- 19 hours ago
American Pickers - Season 27 - Episode 05: Lieutenants and Legends
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TVTranscript
00:00Obviously, you guys are legends.
00:02I've heard about this place before.
00:03I'm glad you're here.
00:04I am holding his cane.
00:06Oh, my gosh.
00:08Ah!
00:08Ah!
00:09Ah!
00:10Ah!
00:11They are going to be so blown away with the billboard
00:14that I have.
00:15You guys are going to freak out on this thing.
00:17Oh, man.
00:28I'm in Kansas, and I'm headed to meet Mike and Lathan
00:32at the Evel Knievel Museum.
00:35Evel Knievel was a real-life superhero.
00:39A few months ago, I was lucky enough to find not just a sign,
00:43but an original billboard from Evel Knievel's Snake River Canyon
00:46jump, $22,000, which was probably his most famous jump
00:51because he wasn't on a motorcycle.
00:53He was in a rocket.
00:55I've sent photos of the sign to the guys,
00:58and obviously, they're interested.
01:02Hey, hey, Bruce.
01:04Hey.
01:04What's going on today?
01:05Nothing, man.
01:05How you doing?
01:06Good to see you.
01:07How about yourself?
01:07I've seen you at Davenport 4, right?
01:08Yeah.
01:09Yeah.
01:09You going this year?
01:10It's been a while.
01:10No, I can't go this year.
01:11Too busy around here.
01:12I bet.
01:13I bet.
01:13Well, it's the season, man.
01:14Yeah.
01:15I'm supposed to meet Mike and Lathan.
01:17Okay.
01:17Yeah, they're in the museum right around the front of the
01:19crash car through this door.
01:20Down the media hallway, you're there.
01:22Okay.
01:24Right away, I walk in, and it is extremely impactful.
01:28I had no idea that the displays would be so intense.
01:32His leathers are there.
01:33There's video.
01:34It's interactive.
01:35His original jump bikes are on display.
01:39Wow.
01:40It's emotional.
01:41It's immersive.
01:43It's hands-on.
01:44Whoa.
01:45It's really incredible.
01:48Mike.
01:49Hey, hey.
01:50How you doing, man?
01:51You made it.
01:51Oh, my God.
01:52This is epic.
01:53I just walked through a little bit of it, and it's nuts.
01:55Hey, I'm Mike.
01:56Lathan.
01:57Nice to meet you guys.
01:58Nice to see you, man.
01:58Oh, my God.
01:59This is, like, obviously, you guys are legends.
02:01I've heard about this place before.
02:02Everybody always talks about it because it's gotten to the point now where
02:05the collection is so big that people are talking about it more and more at the antique motorcycle
02:10meets and all that stuff, so it's super cool, man.
02:13We're glad you're here.
02:14I'm Mike Patterson.
02:15This is Lathan McKay, and we are co-founders of the Evel Knievel Museum.
02:19So I'm a kid from the 70s, and if you were anybody in the 70s, you knew who Evel Knievel
02:25was.
02:25It started with my father.
02:27He just said you can do anything you put your mind to, and that was Evel Knievel's message.
02:32Don't just exist.
02:34Don't just truly live your life.
02:35I've heard about this collection a lot just because I collect old motorcycles and stuff,
02:39and we're always looking for anything directly connected to Evel.
02:42Like, I bought a jacket years ago from Mil Blair.
02:45He was a guy that started Easy Rider Magazine.
02:46Oh, look at this.
02:48This is pretty smokin'.
02:49Where'd you get that at?
02:50From Evel.
02:51So, you know, I'm like you guys as far as, like, we all lived vicariously through him.
02:55That's right.
02:55You know, I mean, I can't tell you how many bicycle frames I broke right at the head tube,
02:59at the down tube, jumping over stuff, snapping it, you know what I mean?
03:02We all did it.
03:03Yeah, we were all, like, neighborhood weekend legends, you know what I mean?
03:06Yeah, we did.
03:07But, you know, so anyway, I guess the point I'm trying to make is, like, just walking in here
03:11and seeing what you guys have, it's like, I know what it takes to put together a collection.
03:16Absolutely.
03:16You know, and how many miles, and how many people, and how many leads you chase.
03:19People think that it's just motorcycle people that come to our museum.
03:22Everybody from the 70s, they knew of him.
03:25I think you can see the passion and work that went into everything we've done.
03:29You look at the truck, you look at the bikes, the restorations.
03:32It's meticulous, it's studied.
03:34Somebody didn't just go buy all of this in one shot.
03:37This took over 12 years to accumulate.
03:40How did you guys get together?
03:42Ooh, that's a long one.
03:43I know I had some partners that were directly related to Jerry Lee Lewis, the entertainer.
03:48Okay.
03:49And I was having a lot of trouble restoring Evil's truck, a lot of trouble.
03:52Wow.
03:52I bought it, and it was up in Elizabeth Trucking Center in New Jersey,
03:55and it just was not happening, and I was putting a lot of pressure on them.
03:57So I just said, hey, do you know anybody? And they were like, oh, we know Mike Patterson.
04:01He restored Jerry Lee's Harley-Davidson, and he can tell you about that.
04:04So I get the call from the Lewis family, and said, we've got Evil Knievel's truck.
04:10So my ears perked up, and they said, we're having trouble getting it restored.
04:13We know you restore motorcycles, but do you guys know anybody that can restore a Mack truck?
04:18And I just kind of blurted out, we'll just figure it out.
04:21He's the guy that figures things out.
04:23It's a huge endeavor. I mean, it's like, this is a massive vehicle.
04:26I mean, think about all the trim, the paint.
04:30I mean, just the small details of all of it that make it so incredible.
04:35I mean, this isn't a motorcycle or a car. This is a huge rig.
04:40So we brought in a lot of other people, some experts.
04:43Took about two years, but we got the job done, and here it is.
04:46When Blayton and I came together to restore this Mack truck here,
04:50it just was an idea between the two of us that there wasn't an Evil Knievel Museum.
04:55And frankly, I was surprised.
04:56So one day, I was talking.
04:58I said, we should do this.
05:00And that's basically how it came about.
05:02Is this the original interior?
05:04Yeah, absolutely.
05:04Yeah, that's an original piece there.
05:06This massive rig is the locomotive that hauled all of Evil Knievel's bad assery to every jump.
05:14Get the stirrups.
05:14There you go.
05:18This is insane.
05:20Seriously, kind of a spiritual feeling sitting inside the cabin of this rig.
05:26This was an automatic too, which was very rare for semis from that era.
05:30I love the ceiling.
05:32Oh my gosh.
05:33The interior of the rig is just draped in patriotism.
05:38How else would you imagine America's superhero traveling?
05:43You got to remember, Evil Knievel came along at a time when America needed a bigger than life hero.
05:49There was a huge generation gap and a ton of social unrest.
05:54Anything from civil rights to the Vietnam War.
05:58He put on that cape and our country's colors and risked his life to show us all that no matter
06:04what was going on,
06:06no matter how bad, we were all going to get up again and it was going to be okay.
06:21Hey, Danny, what's up?
06:23What up, Danny?
06:24Good morning, boys.
06:25How are we doing today?
06:26Good.
06:26Good.
06:27Good.
06:27We're in coal country.
06:28Penn Jersey.
06:29Oh, perfect.
06:30You made it.
06:30So you're all the way out to Mount Carmel then?
06:32Yeah.
06:32Yep.
06:33Okay.
06:34So you guys are going to go see Mark.
06:35Mark has inherited his father's collection who served in the military.
06:39His father was a veteran, a mechanic, a coal miner, and he kept everything.
06:44What kind of stuff?
06:44So as I was looking through the pictures, I was seeing lots of military surplus.
06:48Sounds interesting.
06:49Sounds really cool.
06:49Yeah.
06:50Helmets, jackets, they're piled everywhere.
06:52And then on top of that, his father also collected tools.
06:56Yes.
06:56All right.
06:57Let's do it.
06:57All right, boys.
06:58You have fun.
06:58I got to get back to work.
06:59Yeah.
06:59Thank you, Danny.
07:00Woo!
07:01Yeah.
07:01Woo!
07:08It says right here.
07:09It's right here.
07:10Yeah, we're here.
07:10This is it.
07:12This is interesting.
07:12Grab a flyer.
07:15You Mark?
07:16Mark.
07:16Hi, can I help you guys?
07:17Hey, I'm John.
07:18Hi, I'm Mark.
07:19How you doing?
07:20You talked to Danielle on the phone?
07:21Oh, yeah.
07:22This is the stuff we're buying.
07:23Danny says that your dad was in the military?
07:25Yeah, he was in the military during World War II.
07:28What theater was he in?
07:29He was in Pacific Theater.
07:31My father was born in 1923, was brought up in the Depression, during the Depression.
07:37Never threw anything away.
07:39He left school in the fifth grade to go into the mines.
07:43And he worked in the mines until World War II came about.
07:47And he went into the Army, eventually transferred to the Army Air Corps.
07:53Started out in Australia and went all the way to Japan.
07:58Came home in 1946 and became a coal miner again.
08:02So how long ago did he pass?
08:04He died in 2003.
08:06He was 80 years old.
08:07Not many of those guys left.
08:09That's right.
08:10Nothing stopped these guys.
08:11They were the greatest generation.
08:13They went to war, they came home, they took care of their families,
08:16and they worked every day.
08:18They didn't think twice about it.
08:19And we're standing on their shoulders.
08:22Yeah, my dad's interest included military stuff and tools.
08:26Cool, I love that stuff.
08:27We have a lot of it.
08:28He collected military equipment.
08:30It seemed very popular during that time.
08:33We're talking, you know, 60s and 70s.
08:35If you want to look around, I'll show you some stuff.
08:37Ready?
08:38Army and Navy stores were very popular.
08:40And he used to trade with a lot of other people.
08:43So he had a pretty extensive army surplus collection.
08:47Wow.
08:47What is this?
08:48This is a compass that came from a World War II destroyer.
08:53Look at that thing, man.
08:54And it's made by the Lionel Corporation.
08:56Right?
08:57The train people?
08:57Yeah, the same people that make 027 trains.
09:01Son of a gun.
09:02The Lionel train company was actually doing stuff for the war.
09:05Oh, yeah.
09:05A lot of people, even Toy Company made guns during World War II.
09:10They had the machining abilities.
09:11They had the engineering skills.
09:13I mean, this is a beautiful piece.
09:15A compass like this is very delicate.
09:18It's got glass in it.
09:19It's got precision jewels in it.
09:21It's floating in a bath of oil.
09:23Beautifully made.
09:24I mean, you can see the bronze ring around here, the engraving on here.
09:27I mean, this is typical of high-end engineering and machine work.
09:30It's enclosed and ensconced in a bronze case with a thick glass top.
09:35It's got engravings of all the compass headings you would use.
09:38It's marked 1944.
09:40So that means it was in World War II.
09:42It's interesting to me because, I mean, first off, it's World War II.
09:45It's gray, navy.
09:48And it's marked U.S. Navy.
09:49It has a flag on the front.
09:52Mark 1, navy standard, illuminated compass.
09:56Whoa.
09:57So this thing would come out and this would go into the binnacle.
09:59You would put this compass in this box only for transport.
10:03When you put it on a ship, it lives in a binnacle.
10:06It's in a specialized container that holds its compass.
10:10It's like a shrine for this whole thing.
10:12This is a very valuable piece of equipment.
10:14This tells you where you're going in the ocean.
10:15Yeah.
10:16Remember, Robbie, I mean, it's in World War II.
10:17They didn't have GPS.
10:18Oh, I know.
10:19You ain't using this thing to go get a pack of cigarettes
10:21down at a corner store.
10:22You're using this thing to get to Germany.
10:24Retail on a compass like this is probably around 500 bucks.
10:28I mean, I wouldn't get rid of it for less than 300.
10:31That's the lowest I would go.
10:35Done.
10:35Thank you, buddy.
10:36I appreciate you.
10:37This is cool.
10:38Oh, I love it.
10:39All these empty here, Mark?
10:41I don't know.
10:43They should be.
10:44I mean, the cool thing about this is you cleaned it up
10:46and you can put this in your house.
10:48Yeah, well, this is brass, Robbie.
10:50Oh, I know.
10:50Imagine this stuff all polished up, man.
10:52Most people would look at this cabinet and think,
10:54oh, I'm just going to stick it in a garage.
10:55No.
10:56People are looking for that look.
10:58They want that paint peeling off of it.
11:00People are trying to recreate a finish like this nowadays.
11:02I would just knock down all the big flakes
11:04and put a sheen sealer on it.
11:06But it's just cool.
11:07I mean, it's just like the quality they made things back then.
11:11275.
11:13Come up a little bit.
11:14300.
11:15I get it.
11:16300.
11:17Sounds good.
11:17All right.
11:17Thank you, buddy.
11:18That's great.
11:30This is the holy grail.
11:32The mothership.
11:33Oh, my gosh.
11:34There you go.
11:35This is it.
11:35The mothership.
11:37Oh, my gosh.
11:38So how much of this is like authentic?
11:41Pretty much all of it.
11:43Really?
11:43Yeah.
11:43We were able to save all the paneling.
11:45This chair is original.
11:47All of these trophies are original.
11:49This is speak no evil.
11:50See no evil.
11:51Hear no evil.
11:52This is the original photo of him drinking a beer.
11:54Oh, he's sitting in that chair.
11:56This thing is like a roving Graceland.
11:58He was the king of motorcycle daredevils.
12:02All right, dude.
12:03I got to sit in this chair, man.
12:05I got to do it.
12:06The chair's the thing.
12:07I got to do it.
12:07The cane's right there to your left.
12:09There's your cane.
12:10Oh, he's got a bracket for the cane.
12:11Yeah, and it's in the picture.
12:13It's filled with wild turkey.
12:14Is it really?
12:15Not right now.
12:15Someone drank it all.
12:16That was his drink of choice.
12:17For sure.
12:17And Olympia beer, obviously.
12:19Olympia beer and wild turkey.
12:20No kidding.
12:20So, like, what year do you think this is from?
12:2273.
12:23Wow.
12:25I am sitting in his chair.
12:28I am holding his cane.
12:31Oh, my gosh.
12:33I can't imagine how anything else in this museum
12:36can be more impactful than this moment.
12:40So, did he need a cane?
12:42After the Caesars Palace crash, he was broke up pretty good.
12:45And he actually lived with one leg a little bit shorter than the other.
12:49Okay.
12:50And the cane was maybe to help at that point.
12:53But then it became a part of his showmanship and his personality.
12:56So, it evolved.
12:57I just can't stop grabbing onto this cane, dude.
12:59It's a cool piece.
13:00It's like, I'm like, this is so cool, man.
13:02It's iconic.
13:02It's working on evil's cane.
13:03Yeah.
13:03I mean, if I saw nothing else the rest of the day,
13:06other than this right here standing in this room and holding onto his cane and sitting in his chair,
13:10I'd be content.
13:10Mike, there's a lot more to look at.
13:12A lot more.
13:13Let's do it.
13:19What is going on with these crates?
13:21Let me bring one out.
13:21Those crates, before they had the plastic pelican boxes for equipment,
13:29they used to use these aluminum ones for radios.
13:32These are aluminum?
13:33Yeah, they're aluminum.
13:34This is all aluminum.
13:35Yeah.
13:36So, this could be...
13:36A hundred percent.
13:37This could be polished out to be like an aircraft fuselage.
13:41Yeah, if you want.
13:42Let's see what this thing looks like.
13:43Oh, it's full of stuff in there.
13:44Yeah, there's military stuff in each of them.
13:46They're made in New York City.
13:48Binocular case.
13:49Look at the top of that thing, like the seal on that.
13:52I just like...
13:52I mean, what attracts me is the size of these, because this is like end table world, you know?
13:57Like, this is like industrial design has infiltrated interior design.
14:04I'm a furniture guy.
14:05That's what I've been doing my whole life.
14:06These are attractive because they're like 21 inches tall, which is, that's like coffee table height.
14:10I love the way that we interact with furniture, how it makes us more comfortable,
14:14and how it gives us style and grace in our homes.
14:18Man, there's stuff inside these suckers.
14:20This is something you could use for a storage container,
14:23but you also use it for an end table or a coffee table in your home,
14:26and it's got a great industrial appeal.
14:28I love those red ones, Robbie.
14:30This is OD green.
14:32The versatility of these crates, it would appeal to me at first.
14:37So, Mark, do you know what's in these crates?
14:39No.
14:40In fact, a lot of these crates probably haven't been open since the 70s.
14:44No kidding.
14:44Yeah.
14:45Oh, it's got latches on each side.
14:46It's amazing how much, how much hardware.
14:49Literally, it's, it's almost like these things were,
14:52they could have thrown them off a plane and they would have floated in the water.
14:56I mean, they're beautifully made.
14:57Yeah.
14:58Wow.
15:00These are all wool uniforms.
15:01Nice stuff.
15:03There you go, Jersey.
15:03Blast mask.
15:04Yeah.
15:05Yeah.
15:05Look at that.
15:06That's probably Korea.
15:07Yeah.
15:08That's a blast shield.
15:11Robbie, you look good.
15:12That's an improvement, dude.
15:13You should wear that all the time.
15:14Looks great on you, man.
15:16Whatever.
15:16Really, seriously, dude.
15:19Shirt flying heavy.
15:22I mean, the quality of this stuff is amazing.
15:26Fits you perfectly.
15:26Almost fits me like a glove.
15:28Yes.
15:28These blue shirts immediately appeal to me.
15:31I mean, I think those good looking shirts.
15:32Beautifully put together.
15:34Quality stitching, quality material.
15:36No moth holes in them.
15:37They've been stored well.
15:39Nice, dry storage.
15:40They're like brand new.
15:42Beautifully tailored.
15:43They're like new old stock, Jersey.
15:44Yeah.
15:45I mean, was this work wear?
15:46They're tailored so nice, they could almost be formal wear.
15:50They were made for combat use.
15:51Well, U.S. Air Force.
15:53There's a tag right on it.
15:55They changed over from the Army Air Corps to the Air Force in what?
15:5847?
15:5947.
15:5947.
15:59Yeah.
16:00And Korea didn't start until 50.
16:0250.
16:02So, yeah.
16:02So, this is probably...
16:04Post World War II, Korea.
16:06Size, large.
16:07It feels like a medium.
16:08Well, guys were smaller back then.
16:10Yeah.
16:11They're really nice, man.
16:12I love the blue.
16:13These coveralls, one of these shirts.
16:14You know, the khaki stuff is cool.
16:16What does that say on it?
16:16Oh, this is cool.
16:17This is really cool.
16:18This is the United States...
16:19That looks like a herringbone twill.
16:20This is Marine Corps.
16:21Yeah, herringbone twill.
16:23That's what the Marine Corps used during World War II.
16:26This is like a work wear jacket that anybody could use.
16:29They were very well made.
16:31People are always looking for stuff like these.
16:34Large, large.
16:35I don't see any of this part.
16:37That's it?
16:37Just four of them?
16:38A shirt like this, it could run 250 bucks brand new.
16:41We could put these on the shelf for 100 bucks each.
16:44There are a lot of buyers out there today that will appreciate both their quality and the history.
16:49These retail about 100 bucks a piece.
16:51Mm-hmm.
16:51How about 50?
16:5250 bucks a piece?
16:53Yeah.
16:54Yeah.
16:54Sounds good.
16:55Thanks, man.
16:56That's cool.
16:56I love it.
17:00So, what is this then?
17:01What's this version of it?
17:02Why is this the same rig?
17:04Yeah, it's the same rig, but it was painted.
17:05So, like, what year was it painted this color?
17:0778.
17:07This is what we ended up with.
17:09That's the color scheme, and I was like, no.
17:11We had to take it back to the big red era.
17:14The exterior skin we had to take off, and it's in our little restoration theater.
17:18We were together one day, and I was like,
17:19let's make a display out of that in the restoration video.
17:22Where's that at?
17:22Over there.
17:23Come on, we'll show it.
17:23Yeah, let me see it.
17:25Oh, man.
17:26This is all the real deal panels.
17:28Yes.
17:28We had to keep them.
17:30So, yeah, this is what it was like when we got it.
17:32And you can see the red coming through.
17:34Seeing these original panels with the faded paint, the evil logo,
17:38takes me back to when we did the Aerosmith van.
17:41I mean, there was so much of it that we wanted to preserve, and a lot of it we couldn't,
17:46you know?
17:46So, it's like, you know, obviously, the Aerosmith van was nowhere near the size of the project that they tackled
17:53here,
17:53but it was equally important because that's America's rock and roll band.
17:58You know, this guy is America's daredevil.
18:01He's America's superhero.
18:02So, I love that they created this room out of the original panels that they couldn't use.
18:08What is this?
18:09What is this?
18:09What is this?
18:10Those are his actual ramps.
18:12Really?
18:12Original ramps from 66.
18:14Which jump did he use those for?
18:15Caesars is the most famous, but...
18:17Oh, this is the ramp from Caesars.
18:18Yeah.
18:19The Caesars Palace jump is where Evel Knievel introduced himself to the world in an Evel Knievel way.
18:27As kids, we all sat on the edge of our seats watching his stunts.
18:31I mean, the guy had like a Clint Eastwood good, the bad, and the ugly swagger.
18:35Even from his very, very first jumps, he was using these ramps and never changed
18:41because I think he knew how they launched him.
18:44You know, so he wasn't building new ramps at every venue.
18:46He took these with him all the way to the end.
18:49Who designed, who helped him design the ramps?
18:51Ray Gunn.
18:52Ray Gunn?
18:52Ray Gunn was one of the...
18:53That's the guy's name, Ray Gunn.
18:54Ray Gunn was kind of Evel's speedometer.
18:56Okay.
18:56So, Evel would make the speed runs and Ray would stand there and Evel would stop and
19:00ask him, is it, yeah, it looks about right.
19:01He'd either wink or shake his head.
19:03Yeah.
19:03He did this and waited for the win.
19:06Yeah.
19:07So, that was...
19:08Is Ray Gunn still alive?
19:09We just lost him a couple of years ago.
19:11Really?
19:11But were you able to get him on film or anything?
19:13Oh, yeah.
19:13He came to the museum, so we...
19:16He had a great...
19:17Oh, we had a lot of great stuff.
19:18We've got interviews with him.
19:19Yeah.
19:19He was incredible.
19:20For me, that's the coolest thing.
19:25I love it.
19:27What else we got in here, Roddy?
19:29We've got to open a retro.
19:30He's seeing Christmas mornings coming out here.
19:31We've got to be thorough here.
19:33Military surplus, you don't know what you're going to get.
19:35Think about it.
19:35Anybody who had any kind of manufacturing capabilities stopped what they were doing and made stuff
19:41for the war effort.
19:42Canvas water bucket.
19:43Whether it's going to be clothing, radios, shelters, tents, tent poles.
19:47This one's got a tag on it.
19:4950 bucks a piece?
19:50Yeah.
19:50So, these are eight more here.
19:51So, 400 bucks?
19:52Sounds good.
19:53All right, dude.
19:54Got it.
19:54They were making millions and millions of products.
19:56Different kind of things that they had to fight the war with.
19:58Let's get them together, Robbie.
19:59They had to make 10,000 shirts.
20:01Look at that one.
20:03Yeah, that's cool.
20:04Oh, yeah.
20:04Yeah.
20:04And then the war ends.
20:05And you have this surplus.
20:07This is all great stuff here.
20:09This is what we're dealing with here.
20:10This is the best stuff that we found in all the boxes, but these things, these are awesome.
20:15The tweed.
20:16Look at that.
20:16Yep.
20:17There's three of them.
20:18Two of them are actually used.
20:20I like the look of the used ones better, to tell you the truth.
20:22Look at that frayed pocket.
20:23Yep.
20:24Yeah.
20:24It's war ends.
20:25So, you know, retail number on these are like 200 bucks.
20:28Can you do 100 a piece on those?
20:30Sure.
20:31Okay.
20:31All right, cool.
20:31Thanks.
20:32And then these, you know, on the sweaters, basically, you know, they're probably $100 retail.
20:37We'd do 50 bucks a piece on those.
20:38I mean, these are, these are awesome sweaters.
20:41There's 10 of the blue.
20:42Yep.
20:42Okay.
20:43There's 10 blue and three green.
20:45$50 each.
20:46Yeah.
20:46All right, buddy.
20:47Thank you, man.
20:48Good stuff.
20:49Love it.
20:49Love it.
20:50Hey, the whole thing started.
20:52Are you going to try and buy these boxes?
20:53Yeah.
20:53I love the boxes too.
20:55I mean, let's think about these boxes.
20:56Well, I'm willing to get rid of some of them.
20:5975 bucks a piece.
21:02And you got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10.
21:06Be 750 bucks.
21:07I'll tell you what.
21:08I'm going to need some of these for storage.
21:10So I will sell you six.
21:11Any six you want.
21:12Okay.
21:13For 75 a piece.
21:15All right, dude.
21:15That's good.
21:16Thank you, buddy.
21:20I can't believe how much square footage you guys have.
21:22Yeah.
21:23Ah!
21:24Have you seen this one?
21:25I've absolutely never seen this one.
21:28This is one of three signs that exist that we know of from Snake River Canyon.
21:32Yeah, yeah.
21:33Because most of them were probably set on fire.
21:36This one was taken by a guy and driven to California in the back of his van.
21:40If I saw this sign before I bought the Evel Knievel billboard that I own, I'd be like,
21:47this is the greatest thing in the world.
21:48This is advertising.
21:49This is motorcycle history.
21:51This is Evel Knievel.
21:53But I'm just thinking in the back of my mind, they are going to be so blown away
21:57when they see the billboard that I have.
22:00I want to see what you got going on already for the Snake River Canyon jump.
22:04Which, where's that at?
22:05So Evel talked about jumping a canyon soon after Caesar's Palace, which had been in 1967,
22:11and started promoting the fact that he was going to jump the Grand Canyon.
22:16Grand Canyon was not an option for him when the U.S. government said,
22:19you can't do this. So he went and found Snake River Canyon.
22:24Everything in his career was leading to that.
22:27This is one of my favorite pieces.
22:29This was specifically for the cover of Sports Illustrated.
22:32And he went down to Perrine Falls, which is where he's standing right now.
22:36Wow.
22:37And it's one of my favorite pieces because that is the rarest cape.
22:39There was only one of those capes made.
22:42Wow.
22:43When I walked up here and the way you got the clothes displayed and everything,
22:46it reminds me of the other king, Elvis.
22:50Yeah.
22:50Yeah.
22:51When you go to Graceland, they've got all his clothing behind glass like this.
22:54That's his whole concept.
22:55It was Elvis, Presley, and Liberace put together on a motorcycle.
22:57That was it.
22:58Oh, my gosh.
22:59What are these helmets from right here?
23:01Caesar's Palace.
23:02That's Caesar's Palace helmet?
23:04Yeah.
23:04Ah.
23:04My head's going to explode.
23:06This is the Holy Grail.
23:07Oh, my gosh.
23:08Period.
23:08Mike, look at the scratches on that thing.
23:11That's what I'm looking at.
23:12Yeah.
23:12That's head first into the cement.
23:14And then he hits his head the other way and scrapes it up.
23:16This was the gladiator helmet that he wore when he went to battle.
23:21So was it Linda Evans' husband, John Derrick, that shot the whole thing?
23:25Yes.
23:26So how did he come into play that day?
23:28John Derrick came into fascination with evil and he just wanted to shoot it because he thought it
23:32was going to be the biggest thing in the world.
23:34Yeah.
23:34But Linda Evans, who eventually was on Dynasty and Big Star, she shot the landing and John shot the takeoff.
23:40Oh, I didn't know that they co-shot it together.
23:42Yeah, he shot him ragdolling down the crash.
23:46Wow.
23:47And that crash really vaulted his career.
23:51So I don't know if he would have made it that day on Caesar's.
23:55I'm not sure we're standing here talking about an Evel Knievel museum.
23:58Yeah.
23:58It was the fact that he got back up.
24:00And he got back up.
24:01Hmm.
24:01We've all seen that slow-mo video of him hitting the ground and crashing after the Caesar's Palace jump.
24:08That's the epic day that he showed the world.
24:10It doesn't matter how many times that you get knocked down.
24:14What matters is that you get back up.
24:17He kept that helmet specifically.
24:19Like, he gave away everything else in his life.
24:22That's the one thing that he held like a Faberge egg.
24:24Yeah, he coveted.
24:25It was his Faberge egg.
24:26Wow.
24:33Look at all this.
24:34This was it, man.
24:35Oh my gosh, look at that.
24:36This is how Evel made all his money.
24:38The licensing, the toys.
24:40I mean, he made great money jumping motorcycles.
24:43But this is what brought him millions.
24:45I've never seen the Evel curtains.
24:47I've never seen that either.
24:49The walkie-talkies or the Sky Cycle.
24:51Sky Cycle's a toothbrush.
24:52Oh, it's a toothbrush.
24:54Get the hell out of here.
24:55No way.
24:56You could see the further we went through the museum,
24:59Mike's true excitement and passion.
25:01And that was fun.
25:03This is it, man.
25:03That's the toy that changed the world right there, boy.
25:06Yep.
25:07Every kid had one or wanted one.
25:09Oh my gosh.
25:10It's always fun to bring people through the museum.
25:12And you can get into the stories and just end up being here for hours.
25:16Oh my gosh, look at this.
25:18Are you man enough?
25:19What do I do?
25:20This is a virtual reality jump.
25:22And when you are in VR, you jump 15 police cars and it feels real.
25:29Okay.
25:29So throw a leg over it.
25:31All right.
25:32Put these on.
25:33Okay.
25:34Let me see.
25:35Oh, yeah.
25:37Oh my God.
25:39Okay.
25:39This is the real deal right now.
25:40They're backing me up for it.
25:41Yep.
25:42All right.
25:43Now you're going to go down for your approach.
25:44Okay.
25:45This is downtown Topeka.
25:482015.
25:49And we hired Doug Danger.
25:50He's a jumper.
25:51Feeling evil.
25:54This turns a little tricky here.
25:55Okay.
25:56All right.
25:56Whoa.
25:57You're all in now, man.
25:59All right, dude.
25:59Oh, I'm going to sit that mini.
26:01Whoa.
26:04He's riding it.
26:06Oh my God.
26:07I'm going to get sick.
26:13Oh my God.
26:14I'm about .
26:16Don't do that.
26:21Holy crap.
26:22Yeah.
26:29I have something you guys might be interested in.
26:31I have a World War II belly tank.
26:33It went under the belly of an airplane.
26:37There it is.
26:38These would have been filled with fuel attached to the bottom of the plane.
26:41After the plane would use all the fuel out of these, they would actually just drop them wherever they
26:45were because they didn't want the plane to be off balance.
26:47They'd take the tank, release it, away it went.
26:50We don't know where they landed.
26:52Typically when they hit the ground, they exploded basically.
26:54Or imploded, you want to say, because it was just made of aluminum.
26:58When I first got the property up here, I had to clean everything up.
27:01The place was loaded with cars and other stuff, but I kept this because it had sentimental value for me.
27:08When my dad was in the Philippines, he got one of these and he turned it into a boat to
27:12go fishing.
27:13Put out riggers on it and put a little motor in it.
27:16And one day they were out fishing and the Japanese flew over and strafed it and sunk it.
27:22Oh, no kidding.
27:23In the 1940s, when the war was over, these tanks were brought home.
27:27And guys in California, they could build a car out of it.
27:30They could put it on the salt flats and they could set a record.
27:33Belly tankers, the guys would take motors and put race motors in these things.
27:37Put, you know, put a couple axles on it.
27:39You know, a drivetrain and racing things on the salt flats and El Mirage and like, you know, like Bonneville.
27:44Oh, they're light enough.
27:45Well, this is the idea and they're streamlined, you know?
27:48I mean, they do the same thing they do.
27:49Let's see.
27:49Rob, you can fit in there.
27:51I can fit in here.
27:51How do you have pork chop, dude?
27:52Dude, if I can't fit in here, there's no reason to buy it.
27:55This is like the ultimate race car you can build.
27:57If you want to have a really cool race car that's really going to cost you a lot of money
28:01to build,
28:01one of these belly tankers, it's the perfect body for one.
28:04Oh, God dang it, dude.
28:06What the hell?
28:08There ain't no cushion in this thing.
28:10You're all right, man.
28:11This thing's cutting into your skin.
28:13So what, man?
28:14I've got a good friend of mine named Bobby Green in California.
28:17He's a guy that does stuff like this.
28:19He's got one called the Old Crow.
28:20It's got old black paint on it.
28:22It's got the dome on it.
28:23It just screams speed.
28:26Bobby has driven this thing at the Salt Platts, and that's what hooked me on it.
28:30He would send me videos of this thing running all the time.
28:33I'm going to build one.
28:34So, Mark, you want to sell this?
28:36Yeah, I think I would.
28:38I've kind of outgrown it.
28:40You know, these are getting harder and harder to find this size.
28:44The big thing about belly tankers are you have to have the right size.
28:47They made different sizes of these things.
28:49This has to come off a P38, an F4U, or a Corsair.
28:53This is actually the size you need.
28:55You need something that's big.
28:56But it costs a lot of money to build something like that.
28:58Yeah, big time.
28:59Yeah.
28:59I mean, thank God I got a number one fabricator.
29:03I'd love to build one with you, Robbie.
29:04Oh, it'd be cool.
29:05I'd love to do that.
29:06A thousand bucks, Mark.
29:09I mean, there's a ton of work here that has to be done.
29:11Yeah, but how about 12?
29:171,200.
29:18Yeah, sounds good.
29:19Thanks, buddy.
29:21Head down.
29:22I'll show you what we got in the garage.
29:23This used to be my dad's workshop.
29:25Oh, cool.
29:25Tools.
29:26Lots of tools.
29:28Lots of junk.
29:29Back in the 20s and the 30s, this was a Venetian blind factory.
29:33Man, you got tons of stuff in here.
29:34This is so cool.
29:36He ended up buying this Venetian blind factory and put a garage door in
29:41and started using it as a garage to repair his coal trucks.
29:45What's upstairs, man?
29:48Lots of stuff.
29:49Lots of stuff.
29:50Lots of stuff.
29:50I like it when it says that.
29:52Lots of stuff.
29:52That's a pretty eclectic collection up there.
29:55Wow.
29:56Yeah, there's a lot of stuff up here.
29:57It's dusty, too.
29:58When I was moving stuff, I was just grabbing everything and shoving it where I could,
30:03and a lot of stuff ended up up on the second floor.
30:06Ray and Frick, what is this?
30:09Soap.
30:10Emergency drinking water.
30:12Yeah, that came out in the 60s when they used to have bomb shelters.
30:16When the apocalypse comes, Mark, I'll remember that.
30:19I like the scouring soap, actually.
30:22Day and Frick.
30:22Is it actually soap?
30:23It's soap.
30:24What is this, borax?
30:25It's the scouring soap will remove dirt, stains, rust, tarnish, etc.
30:30Tubs, sinks, copper, brass, nickel, fixtures.
30:33It's a scouring soap that would clean copper pans or appliances.
30:38It's like an industrial kind of soap.
30:40But the labeling, day and Frick.
30:42It sounds like some bougie soap company on the streets of Philadelphia.
30:47This is like military-issue soap.
30:49You need all that.
30:50Yeah, actually, I do.
30:51You could use all that.
30:52It'll leave your fingernails.
30:53It'll probably take your skin off it because it's like half sandpaper.
30:57And I didn't think someone would have an interest in it.
31:00And not only did he have an interest in a bar or two, he wanted them all.
31:04And I'm like, God love you.
31:05Take them.
31:05There's 60 bars.
31:07Would 30 bucks buy that?
31:08Sure.
31:08All right.
31:09I'm in the soap business, man.
31:10Thanks.
31:11This is historical soap.
31:13This could be General Patton's personal soap.
31:21The Holy Ground right there.
31:24Now, is this the original?
31:25So there were two Sky Cycles.
31:26It was not known that there was two.
31:28It was kept in secret because they wanted to test shoot one about a month before the event.
31:33So this is the one they shot with nobody in it?
31:34They shot nobody in it.
31:35They had a dummy in it.
31:36Did they really?
31:37Yeah, they put a dummy in it.
31:38Like a crash test dummy?
31:39Yeah, yeah.
31:40But this thing went straight in the canyon as well.
31:42So that's when Evil was like, uh-oh, this is a problem.
31:46He wanted to see a successful one and it didn't come close.
31:49And he figured he was getting in this thing and pushing a button to his death.
31:53It was the only time in his career that he thought he was going to perish.
31:56Yeah.
31:56He really was giving himself 50-50.
31:58He had no choice.
31:59He said he was going to do it.
32:01He kept his word.
32:01And he kept his word.
32:03The other incredible story is when he had tested a month before,
32:06he got in with his suit and they found out he could not detach himself from the belts
32:11from the suit if he, in fact, crashed into the water.
32:14Yeah, he would just drown.
32:15The suit would drown.
32:16So they quickly had another suit made where he'd be able to unhinge it.
32:20Yeah.
32:21Came the day of the event, strapping him in.
32:23The crew says, Evil, you put the wrong suit on.
32:25Oh, .
32:26He put on the old suit.
32:28He said, too late now.
32:29Oh, my gosh.
32:30So when he was heading towards the water, he would have perished in the water.
32:33He would have drowned.
32:34He literally lands 10 feet from the water.
32:37He would have been gone.
32:38Oh, my God.
32:38He was very lucky that day.
32:39He did not make the jump.
32:41Dude was very lucky his whole life.
32:42Yeah, he was.
32:43Damn, man.
32:43But he felt like he won because he survived.
32:45And then where did you acquire this?
32:47Niagara Falls, Canada.
32:48One of the stories is Evil had to hide it somewhere.
32:51But it was up in Niagara Falls for like 25, 30 days.
32:53That wheel's off an airplane, isn't it?
32:55A lot of pieces were sourced from airplane.
32:58Yeah.
32:58It's mostly aeronautical parts and pieces.
33:00He spent seven years of his life on this project.
33:03And it wasn't enough.
33:03Oh, no kidding.
33:04It was that long.
33:04So he had engineers on it and everything that long.
33:07Mike, every bike that he had had a set of wings on it with a turbo
33:10Neek mail order propulsion kit that is a death trap.
33:14Really?
33:15You'll kill the average man in five seconds.
33:16Yeah.
33:17It was a long journey for him, but it shows the drive and determination of what he was all about.
33:22I sent you the photo of the sign.
33:24Like, where were you going to put this in it?
33:25I mean, it's...
33:26No room for it in here.
33:27I mean, you'd have to put it like right here or something.
33:29It's just not going to fit in this place.
33:32We are moving this museum to Las Vegas.
33:35Really?
33:36Yeah.
33:37We're only going to be open here a few more months and then making the transition.
33:40It's been great in Topeka, but obviously Las Vegas is where the evil museum should be.
33:44I can't even imagine how busy you guys are going to be in Las Vegas.
33:46Well, I mean, what is there?
33:47How many, how many tourists are there?
33:48Over 50 million or something.
33:49Over 50 million tourists a year.
33:52The museum is going to be bigger and better and more exciting.
33:56We're going to have a lot more artifacts, a lot more space.
33:59There's going to be a lot more.
34:06There's going to be a lot more.
34:25There's going to be a lot more.
34:30So we can't wait to see it.
34:31Yeah, we were really surprised.
34:32Dude, I'm jacked up to show it to you.
34:33I mean, I was excited to show it to you on the way over here because you guys have a
34:36museum.
34:37Yeah.
34:37But now after walking through here and seeing the caliber of what you've created.
34:41It's more than evil connectivity.
34:41That's how we make it.
34:42Yes, absolutely.
34:43I mean, it's just the right amount of energy.
34:45You know what I mean?
34:46It's like when Bill sold it to me, the reason he turned it loose.
34:50He's like, listen, I've had this stacked up and stored for so many years.
34:54It's got to go somewhere.
34:55Nobody's seeing it.
34:56It didn't take me long to figure out.
34:57I got to call you.
34:58We're very appreciative.
35:00So we can't wait to see it.
35:01Dude, let's look at it.
35:02I want to see it.
35:03Well, let's do it.
35:04I mean, I'm not kidding.
35:05Let's see it.
35:05Yeah, I mean, I'll talk about it, be about it.
35:07You know, and that's what it's all about.
35:21All right, I'm going in.
35:27Whoa, that's a target.
35:31All right, what the heck.
35:48The newspaper will show you when they were packed.
35:50Yeah, I know.
35:53All right, 1992.
35:56I mean, there's a lot of stuff in here.
35:57Here's helmets or something.
35:59That's going to be a helmet or a helmet liner.
36:02No, look at that.
36:03Chrome helmet.
36:04Parade helmet.
36:05Parade helmet, yep.
36:05Yeah.
36:05Parade helmets.
36:06That's what these are.
36:07These are, if you're marching down a street in a military parade, these chrome helmets are going
36:12to bring attention.
36:13They're going to shine in the sunlight.
36:14They're going to gleam.
36:15They have to have lighters.
36:16Yeah, because this thing sits way too low on the VF like this.
36:19It's going to look really spectacular in a parade.
36:23That's what's attractive about these helmets.
36:24It's really cool that they're here.
36:26There's a bunch of them here.
36:27There's other helmets in here.
36:29Mess kit.
36:31Was that just civil defense stuff?
36:33Yes.
36:34Well, civil defense is like the citizens protecting their areas, or they would point out weaknesses
36:40to the military so they could help better protect our nation.
36:44We have civil defense outposts on the Jersey shore.
36:46They're looking for, like, Nazi submarines.
36:49Back then, you know, we had German Nazi U-boats off the coast of New Jersey
36:53who were trying to penetrate into our defenses.
36:56So these civil defense units would spot these Nazi submarines off the coast.
37:02Yeah.
37:02During the Eisenhower era, it really became popular, especially around here.
37:06They used a lot of the deep coal mines as bombshells.
37:11Oh, wow.
37:12Oh, yeah.
37:12For nuclear fallout.
37:13You wouldn't even think about that, but sure, it'd be perfect for that.
37:15So these chrome parade helmets, they're like 100 bucks a piece retail.
37:20Would you do $50 a piece for them?
37:22Well, I want to keep one of the chrome ones.
37:25Okay.
37:25I want to get rid of both of those CD helmets along with the chrome.
37:28So how much for the six helmets?
37:30Would you do $300?
37:32You do it?
37:32That sounds good.
37:33All right, good.
37:33Yep.
37:34All right, thank you.
37:35Jersey's got them, man.
37:36There we go.
37:37Hold it, Jersey.
37:37I'm going to come down the rock here.
37:39Yeah.
37:39Go.
37:39Keep going.
37:40Yep, I'm good.
37:41My dad, if he was here today, he would be ecstatic.
37:44Our whole life, we've been telling him, stop saving all this junk.
37:47I've got six of these.
37:48Hey, dude.
37:49They're cool.
37:50I like them.
37:50If he was here today and saw all of this stuff that people actually liked
37:54that we're going to use, he'd be very happy.
37:57I love hearing the stories of your dad, man.
37:59Well, it's a pleasure being with you guys.
38:02I would have loved to have met your dad.
38:03Yeah.
38:04Obviously, Mark's father was an amazing guy.
38:07He collected these things, and he respected these things, and he saw value in his collection.
38:12Now it's our job to take these pieces that Mark Preserve and find a new home for them.
38:17Happy picking!
38:18So long.
38:24Okay, you guys are going to freak out on this thing.
38:27Oh, man.
38:27We get a lot of calls about a lot of artifacts, and I have to say our first thought is
38:33usually,
38:33it's not real.
38:35It's kind of where we start, but getting a call from Mike Wolf was another level,
38:40and we knew that it was probably something legit.
38:43All right.
38:43I'm going to need some help because it's freaking huge.
38:46Let me hand one up to you.
38:47So this is the middle one.
38:49Oh, God.
38:50That's beautiful.
38:52Okay, you got it?
38:53Wow.
38:53Got it.
38:54All right, you sure?
38:54Yeah, I got it.
38:55Okay.
38:55You got it?
38:56Yeah.
38:57Do-si-do.
38:58Okay, here we go.
38:59Oh, yeah.
39:00Look at that.
39:01Oh, my God.
39:01This is so cool.
39:03All right.
39:03Here it goes.
39:04It's freaking nuts.
39:06You guys got it.
39:06The snake is complete.
39:08I know.
39:08Look at that thing, man.
39:09Let's see.
39:10Stand back and check it out, dude.
39:11You got to get on it.
39:12Look at that.
39:13Wow.
39:13I know, right?
39:15Yes.
39:15I know.
39:16Right?
39:16That's amazing.
39:17Is it what I said?
39:18Yes.
39:19You know?
39:19Whatever, man.
39:20Look at that thing.
39:21Oh, my gosh.
39:22Not a lot shocks us anymore because we've seen everything, but that is a very significant piece.
39:27That kind of smacked me in the face.
39:29I'd seen pictures of it, but the scale was more than what I thought it was.
39:34The brightness of the colors were more than what I thought it was.
39:37The quality of the condition.
39:39That thing's been well taken care of.
39:42Yes.
39:42That's really.
39:43It's just so breathtaking, man.
39:45It's amazing.
39:46It's magical.
39:47Let me tell you what I want to do.
39:50I came here with the intention of saying, you know, hey, I wanted to make a little bit of money
39:55on it.
39:56I wanted to do 25, you know?
39:59But in all honesty, I paid $22,000 for it.
40:04And after seeing what you guys have done and what you're going to do, I just can't bring
40:08myself to make a dime on it.
40:09I just can't.
40:11I mean, it's just, there's just no way.
40:13It was really appreciative that Mike offered the price that he did,
40:16knowing that that's what he bought it for and expecting to pay more than that.
40:21I hate to even charge you the 22, but I'm into this deep, you know what I mean?
40:24Yeah, forget it.
40:25And I understood the significance of it right away.
40:28It is significant.
40:28It is.
40:28And I was blown away when the guy told me the story of how they acquired it.
40:33Well, after the jump, when he didn't make it, riding just started as a slow burn.
40:39And then the next thing, you know, they were just burning and wrecking everything that was there
40:44to be wrecked.
40:45And then there was a fella chopping down the pole this was on.
40:49Okay.
40:50And then just before they got ready to throw her on the fire, we were able to get it away
40:54and we saved it.
40:56It would have just, it would have been set on fire like everything else.
40:59Yeah.
40:59Yeah.
41:00They saved it, saved it for us, you know, and saved it for all the people
41:03to be able to see once we get it to Las Vegas.
41:06You know, that's what the guy wanted.
41:07I think there's a certain level of energy about how this whole thing came together.
41:12When Bill called us, it was about getting it into the hands of someone that would really
41:16understand it and respect it.
41:19But after having it for a while, I realized it was about more than just going to a good caretaker.
41:25I knew that it had to be somewhere where everyone could see it.
41:30The fact that it's coming to the museum just as they're moving to Vegas is perfect timing.
41:36I'm glad it's found its forever home, dude, because there's nowhere on the planet that
41:40this should be other than with you guys.
41:42I mean, there just really isn't.
41:44I mean, you guys have inspired me, man.
41:45You really have.
41:46It's one thing to have a passion, but to take that passion and turn it into something that
41:52people are inspired by and that the world can see is pretty incredible.
41:57So here's the deal.
41:58So it's exactly what I paid for it, but I get free admission to the museum.
42:02I think we can work that out.
42:04I think we got you.
42:05All right, man.
42:05You got the golden ticket.
42:07Okay.
42:07Thank you, buddy.
42:08Hey, let's get you paid.
42:09I like that.
42:10All right, buddy.
42:10Thank you, man.
42:11Thank you, guys.
42:12It's got to be perfect.
42:13Imagine it is a headboard.
42:14Yeah, that's a headboard.
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