03:21Photomatic.
03:21So what's unique about this booth
03:23was that it didn't print out a strip of three.
03:26It printed out individual pictures.
03:28It doesn't have a photo on it anymore, but...
03:30So that's basically what's in here.
03:32A little metal frame, and it actually
03:33put the picture right on the front.
03:35Yeah.
03:35It came out fully framed like that.
03:37It's incredible.
03:38The Polaroid camera was a genius move.
03:40This was 10 times that.
03:42That's incredible stuff.
03:43This thing is absolutely amazing.
03:45Not only was it essentially a dark room in a box,
03:48but it framed every picture it spit out.
03:51I mean, I thought the ones from today were cool,
03:53but this is a real feat of engineering.
03:55So we're going to restore this
03:56to look like it did in the day.
03:57Well, what I would like to see
03:59is as much of its unique originality as possible.
04:02I've been a photographer since I was nine years old.
04:05Oh, wow.
04:06And the one thing about the old photo booths
04:08is because they worked with chemistry,
04:11the chemistry would corrode all the parts on the inside.
04:15And they're trash.
04:15And they're trash.
04:16Of the five that we know that are in existence,
04:19including this one,
04:20and none of them have working parts.
04:23Oh, yeah?
04:23I mean, my objective is to make it do what it did.
04:27Amazing.
04:28I will definitely try to research this,
04:30you know, maybe above and beyond.
04:31I don't know what I can come up with.
04:33Uh-huh.
04:34It's hard to say what it's going to take
04:35to get this thing working again,
04:37but I really want to take on the challenge,
04:38even if it means getting an expert here
04:41to help me figure this thing out.
04:42All right, so to do the whole thing up,
04:44I'm right around $11,000 to $12,000.
04:47Well, I haven't had it sitting around for 20-some-odd years
04:51for nothing.
04:52So let's do it.
04:54All right.
04:54Awesome, awesome.
04:55I can't wait to do this.
04:56I'm really hoping that Rick can get the photo part to work,
04:58but I can't wait to see what this looks like when it's done.
05:12All right, so we're here.
05:14This is it.
05:15This is the Rose Bowl, baby.
05:16We're hanging out.
05:17We're doing stuff.
05:17People are literally going to come into our booth.
05:19Yeah.
05:19Look, touch, feel.
05:20We're here today at the Rose Bowl,
05:22the granddaddy of all flea markets.
05:24Tyler and Brett Lee are with me.
05:25I'm excited to show them the ropes.
05:27I'm psyched, dude, to start walking around
05:29and seeing all the cool stuff.
05:30Just imagine the things people have.
05:32Trust me, I want to get out there, too.
05:34I want to go look.
05:34But we got to sell some machines, man.
05:36We got to do some sales.
05:37I can do it.
05:38You guys can go out.
05:39Do you think you know these machines?
05:41I got this.
05:41What do you think?
05:43I'm good with it.
05:45So Bradley offers to watch the booth.
05:47You know, I love his enthusiasm,
05:48but the kid has never sold a machine in his life.
05:52So this could get a little sketchy.
05:54You got this?
05:54Yep.
05:55All good.
05:56All right.
05:56I'm out.
05:57So I feel a lot of pressure on me, you know,
05:59but I'm going to do whatever it takes to get it done.
06:01It's a good first time for me.
06:03Got a barber's chair here for sale.
06:05Looks pretty nice, huh?
06:08Dude, there's seriously cool stuff here.
06:10This place is awesome.
06:12Being here in the kind of swap meet environment,
06:14it really makes me understand where my dad came from.
06:16So it's really cool.
06:18Dude, look at this, Ron.
06:20This thing's badass.
06:23Dude, look.
06:23It must have been like an addition to a pedal car or something.
06:25It's a Murray.
06:27Can you imagine riding around on a pedal car back in the day
06:29and having this behind you?
06:30That's so cool.
06:31Because you're on your tractor and you got something in it?
06:32Yeah.
06:33That's so cool.
06:34That is cool.
06:35I mean, the graphics, you can tell that they're original.
06:38Dude, that's like really cool.
06:39Like, I'm really mesmerized.
06:4150 bucks and it's yours.
06:4250 bucks?
06:43We'll even deliver it down to your vehicle.
06:45Yeah.
06:46Oh, bonus.
06:47You got the money.
06:48After I ended up talking to the guy,
06:50he wanted to sell it for $50, which I feel was like a steal.
06:54Dude, this place is awesome.
06:59It's awesome.
07:01It's awesome.
07:01While Ron and the boys are hopefully
07:03getting lucky at the Rose Bowl, we have a massive project
07:06going on here at the shop, the photo booth.
07:08I had my guys trip it down to the show.
07:10But before we go any further on this thing,
07:12I thought I'd bring someone in here who
07:14could tell me exactly what we need to pull this job off.
07:17Oh, wow.
07:17Rick called me in here to see how we can potentially
07:20get this photo booth running again and restore it back
07:22to its original operation.
07:23And this is astounding.
07:24This is basically the holy grail of photo booths.
07:27If you have this, you're the bomb.
07:29You're the bomb.
07:30You're the bomb.
07:31So how this would work, there would have been a camera
07:33in here.
07:34It would have used a direct positive paper,
07:36black and white paper.
07:37And it would have had all kinds of rollers and gears and contraptions
07:41and relays that went through processes of chemistry and then
07:44spit that photo back out.
07:45It was a whole little mini darkroom in this thing.
07:48Right.
07:48We just got done with the body work.
07:49We haven't primed it yet.
07:50So it's basically ready.
07:52If we can get the original parts, we can get in there.
07:55So what do you got over here?
07:56Well, yeah, this is all the stuff that came in it, some of the wiring.
07:59So what you see, basically, is all I have.
08:02Well, this is all great.
08:04Only one big problem.
08:05We're missing the camera and all the other parts.
08:09So finding it is going to be next to impossible.
08:14Strength tester, man.
08:15This is pretty awesome.
08:16Your dad loves these.
08:17Yeah, the strength is where you pull up on that.
08:19That's frozen, man.
08:20How long do you think you would go?
08:22300.
08:23If it were a later model, you might find some parts.
08:26So what are we going to do?
08:27Because this is such a rare model,
08:29to bring it back to life, we're going to probably
08:30have to convert to digital.
08:31It sounds like it's just not going
08:33to work out like I planned.
08:35Um.
08:41Well, this is all great, only one big problem.
08:44We're missing the camera and all the other parts.
08:46Um, so, uh, finding it is going to be next to impossible.
08:50We're working on restoring an old mutoscope photo booth.
08:53And our expert, Anthony, is telling me there's no way
08:56we're going to find the parts that we need for this thing
08:58anywhere.
08:59It's the technology that just is extinct.
09:01If it were a later model, you might find some parts.
09:03So what are we going to do?
09:05Because those parts are so rare,
09:06and this is such a rare model, um,
09:08to bring it back to life, we're going to probably
09:10have to convert to digital.
09:11Um, okay.
09:13But is that something you can help me with?
09:15It's going to be a chore.
09:16It's going to be hard.
09:17Um, but yeah, we can certainly help you.
09:19I told the customers that I get this thing working just
09:22like it did back in the day.
09:23But because we don't have all the parts we need,
09:25it sounds like it's just not going to work out like I planned.
09:28But at least Anthony's here to help us repurpose this thing,
09:31because who knows what the hell it's going to take?
09:33A camera?
09:34A computer?
09:35I don't know.
09:36Unfortunately, I don't think we're going to have a printer
09:37that's going to fit in that little space.
09:39Ah.
09:40And that's, that leaves us a little problem is with getting
09:43that photo out of that little chute.
09:45The smallest print size is going to be four inches with the
09:47printers that we're using.
09:48So what you're saying is, is now that the new picture is
09:51basically twice as big as the old picture.
09:53That's correct.
09:53So some modification of this is going to be required for us
09:57to be able to get that photo out.
09:59All right.
09:59Now I'll do some programming and get some stuff drawn up for
10:01you, and we'll go from there.
10:03Awesome, bud.
10:03Awesome, man.
10:04Thanks.
10:05I'll show you out.
10:06While Anthony draws up the plans for how we'll
10:08convert everything, I'll have to call the customers and make
10:11sure they're OK with us turning it into a digital photo booth.
10:18We're here at the Rose Bowl, and I can't tell you how awesome
10:21it is to walk around this place again.
10:23I haven't been out here in years.
10:25How do you think Bradley's doing?
10:26I mean, do you think it was a good idea?
10:28Well, he'll step it up, hopefully.
10:30I mean, you know, the kids got to learn.
10:32Hey, what do you think, sir?
10:33This is 9,000 restored.
10:35I mean, sometimes I would get their attention, they would listen,
10:38but sometimes it wouldn't, and they would just blow me off.
10:41OK, thank you very much.
10:41Hey, have a good one, buddy.
10:45We've got a barber's chair.
10:48We've got a slot machine.
10:51We've got coke machines.
10:54Hey, you mister, you know what I mean.
10:58Hey, T, right over here.
10:59Check this out.
11:01Oh, that's cool.
11:02Strength tester, man.
11:03This is pretty awesome.
11:04I know we've done a few of them, and, you know, it's a mercury
11:07athletic scale, so your dad loves these.
11:09I mean, he absolutely loves them.
11:11Yeah, strength is where you pull up on that.
11:13That's frozen, man.
11:14What would something like this bring in?
11:16They'd probably bring in around $3,500 now.
11:18$3,500, $4,000.
11:20OK, well, will you do me a favor and go find whoever owns the booth,
11:23and let's talk.
11:25All right.
11:25On this, it's a great item.
11:27I don't want to just pass it by, yet I don't want to waste money
11:30on something that we can't restore.
11:32I mean, this handle could cost $3,500 alone.
11:36Hi.
11:36How are you?
11:37Fine, thanks.
11:38We're interested in this.
11:39OK.
11:40But this is a big issue.
11:42This is like not doing anything.
11:46Not that he's really strong.
11:47You can't do it right there, but I guess my question is,
11:50is $350 firm?
11:52No.
11:53OK.
11:54How low do you think he would go?
11:56Um, $300.
11:59The most I would ever give for this is $100.
12:03The best I could do is $250.
12:05That's it.
12:06OK, well, sorry we couldn't make a deal.
12:08All right.
12:08But thanks.
12:09Thank you so much.
12:10Thanks.
12:10We couldn't make a deal on Strength Tester, but that's OK.
12:13I'd rather push it away and not get it than go back
12:16and have my brother's foot straight out my butt again.
12:20What's up?
12:20What are you doing?
12:21Still sitting here.
12:23I mean, I didn't make any sales, but I
12:24sat here for a good three hours trying to sell these machines.
12:28This economy, people, you know, a little bit harder
12:30than 30 years ago.
12:33Man, the Rose Bowl's changed in the past 30 years.
12:35All right, boys, let's pack it up.
12:36Hopefully, Rick isn't expecting the mother load like we
12:39used to pull in when we would come here.
12:47We're working on a mutascope photo booth from the 1930s.
12:50And after meeting with our photo expert, Anthony, it looks like we're
12:54going to have to convert this thing to use a digital camera and printer.
12:57I went ahead and called the customer and got the green light on converting it.
13:01And now Dave's meeting with Anthony to go over the details on how to make it work.
13:05I got a panel over here for you.
13:06OK.
13:07So we can pound up electronics.
13:08Let me think of some of the camera.
13:09Nice.
13:11Perfect.
13:12That's a nice little mount, Dave.
13:13So this camera box mounts into that bracket.
13:15So you've got a little spacer here so the camera can go up and down.
13:19It's going to tighten it.
13:20We can move it left to right for center placement.
13:23Right.
13:23And so there's no interference with the back of the door.
13:25We're clear with whatever's going to happen down here with the printer,
13:27because the printer's definitely an issue.
13:29It's definitely an issue, yeah.
13:30Man, I really hope all the modifications we made to this is enough to make this printer fit.
13:35Otherwise, I'm screwed.
13:37All right, so here's our printer.
13:38You're at about, without the wires, you're at ten and a half.
13:41All right, we're close.
13:43We're close.
13:43Well, it looks like the printer's just barely going to fit inside,
13:46so that's a huge relief.
13:47But we've still got to figure out how to modify this faceplate
13:50in order for the pictures to be able to come out.
13:52Man, what did Rick get me into?
14:04Well, it was cool, but I thought there was going to be more and more stuff.
14:08And we didn't sell anything.
14:10Well, I'll tell you what.
14:11Don't fear, because I've got a plan.
14:13Rick doesn't let me travel out to California a lot for pics,
14:15because he thinks with the gas money alone, it won't be worth it.
14:18But I've been dying to hit up this place that's just outside of L.A.,
14:21that I know is going to turn this trip into a success.
14:24Hey, guys, what can I do for you?
14:26Are you Chris?
14:27I am.
14:27Chris, my name's Ron.
14:29I heard that this was the place to be for Vince.
14:30Yeah, let me show you what I got back there.
14:33I started collecting coin-operated machines
14:35since I was 16 years old.
14:37Oh!
14:39I'm feeling it.
14:43Yes, indeed.
14:45What?
14:46These two doors opened, and it was like seeing gold.
14:49I mean, I got instantly so excited.
14:52It was like being in a dream.
14:54Is this more what you were looking for?
14:55Yeah.
14:56I want to go in there.
14:57Go on in there and dig around what you need.
14:59Look at the Pepsi 110!
15:00This guy has moral crown sliders,
15:02some candy machines, gas pumps, coke chests.
15:06Holy crap!
15:07Awesome, awesome stuff.
15:09Embossed.
15:097-Up, dude.
15:10We got to get this.
15:11Bring it up.
15:12We got to look at it.
15:14Wow!
15:15Tyler going hard!
15:17Dude, Dr. Pepper embossed.
15:20I don't think I've seen more than one or two of these.
15:22Anything in here you're interested in?
15:24Yeah.
15:24All these pieces here, the two candies.
15:26Okay.
15:27And then three pumps.
15:28Um, I'm looking right around 5 grand.
15:30For all of that.
15:31Um, I was honestly thinking $2,500 range.
15:36$2,500?
15:37Yeah, for, you know, it's a package deal.
15:39We love to, you know, group it together.
15:41Get it all off of your hands at one time.
15:42I understand.
15:43Um, can we do $45?
15:45Oh, he's killing me.
15:47Um, I could probably $38 and that's about, that's about as much money as I can, I can let go.
15:56I've had him a long time.
15:57I think it's time to let him go.
15:58So, $38 will work.
16:00Got a deal?
16:01Oh, that's very good.
16:02Thanks a lot.
16:03I think it's a great deal.
16:04I think Rick's going to be really happy.
16:06When marking a project that's painted or needs a decal, I often use a grease pencil.
16:11Sometimes I make too many marks that aren't needed.
16:14So, what's the best way of removing those marks without damaging the paint job?
16:19A, a dry cloth.
16:21B, water.
16:23C, glass cleaner.
16:24D, oil from your forehead.
16:27The answer and more coming up.
16:33When marking an item that's already painted or applying a decal, I often use a grease pencil.
16:39Sometimes my marks aren't accurate and I need to redo them.
16:42So, what's the best way of removing those marks without damaging the paint job?
16:48The correct answer is D, oil from your forehead.
16:51Basically, the oil from your skin acts as an eraser.
16:54Here, let me show you how.
16:56So, these are the marks here that are the outside of the decal.
17:00I no longer need these inside here.
17:03So, I'm going to take them off.
17:07As you can see, it'll wipe your marks clear off the project.
17:10Using a towel and water will do nothing but smear your project, leaving a huge mess.
17:23Hey!
17:23Boys are going to go out with me all the time now.
17:25You're back!
17:26How'd it go?
17:27Good?
17:27Did you have fun?
17:28Oh, yeah.
17:29I had a ton of fun.
17:29So, what'd you buy?
17:31This?
17:31Good old dump truck.
17:33Yeah, it looks really cool.
17:34It's old Murray dump truck.
17:36That's cool.
17:37So, what else did you get?
17:39This is it.
17:39The Rose Bowl.
17:40Yes.
17:41That was it?
17:42That's all you got was that?
17:43Did you make some sales at least?
17:45No.
17:45No, I was out there trying to sell for three, four hours.
17:48It was hard.
17:49I don't get it.
17:50And the amount of money that three guys cost and all the gas to get down to California
17:54and back doesn't equate to any kind of a profit whatsoever.
17:57I'm going to lose money on that.
17:58So, that was a wasted trip.
18:00Waste of money.
18:01Bottom line.
18:02Hold on.
18:02Before you blow a gasket, I got a surprise, all right?
18:04I got to show you something.
18:05I've been trying to convince Rick to let me go check out this spot for weeks now.
18:09So, this is my chance to rub it in his face.
18:16Whoa!
18:17Whoa!
18:18How many machines did you get?
18:19Seven total.
18:20Really?
18:21Yeah.
18:21We got sliders, canine machines, gas pumps.
18:24At that one place?
18:25The one place.
18:25That I told you not to go to?
18:27Mm-hmm.
18:28I ended up at $3,800 for everything.
18:30I normally don't like Ron going on long trips unless it's a sure thing.
18:34But I guess his hunch on this one paid off.
18:36When I saw that door open, I just saw tons of machines.
18:39I was stoked.
18:41$3,800 for seven machines?
18:43These pieces are really hard to find, so that's a really good deal.
18:46This is incredible.
18:47I mean, this makes it all worthwhile for you to go down there.
18:50You did good.
18:50You did fantastic.
18:52You really did.
18:53Right on.
18:53Good job.
18:54Good job, boys.
18:57Good job, boys.
19:03Hey, Rick.
19:04Hey.
19:05These are people from the photo booth?
19:06Hey.
19:07Hi.
19:08We're here today at Rick's restoration to pick up the photo booth he's been restoring for
19:13us.
19:13And I just really can't wait to see what Rick's done to it.
19:16You remember how this thing used to look?
19:18Oh, yeah.
19:18Yeah.
19:18I remember.
19:19It was a mess.
19:20It was all rusty.
19:21Right.
19:21It was all rusty and ugly.
19:23So you got all that envision there?
19:24Oh, yeah.
19:24All right.
19:25You ready?
19:26Yeah.
19:27Ready.
19:27One, two, three.
19:31Oh, my God.
19:34Oh, my God.
19:36It's beautiful.
19:39Look at the pictures they have.
19:41He's like, all the guys who work here.
19:42Wow.
19:43Rick, this is unbelievable.
19:45Oh, it's so gorgeous.
19:47Holy crap.
19:49It's just blown away.
19:51It is gorgeous.
19:52I could not believe how different it looked.
19:56Oh, my God.
19:57I mean, Rick, the paint job, the color, it's unbelievable.
20:01It's beautiful.
20:01I mean, even the details that you were able to do here, the signs.
20:04It's got the logo perfectly.
20:06It's beautiful.
20:07It is pretty.
20:08Wow.
20:09On the top, um, didn't have that.
20:11Didn't have it at all.
20:11No, that is really neat.
20:13Right.
20:14Ted custom-made that piece up there.
20:15Check it out.
20:16Oh, awesome.
20:18Cool?
20:19That's awesome.
20:20That's cool, huh?
20:21I know, we, uh, put some more family pictures up there, but you can take them out and put
20:25your own pictures in there.
20:26Rick, it looks, it's like a piece of art.
20:28It's absolutely beautiful.
20:29Well, you're just seeing the outside.
20:30Let's come over here.
20:31So, you ready to see the inside?
20:32Yeah, yeah, open it up.
20:34Go ahead.
20:35That is so cool.
20:36Wow.
20:37Unbelievable.
20:38My biggest problem was to, to make it work, you know?
20:41We had to find an expert, and so we had to convert it over to digital.
20:45The original CoinMax in there, and actually, when the slide bar comes back, it hits a micro
20:49switch that allows it to click, and then all the lights come on, and it's Hollywood time.
20:54That's amazing.
20:55Wow.
20:56That's amazing.
20:56What Rick did to restore this photo booth is far beyond what I ever imagined it would
21:01turn into.
21:02It's absolutely stunning.
21:05You know what?
21:06Yeah.
21:07It was so cool sitting in the booth and watching the lights go on and off, and then waiting
21:12for the picture to spit out.
21:14Look at that.
21:14Oh, wow.
21:17It was a lot of fun, and it's going to be a blast in the studio.
21:21That is so cool.
21:23Isn't that fun?
21:23That is awesome.
21:24That's really fun.
21:26Thank you so much.
21:27You bet.
21:28Thanks for letting me be parked.
21:30You bet.
21:30Let's go in the office.
21:31We'll finish out the paperwork.
21:32All right?
21:33Okay.
21:33All right.
21:33Awesome.
21:52All right.
21:53I guess that was kind of fun.
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