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00:00Coming up on American Restoration.
00:02This is a great bike.
00:03I would love to get it running to the wall of death.
00:05It's stuck.
00:06Oh, look!
00:07You see what I'm seeing?
00:08Wow.
00:09Unbelievable.
00:11There she is, man.
00:12Holy ****.
00:14You want to jump in and go for a ride?
00:16I'm driving.
00:17Yee-haw!
00:18It'll be a double-sided sign.
00:20And can you put neon on both sides?
00:22Wow.
00:25Yee-haw!
00:26Across this country,
00:27five shops are breathing new life
00:29into classic American designs.
00:32From rusted-out Mustangs
00:34to broken-down Harleys
00:36and everything in between.
00:39Each job has a story.
00:42Love these things.
00:43Woo!
00:47This is American Restoration.
00:58This thing arrived yesterday.
01:01I got started on it this morning.
01:03I got the handlebars back on here.
01:04Give me a hand taking this thing out.
01:06Your dad showed me this bike probably 30 years ago.
01:09I've got Grady here at the shop today.
01:11His dad and I went way back.
01:13He owned a Harley shop in Texas.
01:15Grady sent me a bike from his dad's collection,
01:17and I couldn't be more thrilled
01:18than to dig into this crate.
01:20Physically, it's in pretty great shape.
01:21It looks really good.
01:22It looks good,
01:23but my dad never got this bike running.
01:25He said the engine's locked up.
01:27Really?
01:29It's frozen all right.
01:31But I think, all in all,
01:33considering it's almost 100 years old,
01:35it's really in pretty good shape.
01:36This is a great bike.
01:38The Scout was the invention of Charles Franklin,
01:40who came here from Ireland in 1911.
01:42The Charles Franklin Design Indian
01:44was one of the best Indians ever built.
01:46Simple design, side valve engine,
01:49runs consistent.
01:50It's really a great bike.
01:52What exactly do you want me to do to it?
01:53Well, you've got a wall of death coming,
01:56and I would love to get it running
01:58in the wall of death.
01:59Well, the wall is going to be here for a couple days,
02:01so we do have a shot.
02:02The Indians still run on the wall of death today.
02:05The wall of death is a 100-year-old carnival attraction.
02:08It visits wheels through time once a year.
02:11Daredevil motorcycles ride around
02:12on a 15-foot wall and a giant drum.
02:15It's really something to see in person
02:16and it's showing up here next weekend.
02:18You know, the motor drone
02:19would never be the same without an Indian.
02:22This Scout actually was a motor drone motorcycle.
02:25It is one of two that the family have
02:27that were what we call wall climbers,
02:30the bikes that would go right in the motor drone.
02:33Colors, very typical of a wall bike.
02:35Always multicolored
02:36and usually almost always greasy and oily.
02:39They weren't big on, you know,
02:41spit polish and clean.
02:42They were too busy trying to haul these things
02:44from one place to the next
02:46and getting down off that wall in one piece.
02:48What do you think?
02:48You got a shot?
02:49If I had a couple days with it,
02:50I think we have a pretty good shot.
02:51And, you know, it's a very mechanical thing.
02:53It's a 750 V-twin engine.
02:56It has four valves and two pistons
02:57and a set of rods.
02:58And if I can make that thing go round and round,
03:00the Magneto's got some spark.
03:02We might be able to make it run.
03:04It would really be great to give this classic bike
03:06its moment of glory on the wall of death.
03:08I'll need to get it running
03:09and get it running extremely consistently.
03:17Bob, you're going to love working on this bike.
03:19Wait till you see this thing.
03:20This is not a bike.
03:21This is Charles Franklin's gift of the 20th century.
03:24There are 10 all-time great bikes in the world, possibly.
03:26This is always in the list.
03:28It's a good thing this is one of Bob's
03:29all-time favorite motorcycles
03:31because he's going to be pulling a few long days
03:33to get this thing on the wall of death this weekend.
03:35And it doesn't turn over.
03:37No, the engine's stuck.
03:38So here's what I want you to do.
03:40Crack the bolts loose,
03:41we're going to take the head off this thing
03:43and see what we got.
03:44If this thing has a cracked piston,
03:46that would be a bad thing.
03:48Okay, see if that thing will pop off there.
03:50Fantastic.
03:50One, two, three.
03:52Oh, all right, it's moving.
03:53It's moving.
03:54All right, it's off.
03:55Look at that.
03:56The head's clean.
03:58It looks good.
03:58The valves all look good.
04:00The piston looks great.
04:02I can't see the oversize on the piston.
04:04So really there's no reason why this thing is stuck.
04:06What is going on?
04:09Look at that, Dale.
04:10It won't turn over.
04:11It's stuck.
04:12I thought I saw it move a little.
04:14No, it's stuck.
04:15Oh, look.
04:16You see what I'm seeing?
04:17Look at that.
04:18There's a bolt stuck in there.
04:22With this bolt being stuck in that place for decades
04:25and the engine not turning,
04:26this can cause problems.
04:28Pistons could be rusted up.
04:30Valves could be frozen.
04:31If the engine doesn't turn, it's not good.
04:33Okay, the intake valve's opening,
04:35so fuel is coming into the combustion chamber.
04:37Right.
04:38Gasoline is going through the carburetor,
04:40into the engine,
04:41and then it comes around.
04:43Power stroke.
04:43That's the power.
04:44All of that work for that one motion.
04:46Well, we got a lot of good stuff going.
04:48We need one thing.
04:49Spark.
04:50You got it.
04:50Now that we know the engine has all its parts in order
04:53and it turns,
04:53the next thing to do is see if it has spark.
04:55If I can get that spark to the spark plug,
04:57that'll be the final ingredient.
04:59We can get this machine to run.
05:01All right, how we doing?
05:02No.
05:04No.
05:04No, we got issues.
05:06No spark.
05:07Nothing.
05:08Nothing.
05:09I can't believe it's turning over so much.
05:10It's turning over great,
05:12but we got no spark.
05:13All right.
05:14No spark.
05:16All right, that's an issue.
05:29All right.
05:31I get no better joy
05:33than showing a customer their car for the first time.
05:36It's the best feeling in the world.
05:38George came to me with a 65 Mustang.
05:40We doubled the horsepower,
05:41gave it a badass paint job,
05:43modernized it while keeping that vintage feel.
05:46He's going to dig this thing big time.
05:49There she is, man.
05:51Holy...
05:56That's incredible.
05:58I'm just in awe.
05:59It's got to be one of the nicest Mustangs out there.
06:02That's what I wanted to hear.
06:04700 horsepower.
06:05That's scary.
06:07It is a rocket ship.
06:08You are going to love it.
06:10Got the 1936 Ford Washington Blue
06:13and the Porsche White.
06:14Made the car pop.
06:16Window cranks.
06:17Looks like a manual crank.
06:18Push it up.
06:19Window goes up.
06:20The cigarette lighter is the e-brake.
06:23Push it in.
06:24Brake goes on.
06:25Just like James Bond.
06:26That's great.
06:30That sounds great.
06:35Oh, that's fantastic.
06:36You want to jump in and go for a ride?
06:38I'm driving.
06:39Okay.
06:40Take a 50-year-old classic,
06:41give it a new lease on life with all new features,
06:43and you've got yourself a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.
06:48Of course, this thing doesn't just look good.
06:50This thing hauls ass.
06:53Oh, it feels great.
06:55Man, you can score it right here.
06:58Do it.
07:08That's awesome.
07:18Hey, how you doing, buddy?
07:20Long time no see.
07:22What's up, Louis?
07:23Louis is an old friend of mine from way back in the day.
07:25Fun guy to go drink beer with because he makes his own stuff and he knows a lot about it.
07:30He's got a lot of old Americana stuff around his place,
07:33so it's always interesting to see what he's going to bring next.
07:35An old Royal Crown Cola dispenser.
07:38Look at that.
07:38Yep.
07:39You remember these things before there was a thousand different energy drinks on the shelves?
07:43Royal Crown was founded in 1905 by a pharmacist at a small grocery store in Columbus, Georgia
07:48over a pricing dispute with a local Coca-Cola bottle.
07:52So I was hoping that you could do something with this.
07:55What are you thinking?
07:56Well, you know I'm into the homebrewing thing.
07:58Yeah.
07:58And I got this big holiday party coming up,
08:01and a lot of guys in my club are brewing some special beers,
08:04and I want to have a special dispensing system for it.
08:06I think that's a pretty cool idea.
08:08Same paint job and everything?
08:10Same color?
08:11I'm, you know, I'm open.
08:12What you think looks nice, I think would be, I'll be happy with.
08:15We do need to make this thing fit two small kegs.
08:17Okay.
08:18I can give you all the dimensions, samples of my kegs.
08:21Okay.
08:22I'll take on any project where I can put my own spin on a piece of classic Americana.
08:27This kegerator is just that.
08:28It's allowing me to keep the old vintage feel on the outside,
08:32but putting new modern technologies on the inside.
08:34But here's my problem.
08:36I need it quick.
08:38Would you take a look around you?
08:40I'm so slammed right now.
08:42When do you need it, bud?
08:42Can you do it in a month?
08:46All right.
08:47Do it?
08:47For you, I will.
08:49Awesome.
08:49All right, Luke.
08:50Thank you so much.
08:50Good seeing you, man.
08:51All right, you too.
08:52We'll see you later.
08:52I'll bring beer.
08:53Bring a lot of it.
09:00We've got to start pulling this thing apart and taking all the insides out.
09:04It smells like an old refrigerator.
09:06Right?
09:07For starters, we've got to get it retrofitted for a modern cooling system.
09:14Pretty heavy contraptions.
09:16And that's old school insulation right there.
09:19There it goes.
09:21We've got to get rid of all this old insulation that's been in there for a million years.
09:26It's old fiberglass.
09:27It's got the little needles that get into your skin.
09:29We need a cleaner, more modern way to keep Lewis's brew cold.
09:33Oh, yeah.
09:34That added a bunch of room.
09:36Keep waiting to find the dead rat that was living in here.
09:38I see all the droppings.
09:40It's disgusting.
09:46Look at that little old motor.
09:48That thing's pretty badass.
09:49It's so simple back in the day.
09:51I bet you if we plugged it in, it still was working.
09:53I'll stand back.
09:59Ha!
09:59It works!
10:00That's what you call American built right there.
10:03That's for sure.
10:06Whew!
10:08Now that we've ripped all that stuff out, there's so much room in here.
10:10All kinds of room.
10:12Go ahead and start the metalwork.
10:13I'll go see what Mitchell's doing and help him figure out what we're going to use.
10:19Let me ask you a question.
10:20If this thing was running, would you put it on the wall?
10:22If it runs.
10:23If it runs.
10:24That's the thing.
10:25Moment of truth.
10:26Here we go.
10:37What's the plan here, Steve?
10:38Slide her down and cut this end off?
10:40That's what I'm thinking.
10:41I've got a customer, Alan.
10:43He actually started and ran one of the biggest donut bakeries in the country, right here in
10:48upstate New York.
10:49And he's brought me this vintage neon donut sign to completely revamp for.
10:54We'll get two new sheets of steel, so it'll be a double-sided sign.
10:57Okay.
10:58We'll build our can to be probably a foot deep.
11:01And can you put neon on both sides?
11:03Neon on both sides.
11:04Our first step is to build a sheet metal box, and that will act as the structure for the
11:08two-sided sign.
11:09And house all of the circuitry and transformers that will power the neon tubes.
11:14Like it?
11:14Yep.
11:15Go.
11:19Okay.
11:20Let's cut the other sign face, stand them up, build the can, figure out where the transformer's
11:25got to go.
11:26I think Bill should be here in a few, do some graphic design work, lay out exactly how the
11:30paint work's going to go.
11:31We're sticking with the same 1950s style of Allen's sign, but we need to resize everything, and
11:37he also wants a new color scheme.
11:38Luckily, my buddy Bill brings his mobile design truck right to my shop.
11:43What do you got?
11:44Here's our next project.
11:46Steve is a good friend of mine.
11:48He's also a customer.
11:50The stuff he does blows me away.
11:52He's really a talented cat.
11:54This is one face.
11:55It's got to say the donut hole, just like that.
11:58And the other side, it's got to just say donuts.
12:00All right.
12:01Give me a little bit, we'll take care of it.
12:04Perfect.
12:05This is fairly basic layout.
12:07The neon is what's going to make this thing special.
12:10It really is going to pop the sign.
12:12I like that.
12:14We got to keep it looking like that porcelain sign from the 50s.
12:17All right.
12:17Just like you got it right there, I think that's perfect.
12:20All right.
12:20Just the solid black letters and the outline like that, once we highlight that with neon,
12:24that's going to be perfect.
12:25With our design set, Bill's going to print out a vinyl mask that I'll use to spray in all
12:30the different colors.
12:31This sign is going to be wicked cool.
12:33Perfect.
12:34All right.
12:35Yeah, we get that right there, glue in there, that's going to be good.
12:38Next year, that yellow is just going to pop.
12:40Get this new done.
12:41All right.
12:41Thanks, partner.
12:42See ya.
12:42Yeah, we'll see ya.
12:51Pete finished repairing the old donut sign and built a two-sided light box around it.
12:55I'm going to take the vinyl mask that Bill just made and get all of our colors painted in.
12:59First things first, we're going to spray this whole sign yellow.
13:02Once the yellow dries our base coat, we're going to come in, we're going to do all of
13:06our lettering, tape that off, spray our red.
13:09Once our red's dry, we're going to tape that off, spray our blue, untape everything.
13:13There's our design, and we'll clear it.
13:15Be ready to put the neon tubes in.
13:17It's very important to wear a paint suit, not just to protect your clothing and yourself,
13:22but to protect the paint itself.
13:23Everything that we do, we try to keep the paint job as clean as possible so that you
13:27don't see any dust or anything like that.
13:33So what we're doing here is reducing the paint, and basically that just makes it sprayable.
13:38I'm going to go make the boots on and get this done.
13:50Once the yellow base coat is dry, I can add the vinyl mask to the bill cut for me, and
13:55then I'll be able to spray the red lettering.
14:03All right, we're going to give that about 15-minute flash time, come back, spray the last coat
14:08of red.
14:09Hour later, I'll tape everything else up.
14:11We'll get the blue sprayed, untape it, clear coat this thing.
14:14We'll be done.
14:30The Wall of Death is officially here.
14:32We're going to get set up for tomorrow's show.
14:34This attraction is going to bring people far and wide to wheels through time, all to see
14:39Charlie Ransom and his crew perform a feat that no normal person would do.
14:49Charlie, you're here!
14:50Dale, good to see you, buddy.
14:51Good to see you.
14:52Good seeing you, too.
14:53Wall's here.
14:54Gotta love it, man.
14:55Look at this weather we're going to have.
14:57You're going to be going round and round.
14:58Beautiful Maggie Valley.
15:00I'm Charlie Ransom, and I ride a motorcycle on the side of a straight-up-and-down board
15:04wall.
15:05Wall of Death's an old carnival show.
15:07We go to town-to-town just like they did back in the day.
15:10In the 30s, these were huge.
15:12What year is your bike you're riding?
15:14The Scout I'm going to ride, it will be the 26.
15:16They're Indians?
15:17Yes.
15:18I've got a question for you.
15:19You know a lot about Indians, and I've got an Indian I'd like you to take a look at.
15:22Well, let's go look at it.
15:23Let's go check it out.
15:24Come on.
15:24All right.
15:25My customer, Grady, was adamant we'd get his father's 27 Indian Scout back on the wall
15:29of death while it's here this weekend.
15:31But I'm having trouble getting spark to the engine.
15:33I'm really more well-versed on Harleys.
15:35That's why I'm going to get Charlie to help me on this Scout.
15:38He's been riding Indians on the wall for years.
15:40He's really an expert.
15:41Oh, man, you didn't tell me it was a wall bike.
15:43No, I didn't.
15:45Holy cow.
15:45I wanted to surprise you.
15:47These Indian Scouts are the perfect tool for the showman.
15:50The way their frame was designed and the motion of the engine with the gear drive is very
15:54smooth to trick ride.
15:56Let me ask you a question.
15:57If this thing was running, would you take that thing on a wall?
16:01See if it runs and how well it's going to run.
16:05If it runs, that's the thing.
16:07Let's hope so.
16:08Let's get started.
16:09Let's go.
16:14We got the head on it.
16:16We've got two spark plugs.
16:17Okay, you know what the routine is.
16:19Let's get the plugs in it, put some gas in it.
16:20If we got spark, gas, and compression.
16:25My old friend Ken's son, Gravy, shipped us the old 1927 Indian Scout to see if we can
16:30get this old beauty running on the wall of death this weekend.
16:33If I can get that thing running right, it'll be up to Charlie to ride the bike on the wall.
16:36It's his call.
16:38Turn that thing over.
16:39Turn that thing.
16:40Look at that.
16:41Yeah.
16:41As clean as can be.
16:43And here, hit her again.
16:44Watch this.
16:46You got compression.
16:47You got compression.
16:48All right.
16:48But what it doesn't have, it's got no spark.
16:52Oh.
16:53That's an Edison split door for Magneto.
16:56Right.
16:56But to change the Magneto, you got to take all that apart.
16:58Well, it's a good possibility it's not the Magneto.
17:02There's nothing to go wrong, but it's got a kill switch on it.
17:06Yeah, the kill switch goes up to here.
17:07Right, and it's soldered to another wire in there, and very well could be rubbing on
17:11whatever underneath that rubber.
17:13And that could be just keeping it killed all the time right now.
17:16Hang on a second.
17:17We've got a short where this thing is killing the Magneto all the time.
17:21Now, we can leave the wire off the machine, but if Charlie was on the wall riding a bike
17:26without a kill button, it would be a total disaster.
17:29If this thing went wide open for any crazy reason, couldn't shut the engine off, he'd
17:34fly out of that wall like a beach.
17:36Anybody got a pocket knife?
17:37Sure.
17:38You know, when you cut wires that have been taped to a bike 50 or 60 years, it gives me
17:42goosebumps, but I'm going to cut them.
17:47Look at that.
17:48Look at the red paint.
17:49That paint's been on that tape for a long time.
17:52Long time.
17:52Rather it was 50 or 60 years old.
17:54It was probably applied with a brush, too.
17:56That's the way the carnival guys used to do it.
17:59I almost got the wire off.
18:01Look at here.
18:02Look at that corrosion right here.
18:04And then the short might have been right here.
18:07You can see the old solder right here.
18:10And if that solder was not insulated and touching that, right there is the exact spot where the
18:15problem was.
18:16Found it.
18:16Probably what happened is the tape corroded over time.
18:20So put some tape around here to make sure it doesn't touch.
18:23Right here.
18:24Okay.
18:25Now.
18:26Moment of truth.
18:27Here we go.
18:28Go for it.
18:31Hit it again.
18:33There we go.
18:34There's our spark.
18:35That spark is great.
18:36Time to go to work.
18:38Get that fire extinguisher.
18:39We're not taking any chances.
18:42Okay.
18:43Charlie, this is it.
18:46I got it choked.
18:48Prime.
18:49You know the drill.
18:50Yep.
18:54That's a wall bike wanting to run.
18:56Let's help it out a little bit.
18:57Let's give it a little bit of a shot right in the cylinders.
19:00One drop in there.
19:02Is this how you do this?
19:03In a wooden building?
19:05Got a drop in there.
19:06Who's got the funnel?
19:08I got it right here.
19:09Okay.
19:10Gas her up.
19:13Let's fire this thing, man.
19:15Okay.
19:15I'm taking the choke off all the way.
19:17And I got the gas.
19:19All right.
19:19All right.
19:19We got to mess with this.
19:27That's how she's supposed to sound.
19:41Charlie, what do you think?
19:44She wants to run.
19:46She feels good.
19:47Would you put it on the wall?
19:50I think the bike's right.
19:52Hey, it'd be an honor to ride something like this.
19:54Ah, really?
19:54Yeah, and this has history.
19:56It should be back in there.
19:58I can't thank you enough, man.
19:59Thanks, guys.
20:00Drop that back in.
20:00Let's get the front wheel up on this thing.
20:02I'm going to go get it finished, guys.
20:03Good luck out there, man.
20:15We got the old RC Cola machine emptied and cleared out.
20:19While we're waiting for the new refrigeration system to come in, Kirk's going to get started on the metalwork.
20:23He's got to make sure that everything's smoothed out so we can get this thing out to paint.
20:28Once we get it all dressed up, it'll look pretty sweet.
20:37I'm getting all the paint down to bare metal around these areas where these holes are so that there isn't
20:42contaminants in my weld.
20:44When it dongs like that, they call oil cans.
20:49So I'm going to try and work a little bit of that out.
20:53When I go to weld it, it'll create a little heat in this area, and I'll be able to kind
20:59of shrink hammer it, pull it back, and hopefully get it tighter.
21:04Now that I got it all cleaned up, I'm going to get to welding up some of those holes.
21:15It's just warping around on me.
21:17Any type of heat input I give it, it's going to potentially make it worse.
21:21It's starting to bow out on me, so I was using a little bit of cool air to kind of
21:25shrink it back in as I work along.
21:32How's it going, man?
21:33It's kind of tightening up, but this is like really oil-canned right here.
21:38What is it?
21:41You know what I've been doing lately?
21:42It's getting the torch, the TIG welder, making a hot spot.
21:46It'll come out, and I get my hammer and dolly bing, bing, bing, and it pulls it super tight.
21:51It's been working great.
21:52Try it, man, because that's gnarly.
21:55It's pretty bad.
21:56Oh, man.
21:57I'll do what I can right now with that heat shrinking.
21:59It's just that one little area.
22:01I've got kind of the rest of it banged out pretty decent.
22:03I know Mitch will order all the stuff for the kegerator, so once we get it here, we'll figure out
22:08how to fit it all up and stuff.
22:10My buddy's expecting this.
22:11I know that we're busier than hell, so as quick as you can.
22:15Get it out of here.
22:16We're too busy.
22:17Sounds good.
22:17Thanks.
22:21Brady asked me, do you think you can get this motorcycle on this wall?
22:25So without further ado, take it away!
22:35What's going on, Howie?
22:37Hi, Steve.
22:38Perfect timing.
22:39We've taken Alan's basic busted-up donut sign and created this awesome two-sided light box out.
22:46But the neon lights are really going to bring this thing to the next level.
22:50So I'm visiting my neon guy, Howie.
22:52I've already sent him the pattern.
22:53He's going to get all the glass tubes bent into shape for us.
22:56I just printed out the donut pattern for the sign we're working on.
23:01And what I'm going to be doing now is taking this clear tube, and we're going to bend it to
23:05form these letters.
23:06Once all the letters are done, we'll weld them together just by heating up the glass and then fill it
23:11with gas.
23:12Howie's been doing neon work for me for a while, but I've never got to see him do this part
23:16of the process.
23:17I'm excited to see him in action, and I'm hoping I'll be able to pick up some glass bending skills
23:21while I'm here.
23:22I'll heat that area up, and then as it's bending, I'll blow into it using this blow hose.
23:28Right.
23:29That'll keep it round.
23:30Otherwise, it's going to crimp like a piece of pipe will.
23:33We're going to actually bend this glass so it points toward the U, and then bend it down to make
23:38the long portion of the T.
23:40You want to give it a try?
23:41Yeah, I do.
23:42You ever do this, people?
23:43No.
23:43Let's turn the fires on.
23:46This is a typical cannon burner that's been used in most every neon shop for 50 years,
23:52and what this does is it gives me natural gas and an air combination to give me that temperature.
23:58Because just with the flame, you just can't bend anything.
24:01You need that air to bring up that temperature to over 1,000 degrees.
24:05Nice and even.
24:07Okay, it's getting soft.
24:08You can see that.
24:10And I'm going to heat the bottom of the tube.
24:12You're putting air pressure in there right now?
24:14Just a little bit.
24:15There we go.
24:17We'll line everything up, make sure it fits.
24:20Okay, then we'll go ahead and do the next bend, which is this drop of the T.
24:24And we're going to heat this section up, and we're going to draw the tube down to follow
24:29that line.
24:29Let's go ahead and heat that, and I have the fire nice and rich right now because the glass
24:34we're using is a lead-free glass.
24:36In the industry, they've moved into lead-free over the last few years.
24:40It's a little safer to work with.
24:42Same thing with the paint industry.
24:44All right, we're all set.
24:45So we'll go back to the pattern.
24:48And that's your T.
24:49That glass will stretch a little bit for you once it gets hot.
24:52You have a little bit of time to work with it, and then once it gets cool, then your time
24:57is over.
24:58And you only get one shot at it, so there's no reheating it and coming back to it.
25:02This is the letter U. I'm going to bend this first.
25:05What we have here is a ribbon burner.
25:07It adjusts up to 16 inches in length.
25:11It's used for gentle curves, circles, anywhere where you need a little bit more glass to be
25:17softened up.
25:19Okay.
25:20This is going to get hot.
25:23How is that?
25:24Heat travel down the tube to your hand?
25:26No.
25:27Glass is a good insulator.
25:28Okay, it's getting soft.
25:30See that?
25:30Look at that.
25:30Oh, my goodness.
25:34And then we'll bring it to the pattern, line it up.
25:37That's your U.
25:38That's awesome.
25:39We'll make our marks.
25:40They join up with the T on this side, and I'll be twisting the glass around.
25:44Nice and even, getting it nice and hot.
25:47It's softening up.
25:48Have you put any air in it yet, Alex?
25:50Right now.
25:51And then the second bend will be this one.
25:54Back to the pattern.
26:00There's your U, Steve.
26:01That's really cool.
26:02I'll have all this glass bent up for you today, and we'll get it mounted up on your side.
26:07Good seeing you, Steve.
26:08Howie, thanks a lot, man.
26:09I can't wait to see the finished product.
26:11Give me a call when it's done.
26:12You got it.
26:12Thanks, buddy.
26:28All I got to do is be this loop.
26:30That wheel slides right out the back, but I got to disconnect the brake cable.
26:33And the chain.
26:34You got to screw it up.
26:35And then I got to take the chain off.
26:36This bike might look a little beat up, but it's a stunt bike.
26:39Those dings and dents in the paint job, those are irreplaceable battle scars.
26:43Restoring a bike like this isn't about a perfect look.
26:45It's about getting the bike back on the wall of death.
26:48If we can do that today, we'll have done everything Grady asked for.
26:54Give that thing a pull, Bob.
26:56Pull that thing with both hands.
26:59It's going to go.
27:00Oh!
27:01Holy cow.
27:03It's about off.
27:08As you can imagine, when you're riding sideways on a vertical wall, traction is everything.
27:13Charlie had a used set of wall tires.
27:15I think they'll do the trick.
27:17Well, these have already been on the wall once.
27:19Yeah.
27:20So, I would like to put them back on the wall in that same direction.
27:23But that's the side that the wear is going to go.
27:26And you can see the wear on this tire right along this edge here.
27:31So, you want this rubber to meet the road again right here?
27:33Yes, I do.
27:34Yes, I do.
27:35Okay, that's right.
27:36Just like that, right?
27:37Yep.
27:38Just like that.
27:40And taking that old tire off, you can throw wrenches, get that thing off there.
27:43But putting the new tire on takes a little more focus and concentration.
27:46There can be no mistakes in installing a tire.
27:48You don't want any of this dirt or pieces of old paint on this tube, because if that was in
27:54the tire inside with a chip in there, eventually it's going to rub a hole in the rubber tube.
27:58So, the whole name of this game is Clean Tire, Clean Tube, Take Your Time, Don't Pinch It.
28:04And it's just a little bit at a time.
28:08Oh, yeah.
28:11I hate to say anything at this point, but we're going to do a red base, and we're going to
28:16fade into the yellow.
28:17You have to change everything in the last minute, man.
28:20You're killing me right now.
28:22That's what I want.
28:29What started out as a dented-up old remnant of a sign is now rebuilt, repainted, and ready for the
28:35final step, installing the neon letters.
28:37Howie's got the tubes and the wiring all ready.
28:40Now we're going to mount it to the light box.
28:41Handling neon is a very delicate job.
28:44There's essentially three aspects to neon sign production.
28:47The one that's probably the hardest is the actual bending of the glass.
28:51The second one is taking that glass that you have and filling it with gas.
28:56And the third one is to take the glass and actually build the sign with it.
29:00And all it takes is just wiring the neon in place.
29:03This is the way it was done years ago.
29:05It's the way it's done today.
29:07We're just making our final connections.
29:09We're going to now move inside the sign, in the guts of the sign, and do all the electrical connections
29:15on the inside.
29:16The installation's going great.
29:18The neon is set in place.
29:19We're almost ready to light it up.
29:21This looks great, Howie.
29:22What do you say we light this baby up?
29:24Yeah, I'm excited.
29:25I'm going to turn the lights off.
29:26You want to hit the door and grab that cord?
29:28You got it.
29:30Before I get Alan down here to pick up his sign, I need to make sure that this neon lights
29:33up exactly like we envisioned.
29:35Steve, in the neon business, this is what we call the moment of truth.
29:38Let's see it.
29:41Wow.
29:42That's beautiful.
29:49Hey, what's going on, Alan?
29:51Steve, how are you?
29:51I'm great.
29:52Yeah.
29:53You remember Petey, right?
29:54Sure do, Pete.
29:54How you been?
29:56You brought us this piece of junk donut sign, right?
29:58I mean, it was rough.
30:00We had a couple faces of a sign, so you're going to be pretty amazed by what we've got here.
30:05Without further ado, I think you need to see this thing in the dark with the neons lit up.
30:09Let's hit the lights, Petey.
30:12Oh, my God.
30:14That is phenomenal.
30:16Wow.
30:17That is fantastic.
30:18Isn't it beautiful?
30:19Look at that.
30:19That's going to look phenomenal hanging in my building.
30:22This is amazing.
30:24Check out the back of this thing.
30:27Very, very, very nice.
30:30Yeah, it's one of a kind.
30:31This is really something.
30:33You got to see the paint.
30:34Let's turn the lights back on, Petey, and show them the rest of the site.
30:37Wow.
30:38Look at the quality of workmanship on this.
30:41So you want it to look like a porcelain sign.
30:43It's the yellow and the red X on it.
30:45I mean, it's perfect.
30:46Very nice.
30:47Wow.
30:48What a quality job, Steve.
30:50This is actually bodywork painted just like we do any kind of high-end car.
30:54I mean, you got five coats of clear, wet sanded, and buffed.
30:56The whole thing's been spray polyed, sanded 100,000 times.
31:00I mean, it's just perfect.
31:02This thing is going to last you forever.
31:04I mean, I know you want to put it inside, but if you ever change your mind down the road,
31:07it can go outside, too.
31:08I mean, it's weatherproof.
31:09The thing will last you forever.
31:11That is unbelievable.
31:12You know, with a sign like this, I should get back into the donut business.
31:15I think you should.
31:17Yes, Steve.
31:19Very nice.
31:19You know, I can't wait to see this thing hanging up in your place, so I think we should get
31:23it over there.
31:23What do you think?
31:24The sooner the better.
31:25All right.
31:25Let's do it.
31:26Thanks, Steve.
31:27Great job.
31:40I got some awesome old parts laying around the shop that I've been itching to use on a project like
31:45this.
31:46I'm hoping that I can come up with something for a cool handle.
31:51Lewis is into cars and stuff, so I think this will just be a cool added touch.
31:55Pull the pistons off, clean up these rods, and drill a hole and tap it right here so that they'll
32:02screw on to the handle.
32:04Kind of stick up like that.
32:05I want people to know that they're two piston rods.
32:14And then I'll run my tap through it, so that'll give it some threads.
32:18When you're first starting it, that's the crucial part because you want to make sure it's perfectly straight.
32:36I think that looks pretty good.
32:37I think that's going to be pretty cool.
32:45Hey, look at that.
32:46Ready for paint.
32:47Now that the metal work's looking really good, I got a way to keep this RC Cola kegerator cooler than
32:53cool.
32:54I hate to say anything at this point right now, but we're going to add red.
32:59We're going to do a red base, and we're going to fade into the yellow.
33:03You have to change everything at the last minute, man.
33:07I know it's last minute, but I think it needs it.
33:09I just think it's going to look better.
33:10That'll be red.
33:12It'll just, I think it'll break it up.
33:14This red, too.
33:15Oh, okay.
33:18Sorry, man.
33:19It's going to look better.
33:20Trust me.
33:20The thing is, the time.
33:21You're killing me right now.
33:23I know.
33:24You know, you told me the reveal is tomorrow.
33:27I have to take more projects to go on.
33:29That's what I want.
33:31Just let me work.
33:32Okay.
33:36Okay.
33:43Well, I think I find something that he told me that we had to check it out and see if
33:47we have enough.
33:49Because in the last moment, he told me to change it with the red.
33:53First, I'm going to shoot the yellow.
33:55I'm going to mix the yellow, and then I'm going to apply the red.
34:11It's too transparent.
34:12Like, you can see, I've already put one in coat.
34:14It doesn't cover it.
34:16So, now I have to apply one more.
34:18This is a really big problem, what I have right now, because, like you can see, we don't have enough
34:24paint.
34:33How's it going?
34:35You're coming the wrong time.
34:37I mean, I already put two coats.
34:40It's not covering anything.
34:42Will you have more paint?
34:43No.
34:45That's it?
34:45That's it.
34:46I don't understand.
34:46And you were mad at me?
34:48That's why I'm more mad right now with me, myself, because I'm really worried about it.
34:53Do we have red?
34:55Yeah, I find some.
34:57Concentrate from here up on the yellow.
35:00Okay.
35:00And then just bring the red into it.
35:02Okay.
35:03I will try that, you know.
35:05You want me to get the out?
35:07Please.
35:12You know, good thing that he came back.
35:15He taught me something good.
35:17If I don't put too much paint on the bottom, because red is going to go there, it's going to
35:22save my ass, really.
35:29Yes!
35:32I made it.
35:33I want to let it dry, and then I'm going to come back to do the red.
35:39Will the bike that's been sitting for 50 years be able to go on this wall, the wall of death?
35:52Oh, right on.
35:54Look at that.
35:54It's not 100% dry, so can we turn the fan on a little bit?
35:58Yep, I can do that.
36:00When Lewiston brought this RC Cola machine in here, this thing was a work of crap.
36:05I'm happy with the direction it's gone in with the metal work.
36:08Now we've got to prepare it, and we've got to make this kegerator fit.
36:11All right, guys, we've got the customer coming.
36:13Let's throw this together and load it with beer.
36:18Even though we've been crunching on it, this thing's coming out real nice.
36:26You're lifting up too high.
36:28Let yours in.
36:28Perfect.
36:33Okay.
36:38That looks badass, right?
36:40Came out great.
36:41You guys go ahead and wrap up here and get it ready, and I'll go grab them.
36:44Yeah.
36:49All right, see what we got here.
36:51You better like it.
36:52You and your deadline.
36:53I think Lewis is really going to like this.
36:55He's going to be pretty surprised with this transformation.
36:58It's like night and day.
36:59Holiday party's this weekend, so.
37:01Let's do it.
37:01All right, better be good to go.
37:03Check it out, man.
37:05Whoa!
37:07It is awesome.
37:09Compared to how it looked like when it came in, I cannot believe it.
37:12I cannot believe it's the same machine.
37:13Paint was the biggest issue.
37:15I know your love for cars, your passion for cars.
37:18So I wanted to kind of hot rod it out, so I came up with the red.
37:21I want it to look like smoldering fire coming up and then fade into the red lettering.
37:26I love the fade.
37:27I like the whole car theme.
37:28It's freaking bad, dude.
37:30It is really bad.
37:31It looks like it's a little bigger.
37:32It's a little bigger.
37:33We had to widen it six inches to fit the kegerator.
37:36We did the rods for handles.
37:38That's awesome.
37:39Found some old pistons and rods out back.
37:41I really like that.
37:42Like having the two taps, that's what we talked about.
37:44And we got the bottle opener for the door opener.
37:46That's the door handle.
37:46Nice, nice.
37:48Just open it up.
37:49You got the door.
37:51Oh, nice.
37:52Nice CO2 tank.
37:53Got the couplers.
37:54Looks like it's ready to go.
37:55Let's get it hooked up.
37:56I got plenty of beer.
37:57I was really concerned about the original RC Cola machine that I brought him because it
38:03was small.
38:04I was worried if he was going to be able to get the compressor in there.
38:06And by him expanding it, making it a little bit bigger, everything fits.
38:11The way he made it work is just, I just can't believe it.
38:14It's like a work of art.
38:15It's beautiful.
38:17This particular beer, I brewed it specially for the party.
38:19You're the first guy to drink it.
38:22And I'm just grateful that you got this thing done in time, buddy.
38:25Cheers.
38:25Oh, man, that makes it all worthwhile.
38:26Thanks, man.
38:40Welcome to the American Motor Drome and the Wheels Through Time Museum.
38:44We're all here today for the ultimate test.
38:47Well, the bike that's been sitting for 50 years in a garage covered in dust and crust,
38:53not only run, but to be able to go on this wall, the wall of death.
39:00The short story is, an old pal of mine, his name was Kent Waddell.
39:05And occasionally, he would let me into his private stash of ancient motorcycles at his
39:10Harley shop in Abilene, Texas.
39:1230 years ago, Kent showed me this motorcycle.
39:16Kent passed away several years ago, and his son, Grady, asked me, do you think you can get
39:21his motorcycle on this wall?
39:23So without further ado, take it away!
39:30The bike itself, 1927 Indian Scout.
39:34This was the bike of choice for the wall of death.
39:37We put a lot of time and effort into reviving it from his past life.
39:41And my friend Charlie, right here, is the guy who's going to test this motorcycle.
39:46Let's get this thing fired up!
39:50And the moment of truth is here.
39:52We've got the 27 running, and it's time to put it on the wall of death.
39:54If this bike makes it up on the wall, it'll be worth every ounce of sweat we've put into it.
39:59I'm ready to see it try, and this crowd is ready as well.
40:05This bike hasn't been on the wall for over 40 years.
40:07We've resurrected it.
40:08We're going to put it on the tracks, we're going to see where she's going to go.
40:10Charlie's going to take her up, and we're going to go for a ride.
40:14Woo!
40:15Woo!
40:16Woo!
40:17Woo!
40:18Woo!
40:19Yeah!
40:20Yeah!
40:20OK!
40:21Woo!
40:23Woo!
40:24Woo!
40:48Woo!
40:50Woo!
40:51Woo!
40:52Woo!
40:54Woo!
40:56Woo!
40:58Woo!
40:58Woo!
41:00Woo!
41:00Woo!
41:01Woo!
41:02Woo!
41:03Woo!
41:03Woo!
41:04Woo!
41:04Woo!
41:06Woo!
41:08Woo!
41:22My dad would have been thrilled to see this bike up on the wall.
41:25It's a bike it had for a long time.
41:27They'd never heard it run, they'd never seen it run, and to actually see it back in the
41:31drum, I think it would have been just a great thrill for him.
41:34Your dad would grab him.
41:35He would have loved that.
41:40We were able to bring a classic bike out of retirement, and relive an amusement tradition
41:45as all but died in this country.
41:47More importantly, we came through for Grady and my old pal Kent.
41:51And wherever he is, I'm sure he's smiling down looking at his old Indian going round
41:56and round on the wall of death.
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