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00:00Up next on a one-hour special episode of American Restoration.
00:04Hey, Rick.
00:05Billy, good to meet you, buddy.
00:06How you doing, man? Good to see you, too.
00:07What did you send me? There's some big box on the other side.
00:10Well, let's just say it's a basket case.
00:12Billy Joel wants us to restore a really cool item that means a lot to him.
00:16Wow, look at that. That's a Steinway?
00:18Yeah.
00:18That's old, man.
00:20Will you play a song on it?
00:21I'll give it a shot.
00:22Where did you get the old walk-behind tractor?
00:24Oh, that thing over there?
00:25Yeah.
00:26My brother bought that.
00:27I fell in love with it right there on the site.
00:30I want you guys to all go on a pick today.
00:32How about this, then?
00:33Whoever brings in the one badass item, he gets to meet Billy Joel at the reveal.
00:39I don't know what it is, but I can't wait to see what he's got boxed up in here.
00:44Wow.
00:45Is that what I think that is?
00:48Look at a man's workbench.
00:50You see his passions.
00:53His work's in progress.
00:57The things that drive him crazy.
01:01Projects that, you get the point.
01:04Anyway, every workbench tells a story, and this is ours.
01:09American restoration.
01:17We got in a large crate from the piano man himself, Billy Joel.
01:22I don't know what gets me more excited, finding out what's in the box or getting to meet one
01:26of my all-time favorite rock and roll legends.
01:32Hey, hey, hey, hey, Tyler.
01:34What?
01:34Don't undo this crate.
01:35Why?
01:36This is Billy Joel's.
01:37What?
01:38No way.
01:38Yeah, I just took the label off so nobody would know.
01:40But he told me to not open it, so I'm not going to open it until he gets here.
01:44It's like a surprise.
01:45So he's having something restored by us?
01:47I don't know if it's having something restored or if he's giving me a piano.
01:50I don't know.
01:51I don't know what's in it.
01:52That's sweet.
01:53So you're going to let me be here, right?
01:54No, just him and I will go over it, but we can't open it now.
01:58Always get the shaft.
01:59Leave it like it is and we'll wait.
02:00He'll be here soon.
02:01Okay.
02:02All right?
02:02Mm-hmm.
02:02But I don't want you guys out here, all right?
02:04Yeah, we'll see about that.
02:06Although I'm really pumped to meet Billy Joel, I have some other really big projects here
02:11at the shop that need some attention, too.
02:13Wow.
02:14Where did you get the old walk-behind tractor?
02:16Oh, that thing over there?
02:17Yeah.
02:18My brother bought that.
02:19He did?
02:19Yeah.
02:20A few weeks ago, we had a guy come into the shop that found a really cool walk-behind tractor
02:25that brought back a lot of memories to him.
02:27Customer came in with it and he bought it on a farm, but he wanted to get it restored.
02:31Mm-hmm.
02:31And he couldn't afford it, so I ended up buying it.
02:34My grandfather used to use one of those.
02:36And he used that same one?
02:38Yep.
02:38David Bradley brand.
02:39Yep.
02:39And from, like, 1910 to the 80s, David Bradley made garden equipment, and they would sell
02:44them through that Sears catalog.
02:45And this piece right here, this is probably late 40s, early 50s.
02:48Mm-hmm.
02:49What was cool about the piece, it has a Briggs & Stratton motor in it, and then at the same
02:53time, it came with all kinds of attachments.
02:55Snow plows, tills, all kinds of stuff you could do with this piece.
02:59Oh, yes.
02:59You're looking at buying it?
03:01Buying it and having you restore it for me.
03:03Right.
03:03So what do you want?
03:04What do you want to do to it?
03:04Well, I'd like to get it back into original paint job running condition.
03:08Yep.
03:08And ideally, I'd like to get a trailer that I could sit here and guide it with and have
03:13the wife and the grandchildren's riding with me.
03:16So, okay, so when you're driving it, what, are you going to sit here?
03:18Yep.
03:19I guess if you had wheels back here.
03:20There'd be wheels back here on the trailer.
03:22But the thing with the steering is, I don't know if you've ever ran one of these?
03:25No, I haven't.
03:26I have.
03:27You got to push down to do a turn.
03:29It's not like you got a steering wheel, like Green Acres, you know?
03:35Yep.
03:35When did you live on a farm?
03:36Back before you were born, and just trying to think how to do anything else to make it
03:42turn.
03:42There is no brakes, so you'd have to make it have brakes.
03:46Well, this will obviously give you something to think about.
03:48Yeah.
03:49The deal is, is for me to restore this, um, I'm looking at about $12,000 to do the whole
03:54thing.
03:57Well, you know, if you can make it work, the memories for the grandkids are priceless, so
04:01you got a deal.
04:02Yeah?
04:03You on that?
04:03Yeah.
04:04Let's try it.
04:04This is going to be a challenge.
04:06I'll get my little brain to tick into how we're going to do that.
04:13Hey, I brought Ron out here because I wanted to talk to you guys.
04:16I want you guys to all go on a pick, okay?
04:19Why?
04:20I don't want everybody just jumping around Billy Joel and making him feel uncomfortable.
04:24So why don't you go on a pick?
04:26How about this, then?
04:28A competition between us three.
04:30Whoever brings in the most unique, the best, the baddest item, he gets to meet Billy Joel
04:36at the reveal.
04:36It can't be just bad a**.
04:38It has to be sellable, okay?
04:40We're going to sell it, okay?
04:41So it's the item that makes the most money.
04:44Yeah.
04:44Just because an item's cool doesn't mean it's going to keep me in business.
04:48So whoever picks the item that I can make the most money off of is going to win this competition.
04:53This would be a good challenge for all of you, okay?
04:55Where are we going picking?
04:56I think I'm going to send you to Lonnie's.
04:59Lonnie's?
05:00Lonnie is one of the most eccentric collectors we know, and his house is like a museum of pop culture
05:05memorabilia.
05:06You have to do a little digging to find the good stuff, but I know there's some diamonds in the
05:10rough there.
05:11So each one of you are going to get one piece.
05:13You've got to keep in mind how much we're going to restore it for, what it's going to cost us,
05:16what we're going to sell it, profitability, basically.
05:18All right?
05:19All right, I'm in.
05:21Take off.
05:21I'm driving.
05:22I'm winning.
05:28We had a big crate delivered for music legend Billy Joel.
05:31I have no idea what this thing is, but he's actually coming by today to go over this project with
05:36me.
05:36And I've never been so excited to meet a client before.
05:41How you doing?
05:42Hey.
05:43Hey, Rick.
05:44Billy.
05:44Good to meet you, buddy.
05:45How you doing, man?
05:45Good to see you, too.
05:46Good.
05:46Well, I'm here today because we're doing a gig in Vegas, and I know Rick has his place here, and
05:52I got something I wanted to do for me.
05:54This is something, man.
05:55Look at all this stuff.
05:56I call it my boneyard.
05:57You know, we travel the country, and we just buy stuff rough, you know?
06:01And then we just throw it back here, and we either rob parts to make stuff work, or we bring
06:05people out here and, you know, sell them stuff.
06:07It's a lot of vending stuff, stuff like that.
06:09Very cool.
06:09Yeah.
06:10Can I take a look around?
06:11Yeah, yeah, I'll show you around.
06:12Great.
06:12Just, like, give you the little nickel tour, you know, the boneyard.
06:15Reminisce.
06:15Absolutely.
06:16I know some of this stuff.
06:17That's what's scaring me.
06:19There's different things out here.
06:21Look at these little guys.
06:22What's that?
06:23It's about a 1960s pedal car.
06:25Kids could look up to their parents driving this brand-new Mustang down the road, and then this is what
06:31the kid would be driving.
06:32Yeah, this would have been for rich kids.
06:33Yeah.
06:34Oh, yeah.
06:34You never had one?
06:35No, I never had one of these.
06:36I mean, when you go to FAO Schwartz, and you'd see these babies in the window, but I'm never able
06:41to dream about getting one.
06:42Right.
06:42This was the end of the awesome kid's toy.
06:45This really was.
06:46Great.
06:46It was just on the verge of turning to plastic, and then everything went to hell after that.
06:52I got a couple bikes over here.
06:53You know, that's called a Benz.
06:55Have you ever heard of that?
06:56No.
06:56They made this in 1954, and they only made it for one year, so it's extremely rare.
07:02Then, of course, you got the Black Phantom there.
07:04Now, back in the day, kids used to put a Bridgenstrat and a lawnmower motor on these things and make
07:09homemade motorbikes.
07:10Right.
07:10That's right.
07:11They got around faster.
07:12Very cool.
07:13I've got an old radio.
07:14Wow, look at that.
07:15Yeah.
07:16That's great looking.
07:17Art Deco.
07:18Zenith was the top of the line radio you could buy in the day.
07:21Yeah, nice wood cabinets.
07:22Yeah, yeah.
07:22That was the entertainment.
07:24That was it.
07:24They would listen to this, and that's it.
07:26No TV, no nothing else.
07:27That's all you had.
07:28You know what that is?
07:29I think so.
07:31This is something I bought quite a while ago, and I've been wanting to restore it.
07:34I think it's a Steinway, I think.
07:36That's a Steinway?
07:38Wow, it's a spinet model.
07:40Yeah.
07:40That's old, man.
07:41If it's capable of even happening, will you play a song on it?
07:44I'll give it a shot.
07:46Yeah.
07:52Oh, this thing sucks.
07:56Good luck with this.
08:07Awesome.
08:07Needs work, man.
08:09Good luck with this.
08:11To me, my ears, it sounded pretty darn good.
08:14Well, you've got to get out more.
08:17Great stuff.
08:18So, anyways, the box you brought, I'm dying to know what's in it.
08:22It's a basket case, and I think you'll know when you see it.
08:27I can't wait.
08:28Let's go get it open.
08:29I don't got a clue what Billy shipped over, but he said it's in pretty rough shape, and
08:34that's not exactly calming my nerves right now.
08:36All right, so here it is.
08:38Now that I get to open it up.
08:40I've been looking for something like this for a long time.
08:42I got it as a basket case.
08:44Literally, it was a bunch of parts and a basket.
08:47That's why they call it a basket case.
08:49And I figure if anybody's going to know how to put this thing together, it's going to be
08:52Rick.
08:56Wow.
08:57Is that what I think that is?
09:06Music legend Billy Joel stopped by the shop to go over a project he has for me.
09:10I don't know what it is, but I can't wait to see what he's got boxed up in here.
09:16Wow.
09:18That's awesome.
09:19Nice, huh?
09:19That's awesome.
09:20This particular bike is a 1967 BSA, and I figure if anybody's going to know how to
09:26put this thing together, it's going to be Rick.
09:28Wow.
09:28This thing is awesome.
09:30What's the story with this?
09:31The first bike I ever rode was a BSA Royal Star A50.
09:36It wasn't this exact bike, but this is about as close as I've been able to come to find
09:40another one.
09:41Wow.
09:41Before you got to the Harley, you usually had a BSA.
09:44This British-made bike was really popular in the 50s and 60s because it was much more
09:50affordable than the Harley.
09:51But the BSAs had a whole bunch of design problems.
09:54And when the Japanese flooded the market with bikes that were much more reliable, this company
09:59was literally driven out of business.
10:03What I liked about this bike was, number one, it was my first bike.
10:06The first time I ever rode a bike scared the hell out of me, but I had an awful lot
10:09of fun.
10:09I just like the classic design of it.
10:12It's got an engine, it's got a transmission, it's got a headlight, and it's got a gas tank,
10:17and it just goes.
10:18And there's, you know, not a whole lot of frou-frou to it.
10:21Right.
10:21That was cool about it.
10:22No frou-frou.
10:23But it works.
10:24Right.
10:26You have a shop now.
10:27You're doing bikes.
10:28Why do you send it to me?
10:29Yeah, we have a shop.
10:30I don't really do restorations that much.
10:32We do a lot of custom work.
10:33My favorite era of design is from the 30s to the 70s.
10:37Right.
10:37I love that era of automotive design.
10:40And what I end up doing a lot of times is taking new bikes and trying to make it look
10:44like old bikes from the 60s.
10:45Oh, I didn't know.
10:46You're going the opposite.
10:47You're making them look like we like them.
10:48That's awesome.
10:48We're going the other way, yeah.
10:49But I like new tech, but I just like old styling.
10:52Right.
10:52And this is, you know, a classic design.
10:55Right.
10:56And if you can get this baby in shape, it'd mean a lot to me.
10:59I won't let you down, bud.
11:00I won't let you down.
11:02We'll go ahead and get this done just like you want it.
11:04Yeah, I'd like to try to get it as stock as possible.
11:06Well, the color, you know, I think they did have a blue like this.
11:10I don't know if this has been painted or not.
11:12Yeah.
11:12It came in blue and red.
11:13Yeah.
11:13And you know what the color's called since I'm like this painter?
11:16No.
11:17Flamboyant blue.
11:18Flamboyant blue?
11:19Yeah.
11:19Oh, well, well, so be it.
11:21And flamboyant red.
11:22That was the color.
11:23It's English.
11:23Well, then let's get it to be flamboyant again.
11:25All right.
11:26So what I'll do is we'll go through the motor first.
11:28Okay.
11:28That's my first thing because it takes me the longest.
11:30Yeah, it's frozen.
11:32It's frozen.
11:33And that's not good.
11:35Okay.
11:35So it's all froze up.
11:36So hopefully it's not seized.
11:38We'll take the frame apart, you know, take everything off of it.
11:41Croming, but not wild, right?
11:43I don't mind a nickel finish either.
11:44Okay.
11:45Where do you want nickel?
11:46Wherever the part calls for it.
11:47Okay, because that's a definitely different look than chrome.
11:50I prefer nickel to chrome because too much chrome cancels itself out.
11:54Yeah.
11:54You know, too much shine, you can't see the chrome.
11:56That's exactly right.
11:57You need to offset it with another finish.
11:59I like it.
12:00That's cool.
12:01All right, Rick.
12:02Well, good luck with this.
12:03I know you're not going to let me down.
12:04No.
12:04You know, I know people.
12:06Okay, all right, all right, all right.
12:07Thanks, Rick.
12:08You bet.
12:08Thanks, Billy, for bringing it in.
12:09I'll do a good job for you, okay?
12:11Thank you, Rick.
12:11Don't, uh, yeah, don't tell your people.
12:13There's a hole in the desert waiting for you.
12:21I'm honored that Billy's trusted me with his motorcycle, and I can't wait to get started.
12:26But I recently sold a 1950s walk-behind tractor to a customer, and he wants it fully restored.
12:36Over the past few weeks, Kyle and Roy dismantled the entire tractor.
12:40Oh, there we go.
12:43We got the bead blasting taken care of, and Manny started on the body work.
12:49And Ed is taking apart the transmission to get all that running again.
12:56Meanwhile, Ron, Tyler, and Brett Lee left for a picking trip, so I hope they can find some
13:01decent items.
13:02This is it.
13:03This doesn't look like a house.
13:05It's like a castle.
13:06It's a compound.
13:07My dad set up a little contest between Brett Lee, Ron, and I.
13:10We have to go out and pick the best item for the shop, and whoever does that gets to go
13:15to New York and meet Billy Joel.
13:18Hi, Ron, Tyler, welcome back.
13:21How you doing, Lonnie?
13:22It's been a while, guys.
13:24I've collected things since I've been five years old.
13:28History from travels all over the world.
13:31The boys and I, we're on the hunt for some real cool stuff.
13:34My wife would like to get rid of a lot of the stuff around here.
13:38Well, come on in.
13:39If there's anything you want to have, come and get me.
13:42Awesome.
13:42Right on.
13:42All righty.
13:43Thanks, Lonnie.
13:44Appreciate it.
13:44You're not going to believe this.
13:46Whoa.
13:47This place is here.
13:49Wow.
13:49Dang, man.
13:50Where do we start?
13:51There's actually way too much to see in this place.
13:54All right.
13:54Let's just head on to the back.
13:56You've got to go slow, because there is so much stuff in here.
13:59You can see different things each and every time you're here.
14:01The guy's got it all.
14:03Wow, this is crazy.
14:04This is the ultimate place to have a party.
14:07What is this, a dinosaur?
14:08Oh, jeez.
14:10Wow.
14:10Big's not the word.
14:11This thing is freaking ginormous.
14:13Do you remember trying to sell this out in the boneyard?
14:15Yeah, I think we better move on before I actually buy it.
14:17There's always lots of cool stuff at Lonnie's.
14:20But the trick is finding cool stuff that you can actually restore and sell for a profit.
14:25Check out these old lanterns, guys.
14:28These are pretty cool, dude.
14:29Hell yes.
14:30Look at this thing.
14:31This is 30s.
14:32That's the oldest one, though.
14:33Yeah, like this old railroad lantern.
14:36Wow.
14:37Dude, this thing's bad ass.
14:38I mean, check it out.
14:40It's got the original red lens.
14:41Look at that.
14:42Like, how often are you going to find that?
14:44These railroad lanterns were constantly swung around and took a lot of abuse.
14:48So finding one with the original red lens intact is extremely collectible.
14:52I'm not even worried about what you guys are going to find because this is taking me to
14:56New York to meet Billy Joel.
14:58Just remember this smile because it ain't going to be there long.
15:01I'm keeping my eyes peeled.
15:07Hey, Dave.
15:08What have you got here?
15:09All right.
15:10I got to talk to you about another project we need to deal with.
15:13While the guys continue working on the walk-behind tractor, Dave and I have to figure out how
15:17to pull off a trailer the customer also wanted.
15:20He wants the back end where he can haul his family around in it.
15:23And it's in the late 40s, early 50s, so it's got a really cool look.
15:26Love it.
15:27What I thought about doing is this.
15:30It's got two big, long handles on it like this.
15:33Okay.
15:33I want to do a tractor seat here.
15:35Perfect.
15:35So we got this old-style tractor seat right here.
15:38His wagon is going to have to be back here.
15:42And then we're going to have to figure out some way to put a couple of bench seats where
15:45people can sit here and here, here, and here.
15:49Okay?
15:49Nice.
15:50The wheels that I want to put it on are the same ones as this.
15:53They're those tractor tires.
15:54Uh-huh.
15:54As you're sitting down, your legs are dangling.
15:57You don't want to hit the ground with your feet at the same time you don't want to hit
16:00the wheels.
16:01So there's little fenders on it?
16:02No, I'm thinking we may want to put the wheels underneath it all of a sudden.
16:05That's another point.
16:06Yeah, just keep your feet from out of harm's way.
16:08Right, right.
16:09And the wheels underneath, that's probably better, huh?
16:11Yeah.
16:12But we'll get it figured out.
16:13Yeah.
16:14Frames first.
16:14Frames first.
16:15I'll take some measurements right now and get started.
16:17Okay.
16:17Awesome.
16:19I'm building a custom wagon from scratch.
16:21So I'm going to start with a simple frame for the base, then add the wheel mounts onto
16:24it.
16:27While Dave is welding up the bottom section, Robert's starting to craft the wooden benches
16:32for the top section.
16:35When it all comes together, hopefully this trailer will look like it rolled right off the assembly
16:40line with the tractor.
16:47Check it out.
16:50Hey, that's nice, man.
16:52Is that cool?
16:52That's an old A50, huh?
16:54Yeah.
16:55That's exactly what it is.
16:56Nice.
16:57Here's the deal.
16:57This bike is actually Billy Joel's.
17:00Billy Joel, the piano man?
17:01Billy Joel, the piano guy.
17:03Wow.
17:04No wonder you need to know a little bit more about it.
17:07I really wanted to get a second pair of eyes on this thing.
17:10So I called up my friend Ace to check it out because he really knows his stuff when it comes
17:14to classic bikes.
17:15He just wants it right, rideable, reliable.
17:18A lot of history in this bike.
17:19This is what started it, you know?
17:21Yeah, yeah.
17:21That's what makes these things so rare and so collectible.
17:24Yeah, yeah.
17:24Because when guys got a hold of these things in the late 50s and 60s and into the 70s,
17:28they chopped them.
17:29They tore them apart.
17:30They ragged them, man.
17:31Experimental model.
17:32They were climbing mountains on these, you know?
17:34Right, right.
17:34They vibrated like nothing you've ever seen before.
17:37Right, right.
17:37You know, so they're very particular motorcycles.
17:40It's the unit construction, which means that it's all one unit.
17:44It's not two pieces put together.
17:45It doesn't have a transmission back here.
17:47It's got everything all by itself.
17:49You know, the exterior stuff, you and I know that that's the garnish of the job.
17:52Yeah.
17:52Your main concern has got to be focused on that motor.
17:56If you don't know that motor, man, be cautious.
17:59You know, they weren't big fans of gaskets.
18:01Right.
18:01They're a leaker.
18:02Oh, yeah.
18:03Yeah, that's going to be the biggest issue with the whole bike,
18:06is getting that motor correct on it.
18:08Actually, I think the motor's frozen.
18:09Oh.
18:10And you've done one of those?
18:11I have done one of those, yes.
18:13Kind of like to get involved in this, Rick.
18:16Billy Joel's bike, my kind of motor.
18:19You know, I like to get involved in this project with you, man.
18:21I think I can help you out.
18:22And I got a motor shop.
18:24You need to let me do this.
18:26Okay, okay, okay.
18:27I see where you're going.
18:28I'm very reluctant to let this engine out of my sight,
18:31especially with such a big-name client.
18:33But these motors are pretty complicated.
18:36And if Ace is as good as he says he is,
18:38it should be in good hands.
18:40Okay, you know what?
18:40I'm going to give you a shot.
18:42We're going to go with this.
18:43I appreciate it, man.
18:44We can do this.
18:45Good.
18:45You'll help me out a little bit,
18:46and that'll help get a little bit of the pressure off of me.
18:48But I'm going to come over.
18:49Absolutely.
18:50Okay, and then I'll come by and check you.
18:51Absolutely.
18:52Okay.
18:52Awesome.
18:53Awesome, buddy.
18:53All right.
18:54Thanks.
18:54Thanks, man.
18:54Thanks.
18:55I appreciate it.
19:03You get so much stuff.
19:05It's, like, ridiculous.
19:06You can't take it all in.
19:08I found a really nice railroad lantern
19:10for this picking competition.
19:11So if Ron or Bradley want to see Billy Joel,
19:14they're going to have to go big or stay home.
19:16Hold on.
19:17What?
19:18Look at this.
19:19Is that, like, an old can or something?
19:21It's a milk can.
19:22Yeah.
19:23It looks like it's all copper.
19:25And copper is a precious metal.
19:27It's worth money no matter what.
19:28In the 1800s, dairy farmers used these cans
19:30to transport milk to the markets.
19:32They're usually steel or aluminum and not worth much.
19:35But this can looks like it's copper,
19:38so even if we scrap it, we can make money on it.
19:40The bad thing is going to be, though,
19:42is if this is just copper plating,
19:44and then you go to polish it out,
19:45and it goes to all steel.
19:46You're done.
19:47You're done.
19:48It becomes this.
19:48This is how much it becomes worth.
19:50It'll be your new office chair.
19:51Whatever, I like it.
19:53I'm all about taking chances.
19:54Yeah, no, big risk, big reward.
19:56I'm just saying.
19:56So I'm staking the claim on that.
19:59And with that, Billy Joel bound.
20:02Sorry.
20:03Billy Joel bound.
20:04You wish.
20:05But we got a problem.
20:07What?
20:07I found a crack.
20:09Oh.
20:09The fact that this thing has a crack
20:11means that it could leak for the rest of its life.
20:14Rick!
20:15I'm here to pick up my 1947 walk-behind tractor.
20:19Oops.
20:20There it is.
20:20Oh, good.
20:21Oh, man.
20:23That is gorgeous.
20:34We're making some good progress
20:36on the 1950s walk-behind tractor we're restoring.
20:39We color match the original colors,
20:41and all the parts have been repainted
20:43with the factory green and red.
20:45And Ed is reassembling all the engine parts
20:47before he reinstalls it on the frame.
20:50This thing is going to purr like a kid when it's done.
20:54Meanwhile, Ron, Bradley, and Tyler
20:55are having a little picking competition over at Lonnie's.
20:59Whoever finds the most profitable item
21:01wins a trip to meet Billy Joel
21:03when we deliver his motorcycle.
21:06All right.
21:07Well, let's see what we got over here.
21:09I see, like, big tiki dude.
21:11This is straight-up voodoo stuff here.
21:14Dolls with their heads cut off.
21:16Got a unicycle over there.
21:17We do unicycles?
21:18Yeah.
21:18Check it out.
21:19Yeah?
21:19We do anything, baby.
21:21Who would we sell this to?
21:23That's insane.
21:24Yeah.
21:24That's even really tall for, like, me.
21:26It doesn't matter how tall you are.
21:28The pedals are right here.
21:29On the normal unicycle, the pedals are down here.
21:31So the person riding it wouldn't have to be tall.
21:34It's just the unicycle's higher off the ground.
21:36Lonnie gets lots of stuff from movie sets and Vegas shows.
21:40So an oversized unicycle like this
21:42could be something from an old circus act
21:44at one of the casinos.
21:45It's definitely unusual.
21:47Look at this seat.
21:48Bradley, move your hands.
21:49Yeah, right there.
21:49It's a Schwinn.
21:49Holy crap.
21:51That's pretty sick.
21:52Dude, I didn't even know Schwinn made unicycles.
21:55Is it old, though?
21:56What year do you think it is?
21:57It's probably 60s.
21:59The reflectors are in the pedals.
22:00That's how I know.
22:01Dude, that's pretty cool.
22:02That wouldn't entail much work, either.
22:04Blast the frame, powder coat the rim.
22:06So what do you think, bud?
22:07Is that it?
22:08I think I'm going to get it.
22:10If you can go find Lonnie, go grab him,
22:12bring him over, and we'll start haggling.
22:14All right.
22:14All right.
22:14I am actually a little bit concerned.
22:16These two boys have found two pretty cool items
22:19that got me a little worried.
22:21They could instantly end up winning this.
22:23No, you're not, dude.
22:24No way.
22:25Wow.
22:26I see you guys found some stuff.
22:28We did.
22:28Now it's time to talk some price.
22:30Okay.
22:31So who's going first?
22:32I'll go first.
22:33Yeah.
22:33You guys go first.
22:34I'll go last.
22:35This isn't my first trip around the block.
22:37I know if I go last, I get to hear them negotiate,
22:40and then I know if I need to go real, real hard,
22:42or if I have a little leeway to play.
22:44All right.
22:44So I'd probably give you about $100 for this.
22:47No, no.
22:48No, that's much more expensive.
22:50I'm going to have to have $400.
22:54$400.
22:55Yeah.
22:57Would you go $300?
23:00I'll go you $350.
23:02$350.
23:03Yeah.
23:03Okay.
23:05Who's next?
23:06I'll go.
23:07I'm interested in this railroad lantern.
23:09It's a little rough, lots of rust.
23:10It's pretty old, and that's exactly what it is
23:13in an old railroad lantern.
23:14$150.
23:15I was thinking more around the $75 range.
23:19Oh, hell.
23:20I'll sell it to you for $100 if you want it.
23:22$100?
23:23I mean...
23:24All right.
23:25Yeah, I can do $100.
23:26That'd be cool.
23:26Okay.
23:27Sure enough.
23:28All right, Lonnie.
23:29What do you want for this?
23:30You guys have been good to me,
23:32and I've made a little money in the deal.
23:35I'll give you that free as a present.
23:37What?
23:38Are you kidding me?
23:39Why don't you just give me this?
23:41Going last is seriously paid off.
23:43Just goes to show that a little experience
23:45goes a long way.
23:47100% profit.
23:49Although Ron basically just stole this item from Lonnie,
23:52if that milk can is made of steel and not copper,
23:54it's worth squat.
23:55And 100% profit on zero is zero.
23:58That's a deal without a doubt.
24:00Thank you on that one.
24:01Good luck.
24:01Awesome.
24:02Thank you so much.
24:03All right, man.
24:03Thanks.
24:03Be careful with it.
24:04All right.
24:05Competition's not over, Ron.
24:07Yeah, it is.
24:15We've been restoring a 1967 BSA motorcycle
24:18for Billy Joel.
24:22There you go, Fanzarelli.
24:24It's a boy.
24:26Yee-haw.
24:27We sent the engine over to my friend Ace.
24:30He specializes in motors,
24:31and these British-made bikes
24:33were notorious for having problems.
24:35So I'm heading over to his place now
24:37to see how things are going.
24:40Ace.
24:40Hey!
24:41How you doing there, Rick?
24:42Good you could come today.
24:44Never came, man.
24:45Yeah, yeah, yeah.
24:45Good to see you.
24:46So how's Billy Joel's motor doing?
24:49Is it good news?
24:49Well, we got good news, we got bad news.
24:52Which, how's your day going?
24:54I bet you went first.
24:55Well, Billy thought that it wouldn't kick over.
24:58It's basically stuck.
24:59So, you know, I'm giving to you,
25:01you said it'd be a piece of cake.
25:02I'm worried you're going to say right now
25:03that it's stuck and it's junk.
25:05If it was frozen inside,
25:06it means one, oh my God,
25:08we got a lot of parts to buy,
25:09and two, can we even find them?
25:11There's nothing broke inside the motor,
25:13the transmission,
25:13none of the internal parts on this motor
25:15is broken.
25:16It looks great.
25:17That's really good.
25:19It needs freshening, yes.
25:20Okay.
25:21But we got a problem.
25:22What?
25:23I found a crack.
25:25Oh.
25:26And it has cracked clear through,
25:28we've already started taking it.
25:29Yeah, so you didn't see that.
25:31We didn't see this,
25:32because that's right where that shifter shaft
25:34went up and it was covered.
25:35The fact that this thing has a crack
25:37means that it could leak
25:38for the rest of its life.
25:40If they don't fix it properly,
25:42I'm still going to be in trouble.
25:43It's a definite problem.
25:45Yeah, definitely.
25:46You know, when you got this type of casing...
25:49You think we need to find a new one?
25:50If you find one on the internet,
25:51you're probably going to have the same problem.
25:53Okay.
25:53This is where the shifter came out of.
25:55That was from that constant banging
25:56with the shifter.
25:57Oh, yeah, yeah.
25:59So what's your plan to fix a crack?
26:00Don't get your blood pressure all up on me.
26:02We can repair this, okay?
26:04I'm going to do this by hand with files.
26:06Old school.
26:07Right, right, right.
26:07I'm going to file this
26:08with different grades of files.
26:09You're basically doing body work on the aluminum.
26:11I'm metal straightening aluminum.
26:12Yep.
26:12And there's a little trick we're going to do to this.
26:14We're actually going to put a small divot in it.
26:16Yeah.
26:16To allow for that shifter as this bushing wears
26:19to allow it to have some space
26:20so it doesn't increase the problem once again.
26:23Right, right.
26:23So let's finish it.
26:24Awesome.
26:25Let's get it back on the bike.
26:25You guys are doing a good job.
26:26All right.
26:26Thank you, Rick.
26:27Keep it up.
26:27I appreciate it.
26:28I'll be back in a couple days.
26:29You come back whenever you want to.
26:31Open door policy, brother.
26:36I really hope Ace can pull this off,
26:38but the engine is just one piece of a big puzzle,
26:41and we've got to make this whole thing sparkle when it's done.
26:45Billy's going to be riding this bike,
26:47so we're powder coating all the parts so they won't chip.
26:50And I had to reach out to a friend in England,
26:53but I actually found the original paint for this British beauty.
27:06Dad, we're back from Lonnie's.
27:09You get your Billy Joel-worthy pickings done?
27:11Yep.
27:12It's a big deal.
27:13The guys went on a picking trip,
27:15and whoever came back with the most profitable item
27:17is going to win a trip to meet Billy Joel when we deliver his bike.
27:21All right, Bradley, you're up.
27:23All right.
27:23You say, wow.
27:24So, when was the last time you seen a unicycle like this, huh?
27:27I mean, it's really cool.
27:29Everything on it's original.
27:31Right.
27:31And it says Schwinn.
27:32It's all Schwinn on there.
27:33Now, you get on a bicycle, and it has a coaster.
27:35So you're running, and then it coasts.
27:37This doesn't do that.
27:38The reason why is...
27:39You have to pedal forwards and backwards.
27:41All the time.
27:42You're constantly pedaling.
27:43Forwards or backwards, forwards or backwards.
27:45And this is actually pretty tall, but they make them taller.
27:48Yeah.
27:48I've seen 10-footers.
27:49No way.
27:50Yeah, they're not.
27:51Wow.
27:51I mean, it's the most amazing thing to see somebody ride one.
27:54This is a good, good piece.
27:55What'd you pay for this?
27:56It was hard on this one.
27:58I got to $350.
28:00I don't know if by the time we're restoring it, we can make that back.
28:04That's a good piece.
28:05We'll have to keep that one in mind.
28:06All right.
28:07Who's next?
28:09This is me.
28:10I believe that's an old railroad lantern.
28:13By the size of the lens and the apparatus on the back, it's definitely railroad.
28:17By the looks of it and the way it's welded together, soldered together, I bet it's 30s.
28:22I couldn't tell if this was original or not.
28:24Yeah, no, it's glass.
28:25It's not plastic.
28:26It's all spot welded.
28:27Okay.
28:28Ha!
28:28So it is original.
28:30Yeah.
28:30Can't get it out if it's spot welded.
28:31I was a little worried about this piece, but now that my dad verified it is from the
28:3530s and has the original glass, I got this locked up.
28:39There's two purposes.
28:40You want to have the little spike in the back to mount it like that, or the other one was
28:43to, like, go like this, and he got the cars coming at you, and he would go like this,
28:47and, you know, trains are coming.
28:50I mean, I think it's a great find.
28:52I think collectors, especially railroad collectors, love this stuff, and restoring this
28:56is going to be fairly easy.
28:57How much did you pay?
28:59A hundred bucks.
29:00A hundred bucks.
29:01It's a great find.
29:03Front and center right there, baby.
29:05All right.
29:06So tell me about it.
29:06It's a copper milk can.
29:08It's copper?
29:08Yeah.
29:09Yeah.
29:09It's from a hatchery in Minnesota.
29:12If this is steel, you're done.
29:13I already told you.
29:14It's not steel.
29:15This is copper.
29:15This up here might be steel, but that's copper right there.
29:18I can tell if this thing is copper or just copper plated with one scrape of my knife.
29:24Yes.
29:24Ooh.
29:25Bingo.
29:26That boy's copper.
29:27Do up here.
29:27Do up here.
29:28Copper doesn't rust.
29:30I'm not just going to rust.
29:30This is copper.
29:32That bad boy's total copper.
29:34Woo-hoo!
29:36The lid.
29:37The lid is the only thing.
29:38Everything else is copper.
29:39Polished out, this thing is going to be absolutely beautiful.
29:44I mean, this is going to be easy to sell.
29:46What'd you pay for it?
29:47Um, can you say free?
29:50Wow.
29:51All right.
29:52Pay zero for it.
29:53Because we got paid for ours.
29:55In the world of picking, free is the best.
29:57The winner is Ron.
29:59Oh, man.
30:01Yeah.
30:02What?
30:02Oh, yeah.
30:04Billy Joel bound.
30:05Ron's item, one, was free.
30:08Two, it's all copper.
30:09Very rare.
30:11Three, it's extremely old.
30:13And four, which all those together make it easy to sell.
30:17That's the reason why.
30:18So, Ron's going with me to meet Billy Joel in New York.
30:22All right?
30:23Right on.
30:24Bro, that thing, as far as you can.
30:26Oh, my God, what a joke.
30:30Eric, good to see you.
30:31How you doing, man?
30:32Look at these bikes.
30:33I'm hoping I can meet up to your expectations, because they're high.
30:37They're high.
30:37I'm ready.
30:38Let's go.
30:38Let's go.
30:39I do some singing in the shower, and I've been heard that my voice is just really, really good.
30:44You looking for a gig?
30:46Maybe, you know, if you've got some upcoming stuff.
31:00You got some nuts for you.
31:01You want some nuts?
31:02Yep.
31:04That's sure pretty green, ain't it?
31:05Shiny green.
31:07We're doing the final assembly on the walk-behind tractor, and I can't wait to hop on this thing when
31:11it's done.
31:12It's going to be one fun ride.
31:16Lenny's out here somewhere.
31:18You excited?
31:19Oh, I'm terribly excited.
31:21Good.
31:21I'm here at Rick's Restorations today to pick up my 1947 David Bradley walk-behind tractor, and I hope he's
31:28got it worked out.
31:29If he hasn't, I'll be very disappointed.
31:32Rick!
31:35Oh, something sounds good.
31:39Oh, man, that is gorgeous.
31:43I can't believe it.
31:45Yes, thank you.
31:46When Rick first came off on that tractor, I was astounded.
31:50The tractor was absolutely beautiful.
31:53The fact that he was sitting on the trailer, driving it out, that just made my day.
31:58What do you think?
31:59Rick, that is beyond what I expected.
32:02It is absolutely beautiful.
32:04Is that cool?
32:05Oh, I love it.
32:06It's a little farmer's hot rod.
32:08Yeah.
32:09I never dreamed you could make it look this good.
32:12The day I saw it, even though it was terrible, brought back a lot of memories.
32:17Right.
32:17And now it's just unbelievable.
32:19Yeah.
32:19So giving the memories of my grandkids is what I'm looking forward to.
32:23I mean, that's what it's all about, right?
32:24And right now, at their ages of four and five, they're going to love riding this trailer.
32:28Right.
32:28That's an incredible feeling.
32:29So that makes me feel good.
32:31It's going to be awesome.
32:33When we paint stuff, I want it to really, really, really pop.
32:36So, you know, it's all been rubbed down, and it's just absolutely beautiful right now.
32:40Oh, it's perfect.
32:41So this is actually automotive paint.
32:43It's got clear on it.
32:44We went and hand-lettered the David Bradley on there because I researched it, and it was white like this.
32:48Did you change the rims because they look pretty rotten?
32:51No.
32:51I didn't even know you could salvage them.
32:53Yeah.
32:53We stripped them, sandblasted them, and then we ended up powder coating them that green.
32:57And these are brand-new tires.
32:59The others were pretty destroyed.
33:00It's almost too nice to use now.
33:03Oh, it is gorgeous.
33:05The trailer for the grandkids, I can't wait to get them riding on it.
33:09My wood guy, Robert, took all the wood, and he rounded all the edges.
33:13He gave it a nice slat look.
33:14I left it this natural look because I figured it's on the farm.
33:17You're going to, you know, out by the lake.
33:19You're going to want a, you know, real natural look.
33:20Put this on there so it's a backboard so you guys can lean against it.
33:24And then when the little kids are sitting here, they can put their feet here.
33:26On the seat, we made it adjustable for different heights.
33:29Let's say you've got a little kid that wants to drive it.
33:31You can raise it up a little bit.
33:32You know, it's basically a fun mobile.
33:33Yeah.
33:34This whole cart just absolutely makes the whole thing work perfect.
33:38It's gorgeous.
33:39I love it.
33:40If you don't mind, Rick, I'm kind of looking forward to giving it a test drive.
33:43Could we do that?
33:44Yeah, absolutely.
33:45I'll fire it up.
33:46The Briggs and Stratton motor's totally been gone through.
33:49You take your trusty pull starter and you just give it a jerk.
33:54After I got on it and rode it around, I am so looking forward to getting the kids out
33:59and having fun with them year after year.
34:02Rick, this is awesome.
34:04I like it.
34:06That just made my day.
34:07Thank you very, very much for such a good job.
34:10You bet.
34:10I'm going to love it probably as much or more than they do.
34:13Right.
34:13It's going to be fun.
34:14It was a lot of fun building.
34:18We had a major obstacle on Billy Joel's motorcycle with a cracked engine case.
34:24And luckily, Ace came through and completely fixed the crack.
34:27So now it's just a matter of reassembling the engine, getting all the parts on, and this baby's ready to
34:33go.
35:04Here we go.
35:05How far do these seats reclaimed back?
35:07I'm already a little bit tired.
35:09Come on.
35:09I'm not even out of town yet.
35:12Wake me up in Cleveland.
35:19Ron and I made the cross-country road trip to Long Island, and thankfully, the bike is safe and sound.
35:25Now we're heading over to Billy's custom bike shop to meet up with him.
35:28Man, look at the work on that.
35:30That looks awesome.
35:30That does.
35:31I just want one picture with Billy Joel.
35:33If you embarrass me, you're walking home.
35:36Wow.
35:37Look at this.
35:39Good to see you.
35:41How are you doing, man?
35:41Good.
35:42This is my brother, Ron.
35:42Hi, Ron.
35:43How are you doing?
35:43Welcome.
35:44Welcome to our shop.
35:44This is an awesome place.
35:47I mean, look at these bikes.
35:49This shop is like Disneyland for motorcycle lovers.
35:52There are bikes from all over the world that date back to the early 1900s.
35:56I feel like a dog in a bone chop.
35:59I don't know which one to jump on first.
36:01You going to show me around?
36:02I'll give you the tour, then we can check out the bike.
36:04Okay.
36:04Yeah, yeah.
36:05All right.
36:05Walk this way.
36:08When I went to see Rick's place, it was really impressive to see how stuff starts out.
36:13But I'm excited for him to see the work we do, which is a completely different approach to it.
36:19We do reverse restoration.
36:22We take new bikes, make them look old.
36:24Right.
36:24It's my favorite.
36:25It's usually Italian bikes.
36:27I love them.
36:27Right.
36:28This is a good example of what we do.
36:30This is actually a brand new Moto Guzzi, but I wanted it to look like an old early 70s Eldorado.
36:37The California Highway Patrol used to use them.
36:39Oh, yeah, yeah.
36:40Yeah.
36:40So I had body parts made to put on a brand new bike, a brand new motor, and so it
36:46looks like an Eldorado.
36:47Oh, that's awesome.
36:48It does look like it's right out of the 70s.
36:50It's awesome.
36:50The model we used was called the California Vintage, so we call this the Cal Dorado.
36:55Oh, it's a mixture.
36:57Yeah.
36:57That's cool.
36:58So this is what we do, and it's very confusing to people because the guys who remember these bikes will
37:03go up and go,
37:04hey, yeah, I used to have one of these, and I say, no, you didn't.
37:07No, you didn't.
37:07Yeah.
37:08Which is kind of the fun part is trying to fool the older guys.
37:11Right, right.
37:12I've worked on a lot of motorcycles, but you have to look really close at these bikes
37:16to try to figure out which ones are original and which ones have been custom restored.
37:21Billy's shop is really good at what they do.
37:23These are military bikes.
37:25Yeah.
37:25This is a Royal Enfield military.
37:28I love it.
37:28I love it.
37:29This one is a BMW with a sidecar.
37:33It's a combination of a lot of different motorcycles to make it look like what it is.
37:38Right now, it looks like a World War II-era Wehrmacht gespawn that the Wehrmacht used in the Second World
37:43War.
37:44Oh, I like the leather on top of the tank.
37:46It's got such a cool look to it.
37:47Yeah.
37:48This is actually called a tank bra.
37:49Tank bra.
37:50So who drove?
37:51The commander?
37:52The big chief?
37:52No, the big shot sat in the sidecar usually.
37:55And sometimes I put my dog in this sidecar.
37:58I have a little, you know, buckle harness for her.
38:00Nice.
38:01And she loves it.
38:03Okay, now, when I brought my bike to your shop, it was a late 60s BSA A50.
38:08This is actually my version of a BSA, but it's a Kawasaki.
38:13No way.
38:14Yeah, it's a W650 Kawasaki.
38:16Right.
38:16To me, it looks so much like a BSA, I put a BSA tank on it.
38:20Yeah.
38:21Because it's like an homage to the BSA.
38:23Absolutely.
38:24Which originally stood for Birmingham Small Arms.
38:26Right.
38:27BSA.
38:28But I tell people, they go, oh, that's a BSA.
38:30I said, well, no, it's really a bull**** artist.
38:33I don't know if you can use that on TV.
38:36Beep!
38:37Or a bee, bull, beep artist.
38:40And I'm looking forward to see what you did with my bike.
38:42Yeah, yeah.
38:42I can't wait to show it to you.
38:43Cool.
38:44And I'm hoping I can meet up to your expectations, because they're high.
38:48They're high.
38:48Yeah, you got some awesome stuff in here.
38:50So I parked down the street, and I'm going to go get it, and I'll drive it around the front.
38:54All right, I'm ready.
38:55Let's go.
38:56Let's go.
38:56I'm psyched to see the bike.
38:57It was the first bike I ever rode.
38:59Don't wreck it when you bring it, man.
39:02And that got me started on all this craziness here.
39:05Oh, I think I hear it coming.
39:07Oh, I hear a British bike.
39:09I hear it coming.
39:12I don't remember him looking that good.
39:14That looks great.
39:24Ron and I are in New York to deliver a 1960s British motorcycle we restored for Billy Joel.
39:30All right, don't wreck it when you bring it, man.
39:32To me, the bike came out awesome, but after walking into Billy's shop, oh, my God, was there some beautiful
39:37bikes.
39:38So I'm hoping he really loves it.
39:40I cannot wait to see the reaction on his face.
39:43You know, I do some singing in the shower, and I've been heard that my voice is just really, really
39:48good.
39:49You looking for a gig?
39:50Maybe, you know, if you've got some upcoming stuff.
39:53Now, lead singers I have no use for.
39:55You know how many lead singers it takes to screw in a light bulb?
39:59One.
40:00They hold the light bulb, and the entire world revolves around them.
40:06That's awesome.
40:07Yeah.
40:07A little musician's joke.
40:12I'm psyched to see the bike.
40:13It was the first bike I ever rode, so it'll be like going right back to the beginning of where
40:18it all came from.
40:19So I'm psyched.
40:21Oh, I think I hear it coming.
40:23Oh, I hear a British bike.
40:27Sounds British.
40:32Oh, yeah.
40:40Oh, wow.
40:41What do you think?
40:43Look at that.
40:44Look at the color.
40:47Look at the chrome.
40:48Is it pretty?
40:49Wow.
40:50I didn't really know what to expect.
40:52You know, when that thing first came out in the mid-60s, they were beautiful bikes.
40:57I don't remember them looking that good.
40:58That looks great.
40:59It's hard to believe it is the same bike.
41:02Right.
41:02It just looks so fresh.
41:04Right.
41:04You know, the bike I had just looked old, beat like me.
41:08It was a little beat up, huh?
41:10Yeah.
41:10You could just do this to me.
41:12When I saw the look on his face, I knew that we knocked this thing out of the park.
41:16I mean, he really, really loved it, and that means a lot to me.
41:19First of all, doing something for you was, one, an honor, and two, it was scary.
41:24You know, there's pressure.
41:25There's pressure.
41:26You're building bikes.
41:27You know bikes.
41:27You know, it was a lot of pressure.
41:29So, for you to like it, that's pretty good for me.
41:32I love it.
41:32I mean, the detailing on it is incredible.
41:35I wanted it to pop like it would have back in the day, you know, not go too much over
41:39top.
41:39But I like that you did the finishes more of a satin than the high-cross chrome.
41:43Right, right, right.
41:43That's authentic.
41:44Right.
41:45You got the rubber for the Speedo?
41:46Yeah.
41:47Just the fact to be able to get these little rubber parts.
41:49Right, right.
41:50Headlamp, how much of it is original now?
41:5390.
41:54Wow.
41:54I don't know how you did that.
41:56This looks great.
41:57This is great.
41:58And the rims, beautiful job.
42:00Yeah.
42:00Do you remember how rusted they were?
42:01Yeah.
42:02Yeah.
42:02They were all pitted and crept out.
42:03Spokes, tubes, tried to get the tires as close as we could to match out.
42:07Was it diffractory paint?
42:09Flamboyant blue.
42:10Really?
42:10Yeah.
42:11The paint is actually from England.
42:13You know, it came directly from them.
42:15Beautiful.
42:15You did a great job.
42:17It's like bringing me back to the mid-60s when I first learned on one of these.
42:22And that one wasn't in as good condition as this is.
42:24And that was a new bike.
42:25Right.
42:26Yeah, this has the work of human hands.
42:28A lot of stuff nowadays seems to be computer-generated.
42:31You know, the blob shapes and a lot of angular stuff.
42:34And this has curves like a woman.
42:36Yeah, that's what sells, right?
42:38That's what costs a lot, too.
42:39That's why you want to mount the bike.
42:43What kind of memories was this thing bringing back?
42:45I was about 16, starting to go out with girls, starting to be in a band.
42:50Uh-huh.
42:51And this was all part of rock and roll.
42:53Yeah.
42:53Just driving around the neighborhood, making everybody mad.
42:56You know, the noise.
42:57Screaming up and down.
42:58Yeah.
42:59And mom, of course, couldn't know about it.
43:01Oh, no.
43:02She didn't know.
43:03Oh, wow.
43:04She never knew.
43:04Wow.
43:05Yeah, the moms on bikes.
43:07Yeah, they don't like them.
43:08And they're with good reason.
43:09And they're dangerous.
43:10But it was a lot of fun.
43:12You did a great job.
43:14Thanks a lot, bud.
43:15Thank you very much.
43:15It was a sheer honor doing it, you know, for you.
43:17I'm so happy that you did this, man.
43:20I'm thrilled in one sec, real quick.
43:22What's life, though?
43:24Ron, what are you doing?
43:25It's okay.
43:26I don't.
43:27Let's go and check.
43:28Yeah, yeah, yeah.
43:28Okay, yeah.
43:29Oh, my God, I missed it.
43:32Damn it.
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