- 9 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:02Hey what's up brother? What's up? Yeah, Chip shit? I'm almost there. I'm drinking cold brew,
00:07getting all jacked up for him. That guy's, that guy's got more energy than I do. You better bring
00:12it man. Chip Foose is the king of cool when it comes to cars. Mike, will you see Chip? Tell
00:19him
00:19I said hey. You know Chip Jersey? No, but I'm sure he's hurting me. Dude, I'm Jersey John. Yeah,
00:26right. Listen, we're in the same business. He restore stuff, I restore stuff. We're running
00:30in the same circles. You guys are more jacked up than I am. Hell yeah man. Hey brother, I got
00:35a favor
00:36to ask. What? I need you to ask Chip or a t-shirt or a hat. Are you serious? Double
00:42extra large and the
00:44hat, I like the trucker ones. Can you tell him to sign the back? I think Robbie's probably lying
00:49about his size so I'm gonna get triple X. Oh yeah, Mike, Mike, Mike, I wear a small. I'd like
00:53to show
00:53up my physique. I think he hung up Jersey. Dude.
01:05I've been doing this for a long time and I've been very fortunate to meet some really cool
01:10people. Chip Foose is one of them. Most people know the guy as a legendary car designer but
01:16what a lot of people don't know is he is a serious bicycle collector too. We've made deals
01:22in the past and this time I'm bringing in one of the rarest bicycles out there, a 1930s
01:28Elgin Bluebird. Hey, hey. Chip.
01:34We're close to the public.
01:36Hey buddy, what's up? Good to see you, man. How are you? Good to see you. Yeah. Been too
01:42long. Here, I want to give you one of these. Old bicycles. I got some bicycles. There you go,
01:48dude. You managed to put more stuff in here. I got, I got to find places to put my stuff.
01:53I know,
01:53I see that. It's looking good. What about the, the Harley bike? Is that something you scraped
01:57together or is that real? No, that was, uh, a friend of mine had that and the Indian and I
02:02bought
02:02both of them from. Chip Foose is one of those guys when you say his name, it just makes you
02:07smile
02:08because the things that he makes are so inspirational. The designs are epic. They're legendary. They're timeless
02:14or what people call evergreen now. His stuff is beautiful, but he's also got a big heart,
02:20man. I had a bike shop when I was 12 years old. Get out of here. On my parents' side
02:24yard. Like
02:25you had a brick and mortar. No, no, no. I was at my parents' side yard. I had a bike
02:29shop in the
02:29front yard too. I would go to swap meets. Yeah. And garage sales and buy bikes. I'd grab the bike
02:35and I would repaint them and then I'd bring them. Oh, you were painting them even. Yeah. And then I'd
02:39reassemble them and then the neighbor kids would come in and I'd sell them to them. Really? I'm known
02:44for doing vehicles. But the first stuff I did for myself was a bicycle. I wanted my bicycle
02:49to be as cool as my father's car. So I would take my bike to the shop. I would take
02:54it apart. I
02:54customized the frame. I was doing all kinds of custom paint work. And that's where it really
02:59started for me. I'm still living my childhood to this day. When you were painting bikes as a kid,
03:04were you just doing it in the front yard? No, my dad had the hot rod shop. Oh my gosh.
03:08So everything
03:08looked great even then. This quality. When I first met him through conversation, it was evident
03:13right away that he was a bicycle guy and he'd been doing it for a long time. And obviously
03:18he's looking for the rare stuff, just like I am. Did you bring the bluebird? I brought
03:21the bluebird. Yeah. We can go get it if you want to. Just before you got here, I was working
03:25on the drawing of it. But at the end of the day, the community is small and we all help
03:30each
03:30other out, man. I mean, we're all grown old together. You know, we all love the same stuff.
03:35What's mine now might be his someday and back and forth. So today I'm so excited because
03:40this guy is epic. Where's the bluebird? It's in the box. Remember you said you didn't care
03:46what shape it was in. What up, Danny D? Hey guys. So I'm going to send you to meet John.
03:53This property has been in their family since 1912. I mean, they've really just kind of left it alone
03:58for the last 70 years. Wow. What? On top of that, their grandparents owned an appliance store.
04:04Appliance store like what? In the 1940s, 50s? Yes. I mean, they've opened it up, but that's where it stops.
04:09They haven't really gone inside to organize or like lay hands on things just yet. It's just all
04:14kind of there. That's cool. So it's all kinds of old TVs and radios and stuff there. All right.
04:19Thanks, Danny. All right. Have a good time, guys.
04:23Right here. Look at this. This is cool, man. Look at this. There's the store right here.
04:28I wonder if that's a store. No, that's cool. Wow. Yeah, that's an appliance store.
04:32There's the address right here. Whoa, little barns. Here he is.
04:38Hello. I'm John. You talked to Danielle? I did. Oh, yeah. Rob, nice to meet you.
04:43Rob, nice to see you. Good to see you. This is the kind of stuff we're looking for.
04:45Talk to Danny about this? Oh, yeah. She mentioned some of this stuff.
04:48This is an old house. It's third generation. No kidding. Yeah.
04:52So did you grow up in this house? I did not.
04:54My great-grandfather moved here in 1916.
04:57It's a cool place. And my grandfather grew up here with his brothers and his sisters.
05:01Twelve of them, there were. Yeah. Very cool.
05:03So it's generational. It's generations. They've been here.
05:05A long time. Yeah.
05:06So when my great-uncle Larry passed away, my dad inherited the property.
05:10And then my dad passed away, and it ended up being my mom's.
05:14Wow, I love this place. Yeah, so, yeah, it's narrow stairs they have.
05:16It's a cool old building. You can tell. People are smaller and skinnier back there.
05:20Watch your head. All right. Yeah, all right. Good idea.
05:22And this is really not a railing. It's just there for show.
05:26It's a towel. Whoa, yeah, this is great.
05:29Woo! Wow. Fantastic.
05:31Yeah, they would just bring it up here if they didn't want it anymore, and old pictures and stuff.
05:35Anytime you can get into a multi-generational family's home, where do you want to start?
05:40You want to start in the attic.
05:41And I want to go to the back far corner because that's the stuff that got put in the attic
05:45first.
05:46We're talking 100 years, one family.
05:49Look at this. Robbie. Baseball.
05:50So, who's that? My grandfather's in here.
05:54Wow.
05:54So that's my grandfather, John.
05:55Yeah.
05:56And my Uncle Larry, he was in there as well.
05:59This was made by a professional photographer.
06:01Looks like it's from the late teens, early 20s.
06:03I mean, it's perfectly in focus.
06:05Everybody's organized.
06:07The lighting is perfect.
06:08And this is a New Jersey team.
06:10That's near and dear to my heart.
06:11It was a semi-professional team.
06:13The Eagles.
06:14Wow.
06:14So my dad used to tell me stories that his dad was the catcher on that.
06:18That is cool.
06:18So this has got to be something you want to keep.
06:22It's third generation, you know.
06:23So you would sell it?
06:25Yeah, yeah.
06:26I'll think I'd sell it.
06:26Oh, okay.
06:27Give me a price.
06:27What do you think?
06:2975 bucks.
06:31Okay.
06:31I think that's fair.
06:32All right.
06:32I'm not sure what photos are worth.
06:34Well, I mean.
06:35I think photos are cool.
06:36I mean, that tells the history of everything.
06:37I love the history of it.
06:39A lot of people always used to store stuff in their photos.
06:42Oh, I never knew that.
06:43Money and stuff?
06:44Same thing with money.
06:45Yeah, money.
06:46All kinds of different things.
06:46Stocks.
06:48Man.
06:49John, what is this?
06:51My grandfather and his brother, older brother and younger brother, started Manville Electric.
06:56Self-taught electricians.
06:57I mean, to me, it looks like it hung on a window.
06:59Yeah.
07:00Like on the outside.
07:01Yeah.
07:01And when he was done with it, he was like, I'll just put it in the back seat.
07:04It's like they used a family car for business.
07:05This would have gone on a Model T.
07:07Had two little hooks on it.
07:08It was made of leather.
07:09You hooked it on the door.
07:11You pulled up.
07:11You look like a businessman.
07:13You pulled it off.
07:14You look like a family guy.
07:16Two and a quarter.
07:19$2.50?
07:21Honestly, I've never seen one before like this.
07:23I'm going to do it.
07:24All right.
07:24I appreciate you.
07:24Thanks.
07:27All right.
07:28Here, I'm going to let you do the unveiling.
07:32Seriously.
07:33Where'd you find this?
07:33It came out of Texas.
07:36Okay.
07:37And it has a bonus frame?
07:39Yeah.
07:39Here, I like that you got a bluebird sitting right here.
07:42Yeah, I wanted something to, you know.
07:43Okay.
07:44Here, I want to put this over here so it don't fall and scratch that.
07:47Okay, there you go.
07:48Look at that.
07:48I mean, this is the only piece I really, really was.
07:51Look at this.
07:51Look how they did some welding here or something.
07:54Yeah, they did.
07:55Believe it or not, I have a picture of this thing together.
07:59My dad had another bike that he always would talk about.
08:03It's the Elgin Bluebird.
08:05Yeah.
08:06When I first saw this bicycle, I thought of Chip Foose right away for two reasons.
08:10One, because he told me that he didn't care what condition it was.
08:14One, because he wanted an Elgin Bluebird.
08:17And two, he's the only guy I know that can fix something like this, man.
08:21I mean, let's face it.
08:22It's in a lot of different pieces.
08:23It's in really bad shape.
08:25And it's going to take someone that knows metal, that can move metal, the way he can do it.
08:31Look at this.
08:31Here we go, baby.
08:33Yep.
08:33Oh, yeah.
08:34Look at this thing.
08:36Heck, yeah.
08:39Isn't it killer, though?
08:40It is.
08:41I mean, look at this thing.
08:41I've always considered the Elgin Bluebird the Lincoln Zephyr of bicycles because it's so long
08:47and airflow and streamlined.
08:49And when you look at the lines of this bicycle, it's incredible.
08:52It's a great part of history.
08:54You know, in America with motorcycles and cars and automobiles, the 1930s, the design of the Elgin Bluebird stands with
09:03all of those different industries.
09:05I would love it to go somewhere that somebody could restore it or whatever you're going to do with it.
09:11I want to build an electric Bluebird.
09:13You do?
09:14Of course you do.
09:16These things are heavy.
09:17If it had a pedal assist, I think it'd be really cool.
09:20I have ridden an electric assist, you know, pedal assist bike, and they're actually really easy to ride.
09:25The Bluebird is a heavy bike.
09:27It's not a bike that you go out and just have a leisurely ride.
09:31You have to work to make that bike work.
09:33So a battery would sit on top of the rack?
09:35No, no, no.
09:36Underneath it.
09:36Oh, okay.
09:37But then where would the electric motor go?
09:39That'll be in the hub.
09:40Oh, okay.
09:40You're going to do one of those.
09:41Yeah.
09:42So I want to give it a bit of a curve.
09:44I'll drop the crank a little bit, and this will be a little bit softer through here.
09:49So I want to soften that up.
09:50I'll have to lengthen it, so I've got to split it anyway.
09:54Oh, it's perfect.
09:54I've got to lengthen that to get that curve.
09:56You have to actually separate this to lengthen it.
09:58Yes.
09:59You know, it's interesting that this is cracked right here because this is the weak point of the bike.
10:03This bike wants to flex right there.
10:05All of the pressure is right here.
10:06I've seen several of them that all fail there.
10:09One of the things that Chip pointed out that I didn't think about was that hole right where it broke,
10:15you know, where the speedometer cable goes through.
10:17You've already got a thin metal there.
10:19The seat tube is arched, and then they've got a hole, you know, so there's a separation in that energy
10:25there, you know.
10:27So him pointing that out to me, I was like, okay, that's the aha moment.
10:30That was one of the design flaws in this bike.
10:33I mean, what boy's not jumping off a curb on his bicycle, you know?
10:37And that's where it starts.
10:38When people were designing these high-end pre-war bicycles back in the 1930s, they weren't designing something super durable.
10:45They were designing something beautiful.
10:47It was basically more beauty than beast.
10:50You want to keep the same lines but just kind of celebrate them more.
10:54It's going to get stretched a little bit so I can put a longer fender both front and rear.
10:57So it's going to be longer than this.
11:00Yes.
11:00Oh, my gosh, that's going to be crazy.
11:02And then add the electric power.
11:03It's just so cool to see him geek out about bicycles.
11:07I mean, hell, he creates things like this.
11:09I mean, he takes a piece of paper, draws a vehicle on it, and then he will actually build it.
11:16And he's one of the best in the world.
11:18I have the drawing over here.
11:19I can show you what I'm going to do.
11:20Oh, my God, dude.
11:21I want to see that.
11:26Jersey.
11:27What do you got, Robbie?
11:28You're always talking about what?
11:29Your favorite thing, coal and steam.
11:32Oh.
11:32Actual blueprints.
11:33Yeah.
11:34And the notes.
11:36This is an early engineering project, Pratt Institute.
11:40Wow.
11:41So Uncle Larry went to the Pratt Institute.
11:43That's where he learned electrical engineering.
11:46Because that was the very beginnings of engineering.
11:48Electrical engineering at least, right?
11:50And it was at its infancy, right?
11:51It was the early 1900s.
11:53Electricity was just...
11:54Fascinating stuff back in the day.
11:55I mean, this guy was like beyond his time almost.
11:57He was like thinking forward.
11:59He was.
11:59He was very forward thinking.
12:00I've been restoring antiques for a very long time.
12:03And I've been really interested in anything that's going to help me make the things be period correct.
12:08The right fasteners.
12:09The right materials to use.
12:11And that's what's in these books.
12:12Practical engineering and drawings.
12:15Industrial control catalog.
12:17This really is how to build a power plant.
12:19That very little of the information that's in these books is available on the internet.
12:24Because it's lost technology.
12:26And that's what I'm capturing from these early volumes.
12:29I might glean one little piece of information like, oh wow, that's how that switch works in this circuit.
12:34You know?
12:34This is something you would keep then.
12:36Yeah, yeah.
12:36This is something I would put it in my own personal library.
12:38It's just something New Jersey related.
12:40Absolutely.
12:40You know, it's just a cool piece of engineering history.
12:4550 bucks.
12:47Yeah, that sounds good.
12:48Good?
12:48Yeah.
12:48I can't even negotiate on that.
12:50Dude, thank you, man.
12:51He was looking at the numbers and how the different formulas were there and the different pictures and the blueprints.
12:57He got really excited about it.
12:58Robbie, thank you, buddy.
12:59You know, listen.
13:00I got it.
13:00Now I'm going to have to listen to this for the next freaking three months.
13:03I'm going to read this.
13:04He'll be reading that to me.
13:04I'll read the whole thing in the van to him as we go across the country.
13:06That would be great.
13:07Yeah.
13:08By the time we're done, we're going to have a power plant done.
13:12Oh, my God.
13:14That is so freaking cool.
13:16It's just got a little bit of that more of a teardrop feel and then there's almost like an Indian
13:21fender.
13:22A little bit lighter on the front, a little bit heavier here to play with that line coming off the
13:26bottom.
13:27Yeah, yeah.
13:27This is incredible.
13:28Seeing Chip put pen to paper, it's nuts, man.
13:32I mean, this artwork is so gorgeous.
13:34Really, the important part was the tank.
13:37Okay.
13:37And you have that there.
13:38Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:39So that's why that frame works.
13:41You know, I've got a nice one here, but it's a shame to cut it up because I want this
13:45softer and this to have a bit of that arc to it.
13:49And you know the Stuart Warner front hubs, the Springer hubs?
13:52I saw that.
13:53I saw what you're doing.
13:54I've seen them in magazines.
13:55I haven't actually seen one.
13:56They're cool.
13:56I have one.
13:57Okay.
13:58It's from the 50s, but I'm not building something to look like 1930s.
14:02I mean, I just want to build something fun.
14:04I mean, think about the chance of something like this happening where you find a bike that
14:08was motorized, broken in half, separated.
14:11And then he has had the idea all this time of finding something like this himself or someone
14:17bringing it to him like I am.
14:19And he's going to motorize it, but with an electric motor.
14:22Because they're so heavy.
14:23They're not fun to ride.
14:24Yeah, yeah, yeah.
14:25But this would be fun to ride.
14:26People are going to freak when they see this thing going down the road.
14:29No, I mean, seriously.
14:30I mean, I love the way you're skirting the fenders.
14:33So this is the perfect donor for what Chip wants to do because it's basically like the
14:38heart, the lungs, the kidneys, you know, the liver, all of it's there.
14:42Let me throw this at you.
14:44What about possibly doing something in trade?
14:47I love trades.
14:48Okay.
14:48If I can see what you got parts-wise or even bicycle-wise, then maybe we could just trade
14:54for it.
14:54Yeah.
14:55Oh, by the way, I got to ask you, have you ever heard of Jersey John before?
15:00Jersey who?
15:01Jersey John.
15:03The plumber.
15:06That's what I'm talking about.
15:07Okay.
15:07That's what I needed to know.
15:09That's just like an inside thing between me, Jersey, and Robbie.
15:12Found a couple of cool pieces.
15:13Is that wooden?
15:14It's really early though.
15:16This is the stand.
15:16This is like-
15:18That's for dressmaking, right?
15:19Yeah.
15:19Oh, that is fragile.
15:20Yeah, I think it's early as cardboard.
15:21I'm surprised it survived this long in the attic.
15:22In the heat.
15:23I found out that my great-grandmother made all the clothes for all the kits.
15:28She used to make all her dresses and stuff for the family.
15:31Oh, yeah.
15:31All the sewing and stuff.
15:33Heck yeah.
15:33So that's why-
15:34In the 30s.
15:34Yeah.
15:35And with all the measurements on it and stuff, it was probably for making dresses.
15:38Absolutely.
15:38And then you got this religious-
15:40Mary.
15:40Oh, I didn't-
15:41That's Mary.
15:42Yeah.
15:42And look at how conditioned of her.
15:43Look at the way her hands are.
15:44Is that porcelain?
15:45What does it mean to me?
15:46No, it's-
15:46Plaster.
15:47It's plaster.
15:48It's like a plaster.
15:48I know they used to have a lot of religious artifacts and stuff throughout the house.
15:52My family as well.
15:53We were born and raised Catholics, whole nine yards.
15:55We had a lot of this kind of stuff laying around.
15:57How about a hundred bucks for both?
15:59Good.
16:00I'm not going to argue with you.
16:01It's getting hot up here.
16:02Oh, my God.
16:03New Jersey summers are notoriously hot, and now this is proving it, because we're in
16:07a New Jersey attic.
16:08I mean, it is crazy hot in there.
16:10I mean, I can't even see sometimes, because the sweat's dripping in my eyes.
16:14I think it's like table legs.
16:15It's like pieces-
16:16Like, this is probably from lamps or something like that.
16:18It's got a cloth in the back.
16:20It's all wood?
16:20Yeah, it's white wood, and this is a cast iron piece in here.
16:23It just looks like somebody made it.
16:25125?
16:26I do 100.
16:27How about 110?
16:29All right.
16:30110.
16:30Sounds good.
16:30You got it.
16:31All right.
16:31Christmas must have been big around here, because I'm finding a ton of Christmas stuff
16:35here.
16:35When Robbie pulled out that base for the tree, I thought that was really cool, and you just
16:40imagined them setting up their tree on that.
16:42We would all get together at Christmas, and it was a really good time.
16:45Is it cast iron?
16:46Yeah.
16:47It's 100%.
16:48Oh, there's some of the balls right there.
16:50Oh, there you go.
16:50You found them.
16:51Wow.
16:52They were underneath.
16:53Yeah, they were in here.
16:54Oh, they were inside?
16:54They were inside this.
16:5575 bucks.
16:56All right.
16:57Sounds good.
16:57That worked?
16:57Yeah, absolutely.
16:58Appreciate it, man.
17:04You've been up here before.
17:06Yeah, but it's been years.
17:07I don't know if I had all the hooks up here before.
17:10Oh, you got the wheels up.
17:11Okay.
17:12Wheels, and I've got frames over there.
17:14Yeah, yeah, yeah.
17:14The last time I was here, it was to buy an old bicycle.
17:17It was a shaft-drive Columbia, wood rim, but it had a leaf spring front end on it.
17:21And I just kind of kicked myself for not digging deep into his parts, because the guy's been
17:26doing this, I mean, just as long as I have.
17:29So, who knows what's up there?
17:30This is either late 1800s, early 1900s.
17:33That's a tall unicycle.
17:35I haven't ridden that one yet.
17:36What?
17:36Where'd you get that at?
17:38That's a unicycle from that time period?
17:41Yep.
17:42God, this thing's nuts.
17:44Dude, it's got the brass tag on it.
17:46Yeah.
17:46Have you seen that before?
17:47That's from the Schwinn.
17:48Exactly.
17:49Yeah.
17:49Every piece that I've ever seen has this brass tag on it was from the Schwinn family collection.
17:54That's what he told me.
17:54It was from the Schwinn family.
17:55He's exactly right then.
17:57I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time when Schwinn opened up a building
18:02that they had housed all these old bicycles in.
18:05There was a guy named James Hurd that was kind of heading up the Schwinn collection.
18:09He was marketing it.
18:11And so there were swap meets held in Chicago, and there was actually like a little museum
18:15down on Navy Pier.
18:17It was a cool time to be kind of entering the hobby.
18:21But in that building where all those old bicycles were at, every one of them had that brass tag.
18:27You know, and you've seen them in auctions later on and maybe at swap meets.
18:30And when you see the brass tag, you're like, that's from the Schwinn family.
18:33So this is a very special piece.
18:35And on top of that, the guy rides unicycles.
18:37Okay.
18:38So I'm learning all this stuff about Chip today.
18:40Do you know how to ride this?
18:42Yes.
18:42Holy crap.
18:43Are you kidding me?
18:44I probably haven't ridden this in probably five years.
18:47No kidding.
18:48What do you value the big long one at?
18:52I don't know that I would want to sell that one.
18:54I don't blame you, man.
18:55Pick in 101.
18:56Don't ask a guy that rides unicycles to buy his rarest unicycle.
19:00Because it ain't going to happen.
19:02Oh, Dubuque.
19:03Dude, this is Iowa.
19:05That's Dubuque, Iowa right there, baby.
19:08What are these bars down here you got?
19:10What are these off?
19:10These look like they're off a track bar, track bike or something.
19:14And the grips are on.
19:15And those are Pirelli.
19:17Are they?
19:17Oh, yeah.
19:17Pirelli grips.
19:18So, like, what would you want for these in trade?
19:21I don't even know what they're worth.
19:23I mean, to me, I'll tell you what they're worth to me.
19:25They're worth a couple hundred bucks to me.
19:28He's in my cabinet of old bike parts.
19:30And everything he's pulling out, he goes, well, maybe this.
19:32And I'm thinking in my head, I didn't say anything, but I'm thinking, no.
19:36That chain ring's interesting.
19:38That's a Remington.
19:39Leave that out.
19:40That might be something I would be interested in.
19:43I'm spotting a lot of small things in this parts cabinet.
19:46You know, 20 here, 150 there, 200 there.
19:49And then I start realizing, you know what?
19:51This doesn't add up to a lot.
19:53And there's a reason why this stuff's in this cabinet.
19:55He put it behind glass.
19:57See these two Hot Wheels?
19:59Yeah.
20:00These are the rarest Hot Wheels ever made.
20:02Really?
20:03These were never sold because they were pre-production prototypes.
20:07Do you remember when Mother's Wax, when you bought Wax, it had a Hot Wheel in it.
20:12Oh, cool.
20:13They wanted to build the Grand Master, which is a car that I designed and built here.
20:17They created all the tooling, and then Mother's and Hot Wheels got into a legal battle.
20:23Okay.
20:24Mattel just wanted the rights to make this.
20:26Yeah.
20:26But they couldn't because I had a deal with...
20:28Oh, so they never made them.
20:30Only six of the prototypes were ever built.
20:32I have two of them.
20:33Mattel has the other four.
20:34So has anybody estimated what they would bring?
20:36I have no idea what they would bring.
20:38Oh, my gosh.
20:38There are so many companies that have aligned with him.
20:42I mean, here we're looking at Hot Wheels.
20:43He's worked for Dodge.
20:44He's worked for Ford.
20:46I mean, he's created his own wheel line.
20:48I mean, you know, sometimes I forget all that stuff because we're such bike geeks, you know?
20:53But when he pulls out the Hot Wheel and he's like, this is one of the rarest Hot Wheels,
20:56and he's telling me why, I'm like, wow, man.
20:58I mean, what talent this guy has.
21:00So what are you saying?
21:01You give me these for the Bluebird?
21:02How many Bluebirds do you have?
21:06Is that where you're going with this?
21:08I just wanted to share the story with you.
21:10No, I love...
21:10No, it's great.
21:13My great uncle, he started this with my grandfather and his brother.
21:17How convenient was that?
21:18He lived next door.
21:19Yeah.
21:19He'd come right here to the business every day?
21:21Just walk right over, right?
21:22It's like working from home.
21:23This is cool.
21:24Right?
21:24Oh, wow.
21:26You weren't a kid in here.
21:27Whoa, man.
21:28Yeah.
21:28Look at this.
21:29Look at this jersey.
21:30Look at the lights.
21:31This is great.
21:32Walking into this old appliance store is amazing because there's new old stock appliances
21:38from like 1960 or 1955, black and white televisions that are brand new.
21:44There was never an I Love Lucy episode on there.
21:48$219.95.
21:49Back then, that was a lot of money.
21:51Yeah, that was a lot of money, man.
21:52A lot of money back then.
21:52That was a couple weeks paycheck.
21:54I see toasters.
21:55I see lighting and radios.
21:57Yeah.
21:57So he would fix the radios and TV.
22:00So Uncle Larry did.
22:01It was just a store that existed in time and it kind of Uncle Larry left it and no one
22:07really touched it.
22:08What's this Pratt Institute stuff here?
22:10That's like a 1920s felt pattern.
22:12That's Uncle Larry, yeah.
22:14The Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.
22:15Yep.
22:16Man, the lettering style is neat.
22:18When I was a kid, the place wasn't in business still, but he would come out here and tanker
22:22and work on radios.
22:24He's got a little workshop in the back.
22:25Oh, he's got a workshop in the back.
22:26So this guy was also proud that he was a graduate of the Pratt.
22:29That he went to school, yeah.
22:30These felt banners are really cool because it's from the Pratt Institute.
22:32I mean, this is something hung on his wall.
22:34He wanted to show his customers.
22:35He wanted to show his family, you know, his school pride.
22:38They got that vintage look you can't fake.
22:40So, I mean, this has got a big hole in it, unfortunately.
22:44Moth damage or whatever.
22:45If you frame that up and put a piece of black behind it.
22:48Yeah, 1928.
22:49But this one's nice.
22:49This one's pristine.
22:50It looks really in great shape.
22:52175 bucks for the both.
22:55How about 200?
22:57The cost of framing, that's going to add.
22:58I know.
22:59Because you're going to have to frame that to make that valuable.
23:01Yeah, I'm at the edge, really.
23:03I mean, I'd go 180 bucks.
23:06Okay.
23:06You do that?
23:07Yeah, me too.
23:07All right, thank you.
23:08All right, cool.
23:09Great.
23:10This one was for radio and television.
23:11It's back lit here underneath.
23:14Uh-huh.
23:14So it's got a little bit of flaking on the back.
23:17But the tube in it indicates, like, 1957, 1962 to me.
23:22Okay.
23:23Somewhere in there.
23:23You can see the tube in there.
23:24Oh, yeah.
23:25Thornton tube, yep.
23:25Yeah.
23:26That piece and this clock.
23:29I can't tell.
23:29Is that porcelain, Robbie?
23:30Let me get up there.
23:31Can I stand on this?
23:33Yeah, I guess.
23:34Does that work?
23:35Yeah, you sure?
23:35Yeah, I mean, it's a washer and dryer.
23:37He used to jump on him as a kid.
23:39These two pieces have been hanging on the wall in here for a long time.
23:43RCA, when you see the advertising up there, that's probably from the 50s.
23:47But RCA was one of those companies that started in the early 1900s, developing the radio.
23:54CBS, Hytron Tubes, it says, certified quality service radio and TV in the back of it.
24:00Good looking piece.
24:00Oh, yeah.
24:01It still has the markings on it.
24:02It's pretty clean.
24:03Look at how they did the cord on this.
24:05Oh, yeah.
24:05It's wrapping around.
24:06Wrap it around there.
24:06The hooks were never even used.
24:08They're still here.
24:08I think this thing just comes right off of here.
24:11Yeah.
24:11Look at that.
24:13It still has the tags on the back of it.
24:15Ohio Advertising Display Company.
24:17Yeah.
24:18Are you interested in selling both pieces, John?
24:20Sure.
24:20Yeah, I am.
24:21Would you do $750 for the pair?
24:24You know, it's been in the family for quite some time.
24:28And it's good to see a new home.
24:30Get it out to the masses.
24:32Yeah, it'd be great to see a new home.
24:33Shake his hands, Jersey.
24:34Shake his hands.
24:34Thank you, buddy.
24:34Yeah, it's great.
24:41You're probably the first one to look up in there and buy it.
24:44Well, yeah, it looks like it, too.
24:45There's some dust up in there.
24:4660 years.
24:46Yeah.
24:47I mean, he was basically bringing out to the people that live in this town everything that
24:52was new back then.
24:53Right.
24:53Yeah.
24:53The new appliances.
24:54The new appliances.
24:55The latest and greatest.
24:56Yeah.
24:56At that time.
24:56And this tiny little building here.
24:58Yeah.
24:59It was so cool to be in this space and to imagine people coming in from around the community
25:04and buying their appliances.
25:06Some guys are living paycheck to paycheck, but they wanted a TV set or they needed a
25:10washing machine.
25:11This was a nice family-run business.
25:14You shopped close to home.
25:16Your money stayed in your community.
25:18Here's the bubble lights.
25:20That's cool, too.
25:20Oh, the old bubble.
25:21The old bubble lights.
25:22That's the one that had the water in there and they would bubble up.
25:24Yeah, it had like an oil or something in there.
25:25Those I'm interested in.
25:26The bubble lights were really cool.
25:28They would have oil in them and when they heat up, little bubbles would pop up.
25:32This is like Christmas morning, man.
25:36Manville Electric.
25:37He'd wrapped up everything, didn't he?
25:39And it had lights in it.
25:40See, it had lights in it.
25:41This Christmas display is something they can use to advertise these bubble lights.
25:45I mean, they've reproduced these, but it's not the same kind of deal.
25:47The chemistry that's inside those old ones, they can't use it anymore.
25:51It's got a different quality to the light.
25:54Something you can't reproduce.
25:57With the bubble lamps and that display there, I'd do 125.
26:04I can't argue with that.
26:05Okay?
26:05Yeah.
26:05All right, good.
26:06I mean, that's cool.
26:07A lot of kudos to the guy who's running this store.
26:09I mean, it's really neat that they were that organized.
26:11Everything's priced out.
26:12Everything's inventoried.
26:13Everything is boxed up nicely and protected.
26:16This is an advertising piece of some sort.
26:18I think it just advertised the bulbs.
26:20Does it light up?
26:20Well, it would.
26:21You want to see how bright the bulb is?
26:23Boom, you can turn it on and off.
26:24Gotcha.
26:24When you wanted to buy a bulb, you walked into the store.
26:27These actually displayed all the different bulbs on top, and they could light them up individually.
26:32How about 160 bucks?
26:33Can you do 200 on that?
26:35It's got a great look on it.
26:37How about 180 bucks?
26:39Okay.
26:39Does that work?
26:40Yeah.
26:40Take his hand.
26:41Beautiful.
26:41All right.
26:41Beautiful.
26:43So this is like old school where, you know, like we've bought some concept art before.
26:48Yeah.
26:48Now everybody does this on a computer.
26:50Right.
26:50You know, but you're still doing everything by hand?
26:53Yeah.
26:53Everything.
26:54Like that bicycle that was this morning.
26:56I was never introduced into the automotive industry.
26:59I was born into it.
27:00My father did this for a living.
27:02He went on his own when he was 14, started a hot rod shop.
27:05So at the age of three, I would sit next to him whenever he was drawing something, and I would
27:10copy what he was doing.
27:12And I wanted to be as good as him.
27:15So like how long does it take you, like if you sat down, how long would it take you to
27:19do something like this?
27:20Is it worth more if I say a long time?
27:23I don't know.
27:24I'm just wondering.
27:25That drawing was probably about an hour.
27:28That's it.
27:29What I'm doing here is what every car enthusiast with a pulse would love to do.
27:35Look through Chip Fuse's archives, man.
27:38All the artwork that he has done for cars.
27:42The last time something like this happened to me with another car legend was with George Barris.
27:47You know, same thing.
27:48Going through this cabinet and looking at all this artwork.
27:52George, did you draw these or who drew these?
27:54Well, I have an artist that worked with me.
27:56I designed it.
27:57This has got the Munsters coach.
27:58This is Chip's life's work.
28:00And he's showing it to me, man.
28:02And he's just, he's so humble.
28:03When you build a car for somebody, are they always wanting the original artwork?
28:07I don't give them the original artwork.
28:09I keep the originals for my kids.
28:11But if I'm doing an original piece of artwork to somebody and giving that to them, that's normally $10,000.
28:17So if somebody commissions you to do a piece of artwork.
28:20Then it's $10,000.
28:21Okay.
28:21You know, I was involved with the first two Cars films.
28:24So I designed the graphics for Lightning McQueen and Ramon and a couple of the other cars.
28:29And then when Disney decided to build Radiator Springs in the theme park at Disneyland, Pixar called me and said,
28:36I need your help here.
28:37So for two and a half years, that was an absolute dream job.
28:41You've set the bar so high for so many different people, which sounds like unobtainable, but it also just inspires
28:48everybody.
28:48I have been so blessed.
28:50Hot rods aren't necessary.
28:51Yes.
28:52But they're passion driven.
28:53When I first walked into this building, the only thing that I was thinking about was bicycle parts.
28:58You know, that was on the brain.
29:00But now he's got me thinking about some art, you know, because it's so sought after and it's so valuable.
29:08So, yeah, there's two cars in here.
29:10There's a Nash Rambler.
29:11Okay.
29:12And then there's like a 49, I think, Mercury in here.
29:15You got a 49 Mercury?
29:16Really?
29:17Yeah, that was my Uncle Larry's.
29:19Okay.
29:19Uncle Larry and my grandfather were able to borrow the car from the funeral home as long as they kept
29:27care of it.
29:28And then they ended up actually buying the car from them.
29:31When you hear the term barn fine, barn fresh, this defines that moment.
29:36Is this open, Jersey?
29:37We got to pull up.
29:37Whoa, whoa, whoa.
29:38Don't break the door.
29:42I'll let you guys do the heavy lifting.
29:45Dude, look at this thing, Jersey.
29:47Wow.
29:51And that's the Merc, Robbie?
29:52Oh, it's a Merc, all right.
29:54It's like you're walking into a burial vault.
29:58Lo and behold, the light is like shining on this beautiful Mercury.
30:02This thing hasn't been touched in decades.
30:05Wow.
30:05Oh, yeah, the Merc motor.
30:06Yeah.
30:07There it is.
30:07Look at that.
30:08Yeah.
30:09Look at that paint still on there.
30:10Look at the carburetor on that thing.
30:11Look at the air cleaner still beautiful.
30:12Oh, jeez.
30:13Actually, really in pretty good shape.
30:14In 1949, Mercury introduced this new model.
30:17It was produced by the Ford Motor Company, which owned the Mercury brand.
30:21The Mercury front grille is what makes this thing so distinctive.
30:25I mean, it's incredible.
30:26This thing has such sleek lines on it.
30:28The fact that this thing even exists, this was like the greatest hot rod that they ever built.
30:32Although they call them the lead sledge.
30:34Oh, they chop and they do everything.
30:35There's a grille on this.
30:36It's outrageous.
30:37Pre-1949, cars were blocky.
30:39They were big.
30:40This thing was sleek and long.
30:42It's got the skirts on the back here.
30:44It's a coupe, Robbie.
30:45Yeah, you'd think it would be a four-door if it was for like a funeral.
30:48That's what I would be making, too.
30:49It's cool that it's a coupe, man.
30:50There's very few 1949 Mercuries left that have not been customized in some way.
30:55It's like the most iconic car in American hot rod history.
30:59It's dirty.
31:00It's dusty.
31:00But it exists.
31:02The fact that this thing's standing in front of us right here, unchopped, unmolested,
31:06that's what you want to save.
31:08Look at the dash, man.
31:08How many miles on it, Robbie?
31:09How many miles?
31:11Show's 79,000.
31:13Wow, 79,000 miles.
31:14So somebody drove this thing.
31:16It was a driver.
31:17Obviously.
31:18That's a lot of miles for a car like this.
31:20John, do you have a key to this car, or do you have a title to it?
31:24Don't have a title.
31:25Don't have a key.
31:26These cars are for sale.
31:29I'd have to consult my mom real quick just to see.
31:32Here's the deal.
31:33Even if she says they're not for sale, I can at least help you with a value on it.
31:37All right, yeah, let me check with her.
31:39And then, yeah, Jersey and I will open these doors real quick.
31:42You want to go check with her?
31:43Yeah.
31:43All right, sure.
31:43Sounds good.
31:44Awesome.
31:48There you got your Robins.
31:50I have.
31:50Woo!
31:51Yeah, I have.
31:51You still have the shaft drive, Robin?
31:53I have the shaft drive, and then these two, and then look at this.
31:56Oh, you got the Skylark.
31:58Is that original paint?
31:59Yes.
32:00God dang, that's nice.
32:01Juan Radolphus Morganski is the gentleman that designed the Elgin Bluebird, the Robin,
32:07and the Skylark.
32:08Okay, if you can't say that three times fast, then just say John Morgan.
32:12That's what most people say.
32:13Basically, he was a genius.
32:15And what these bicycle companies were doing was they were trying to outdo each other.
32:19So they were hiring all these industrial artists to change the game.
32:23And that is what Juan Radolphus Morganski, John Morgan, did when he created the Elgin Bluebird.
32:31Elgin was Sears' bicycle brand, not only in their brick-and-mortar stores, but also in their catalog.
32:37So what do you value this Robin at that's painted with a dead chicken?
32:41I paid seven grand for that.
32:43Did you?
32:44What would you value it at?
32:45You know, the market's all over the place.
32:47You know what I mean?
32:48I mean, a lot of times on real deco bikes, the guys that are paying more money are the
32:52guys that aren't bike guys.
32:53To a bicycle guy, like we see this stuff.
32:56But to a car guy that's got a 30s Auburn or whatever the hell he's got, you know, and
33:02he's like, oh my gosh, this would be great to build that story from that time period, you
33:07know?
33:08So I think that's what those go for.
33:09I think these are worth more than the Bluebird that you brought me.
33:13Oh yeah, the thing's broken in half.
33:14Basically what's happening here is Chip and I love the same stuff.
33:19You know, I'm geeking out on the Skylark, I'm geeking out on the Elgin Robins, you know,
33:23the Harley bike, all that kind of stuff.
33:25So at the end of the day, I've got a Bluebird that's broken in half, okay?
33:29And I'm trying to make a trade.
33:31With these bikes at this caliber and the value that they're at, and how much he really loves
33:36them, it's not going to happen.
33:37What are you thinking?
33:39Okay, here's what I'm thinking.
33:41I paid $3,200 for it, you know?
33:45I'm thinking, just from a parts standpoint, I'd like to get $38 out of it.
33:51You know, I think-
33:52You want cash?
33:53Or was there anything that you saw that you're interested in?
33:56I mean, to be honest with you, I mean, a lot of the bikes, you and I have been doing
34:00bikes
34:00for so long, we've got different examples of the same thing.
34:04I love the artwork.
34:05I really do.
34:06I mean, the car artwork, and I get why you have never sold any of it before, because
34:11you know, it just becomes part of your portfolio.
34:14You know, I mean, you can look back through all the decades you've been doing this, and
34:19it's all a story being told through the artwork, through all the cars.
34:22If you want a piece of art, I'll trade you for some art.
34:26I mean, to be honest with you, I was blown away by the art you did on this.
34:30I mean, that's a very detailed drawing.
34:32It really falls into line with what I collect and what I do.
34:36When he started talking about the drawing, I was so excited, because that is the huge
34:41compliment to me that he wanted something that I created over some of the stuff that he's
34:46always looking for.
34:47I told you what I get when I do commission work.
34:50Yeah.
34:51I would think a bicycle, probably about half of that.
34:54You would trade me the bluebird for the, for the, for the, for the, okay, you'll trade
35:01me the bluebird that I can touch right here that's in front of me for the bluebird on paper.
35:06Yeah.
35:07If you're good with that, I'm good with it.
35:08Done.
35:09Okay.
35:11Seriously?
35:12No, thank you.
35:12We're doing this?
35:13Yeah, no, I'll do that.
35:14Okay, hell yeah.
35:15The last thing that I thought I was going to walk out of here today with was a drawing of
35:20an Elgin bluebird, but it's a chip boost drawing to have that the only one, something that
35:26he did and he's such a close friend.
35:29That's something that I want to have to cherish to put on my wall because one, it's bicycle
35:36two, it's chips and that is priceless.
35:40Awesome.
35:40Seriously, man.
35:41That's a good day in Huntington Beach.
35:42I love it.
35:43I love it.
35:43Thank you, buddy.
35:44I appreciate you working with me.
35:49So, yeah, I just talked to my mom.
35:50She said, uh, I think I'm selling it.
35:53Yeah, on the right price.
35:54Look underneath that car on that side.
35:56All right, let me get her.
35:56I'm going to try and get underneath this on here.
35:58Yeah.
35:59What are you seeing, dude?
36:00Yeah, okay, the rockers are blowing out on this side, Robbie.
36:04Oh, yeah, right here, too.
36:05Yeah.
36:06Gone.
36:07This is dipping in the New Jersey salt.
36:09Yep.
36:09Oh, really?
36:10Yep.
36:10Oh, yeah.
36:11I'm getting handfuls of rust.
36:13Yeah, same thing.
36:14Same thing I got on this side.
36:15Yeah.
36:16This thing was through the New Jersey winters.
36:18The salt, yeah.
36:19There's a lot of salt on the roads, and that, you know, the salt eats the cars away.
36:23Yeah, 100%.
36:24To me, Robbie, that's a big deal.
36:26We have to make sure that this is not something we're going to have to spend too much money to
36:31get a return out of it.
36:33We have to be really careful not to get too emotional.
36:36I think there's something that we could do with it, but at the end of the day, it's like anything.
36:41You've got to buy it at the right price.
36:43So, I mean, what kind of money are you thinking on this thing?
36:48Maybe at least $10,000.
36:51It's going to cost me probably $1,000, $1,500 to get it home.
36:55At $10,000, that'd be $1,100, $5,000.
36:56And then by the time I got through everything, I'd be into it, you know, minimum.
36:59There's a minimum what's going to go into this car to even make it run.
37:03You're going to be between $3,000 and $5,000.
37:05But now you've got to do body work to it.
37:07Or you've got to take this, and the guy that we would even try and sell it to, this might
37:11be a candidate where they would take it and chop it.
37:14Yeah.
37:14With that being said, I think I'd have to be at, like, $6,000.
37:22I mean, at that, I'd have $7,500 in it.
37:25Yeah.
37:26And I think $7,000 would be...
37:28I think $6,000 is a little low.
37:29I think $7,000 is my max on it.
37:31I mean, that would be my max with the shipping and stuff.
37:33You want to take a look at it outside, maybe a little, see if we can get it outside and
37:37check it out?
37:38Well, at the end of the day, I'd love to see it out here.
37:40Well, we've got to get it out anyway.
37:41I'd love to see it out.
37:42And we'd like to move on.
37:44All right, you got an air compressor?
37:45Yeah, you got an air compressor?
37:45I do.
37:46Let's see if we can get it.
37:46All right, let's do it.
37:47All right, let's do it.
37:47We have got to get it out of that space so we can really see it in the light.
37:52It's going up.
37:54It's going up.
37:54It's holding air.
37:55I'm watching the compressor go up.
37:5820 pounds right now.
37:59There's a lot that can go wrong here.
38:01I mean, we could smash a door.
38:03We could scratch the paint.
38:05We could pull the side of the barn down.
38:07You know, there's a lot of things that could happen if we're not really careful about how we pull this
38:12car.
38:12We're out of this space.
38:13All right, slowly, John.
38:15Slowly, I'm going to give you the tipper.
38:16See if this thing's going to move.
38:18Go ahead.
38:23Whoa.
38:25Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.
38:27We're awfully close to the wall.
38:32Okay, we probably should have hooked it up to the other shackle.
38:34Okay.
38:35Because we hooked it up to that one and it didn't pull it.
38:37I'm trying to get the car to go this way.
38:39All right.
38:39So we need to do it slowly.
38:41And listen to me.
38:42I'm going to pull on that strap and try and get it to pull.
38:45As I'm pulling, you're pulling out.
38:47We get that to happen.
38:48We're golden.
38:48Robbie came up with an idea to shift over the actual toe strap to the other side
38:53and kind of give it an oomph as it was coming out.
38:57A little bit, John.
38:59A little bit.
39:00Every time that Robbie's pulling this thing, the wheels are moving another quarter inch.
39:03And I can tell by looking down that the front wheel is locked up.
39:06The brake is locked up.
39:07There's something going on.
39:08We're dragging it out, you know, like an old grizzly bear out of the cave.
39:15Okay, stop.
39:16I am going to get this thing out of here.
39:19Hell or high water, we might knock the garage down, but we're going to save the mercury.
39:23A little bit.
39:24There you go.
39:25Straight back.
39:26Keep going.
39:27Keep going.
39:29Keep going.
39:31Keep going.
39:32All right, you got it.
39:32Keep going.
39:34You're out.
39:35You're good.
39:36Damn.
39:37It's finally seen the light of day.
39:39Yeah.
39:39Look at that.
39:40You've been a long time.
39:40Raccoon pooping off.
39:41Yeah, raccoon pooping out on a field day with this thing.
39:43Look at the dirt on this thing.
39:44Look at this.
39:45I just want to look at that engine now.
39:48Oh, man.
39:51Wow, look at how black that oil is.
39:53Dude, he needed oil change a long time ago.
39:56There's no grid in it.
39:57I know, but still, dude, look how black that sucker is.
39:59I don't mind black oil.
40:00Yeah, there's no water in it.
40:02That's what I was talking about, John, right here.
40:03Look at how big of that.
40:04Look at that whole area.
40:06Robbie, this side's just as bad.
40:08Yeah.
40:08I mean, that's all gone.
40:10Look at, dude.
40:13I mean, it's falling apart.
40:17And that's the whole thing in here.
40:19It's just leaking rust.
40:21There was so much rust.
40:23And then what he said made a lot of sense.
40:25The Jersey winters.
40:26They always put salt on the road.
40:28And just back then, they probably never washed it off.
40:31What do you think of Jersey?
40:33Well, I mean...
40:34Your thoughts changed after it came out?
40:35Well, that side's worse with rust than the driver's side.
40:39Tell you what.
40:40I was at six.
40:43It's 65.
40:4465.
40:44I got $1,500 in shipping.
40:46I'm kind of firm at seven.
40:49You remember that Mary that was upstairs that I bought from you?
40:51Yeah.
40:52Hail Mary for us, man.
40:53I'm just taking...
40:54I'm praying to Mary that the engine's not stuck and I can actually get it running.
40:58I got an idea.
40:59Okay.
40:59We do a coin flip for it.
41:01Coin flip 6,507.
41:04There are a lot of different ways to negotiate when it comes to picking.
41:07The bundle, the walk away, and maybe the most popular, the coin toss.
41:12Heads I win, tails you lose.
41:14Are you throwing it around?
41:17It's heads.
41:18He won.
41:18All right.
41:19Here's my professional flipper right here.
41:20Heads.
41:23And you called what?
41:24I called heads.
41:25Bingo!
41:26Tails.
41:28I don't fuck with any coins because I lose, man.
41:30I lose.
41:31But unlike my brother, I don't lose.
41:35All right.
41:36All right.
41:36It's got heads and tails.
41:37It's got a heads and tails.
41:38Are you calling it, Jersey?
41:39Yeah, I call it.
41:40All right, Jersey's calling it.
41:41Oh, do you want to call it?
41:41No, you can call it.
41:42All right.
41:42All right.
41:44Heads.
41:45Whoa.
41:48Tails.
41:49Seven grand.
41:49Seven thousand.
41:50You won!
41:51That's all right, dude.
41:52That's all right, dude.
41:53That's all right.
41:53Seriously, John, that's all right, dude.
41:54No, thank you.
41:55I appreciate you, man.
41:55It's seven grand.
41:56We're going to have 1,500 in it to get it home.
41:58That's 8,500.
42:00I'm praying and hoping that I can get the engine running.
42:02If I can't and I've got to replace the engine and I've got to replace the transmission,
42:06it could become a money pit.
42:07You don't mind us sitting here for a couple days.
42:09I'll have Danielle get a hold of you.
42:11Okay.
42:11Sounds good.
42:11And then she'll work on the shipping of this.
42:13But the other stuff we'll grab and take today.
42:14Sounds good.
42:15I'm just really glad that it's going to someone that is going to be passionate about fixing
42:19up the car and getting it back on the road.
42:22And maybe it'll have another life.
42:24Bye, guys.
Comments