[English]
like the kind of place
we can get our hands dirty.
MIKE: Look at that.
Oh, look at the Ford!
FRANK: Oh, that's cool.
MIKE: Oh, yeah, man!
[honks horn]
FRANK: Dani wasn't kidding.
I mean, when we pull up
to this property,
I'm seeing a lot of barns,
a lot of garages,
a lot of sheds.
MIKE: You got a flyer?
FRANK: Got it, man.
MIKE: Alright, let's do it!
FRANK: This guy's name's Mike.
MIKE: Hey, you Mike?
LODI MIKE: Yeah.
MIKE: Nice Ford!
MIKE: There's a white
1930s convertible Ford.
Obviously, we're in
the right place.
MIKE: Hey, I'm Mike too.
Talked to Dani?
LODI MIKE: Nice to meet you.
Yeah, yeah.
FRANK: Frank,
how're you doing?
LODI MIKE: How are you, Frank?
FRANK: Pleasure.
MIKE: Did you restore this?
LODI MIKE: Actually, my dad did
and my cousin Al did.
MIKE: No kiddin'.
LODI MIKE: This was just
really like a paperweight.
MIKE: It's a driver!
LODI MIKE: Yeah.
LODI MIKE: It's got a
small block 350 in it.
FRANK: Sure.
LODI MIKE: We put
power-steering in it.
We made it a lot easier
for Dad to drive it,
for one thing.
FRANK: He could drive it
anywhere!
LODI MIKE: Pretty much.
MIKE: He was riding in style!
LODI MIKE: Yeah.
[laughs]
when he was a kid.
MIKE: This was all
your dad's stuff, huh?
LODI MIKE: Yeah, it was.
And he passed away
at the end of the year,
and I've been just been
working on trying my best
to pull through
and make it...
MIKE: Sort through,
figure it all out?
LODI MIKE: Yeah, yeah.
It's been quite a chore.
MIKE: Yeah.
LODI MIKE: It's a collection
that's out of control.
I need to make room.
My wife was willing
to move here,
down to this big house,
and it's an old house.
LODI MIKE: We've been doing
a lot of remodeling inside,
FRANK: Mike is a
motivated seller,
and nothing motivates
a seller like a wife
that wants to clean out
the property.
to patch the stuff
for a while.
MIKE: How much for
the broken propeller?
Both tips are broke off.
LODI MIKE: Yeah,
what does it say here?
MIKE: Oh, there's another
one behind it.
Is this like
the wall of shame?
All the broken ones?
LODI MIKE: Is that one
broken?
MIKE: That one's not broke,
is it?
This one's not broke.
LODI MIKE: No, and it's--
MIKE: And that's
bolted on there, hard!
LODI MIKE: Yeah, it's...
yeah, it's bolted
through the shaft,
so that should come loose.
MIKE: Okay.
LODI MIKE: And
come right off.
Either that or this building
will fly away.
MIKE: So how about...
three bills for this one,
and then the other one,
like, let me see...
That one's rough, man.
Like, 60 bucks.
LODI MIKE: Yeah, okay,
I could see that.
MIKE: Alright.
MIKE: Imagine the shredded,
splintered one
hanging above a bar.
I love it.
LODI MIKE: Don't have a need
for a big belt-driven
drill press, do you?
MIKE: This one's smaller,
and manageable.
Some of them are so big,
you can't even mess around
with them, you know?
MIKE: Okay, so this is a
line shaft drill press.
So before power tools had
individual motors,
they were powered by
a line shaft.
So there was one central
motor that powered
all of the machinery
in the shop
through a series of belts.
So anything from a drill press
to a lathe, or a saw,
all of these things were run
from one central power source
with a series of belts.
Now, the great thing
about this drill press,
it's not so huge
that you can't move it.
MIKE: What do you want
for this?
LODI MIKE: I have no clue,
Mike.
MIKE: Well, it's just...
I mean, it's kind of a...
it's a prop.
LODI MIKE: It is.
MIKE: You know,
for someone to put,
if they're doing an
early garage, you know,
if they're collecting Model Ts,
Model As, you know...
LODI MIKE: And the thing is,
my dad used that.
LODI MIKE: The building was
where we built cars,
and where we worked on different
things, and just had fun.
He kept that thing
greased up,
and you can be guaranteed
it would work.
MIKE: Two, two bills!
LODI MIKE: Good enough.
MIKE: I think it's cool.
And, you know, the
great thing about it is
it's easy
to move around.
LODI MIKE: I'm glad to see
that go to a good home,
only because it was one of
the things my dad used a lot.
MIKE: There's actually
people out there
that will still use this.
And even though they're few
and far between,
it's still a desirable piece.
LODI MIKE: This was my dad's.
FRANK: Oh, cool!
MIKE: Alright,
now you're talking.
FRANK: Oh, I love
motorcycles!
A Zundapp!
FRANK: Zundapp motorcycles
are German-made motorcycles.
I mean, at one time,
they were Europe's
largest manufacturer
of motorcycles.
MIKE: Unbelievable.
MIKE: I bought a Zundapp
in Italy
when Frankie and I were there
a few years ago.
Bam, we see it!
KS-750 Zundapp,
with side car.
CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah!
MIKE: Oh, yeah!
FRANK: Zundapp!
Now we're talking!
CONTRIBUTOR: Zundapp!
MIKE: Let me see, ah...
FRANK: Because they're
made overseas,
Zundapps are very easy
to spot in Europe,
but not so easy to find
in America.
MIKE: Very cool.
Is it original paint?
LODI MIKE: I believe it is.
FRANK: 50 what?
LODI MIKE: '54 I think.
FRANK: Wow.
LODI MIKE: The Buco seat
is not the original seat,
but it's a much more
comfortable seat.
FRANK: Okay.
LODI MIKE: I know that
the value on it drops
a little bit because it's
not the original seat.
MIKE: That's a
great seat, though.
Opposed Zundapp...
FRANK: Opposed Zundapp.
FRANK: Zundapp is one of
the few motorcycle companies
that run opposed motors.
That's where the cylinders,
instead of going up and down,
go side to side.
FRANK: It kicks through, still.
Even after all this time.
LODI MIKE: That's one thing
that my dad did.
Even though
he didn't ride it,
he'd go and make sure that
the engine was loose on this,
and the compression was good.
This was a special thing
to him.
FRANK: Well, I know a little bit
about these bikes.
The tours on these, they have
a bakelite timing gear.
And they corrode-- I mean,
after they've been sitting,
they just corrode.
Those need to be fixed.
They're about 4 or 500 bucks
for the gear,
and about the same
to have them put in.
MIKE: Yeah, it was,
the bakelite gear was--
the timing gear
was quieter.
LODI MIKE: Yeah, yeah.
MIKE: That's why
they did that.
LODI MIKE: [laughs]
MIKE: This is a rare bike.
FRANK: Oh, yeah.
So, I mean, I'm interested.
What would you have to have?
LODI MIKE: Frank, I know
that a bike in this condition
is worth about five.
FRANK: Okay.
FRANK: These don't come up
for sale that much, you know?
I mean, they're very rare.
A lot of people specialize
in German motorcycles.
I don't know a lot about them,
but I know enough to buy it.
FRANK: I'd be comfortable
at 4,000.
LODI MIKE: You know,
I think I'd be comfortable
with you having it at 4.
FRANK: Really?
LODI MIKE: Yeah.
FRANK: Well, heck of a deal.
I'll do 'er, then.
LODI MIKE: Alright.
FRANK: Alright.
MIKE: It's a rare bike,
Frank.
You know, it'd be right
up there with, like,
the BMW R69S.
It's right there with
the quality of it, you know?
FRANK: Right.
LODI MIKE: As much as Dad
liked the bike,
I like the idea of it
going somewhere,
so I don't see it
on the road.
LODI MIKE: That bike has
special meaning in our family.
It deserves respect...
to get it up running,
but I don't want to see--
I don't want it
riding by my house.
FRANK: Wow!
This is awesome in here!
FRANK: It's like
walking into a movie set.
The light's coming
through the windows,
making it look like
a magical set-up.
FRANK: Look at the cars!
♪
MIKE: So Mike saves the
biggest barn for last,
and you can't help but notice
this killer collection
of cars from
the early 1900s.
MIKE: Mike's got a few
Franklins in this barn.
Some are from the 1930s,
but there's one from 1919.
LODI MIKE: It was
a good road car,
but it was also one
that you could just...
do anything
you wanted to with it.
MIKE: And this is the
earlier one over here?
LODI MIKE: Yeah.
The early, early Franklin.
MIKE: Yeah.
See, these are the ones
I've seen before
and fell in love with
in the past.
The front end of
these cars are insane.
I mean, it looks like
a locomotive.
LODI MIKE: Yeah, and
it just amazes me
how easily things move.
LODI MIKE: They used to call
it a 'coffin nose Franklin.'
At least that's what
I grew up learning it as.
It's got the split windshield
that comes to a point.
It looks more like a--
I don't know, an airplane,
a boat, or something else
like that.
MIKE: There was a guy
in southern Iowa
that I tried to buy
one of these cars off of.
LODI MIKE: Yeah?
MIKE: Years ago.
I was just so enamored
with the front end of it.
And it's--
I'll tell you,
once you see the front end
of a Franklin,
you never forget it.
LODI MIKE: Yeah.
MIKE: I mean,
they're so unique.
MIKE: Franklin cars have been
around since the early 1900s.
This is a car company from
Syracuse, New York,
ahead of its time,
with cutting-edge engineering.
MIKE: It's so amazing,
I mean, just think about it,
you know, this car was
air-cooled back then.
LODI MIKE: It's hard
to believe, 1919,
and they were paying attention
to this kind of stuff.
MIKE: Yeah...
It was a very innovative time
in American transportation.
LODI MIKE: Did you look at
the interior?
MIKE: No, I didn't even
look at the interior yet.
LODI MIKE: You've gotta
look at the interior.
MIKE: Oh wow,
oh wow!
This is the original
interior?
LODI MIKE: Yes, it is.
MIKE: Oh wow!
LODI MIKE: Open that door,
and if you look at the handles,
they're not just
the typical handles.
They're like a brass, they
look more like something
on furniture,
than they do a car door.
It's just so elegant
inside the car too.
It's just such a really
classy vehicle.
LODI MIKE: Do you see the
netting on the roof there,
right there?
MIKE: I saw that, yeah.
LODI MIKE: Isn't that cool?
MIKE: This is a barn find,
by every means.
It looks like underneath
all the dirt and dust,
it's original paint.
LODI MIKE: One of those
things where you walk in,
and you go, "Wow, I didn't
think anything like this
existed in this condition."
MIKE: Yeah.
FRANK: And how long
has it been sitting here?
LODI MIKE: It's been here
at least 30 years.
40 years, probably.
MIKE: Do you remember
where your pops found it?
Or was it your uncle, your
grandfather that had it, or...?
LODI MIKE: I think it was
my uncle again.
There was a lot...
MIKE: So it's always been
in the family then,
if your dad got it
from your uncle?
LODI MIKE: Yeah, pretty much.
LODI MIKE: The Franklins,
they all ran.
In fact, my father drove one
of them back and forth
to work in Cleveland
for a while.
MIKE: What kind of number
do you have on this one?
LODI MIKE: Actually, a guy
made an offer on it once.
MIKE: What did he
offer you?
LODI MIKE: 4 and a half, 5.
MIKE: They're not
big money cars,
especially if they're
barn finds,
because you never know
what you're going to
encounter mechanically,
with one of these cars.
And it's not like there's
a tremendous amount
of parts out there.
MIKE: It's not like
they come up onto
the market all the time,
you know?
LODI MIKE: Right.
MIKE: So it's difficult to
navigate the restoration
of one of these, or even to
mechanically restore one.
MIKE: What research
have you done on this car?
LODI MIKE: Well,
a car in this condition is...
5, 6, $7,000 range,
because it's a barn find
and yeah, it's a little
crummy dirty,
but you've got--
the interior's nice on it,
it's well-lubricated,
at this point...
FRANK: It's all there.
LODI MIKE: It's all here.
LODI MIKE: Um, biggest problem
you've got is a dent.
MIKE: Yeah.
LODI MIKE: And that's about it.
MIKE: So it's a straight car
that would be perfect
for a restoration
or if you wanted
to just mechanically
go through it.
LODI MIKE: Exactly.
MIKE: Getting a car to run
is completely different
than getting a car to drive.
MIKE: What would you feel
comfortable selling it at?
LODI MIKE: [sighs]
Something over 5.
MIKE: So 6 would do it?
MIKE: I think there's some
room on the back end,
if I can get
the car to run.
LODI MIKE: 6 would do it
really easy.
MIKE: Okay, well,
then let's do it.
LODI MIKE: You just bought
yourself a Frankie-lin.
MIKE & FRANK: [laughing]
MIKE: Wow!
LODI MIKE: I'm glad
he got it.
It's nice to see somebody
who can truly appreciate that
for the beauty that
that car really is.
but I think I've made
some friends.
If I've got a question,
I think I know who
I can turn to
for an answer.
[honks horn]
MIKE: See you guys!
LODI MIKE: So long!
KAREN: Bye!