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00:00On this episode of Chasing Classic Cars,
00:04it drove 40 miles a year.
00:07Do you want to buy it?
00:09Aha!
00:10Good god.
00:11That's been in there a long time.
00:16This kid at 14 years old was building a car.
00:18All judges, please report to the reviewing stand.
00:22It's always nice to have something that everybody wants,
00:25but they can't have.
00:26The bidding starts off.
00:27I throw a bid in.
00:40I got an email the other day from a gentleman.
00:43He's told me that he knew where there was this 54 Studebaker
00:47Commander with 7,000 miles on it.
00:50Right after I received an email from him,
00:52I received an email from the lady that was actually
00:55selling it for the estate, the owner's sister.
01:00You hear that kind of thing every once in a while,
01:02and it's, you know, about a low-mileage car,
01:04but you've got to really check it out yourself
01:07to be able to believe it.
01:08So here I am, just arrived in Pittsburgh.
01:14Your destination is on the left.
01:16Who would ever guess driving by there'd be a Studebaker in the garage at 7,000 miles?
01:26The car's in here?
01:27Let's go look at it.
01:28Yeah.
01:28I can't wait to see it.
01:29Well, we'll have to uncover it.
01:31It's all covered up.
01:34Uncovering is the best part.
01:35It's like unwrapping a present, you know?
01:38OK.
01:39She opened the door, and there was this blue car cover on this car,
01:43and it has sheets on it, and then the car cover over the sheet,
01:47telling me that this person really loved this car
01:50and wanted to take care of it.
01:52This was what we did once in a while.
01:55Unroll it, and look at it, and then roll it back up.
01:59Roll that, yeah.
02:01And already, I know that this is a really great car.
02:09A 1954 Studebaker Commander was just the top of the Studebaker
02:14lineup of that year.
02:16It was pretty well loaded with options.
02:237,319 miles.
02:26Yep.
02:26It's just like brand new.
02:30My brother-in-law bought it in 1954.
02:34It was his first new car, and he's kept it this way ever since.
02:45How long ago did he pass?
02:49About eight years ago.
02:50OK.
02:51So we know for sure it hasn't run in eight years.
02:53Well, before 10 years, it was running once a year.
02:57He'd rotate the tires and take it out on Easter,
03:00ride around the block, and cover it back up.
03:03I just want to get my flashlight here, and I was going to lean on the car, and I remembered
03:09that my brother-in-law would holler at me, so I didn't.
03:14It's only a car.
03:15No, not to him it wasn't.
03:17Yeah, I know.
03:18He would take me up to get me a Dairy Queen or something, but I had to take my shoes
03:21off.
03:22I wasn't allowed to wear my shoes in the car, so.
03:25And then we'd come back and put it away, and that was what we did.
03:29It's OK if I sit in there?
03:30Sure, absolutely.
03:32He would tell you to take your shoes off, but I'm not going to make you do that.
03:37This is a pretty neat thing that you don't see very often.
03:41It's a manual antenna.
03:43You can put it up by turning a knob.
03:46Oh.
03:46And then it comes down.
03:48I didn't know that.
03:49Yeah, I remember these.
03:51Huh.
03:52Oh, you've got some more stuff over there.
03:54Oh, this is cool.
03:57Yeah, that was it.
03:58This must be a picture when it was brand new.
04:00Mm-hmm.
04:02Yeah, I like that.
04:03Old invoices.
04:03Oh, that's what he paid, I guess.
04:05And a state inspection, and it had 7,7158.
04:11Here it is again, and it had 7,188 miles on it, so he drove it in from November
04:20until June, probably the following year, it drove 30 miles exactly.
04:26After looking at the paperwork and seeing the miles, he put 40 miles on it a year.
04:31You're sort of going into a time warp.
04:35The car was just, like, brand new.
04:38I mean, it is amazing.
04:40The test, though.
04:42Can we open this up?
04:43Do you have those keys?
04:44Yeah.
04:45It's a locking gas cap.
04:48Look at that.
04:49Got it the first time.
04:53Oh, yeah.
04:53Whew.
04:54What?
04:55Rotten gas.
04:56Is it?
04:56Oh, yeah.
04:57It's expected, you know, in a car that hasn't been driven in that period of time.
05:02Yeah, I would assume.
05:03So, I mean, what we end up doing is dropping the gas tank out of it.
05:08Cleaning it.
05:08Cleaning it.
05:09How we replace the gas line going forward.
05:12And then rebuild the carburetor.
05:13Okay.
05:15Where comes my niece.
05:17Well.
05:17Well.
05:19Is that beautiful, though?
05:20Yeah, it's a great car.
05:21Do you want to buy it?
05:23I do.
05:24Okay, good.
05:25Good.
05:26I told you it was a nice-looking car.
05:28Yeah, it's a great car.
05:32I knew I was buying the car.
05:35It was just in such fantastic condition.
05:38The paint looked brand new.
05:41And the chrome looked great.
05:43I knew that there was going to be no dickering on the price.
05:47But I was going to pay what she wanted for the car.
05:50And I was going home with this car today.
06:02We've had the 54 Studebaker back at the shop for a couple of weeks.
06:06We've removed and cleaned the gas tank.
06:08And today, Roger's working on the carburetor.
06:11We're trying to get the carb fixed.
06:14Finished.
06:15Clean.
06:16So it works.
06:21If you have a plugged-up sinuses, a couple of whiffs of that tank, you won't have any sinuses.
06:29New spark plugs are on their way.
06:31These are the original, came from the manufacturer plugs.
06:36In 54, they had a copper gasket.
06:40Now they all have cheap metal crimpers.
06:42You can reuse these about 100 times.
06:48Hello, under here.
06:52Ah!
06:53Nobody's peeked at you for a while.
06:55The suspension still has the factory black on it.
07:02That's a good sign.
07:08Good God.
07:09That's been in there a long time.
07:19I want to watch to see if it has spark with a plug against the motor on one of the
07:24wires, because it's on and cranked.
07:27Out of gear.
07:30Work it.
07:31Click, click.
07:33Not getting any message up here.
07:38Hit it.
07:40And then something's not going right.
07:43No, this is up to 1.5 volts.
07:45That won't work anything.
07:49I think we should probably end up with a battery that works.
07:54With the new battery, oil change, and a repaired carburetor, the Studebaker should be all set mechanically.
08:02Next, we'll get the car looking its best in time for me to enter it into the preservation class at
08:08the Boca Raton Concours.
08:22We've been getting a lot of snow, so instead of being inside working on cars or chasing cars, we're sitting
08:29here in the truck.
08:34Right now, we're clearing the parking lot because we've got a truck coming to pick up the cars to go
08:39down to Boca, so I always want to make sure the parking lot's clear for these guys.
08:46That's part of living in New England.
08:53So it's Tuesday.
08:55We're in the middle of February, and the Boca Raton Concours this weekend.
08:59We're doing the last-minute preparations to a few cars we're bringing down.
09:05One of them being this beautiful Studebaker Commander.
09:14I don't think it ever had been buffed or polished, and so the paint has just come out unbelievably.
09:24You can see in this paint that it's totally original.
09:26There's little specks of dust in it.
09:29These were enamel paint.
09:33What's really cool is when you have a car that no one's ever really seen on a show circuit before,
09:40and this car hasn't been seen by anyone.
09:42It's been in a garage since the 60s.
09:45To be able to show it something like this with that many miles, 7,319 miles on it, it's unheard
09:53of.
09:59This is a 1934 Model A hot rod.
10:04We're getting the car prepared to go to Bonham's Auction in Amelia Island, and no reserve, and all the money's
10:11going to go to Autism Speaks.
10:14Before we sell it at auction, we're cleaning it up, but we're going to bring it down to the Boca
10:18Raton Concorde, Florida.
10:20We're going to show it in a hot rod class they have down there.
10:23What's really cool is Rob Gibby, the original owner of the car, is going to be down at Boca, and
10:28so we're going to be able to talk to Rob, find out how he built this car, and what went
10:34through his mind when he's willing to give it away to charity.
10:43Coming up next on Chasing Classic Cars.
10:46I'll show you the engine, it's amazing.
10:49The judges are looking for authenticity.
10:52You're always on edge when you're showing a car.
10:57I definitely had the coolest car in the high school parking lot.
11:00I bet.
11:16It's Sunday morning, we're here at the Boca Raton Concorde in Florida, and I've brought the 1954 Studebaker Commander.
11:22I've also brought the 1931 Model A Ford that's going to be in the hot rod class.
11:28Morning.
11:30I think this is going to be a fabulous day.
11:32The sun's out, we're not in Connecticut where there's five feet of snow, so it can't get any better than
11:38this as far as the weather goes.
11:41Hey, how are you?
11:42Wow.
11:43Isn't that great?
11:447,000 miles.
11:46Isn't that terrific?
11:48That is incredible.
11:50Pretty great. Where are we, up in the right there?
11:51Yeah, just follow them, follow the signs.
11:53Thanks, Russ.
11:55Cars are lining up, it's going to be a great day for a Concorde.
12:07Thank you, everyone, for coming out today.
12:11Boca Raton Concorde is in its ninth season.
12:14It's getting better every year.
12:16You see everything from 1900s cars, like a Cadillac from 1902, post-war cars, pre-war cars, sports cars, jet
12:26-age cars.
12:27There's hot rods here, Mustangs, and preservation class cars. It's a wonderful event.
12:33I'm really excited to show the judges and the spectators the Studebaker today.
12:39I've entered it into the preservation class, and I really hope it brings home a prize.
12:45The Studebaker's in the preservation class.
12:48Preservation is a little bit different class. It's a class that's tough to call.
12:52People think that it has to be totally original to be preserved, and preserved means that it's been maintained.
13:04But this particular car still has the original tires on it, the original paint, chrome, interior.
13:11It's an unbelievable time warp.
13:18Good morning.
13:19Good morning, Wayne. Good to see you.
13:20Good to see you guys.
13:21The judges have arrived.
13:22How's it going?
13:23It's time to show the car.
13:24Good morning.
13:27So this is my 1954 Studebaker Commander, and it is totally, totally original.
13:33Here, I'll show you the engine. It's amazing.
13:38The judging system is called French Judging.
13:40Would you start it up for us?
13:41Sure. Would love to.
13:43When judges are looking at a car, it's style, it's authenticity, and then overall condition.
13:52You can't even hear it run.
13:57Everything is original.
13:59Is the car original? And if it is, what kind of condition has it been maintained in?
14:04If it's restored, is it restored correctly? Does it have the correct colors, the correct sheen, the correct upholstery?
14:11The paint is really correct. When you look at it, I looked at edges, at places that might have been
14:16masked, and you don't see any of that. And the plating is remarkable for the way it is. And the
14:22age cracks in the tires. I mean, it's consistent.
14:26They just look at the beauty of the car, the condition of the car, and they listen to the story.
14:31This is the picture of the gentleman with his car, how proud he was of that car. His niece told
14:36me that if you wanted to go for a ride in the car, you had to take your shoes off.
14:39Was it sitting on its tires?
14:41It was sitting on its tires, but you can't believe this. The guy would back the car out of the
14:44garage and he would mark the tire with a piece of chalk and back it out and pull it in,
14:49making sure that it was in a different location every time.
14:52I'm inclined to believe everything Wayne said about it. You rarely see a car that's been loved and cared for
14:59and hidden away and blanketed and tire marked and so it's a kick to see that. That car is very
15:06consistent and that car doesn't lie.
15:12You know, there wasn't any difficulties with the judging, but you never know what can happen. You're always on edge
15:17when you're showing a car. Hopefully they scored it well.
15:22All judges, please report to the reviewing stand.
15:27Now we wait for the judges to turn their official results in and we'll see if we place well in
15:33the class.
15:41Meanwhile, I'm also showing Rob Gibby's 1934 Hot Rod.
15:48The best part is that Rob's here today and he's going to be telling me the amazing story of how
15:53he reunited with his first car so much later in life.
16:04So, 31 Model A and you found it where?
16:06Found it in Horbilly's Junkyard in Elizabeth, New Jersey. This car was 25 years old when I bought it.
16:13Right.
16:13Just an old junk car. I was 14 years old when I bought the car in 1956. I paid $50
16:20for the car and it took me six months to pay my dad back.
16:24This wasn't a professional build. This was a kid in his backyard building something, you know. This kid at 14
16:30years old was building a car. Pretty cool.
16:33You've got your license and you've got a hot rod that you're driving to school.
16:37I...
16:37Can't get much better now.
16:39It isn't. I definitely had the coolest car in the high school parking lot.
16:42I bet.
16:43By far.
16:45This car was a huge part of my youth. But I went off to college in 1960 and the car
16:51got sold.
16:55Rob lost track of the car for many years until one day he got the itch to see if he
17:00could find it again.
17:02He put an ad in an automobile magazine and wouldn't you know it, he found the man who owned the
17:08car.
17:09Rob bought it back from him and painstakingly restored it to exactly the condition he had it when he was
17:15in high school.
17:17Right down to the gear shift. And the brushed on paint.
17:22So now you complete this mission and then what happens?
17:25Well, this thing really needs a fun chapter three. And that's where you came into the picture. What you're doing
17:32with it is just fantastic.
17:34We're taking it to auction at the Bonhams Auction at Amelia Island. And you're donating all the proceeds of the
17:41sale to Autism Speaks.
17:44And I got to be very truthful with you. I'm going to be at the auction and I'm going to
17:47be one of the bidders.
17:49That's great. Well, nothing would make me happier than for you to get the car. Believe me.
17:52Thanks.
17:52Thank you so much.
17:53Thank you. It's a great thing you're doing.
17:59That's a cool car. I love it.
18:03All right. Another award.
18:05Yeah, thank you.
18:06The judges are handing out ribbons now. So it's time for me to see if they think the Studebaker is
18:11as hot as I do.
18:13Sharni, congratulations. Thank you. Best in class.
18:16All right. Excellent. Thank you very much.
18:19My pleasure. Thank you. Great.
18:21Thanks for coming.
18:22All right. As the Studebaker Starliner Commander Coupe.
18:24The car's been judged and I was handed a ribbon. It says that I won first in class, best preserved
18:30car. So it's pretty thrilling for me.
18:33What about Wayne's car is...
18:36Best in class, 1933 to 1955, is a 1954 Studebaker Commander, brought by Wayne Marini of Portland, Connecticut.
18:46Won some great awards today with the Studebaker. Preservation Award is an award that, you know, you covet.
18:53I've had a lot of people want to buy the car today. It's always nice to have something that everybody
18:58wants but they can't have.
19:00I couldn't be happier with how the Studebaker performed today.
19:05And showing Rob's hot rod and hearing the amazing story of how he found it again so many years later
19:11was a treat.
19:12I'm really looking forward to helping him sell it to raise money for Autism Speaks at auction in Amelia Island,
19:19Florida next month.
19:25So I arrived here at the Amelia Island Bonham Sale.
19:29And I'm here with Rob Gibby, the owner of the 1934 Hot Rod.
19:34He's donating it to Autism Speaks with all the proceeds going to Autism Speaks.
19:38And I can't wait to help him sell the car.
19:41This is chapter three. You know, chapter one was building it as a kid. Chapter two is finding it.
19:46Now it's on to another chapter. Here we go. Lot number 134. The Hot Rod. Let's start it off.
19:53$20,000, please, for charity, please.
19:55So the car's on stage. The bidding starts off. I throw a bid in of $20,000.
20:00$20,000 I have at $20,000. $20,000, we're off and away at $20,000 now.
20:05$22,000. See you there. $22,000, Barry, I have you. $22,000. This is all going to benefit Autism
20:11Speaks. $22,000. $25,000.
20:14Some other guy says $25,000. $26,000 perhaps.
20:18I wanted to see it get as much money as possible. So I throw $26,000. $26,000 to my
20:23right then.
20:23He's back in at $26,000. Of course. Generously bid by Wayne Greener here at $26,000. Am I offered
20:31any more?
20:32No more, you sure, ladies and gentlemen? $26,000 is here to my right.
20:38Wayne, thank you very, very much. I know it's a cause that's dear to your heart.
20:42It's hammer sold to me at $26,000. All the money's going to Autism Speaks. I get a great car
20:48out of the deal.
20:49I'm really glad you wound up with the car. I really am.
20:55I'm happy. Oh, me too. I'm happy. I'm really happy.
20:58honey.
20:58Right, man.
20:59Don't worry, man.
20:59Money, sovereign est acceptable.
21:00Don't worry.
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