- 2 days ago
Rick and his crew get their feet wet when a 1952 powerboat ride splashes into the shop. Will this wave rider be an easy-breezy endeavor, or will it be man ...
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00:04up next on American restoration I got something really special for you so what is it you really
00:11want me to tell you to surprise me let's see what we got oh my god here's what I have
00:18for
00:18you this time that's awesome this is going to allow kids to have a point that they look at
00:24and immediately connect to my dad had asked Ron and I to make a service call you could grab the
00:29WD I'm usually the one that does all the service and Ron's the guy that stands around and does
00:33nothing if you'd have brought it with everything else it'd be nice if you do something it'd be
00:37nice remember back in the day when things were made by hand and people took pride in their work
00:44my name is Rick Dale and I bring these things back to life every restoration has its own set
00:51of challenges there's no owner's manual for what we do but there's no job we can't handle
01:10hey you Rick yes sir how are you doing I'm Bob and I got something really special for you coming
01:16right in now all right so what is it you really want me to tell you or do you want
01:21to wait and
01:21see it yeah leave surprise me we'll wait is it heavy it's heavy all right let's see what we got
01:36that thing's cool we got a kiddie boat ride I've come here today to Rick's restoration to have my 1953
01:43sea skate boat ride restored why'd you buy this I got it for my arcade which is largest arcade in
01:51the
01:51world and Wears Beach New Hampshire Wow so how long you've been in the arcade business 59 years with
01:57my brother who passed away a few years ago so was your brother with you when you got this yeah
02:01it
02:01was one of our trips we made in 1960 to go and see what we could buy with a couple
02:07of bucks we had
02:07in our pocket I guess and we purchased the boat for $100 oh man in the 1950s kitty rides were
02:14an
02:14arcade mainstay they're motion rides that give a kid a sensation of either riding an animal or their
02:19favorite vehicle how many kids you figure been in that we figure over 300,000 rides I'd be one of
02:26those 300,000 for sure there weren't many boats around in 1960 so kids didn't have a chance to ride
02:33on a boat and this would give them the whole illusion right so they loved it so exactly what
02:39did this ride do well you put your token in and then when you sit down the ride starts there's
02:44a
02:44fan right inside here that will blow air okay on you the kid would go like this and you see
02:50that
02:50you're rocking when you're okay on in the boat okay this lever right here you can make it go faster
02:58or
02:58slower this up and down motion all sideways always going like this way oh it sounds like fun so it
03:04is this thing is a lot more complicated than it looks I can't wait to get inside and see how
03:09it
03:10all works I have the original flyer here that shows the boat well I'd like to see it restored as
03:16much as
03:17possible to that picture there okay is it steel or glass fiberglass it is fiberglass yeah okay we're
03:25gonna spend some time find some parts making some parts we'll probably have eight hours and tearing
03:28it down we'll send the chrome out because there's three colors on here we have to paint one stage let
03:34it dry paint one stage let it dry probably another eight hours and then once we get to assembly could
03:40be three four days because I gotta get just just right I want it absolutely perfect all that together
03:44I'm running probably about between 75 and eight Rick I have the confidence in you that you're gonna do
03:51a good job you basically have a show piece here that kids are gonna use right the kids are gonna
03:56use again so Bob you you good with that you want me to get started on well you know Rick
04:01I think the
04:02ride's gonna be running for another 50 years so I'm good with that all right awesome thank you yeah
04:08thank you let's go to the office and we'll take care of some business when the ride is restored I
04:13certainly am going to have a lot of feeling for it it brings me back to the days working with
04:18my
04:19brother through all those years we had a great relationship and the fact that Rick is gonna do
04:24the best job that anybody can do well that's fair I got a call from my friend mark at the
04:40Clark County
04:41Museum he said he had an item that he wanted me to restore I've done stuff for him before and
04:45all his
04:46items are really cool jobs so I can't wait to see what he has for me this time hey Rick
04:51how are you
04:52doing doing great I'm the administrator of the Clark County Museum system I'm anxious to see what you
04:57got going on today let me get it for you all right I never know what to expect when we
05:02come here the
05:02last time we hauled out a huge air raid sign so this could be anything I think you'll enjoy this
05:10well
05:11here's what I have for you this time that's awesome not very large but really interesting when you're
05:23trying to understand history it really helps if you see something that you recognize it becomes
05:29something that's not just off in a book and and something that somebody tells you about oh man that's
05:35a cute little thing man isn't that nice yeah you don't see too many of those around anymore that's
05:39for sure that is absolutely the coolest it's really unusual it's 1947 wow you know it is a wonderful
05:47artifact it came in in this condition but everything's still functional on it it's got the rounded
05:52antel bars they don't even make them like this anymore oh yes I mean you go find a trike today
05:56it's blasting it I swear it's gone in six months it's out the door trash cans you know I've said
06:01it many
06:02times old stuff it was built to last tricycles date back to the 1800s and they were really popular over
06:09in England back then they actually had models that were powered with your hands not your feet they
06:14also had a lot bigger front wheel than this one most of the tricycles that I've seen they had the
06:19pedals up front where you would pedal and the weight of your body would actually give you the traction and
06:23off you went absolutely this thing here I mean it's longer it's actually got a chain on it that would
06:29drive it just like a bicycle what we are looking for is one that is as close to original as
06:35possible
06:36okay my first thing is to research this bike and make it look just like it did you can see
06:40some of
06:40the red here that was the original color on it right so we'll tear it apart sandblast it and then
06:47doll out this yeah that sound good that sounds great thank you very much Rick I appreciate it all
06:52right I'm really looking forward to when Rick finishes this piece because this is going to allow kids to
06:59have a point that they look at and immediately connect to oh it's from the 1940s it's really
07:04old but it's just like what I had earlier I picked up a 1940s tricycle from Mark's Museum right now
07:15I'm
07:15counting on Brett Lee to tear this thing down and get it sandblast so I can paint it as soon
07:19as possible
07:25oh
07:27hey Brett that's a museum piece you know so what are you doing trying to get this off take the
07:33chain off
07:33from around here yeah around the crank okay we're gonna have to find if there's a master link in the
07:39chain if there's no master link we're gonna have to grind the chain how do you know which one's the
07:43master link one of these things doesn't look like the others oh there it is right there there's a
07:48master link yeah you see these are a figure eight shaped and this one's just an oval
07:57sometimes by flexing the chain it'll pop off there it is sweet don't lose it right
08:19sweet that's it right on
08:27better grab your life jacket Terry Rick says his kiddie rides been running at the same
08:32arcade for 50 years Terry and I have to tear this thing down God only knows how many times they
08:37jerry-rigged this thing together oh man this thing's been patched here no way over there no
08:42way glass over there this says bottom okie-dokie
08:57hee-haw she's done
09:08the shop's really busy right now but my dad had asked Ron and I to make a service call on
09:12a pepsi
09:12machine we had done for a customer my dad always says that keeping former customers happy is just
09:17as important as making new customers age before beauty as it should be how much are you great how's
09:23it going gonna fix this thing what's the problem it takes in the coins and then it only goes about
09:28partway and then they're getting locked up like somewhere in here and it just jams up and then
09:31they all just drop on the ground I can fix it I'll be right here thanks so the first thing
09:36we do
09:37want to call like this is try to narrow down the exact part that's causing the problem
10:02I think it's probably just dirty these things get pretty gunked up hopefully a little cleaning and a
10:08the trick where's wrong can you go grab the WD need it today if you'd have brought it with
10:14everything else it'd been nice if you do something it'd be nice okay ready oh why aren't you going
10:27when all else fails it's easier just to replace the coin mechanism than sit here all day messing with
10:31it my dad can probably fix this in two seconds back at the shop I'm just gonna switch for the
10:35spare we've
10:36got along the customer's gonna be all set and we're gonna be on our way it's fixed we'll take
10:47your money hey Ron I'm done just a minute Ty are you serious this is just like my uncle Ron
10:57we have
10:57a call at a tattoo shop and he decides he needs a tattoo it took me 10 minutes to do
11:02the repair but
11:02now I'm gonna have to wait for him and they say I'm the kid this stings while Ron and Tyler
11:15are out on
11:16their service call we got to keep working on the sea skate kiddie ride the fiberglass process is kind
11:22of like paper mache you put it down in strands or patches apply resin and then smooth it out
11:33like always we got a lot going on I had bretley sandblast the frame of the tricycle and use walnuts
11:39to gently clean the pedals then filled it all the bodywork when we got the tricycle its original paint
11:45job had all but worn off though you could see just a few flex and they were classic fire engine
11:50red
12:06I sent Ron and Tyler out on a service call about three hours ago and they're just rolling in now
12:11I
12:11hope they were able to fix the customer's machine hey what took you guys so long
12:20can't help it your boy just isn't all that good with coin max I don't know man it took a
12:25long time
12:26all right get that back to the shop and uh we'll go through that all right okay yeah why are
12:31you gonna
12:32blame it on me it was all your thing anyways what was I gonna do tell him what really happened
12:36yeah happens on the road stays on the room okay Bradley this is a base on the seascape ride Bradley
12:51is
12:51stepping up his game and really trying to learn new things right now I have him and Phil welding the
12:56base
12:56of this seascape it's pretty beat up over here so we're gonna try and get it straightened out put
13:03this other piece in behind it so we're gonna be welding yeah all right so I haven't done a lot
13:10of
13:10welding before it's not like I don't like melting metal it's just kind of complicated and there's a
13:16lot of ways to screw it up yeah this will do that's the Frankenstein one can you see the puddle
13:28yeah yeah
13:28okay then watch how I work it cuz you're gonna do the other ones now this heats up the metal
13:33real
13:33quick huh yeah so thin but because it's a mig weld and the gas around the weld helps cool it
13:39and keep
13:40the weld cleaner and have less heat mig welding was originally developed for welding aluminum it's
13:47really great for thin metals because it creates a gas shield and that keeps the heat from spreading
13:55and then you're a half a mile away from it you were way out here oh you got my pliers
14:03Brett Lee's really trying but it takes a steady hand confidence and a lot of patience
14:11perfect perfect look at that see and you can tell the difference as the metal started to heat up look
14:16how
14:16it flattened out real nice I mean that helped a lot do you ride one of these or does that
14:37boat ride
14:47more your speed today I'm dropping off the 1947 tricycle at the Clark County Museum mark is gonna be
14:53putting this thing on display and people are gonna be seeing this thing for many years to come so I
14:57really hope it lives up to his expectations hey Rick hey mark good to see you good to see you
15:05I'm looking
15:06forward to this you ready oh yeah oh yeah I must say that I'm expecting a fair amount he's done
15:12some
15:12spectacular work in the past I will probably be quite startled by what this tricycle now looks like okay
15:19here we go oh that's sweet that cool nice job when Rick took that blanket off I was amazed
15:36it really looked like the tricycle would have looked when it came off the showroom floor in 1947
15:42he outdid himself on this you know everything on its original we just ended up polishing and printing
15:48it up tried to match the white where the white was and the red where the red was we chromed
15:53everything I
15:54mean I chromed all these pieces in a chrome that like they would use not a show chrome but a
15:58chrome you
15:59know yeah these are the original grips put some tassels on there always had to have tassels oh the
16:05chains and beautiful shape the pedals the pedals came out really nice oh they're you know this is
16:11the total original that is oh that's great they're all clean again I know I mean I remember pedals like
16:17this I'll tell you Rick we really appreciate it it's it's a wonderful piece now it's going to be a
16:22great addition to the museum thank you you betcha anytime this is wonderful thank you it may only
16:29be a tricycle to somebody just looking at it but from the standpoint of the museum this is a tricycle
16:34to represent all tricycles to help people understand what life was like at that point in time and now
16:40we have a piece that we'll be proud to have on display Rick can I go ahead and fire this
16:52thing up
16:53or what yeah yeah let me check it out this sea skate kitty ride has been a real fun project
16:58everything's
16:59basically ready to go all we have to do is test the motor and start reassembling this thing okay cross
17:04our
17:10fingers like a boat that's cool yeah it is that runs smooth to motors good gearbox is perfect yeah
17:22it's looking good all right good job sweet there are dozens of moving parts on the seascape from the
17:30boat down to the base once we have all the pieces assembled we'll be ready to show it off we
17:41are
17:46finally ready to reveal this awesome seascape kitty ride this guy wanted it restored for his arcade but
17:52he also wanted it restored to remind him of his late brother well go find my dad okay I just
17:58hope we
17:58could blow him away hey Bob hi Rick how you doing great I think we got it ready for you
18:07I'm dying to
18:09see it come on over here okay I came down to Rick's restoration today to pick up my 1950s seascape
18:17boat
18:17ride you ready to see I'm ready okay what the Tyler what are you doing not yet this ride is
18:26so important
18:27because it's the oldest thing that we have still running that we bought in our 59 years in business
18:34Bob you ready I'm ready here we go go one two three wow it's beautiful you like it I love
18:43it yeah this
18:44thing was fun working on man it's as good as new if not better the kids are gonna love it
18:49we went to a
18:51a lot of detail to make this boat really shiny the mold was a little rough so we blocked it
18:57all really
18:58really good ended up painting it white first taped it all off I shot the red on it I shot
19:03the blue on it and
19:05then we ended up painting the whole thing in clear really super tough paint it's gonna last a long time
19:10and
19:10we'll be using it for a long time the chrome on the lights on the front light receptacle we redid
19:16the back tail lights we ended up getting a fan for it didn't have a horn mechanism so we ended
19:21up
19:21devising a horn down there it's a steering wheel used to be painted we ended up polishing it all out
19:27got it all upholstered here it's not vinyl it's leather it's just immaculate Rick this looks terrific
19:33but uh does it work well I guess we'll see I'm beyond the age of riding in this boat I'm
19:41not sure I'd fit
19:41even can we get someone else I'll volunteer all right Tyler get in the boat I hope he's going to
19:48get it
19:48back to the original things that it did it goes up and down it turns there's wind that blows in
19:54the
19:54kid's face when he's riding on it I hope all that's working again because it's going to be great all
20:00right I'm ready not really be careful Tyler don't fall out looks like you might oh that's so awesome
20:08does it got a horn beautiful the lights are working right here yeah I love it all the lights work
20:17it's beautiful I think I might get seasick oh Rick it's beautiful and it works great thank you very
20:25much thank you it's a privilege doing thank you very very much all right let's go in the office do
20:29some
20:29work um Tyler load that load it I can't wait to get this ride back to fun spot it's going
20:36in the
20:36kiddie room with about 10 other rides we have in there but this is going to outshine everything
20:42probably going to make me restore everything now
20:53so did that tattoo hurt at all the very beginning but I got used to it after that that's good
21:02what the ow I knew it don't blame me that took me 10 minutes you owe me two hours
21:12I really don't like you