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00:00What the hell you got here, Andy?
00:01Coming up on American Restoration.
00:03This is a motorcycle car.
00:05Where's the motorcycle?
00:06We've got to put one in it.
00:07Can't believe how bad this thing stinks.
00:08Man.
00:10Oh, dude.
00:12Get that thing out of here.
00:13That's a beautiful bike.
00:14Thank you very much, man.
00:16Would you build another one?
00:17Are you serious?
00:18I'd build it in honor of my dad,
00:20and I'd like to put this on the back of it.
00:23What's that?
00:24What's it look like?
00:25Looks like the controls to an electric chair.
00:28Yeah, see you alive?
00:28Dead.
00:30You can start torturing people?
00:32That's what he said.
00:36Across this country, five shops are breathing new life
00:40into classic American designs.
00:43From rusted-out Mustangs to broken-down Harleys
00:48and everything in between, each job has a story.
00:52Love these things.
00:54Whoo!
00:54Whoo!
00:58This is American Restoration.
01:10Hey, fellas.
01:12I just picked up a crazy project from a customer, Rick.
01:15My guys, we're from Detroit.
01:16We've seen every kind of car that's imaginable.
01:18I guarantee nobody's seen anything like this.
01:22What the hell you got here, Andy?
01:23It's a UFO.
01:24Looks like I'll take that, yeah.
01:26Good grief.
01:27This is a 75, 76 Scarab motorcycle car.
01:32Wow.
01:32Sold in back of Popular Mechanics.
01:35A kit car company built it.
01:36They only built six of these.
01:38Really?
01:39Where's the motorcycle?
01:39We got to put one in it.
01:46Nice.
01:48Motorcycle sits back here.
01:49We're going to chop up my old bike in back
01:51and use it for this.
01:52Take the front forks and everything off.
01:55You got some rear frame and the motor sitting in here.
01:57It's got a shifter that hooks back to the bike.
02:00We use all the bike controls.
02:02How bad is the body?
02:04It's got a bunch of cracks in it, but it's not bad.
02:07You get in like this.
02:09Ah, jeez, dude.
02:10It smells like something dyed in here.
02:11Looks a little wet, too.
02:11It's been sitting behind a barn for years, you know?
02:14Guy that owns it's had this thing forever.
02:17We're going to get rid of the velour.
02:19We're going to put some dye on the carpeting.
02:21He's got 10 grand to spend.
02:23This project poses a few problems.
02:25Most of all, Rick's budget.
02:26He gave me a budget of $10,000,
02:28and this thing really needs a lot of work.
02:30Mostly, it doesn't have a motorcycle.
02:32I just happen to have an old motorcycle
02:34that I don't ride anymore.
02:35I think we're going to use that.
02:36I think it'll be the perfect drivetrain for this car.
02:38I'm excited to work on it because it's something unique.
02:41It's fun to do something you've never done before.
02:43They used a lot of parts from other cars on this thing.
02:46It's got a VW front suspension on it.
02:48Jeremy, what's the windshield?
02:51If I had to guess, dude, I'd say something off an old Ford.
02:54It's a 67 Mustang back glass for a fastback.
02:58Close enough.
03:00Kid Car's been part of the car culture for a long time.
03:03It's been an affordable way for people to build something
03:05they usually couldn't build themselves.
03:07The Scarab is a unique kit car.
03:09It's a fiberglass body.
03:11It's got a lot of VW components in it,
03:12and it's a motorcycle.
03:14At least it will be when we're done.
03:15We'll get this thing off the trailer.
03:17I'll get the bike over there,
03:18and we'll get this thing done
03:19and make it the only one that's running.
03:21Let's do it.
03:22Rear on.
03:31That bike is going to move this thing.
03:36Why don't you guys grab them dollies there?
03:39Get this thing apart.
03:41The Scarab poses a lot of problems for us.
03:43There's no information out here.
03:45We're not going to back away from any kind of a challenge,
03:47but this one's extra special.
03:50There's no way to tell what it needs until we get it apart.
03:52I still can't believe how bad this thing stinks.
03:55Man.
03:55Man, this thing stinks.
03:57What is that smell?
03:59Oh!
04:00I think I found what stinks.
04:02Yeah, what you got?
04:04Mm.
04:05Oh.
04:05I got a squirrel.
04:06Oh, dude.
04:08Get that thing out of here, dude.
04:09Take it to the dumpster.
04:10You can taste the smell.
04:11It's just horrible.
04:13I'm hoping we can get the smell out of the car.
04:15I don't want to finish this thing
04:16and Ricky smelled dead squirrel.
04:19All right, you're free.
04:21Got it.
04:22Got it.
04:23Walk it up.
04:26Uh-oh.
04:27I see wires.
04:29Most of this car,
04:30the wiring looks like they took out of the VW.
04:32This is a VW speedometer.
04:34It's nothing really high-tech.
04:36You best just replace most of this.
04:38What do we got here?
04:39Quite a few wires.
04:40We're not doing much.
04:41We got it.
04:42Okay.
04:43You got it.
04:44That can go out of upholstery.
04:45Cost being a big factor on this project,
04:48we have to save any money the way we can.
04:50We're going to re-dye the carpeting,
04:52the upholstery's shot,
04:53but the buckets for the seat are great.
04:55We're going to use the original ones
04:56and make it look as good as possible
04:58for the money we have.
04:59Go ahead and give it a yank.
05:02There we go.
05:02Got it.
05:05Complete rewire.
05:10Dude, this whole thing inside here is busted up.
05:13It's separated.
05:14And then we've got that major crack here
05:17and this one.
05:18Other than that,
05:19we just got a bunch of stress stuff everywhere.
05:21We'll get this done
05:21and then we'll worry about the rest.
05:23All right.
05:24My game plan to fix this,
05:25I'm going to drill a hole where the crack ends
05:27to keep the crack from spreading any farther.
05:32Now that I got my hole drilled,
05:34I'm going to V this crack out.
05:35That way, when I get the material on there to fix,
05:37it's got a lot of space to bite in and grab.
05:42I grind everything to give me a good,
05:44clean surface so I can spread the material on.
05:50This is a heat set adhesive.
05:52Once I get it spread,
05:53I even put a heat lamp on it and let it bake set.
05:59About an hour or so,
06:00should be ready to be worked on.
06:03We're on and we're set.
06:15I'm taking a picture of my favorite motorcycle.
06:17How are you doing there?
06:18What do you think of that thing?
06:19That's a beautiful bike.
06:20Thank you very much, man.
06:22My name's Paisal.
06:23Dale, nice to meet you, man.
06:24Pleasant to meet you, Dale.
06:24There's hundreds of rare American machines
06:26here at Wheels Through Time,
06:27and I keep them all running.
06:29But one of the Harleys that's closest to my heart
06:31is this one.
06:32What exactly am I looking at?
06:34That's a 1946 knucklehead.
06:36And if you look at it,
06:37you'll notice the cases are polished,
06:38the cylinders are shiny.
06:40It's the overhead valve engine.
06:42It's 74 cubic inches.
06:43Goes like a rocket.
06:44I built this bike as a tribute to my mom.
06:46It's got her name on the front fender, Mina.
06:48And right here, I've got a tribute in brass.
06:51She was a wonderful lady, passed many years ago.
06:53I think of her every day, and this is my remembrance.
06:57This is the bike I picture myself on.
06:59Really?
07:00Yes.
07:01You can't buy it, and I don't let many people do it.
07:04But you can sit on it.
07:05I'm gonna see how you look on that thing.
07:08What a nice feel.
07:10This is what a bike is all about.
07:12I drop the headlight down low,
07:14so it gives you this massive chrome front end.
07:16And on the back end,
07:17I've got the little short tail light,
07:19the vintage tires, shifter on the left,
07:22foot clutch, 1939 dashboard.
07:25I could write a book about this thing,
07:26but what can I do for you?
07:28Well, I came in here with something, Dale.
07:30It came out of my dad's old tool shed,
07:33and I have no idea what it is.
07:34Oh, it's a tail light.
07:35I know nothing about this, to be honest with you,
07:37other than it came from my dad.
07:39It meant enough to him that he never threw it out.
07:41Yeah.
07:41And that's why I thought I'd bring it here
07:43and see if I could match it
07:44and find out what exactly does this belong to.
07:47Might have been a pan head,
07:48might have been a knuckle head,
07:49but it would have been low,
07:50and it would have been short,
07:52and it would have had cut off fenders,
07:53because that tail light goes on top of the fender,
07:56just like this bike.
07:57You know what?
07:58It belongs on one of these bikes.
08:00I think this is pretty close
08:02to what my dad probably would have ridden.
08:04Would you build another one?
08:06Are you serious?
08:08I'd build it in honor of my dad,
08:09and I'd like to put this on the back of it.
08:12If I was going to build you a bike,
08:13let me show you what engine I would use.
08:15I'd love to see it.
08:17Follow me.
08:18I've had 1,000 people walk into wheels through time
08:20and want me to build them a motorcycle,
08:21and I usually don't.
08:23But Basil, he's a different story.
08:25His dad's story is the right story,
08:27and I have just the right engine for the machine.
08:30Hey, John!
08:33I want you to meet Basil.
08:35Hey, Basil.
08:35What brings you here?
08:36He wants us to build him a motorcycle.
08:38You and me.
08:39All right.
08:40This is the engine I was telling you about.
08:41The heart of the motorcycle.
08:43The 55 FLH Panhead.
08:45The high-powered, high-compression machine.
08:48Harley built in 55.
08:49There's really nothing like it.
08:50The Harley-Davidson Panhead was introduced in 1948.
08:53It was Harley-Davidson's first overhead valve engine
08:56that used aluminum in its composition.
08:58It was really the engine that carried Harley-Davidson
09:00for the next two decades.
09:02How that bike was built for Dale Southern,
09:04I want a bike built for my dad the same way.
09:07Back in the early 70s,
09:09my dad had a big Chrysler Imperial,
09:11five kids in the backseat,
09:13and he bought a CV radio.
09:15And his handle was Mr. Lucky.
09:18Mr. Lucky. That's a good one.
09:19He considered himself a lucky man.
09:22Sure.
09:22And so when he passed away,
09:24um, thinking about, you know,
09:25what did I get from my dad besides his name
09:28was his luck.
09:30I've been a very lucky man in my life.
09:32And I put a tattoo on him.
09:35Mr. Lucky.
09:36Oh, look at that.
09:37See?
09:37And it's my dad.
09:39That's great.
09:40It's my dad right there with me all the time.
09:43What if we built a low-slung Panhead,
09:47do the double ride control,
09:49do some fancy stuff,
09:50bob the rear fender,
09:51put on his taillight,
09:53we'd actually have a part of his dad's DNA
09:54on a bike that he's gonna ride.
09:56Sure.
09:56Sure.
09:57Let me ask you a question.
09:59What do you think it takes to build a bike like that?
10:0250,000.
10:03Mmm.
10:04Am I in the ballpark?
10:05Mmm.
10:06Step it up a little bit.
10:07Let's say 65,
10:08I'll have it done in 60 days,
10:10and I'll road test it and hand you over a bike
10:12that's ready to ride.
10:14What do you say?
10:16We got a deal?
10:20What do you think, Basil?
10:2260 days make it 60 grand, and we have a deal.
10:25So...
10:29We got a deal.
10:31We have a deal.
10:32You have Mr. Lucky.
10:34Does this one even run?
10:35No, I gotta rebuild it, so here's the deal.
10:37You hold Mr. Lucky.
10:38I'm gonna take this engine run back and get it rebuilt.
10:41Right now.
10:42There you go.
10:45What's that?
10:46Looks like the controls to an electric chair.
10:49Yeah, see, alive, dead.
10:51Does it power something in a house?
10:53No, you're seeing them all over across America, though.
10:57Hmm.
11:06Not long ago, we restored the 1948 Davis Devon
11:09for the Peterson Automotive Museum,
11:11which is one of the largest and rarest auto collections
11:14in the country.
11:15They've asked me to bring another piece
11:16of rare automotive history back to life.
11:19It's more than a century old,
11:20but the principle behind it is making a comeback.
11:26What's that?
11:27What's it look like?
11:28Looks like the controls to an electric chair.
11:31Hey, Kirk.
11:33Come check this out.
11:34Yeah, see, alive, dead.
11:36Yeah.
11:36You can start torturing people.
11:38What do you think it is, man?
11:40Does it power something in a house?
11:41No, you're seeing them all over across America, though,
11:45because they're using them more and more now.
11:47Car charger?
11:49Car charger.
11:50This is a 1914 General Electric car charger.
11:53Oh, yeah.
11:54They did have electric cars back then, didn't they?
11:56When Ford's Model T engine came out,
11:58it pretty much annihilated the electric car sales
12:01for the next 100 years.
12:03They could go longer distances.
12:04These could only go...
12:05electric vehicles could only go, like, 100 miles.
12:07At the turn of the 20th century,
12:09America was experimenting with all kinds of vehicles and engines.
12:12You had electric, steam, and, of course,
12:15gas-powered internal combustion engine.
12:17But when this charger was made in 1914,
12:20almost a quarter of the cars in the country were electric.
12:23What are we going to do with it?
12:24We got to build this for the Peterson Museum
12:26for their grand reopening.
12:28They're going to put this on display.
12:30They said they don't need it functionable,
12:32but I want to bring it back and make it look like
12:35this is what you got with your electric car back in the day.
12:37We'll paint this.
12:39I want to make it look vintage still.
12:41Period correct black.
12:42I want to clean up all the tags,
12:45whatever diagram was in here.
12:47Let's make it look brand new.
12:48Be careful.
12:50This is inch-and-a-quarter plate.
12:52Solid plate.
12:53This thing weighs a ton.
12:54This is cast iron.
12:56So, please, watch your toes
12:58and don't electrocute yourself.
12:59All right, guys, let's grab our tools
13:01and start pulling this thing apart.
13:06All right, cool.
13:08This is so...
13:09I remember where everything is.
13:11Taking apart something is easy,
13:13but putting it back together,
13:15that's a whole different story.
13:16That's why I take pictures.
13:18There's not a lot of information out there on these things.
13:20I've never built one,
13:21so I want to make sure that I get this thing right.
13:24I think the hardest thing is just going to be
13:26bringing the signs,
13:28all these little tags back to life.
13:30It looks like a brand new tag on there.
13:32Hopefully, we can clean up this porcelain.
13:35Let me get to going on it,
13:37and if I need a hand, I'll give you a call.
13:39All right.
13:43The simplicity of this is pretty cool,
13:45because this is basically just telling you
13:48what voltage you need.
13:49If you need a full charge,
13:51you need a half charge.
13:56All right, here we go.
13:59I believe these are the reactors.
14:01It's bolted from the bottom, too, so...
14:05I'm going to leave that like that for now.
14:07Then I'm going to go see my buddy, Jim,
14:08who can recreate a crucial piece that is missing.
14:17Hey, buddy. What's up, man?
14:19What's up?
14:19The 1914 GE car charger came to us almost complete.
14:24It is missing one major key component.
14:27And I know the Peterson Automotive Museum
14:29isn't expecting me to deliver this thing
14:31with this component on it,
14:32because you are not going to be able to find one of these.
14:34I need this crazy glass bulb made.
14:37It's called a mercury arc rectifier.
14:40And that was what converted AC power to DC power.
14:43It's kind of T-shaped, maybe two feet tall
14:46by about six to ten inches wide.
14:49And it's got these copper ends on it,
14:50because you attach these clamps to it.
14:53And you are the guy to make it, Jim.
14:55Okay, cool.
14:55Yeah.
14:56What we're going to do is make three separate pieces
14:58and join them together to make this rectifier.
15:01Okay.
15:01Thanks, brother.
15:02GE used to mass produce these glass rectifier tubes
15:05in factories.
15:06But what Jim and his assistants are doing
15:08is using age-old glassblowing techniques
15:11to recreate this thing,
15:13which is going to make it that much more special
15:15when this thing's on display
15:16at the Peterson Automotive Museum.
15:18So, a lot of things in glassblowing here
15:21is getting control of the material.
15:24What I have in my hand is a cherry wood block.
15:27It cools the glass, and it kind of also gives you a gauge
15:30of how much material you have.
15:32Bodhi and I went over all the dimensions of the piece,
15:34and I made up a little sketch
15:36to help me have the proportions and everything right.
15:39There are these two side nubs, and there's a long piece.
15:42It's kind of like a baseball bat shape.
15:44These three different parts have to be put together
15:47in order to make this rectifier.
15:49I'm gonna pop the bubble.
15:52Blowing and capping air to trap it.
15:55So, right now, I'm setting up just a teardrop shape
15:58to get an approximate size for the plugs.
16:00These tools in my hand are called jacks.
16:03These are used for shaping.
16:13So, we just popped open a little hole.
16:16And we're gonna open it up to the size of the diameter
16:20that we want.
16:22Off.
16:23Perfect.
16:24We're gonna make one more
16:25that's the exact same size and shape,
16:27and then we'll make the main section.
16:32The kiln is standing at about 1050,
16:36so it's gonna keep the glass in a stable temperature
16:39that will make it easy for it to get hot again.
16:45I'm gonna pull this bubble out of glass.
16:58As we get more amounts of glass,
17:00these blocks get larger in size.
17:07Stop blowing.
17:08And I'm gonna just do a slow kind of drop out.
17:14Kinda dance with it.
17:22Yeah, we're right there.
17:25Bloat.
17:26Nice.
17:29Stop blowing.
17:32Nice.
17:34And we're gonna go
17:35and put this piece of glass away in the kiln,
17:38cool slowly over a cycle
17:40depending on the thickness of the glass.
17:46Nice.
17:50Let's do this.
17:54Oh.
17:57Damn it.
18:09Building a tribute bike for Basil's father
18:11is gonna be a lot of fun.
18:12I'm really excited about it,
18:13and I have all kinds of ideas rushing through my head.
18:15I'm dropping by my mechanic John's house today.
18:18He always has projects he's working on,
18:20and he might have a few pieces I'm looking for,
18:23but he has one part that I want really bad.
18:26Bang!
18:29Ha!
18:29What the hell are you doing here?
18:31What are you doing?
18:32I'm doing a little welding.
18:33I'd never see you at this hour of the morning drop.
18:35No.
18:35Is she not here for a social call?
18:37No social call.
18:38I'm kind of on a mission.
18:39Yeah, yeah.
18:39I've been thinking all night about this,
18:41about the 55 frame,
18:42and I'm here to try to buy the frame from you.
18:44Well, I happen to have a frame for a 55 pan,
18:46but I don't remember offering it for sale.
18:49Yeah, but maybe money talks.
18:51So that frame's from a 55.
18:53There's not a lot of them around.
18:54They're not falling out of trees.
18:56It took me a little while to find that one.
18:57It's got some dents in it,
18:58but it's kind of, you know,
18:59what we're going to do with this.
19:00Yeah.
19:00They make body putty to smooth that out.
19:03No putty here, man.
19:04We're bang and grind.
19:05It's straight.
19:06Oh, it's straight as a die.
19:08This is a fine frame.
19:09You know what this is, don't you?
19:10That's a straight leg only found on around a 55.
19:1355 to 57, the straight leg frame.
19:16What do you want for it?
19:17What are you thinking?
19:1910%.
19:2010% of the total cost?
19:22That's about the frame's quality.
19:2410% of the cost of the bike.
19:26Six grand.
19:266,000.
19:27Yeah.
19:28Give you a hundred and a half for the fender.
19:316,150 bucks.
19:32I'll take it home.
19:33All right, I'll do it.
19:34All right.
19:34So this is the new Mr. Lucky frame.
19:36Done deal.
19:37I'm going to load it up.
19:38You got to do it.
19:39I got work to do.
19:40You want it right now?
19:40I haven't got all day to mess around.
19:42Does this thing roll?
19:42Oh, it's got wheels on it.
19:44Let's roll it to the door, my friend.
19:45Sure, sure.
19:45Roll it to the door.
19:46You can roll this thing right at the elevator.
19:48Rolling out the door.
19:49Okay.
19:50Rolled it.
19:51Not rolling.
19:52Back that up a little bit there.
19:53How's that?
19:54What do you got here?
19:56That would be the front end that I was going to put on this very motorcycle.
19:5955 didn't have a Springer, but what we're building for Basil is something special.
20:03Mr. Lucky.
20:03Am I going to be Mr. Lucky and take this home with me today?
20:06Two grand.
20:07The front end's no good to me now without a frame.
20:09Don't buy anything else.
20:10Everything else here I really need.
20:11Okay, yeah.
20:12Close your eyes and move out of here.
20:13You don't have an extra transmission laying around.
20:15I might.
20:30The monkey business team is working on this 1975 Scarab kit car.
20:34It looks like a UFO and I want to continue that theme.
20:37So I'm just finishing up the last coat of silver on it now.
20:40Give it that old sci-fi look.
20:43We're going to have to put these together.
20:46We have some upholstery that needs to be done.
20:49I'd like to think that I can do everything, but I'm not an upholstery guy.
20:52But my mom's been sewing stuff, including my clothes since I was a little kid.
20:56She's agreed to help me out.
20:57She does on a regular basis.
20:59I'm going to do what I've always been told and listen to mom on this one and see what
21:02we can do.
21:03Step on over here so you can see what your mom is doing.
21:06Set it down so that this is on that side because you don't want anything too heavy or this
21:11is going to get bulky on you.
21:12Okay.
21:12And then to make this little thing go, you just step on the pedal and kind of guide it
21:17with your hand.
21:19Am I going to run a needle through my fingers?
21:20If you do worse than that with a car, I know you're going to be able to handle this.
21:24Andy always liked working on things.
21:27We took the crib apart at three and we never did get all the parts back together on it.
21:32Just a straight line.
21:34Easy for you to set.
21:37Okay.
21:39I think I'm going to let you finish the seats.
21:41Well, probably a good idea.
21:42I'll handle the rest.
21:43I'm going to go put some shifter cables in.
21:45Alrighty, honey.
21:46I'll see you in the old bed.
21:47Thanks, mom.
21:47Yep.
22:01While Jim finishes up the rectifier bulb, I'm going to start getting the main body
22:05of this thing ready for paint.
22:06When this goes on display at the Peterson Museum, I want it to look exactly like it did
22:11back in 1914 when an electric car would roll into the garage and get a fresh charge.
22:20Alright, cool.
22:21That looks pretty good.
22:23I'm going to start assembling the rest of the charger and get ready to put this in after
22:26it dries.
22:31I got a million pieces and hopefully I can remember where it all goes.
22:35It took some research to figure this thing out and get it correct, but the guys really
22:39hustled.
22:39We got it sanded.
22:40We got it prepped.
22:41We got it painted with the period correct black.
22:43And now this thing is ready to assemble.
22:45I can't wait to deliver this thing to the Peterson Automotive Museum.
22:50This thing is heavy.
22:52I thought it was a chunk of steel.
22:53This is a chunk of concrete.
22:55This is solid concrete.
22:57Hey Boat, come in and give me a hand real quick.
23:01Okay.
23:02These go on the back.
23:03We got so many things going on right now that I've got my son, Bodie Jr. given a helping
23:08hand around the shop.
23:09I'm going to hold it and you're going to put these through, okay?
23:11Okay.
23:12He's a great kid that loves old cars just like his old man.
23:15And he's learning the family business.
23:17This thing's heavy.
23:26It's very cool.
23:27Thanks, dude.
23:32There's never been a job that I've walked into where I knew everything about that project.
23:38But I can tell you this.
23:40I walk away knowing everything about that project.
23:43I think that's what I love most about doing this.
23:49Gorgeous.
23:50How do you like your bike?
23:51You got it.
23:52I like your bike.
23:53You nailed it.
24:03Yeah.
24:03Hey Dale, I'm back.
24:04How's it going, John?
24:05I got some beautiful polished pieces here, brother.
24:07What do you got?
24:08This tank cover for this cover in the center right here.
24:10Look at that.
24:11I spent the last six weeks sourcing parts for Basil's 1955 Panhead and I've got them all.
24:16And the paint's back.
24:18Now it's time for final assembly.
24:19And I must say, it's looking great.
24:22I think this is going to be one of the best bikes I've ever built.
24:24Watch how this works.
24:26Open.
24:27Close.
24:27Oh, that's sweet, buddy.
24:28It's either going to go bop, bop, bop.
24:30Bop, bop, bop.
24:31Can't wait to hear this thing running.
24:33Hey, get started on that cover.
24:35Dale.
24:36How's it going?
24:36Hey, Mark.
24:37What do you got?
24:38John Barlow stuff from the paint shop.
24:41Ha-ha!
24:41He did a beautiful job.
24:42Look at that.
24:43The cover that connects the engine and transmission.
24:46What else do we have?
24:47Oh, here's what you're here for.
24:49Yeah.
24:49This is it.
24:49This is the air cleaner.
24:51I want Mr. Lucky.
24:53I think you know the routine.
24:54Okay.
24:54Take that thing with you.
24:55Let's get that thing done.
24:56I'll get right on this, Dale.
24:57Okay, thanks a lot, man.
24:59Check this out.
25:00Genuine parts packed in 1936.
25:02There's the part number.
25:04And they haven't been opened since, huh?
25:05No.
25:05All the gaskets right here.
25:06Sweet.
25:07I love using new old stock primary gaskets on this thing.
25:10To think that this piece of cork was growing on a tree 100 years ago.
25:13Packaged and saved just for us.
25:15We got that.
25:18Then we got that.
25:20Oh, that is gonna look so good.
25:22You know, if you don't have the primary cover on, you have that chain and that clutch spinning around.
25:27It gives you that margin of safety.
25:30Oh, this lines up perfect.
25:31We gotta get the rest of these screws in.
25:33Where's the tail light?
25:38Okay.
25:41Amazing what a little bit of heat will do to some rubber.
25:43Okay.
25:44All right.
25:44Here we go.
25:45We're good there, everybody.
25:46Round and around we go.
25:47Never to be seen again.
25:49Stash the wire.
25:52The tail light was the only part that Basil brought in from his father's motorcycle.
25:57Getting to install the tail light is like crowning a new king.
26:00And I'm really proud of it.
26:02Let's test this tail light.
26:03It could be light.
26:04Okay.
26:05Hit that brake.
26:06Right on.
26:07Mr. Lucky.
26:08Mr. Lucky.
26:10That is frickin' amazing.
26:26All right, man.
26:27I hope you like it.
26:29I can't wait.
26:30The electric car charger is done and ready to be unveiled at the Peterson Automotive Museum
26:35as a new exhibit.
26:36I think it looks awesome.
26:38It looks just like it did when it was brand new back in 1914.
26:42But there's no better judge than Leslie, the head curator of the museum, who is an authority
26:47on automotive history.
26:48I recognize the shape.
26:50Got the bumps in all the right places.
26:52Well, that's good.
26:53I'm hoping that all those bumps look as good as you want them to look when I unveil this for
26:58you.
26:58Uh-huh.
27:24Everything works?
27:25Oh-ho-ho-ho.
27:26Yeah.
27:27Oh-ho-ho.
27:28Get a look.
27:29Oh, yeah.
27:30The dial works.
27:31Oh, my God.
27:31Does this thing work?
27:32Oh, my God.
27:33That even works.
27:33Yeah.
27:34That was my favorite part about it is touching everything and playing with all the knobs
27:38and all the clicks and picturing how it would have worked.
27:41Yep.
27:41You got that.
27:42And you know what that was for, right?
27:44Yep.
27:44There was a mercury tube back there.
27:46It would slosh the mercury, get it going, and you would get the whole energizing process.
27:51Yep.
27:52I'm thinking that this is exactly what it looked like when it was delivered.
27:55Remember there was no tag here either?
27:57You made that.
27:59We made the tag.
28:00That's exactly what it looked like.
28:01This is great.
28:03Oh, man.
28:03Let's see the back.
28:04Yeah.
28:04I got to see the back.
28:07Oh-ho-ho.
28:08Pretty cool, huh?
28:09Look at that.
28:10Look at that.
28:11Yeah, you cleaned up everything.
28:13I pulled out the reactants down below.
28:15I went through everything, cleaned it all up, painted everything.
28:18It looks brand new inside and out.
28:20This I don't recognize.
28:21That actually wasn't on there.
28:23I made that.
28:24I have a special little present for you that I think you're gonna love and it's going
28:29to enhance this.
28:30Are you trying to tell me something?
28:32Mitchell?
28:33There's a receptacle for something that should be there but never was.
28:38And now he's getting my hooks up.
28:40Special delivery.
28:41What goes in that rack is a vacuum tube with mercury in it that hooks up in different places
28:48that you actually rock back and forth by hand with a knob on the front and it gets the
28:53charge going.
28:54And without that, you didn't have a charger slash rectifier.
28:57It just didn't work.
28:58I'm starting to get very, very excited.
29:01Check that back up.
29:02You got the tube.
29:03The arc rectifier.
29:05Oh, wow.
29:06Now this was filled with mercury, which you know.
29:08Yeah.
29:09And then the current would help convert from AC to DC.
29:12I did one of these.
29:14Isn't that thing cool?
29:15Can I hold it?
29:16Yeah.
29:17Of course you can.
29:17Be careful.
29:18Be gentle.
29:19Oh, I'm gentle, man.
29:21Believe me.
29:22My buddy at LA Glass Blowing made this.
29:24Think we should stick it in there and see how she looks?
29:27I think we should.
29:28All right.
29:28Let's do it.
29:28I think we should.
29:36Oh, look at that.
29:37This is probably going to be one of the coolest parts of this whole thing.
29:40Seriously.
29:41And I knew that you would love this.
29:42We've had this for a long, long time.
29:45I never thought it could look like this.
29:47I never thought that we would be able to complete it with a tube.
29:50That makes all the difference.
29:53Now people will know how they converted the power.
29:56It's really important because when people come in here,
29:59a lot of them don't even know electric cars were around 100 years ago.
30:02So when they see a charger, it's a story that I want to get right for them.
30:06Oh.
30:07You the man.
30:07Oh, thank you.
30:09This is great.
30:10Oh, man.
30:11Well done.
30:14Today is the day, man.
30:15Today is the day.
30:16You ready to see this thing?
30:17I am.
30:18Andy!
30:20Oh, my God.
30:21Holy cow.
30:29When Basil walked into wheels through time, he walked in with a taillight.
30:32Didn't know what he had, but he soon realized what this taillight meant was a little bit more about what
30:36his father meant.
30:38Calling the bike Mr. Lucky was a tribute for the bobber we were about to build.
30:42I'm so proud of this bike.
30:43I'm just jumping out of my shoes.
30:50My man.
30:51How do you like your bike?
30:52You got it, man.
30:53I like your bike.
30:53You nailed it.
30:54You nailed it.
30:55Look at this bike.
30:57Oh, look at this.
30:57You look at this bike.
30:58I've been looking at it for two months.
31:00Yes.
31:01What we built for Basil was quite special.
31:03It had the 55 engine, but it had a 36 front fork.
31:07And all that polish and chrome, they never did that in 55.
31:10What this bike is going to offer Basil is the magic carpet ride.
31:13It's got style.
31:14It's got speed.
31:15It's got power.
31:16And it's got comfort.
31:17I got to sit on it.
31:17You want to talk to me?
31:19No.
31:19I want you to sit on it.
31:20Get on that thing, man.
31:22Dale, it's his bike.
31:22You got to let it go.
31:23You're in, man.
31:24This is your machine.
31:24This is my bike.
31:25You better take it out here before he changes his mind.
31:27You chase me to California, because that's where we're going.
31:30We're going to ride this up the coast.
31:32I could write a book about this motorcycle,
31:34but I'm just going to give you the magazine version.
31:36Okay.
31:37So what I try to do is incorporate a lot of really great
31:40old Harley Davidson parts.
31:41All right.
31:42So these instruments or controls on your bike go way back.
31:45A lot of parts were found around the museum.
31:48This horn button right here, that came out in 1928.
31:52All right.
31:52Okay.
31:53Low-high beam switch.
31:551929.
31:56The brake lever itself.
31:57This brake lever goes back to 1928.
31:59Even these little oilers right here.
32:01See that oiler?
32:02When you flip this thing around right here, there's a hole in it.
32:06That's where you oil your cables.
32:08Guess when Harley came out with that?
32:1055.
32:10That 28.
32:11Okay.
32:12All right.
32:13Right.
32:13Here, hop off there.
32:14I got to show you the back of this bike.
32:15Right over here, the exhaust pipes.
32:17So with this little lever, you can actuate your exhaust pipes.
32:21Quiet, loud.
32:24Quiet, loud.
32:25And the thing that I used on that, 1936 Harley Davidson lightning timing gears.
32:31Recognize that tail light?
32:32I sure do.
32:34There's a tail light.
32:34I saw that.
32:35There you go.
32:36There you go.
32:36It looks a little sideier now than when you brought it in.
32:39A little different.
32:39Just a little different.
32:40Yeah.
32:40How do you like Mr. Lucky air cleaner?
32:42I love it.
32:43We have a couple other lucky spots.
32:45Right up here in the front, got a four-leaf clover.
32:47But I got something else for you.
32:49What's that?
32:49Your key, sir.
32:50Oh, absolutely.
32:51Look at that.
32:52A rabbit foot.
32:53A rabbit foot.
32:54Right on.
32:54Of course.
32:55Of course.
32:56I'm ecstatic.
32:57This is a stunning bike.
32:59This is everything I wanted on two wheels.
33:01Dale nailed it.
33:03It's exactly my bike.
33:04Ready for a ride?
33:05Let's do it.
33:06Watch this.
33:07Key on.
33:08Set your throttle.
33:10Just a little bit right there.
33:11And you don't even got to touch anything.
33:13Watch this.
33:15I'll meet you outside.
33:31Been working on the 1975 Scarab Kit car.
33:34The paint work's done.
33:35The interior's about done.
33:36One of the big things we had to do was put the 1200 Suzuki I had in it.
33:40We had to heavily modify the frame so that we could fit it in there.
33:44But the benefit is the great power this bike has.
33:47It's time for final assembly.
33:49All the tweaking and tuning.
33:51Make sure this thing's perfect so Ricky can go out and have a good time in it.
33:54You got it?
33:55Yep.
33:55All right.
33:56I'm dropping.
33:57You ready?
33:57Yep.
33:59Little shifter here.
34:00This is what actually came with it.
34:02I'm sure it came off a boat.
34:03It's probably on 800 C-rays out there from the 70s.
34:11I'll steady it and you bolt her in.
34:16Kid cars like this, it's hard to get into places the way things are angled.
34:20A lot of times you just can't see.
34:22You just have to work by feel.
34:24We took everything off the motorcycle that could be taken off of it.
34:28There's no parts that the motorcycle had that we could utilize that we didn't.
34:32All the controls, the tachometer, the wiring, everything came off the motorcycle.
34:44That's it. Looks pretty good.
34:49Jeremy?
34:50Yeah?
34:51Push me out in this thing.
34:52Yeah.
34:53This whole project's been a big experiment.
34:56We've never worked on anything like this.
34:58Probably nobody else has either.
34:59We're going to take it out for a test drive.
35:01I can't wait to see people's face when I drive down the road in this.
35:03It's going to be awesome.
35:07How's this sound, man?
35:08Seems like it's running really good.
35:10Let's do this.
35:14Ah.
35:19The hell was that?
35:20Jeremy!
35:21What?
35:21Rock this thing a little bit.
35:31There you go.
35:38Whoa, whoa!
35:40Hey!
35:42It ain't gonna happen.
35:45I got nothing now, dude.
35:48Let me get something to have a starter.
35:52Ethan.
36:07Nope.
36:07It ain't gonna do it, dude.
36:09It broke it.
36:10I heard something.
36:11I guarantee I broke the starter on this thing.
36:13Damn it.
36:15this let's get it inside all right hang on dude why don't you open this thing up so i can
36:24get
36:24out of here we don't need this crap the scarab keeps stalling out i'm trying to start it i've
36:33hit the starter a few times to get this thing running i've heard a noise i think i broke the
36:37starter this hurdle's really gonna hurt us bad uh money wise we got time i gotta pay these guys
36:43that are working for me and i gotta buy parts now this really sucks all right that's enough
36:48light this on fire i don't care
37:00uh take a look while i'm doing it make sure nothing's binding
37:08the scarab motor sounded great when we fired up and then it died on me
37:12i know better but i kept trying to start it and i think i'd burn up the starter
37:16the hell was that damn it unfortunately now i have to call rick my customer it's gonna kill
37:22me personally to not meet a deadline and it's gonna kill me financially to have to fix things
37:28that i wasn't planning on doing to begin with is that moving at all no let's put it up in
37:34the air
37:38grab the ladder
37:40yeah yeah i forgot to tighten it up that's what i get for staying up all night because of the
37:48tight
37:48deadline on this project we've been working massive hours i didn't double check everything i usually do
37:53or should oh is it just two bolts loose yeah i just didn't tighten it up at all okay push
38:00the shifter
38:01forward i had to make a bracket to hold the shifter cable in and i actually just forgot to tighten
38:07it up
38:07when i was done so this has been kind of a rush job we've been slammed with work and uh
38:15every once
38:16in a while you just kind of get a little off today's an off day release that for me jeremy
38:21make sure
38:22that ladder's not near the car thank you
38:27that wheel off the ground yeah okay let's try this again
38:34okay it's in neutral
38:39perfect we're all set
38:44ricky what's up how you doing buddy hey another day in paradise baby today is the day man today is
38:50the day pretty excited yes you ready to see this thing i am i am hey andy
38:59look at this thing oh my god
39:04holy cow what a difference i'm amazed man oh yeah wow how's that ready what's up man how you doing
39:12man
39:12got it a little bit of extra time but i think it was worth it what a difference man how's
39:17it going man
39:18how you like that oh man that's badass you remember that old rusty grill there yeah
39:23got that cleaned up for you i got a magic solution we soaked it in didn't send it out
39:27for rechrome save you a little bit of money got all that goop off there the paint is just amazing
39:32on this thing compared to what it was we put a lot of work in that you know this thing
39:36to me looks
39:36like a ufo so that's what i want with something that looked like aluminum nice nice i went through
39:42the interior that's the old carpet i just re-dyed it what a difference i got my mom to sew
39:48up the seat
39:48covers and the dash cover for you you got a nice job it was going to cost a bunch of
39:53money i put wheels
39:53on it we put the bonneville salt flat caps on there i think it fits those are perfect with the
39:59paint
39:59yeah we're going to show you where we did all the work this is what i want to see i
40:03know you do
40:08wow that's that old suzuki 1200 i had sitting there man it uh been sitting there for years
40:13and this is a good place to put it if you look man we cut it right here um had
40:18to chop basically
40:19the top half of the bike off put some new struts in there it just it was too wide for
40:23the car so we
40:24moved everything up here that's a fuel cell of a race car good and safe for you was that about
40:30two
40:30gallons four and a half oh wow yeah so you can drive all day on that yeah got rid of
40:35the mold
40:35trailer lights they had back here put some leds on there i threw away the whole electrical system on
40:40this thing and made the bike the power for everything so if you need parts you can go down
40:45the bike shop and pick up stuff yeah how's it run well we'll get this back piece on real quick
40:51once you get on over there and hop in and i'll show you how she works we'll take it for
40:55a ride that
40:55sounds good there we go the engineering that went into installing this bike into
41:00this kit was just amazing andy really pulled it off i look forward to uh driving this thing on
41:06where i can open this thing up and really see what it has turn the key on here you got
41:11a starter
41:12switch right here the same as a motorcycle pushing the clutch you should be ready to rock on all right
41:17we're going to take off pull all the way back this first gear all right now we'll fire it on
41:21up man
41:21all right all right pull that thing back and let's go for a ride all right
41:30the great part about the scarab is that when there's snow on the ground but not on the roads
41:34it's you know you can stay nice and cozy in there and it's just perfect the scarab looks great it
41:40runs
41:40great it looks like a creature from outer space the best part is you don't get to ride a motorcycle
41:46in
41:46michigan in the winter time but now he does
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