Mike: Wooh! Ask him if that's one of the wheels.
Tony: No. Katie: Nope.
Mike: That was a fast no. Tony: Keep digging!
Jenny: My great-great grandparents came from new jersey, and they...
Jersey jon: Oh no kidding, they're from jersey?
Jenny: Yeah. Jersey jon: That's where I'm from. You guys hungarian?
Jenny: Yeah... No.
(group laughing)
Mike: This looks like it had to be one of your drag cars.
Tony: Look at the wood.
Mike: That's how long this car's been sitting here?
Tony: Yeah. Mike: Damn.
Robbie: This is like dairy country out here.
Jersey jon: Dude, we are out there.
Robbie: I'm telling ya.
Jersey jon: We are, we are in the middle of nowhere michigan, man. This is like, woo.
What's that in the garbage?
Pull over here, robbie, it's a radio.
Yeah, it's a nice radio cab, let me go see that thing.
Robbie: Jersey, we don't need that thing, dude.
Jersey jon: Yeah, dude, I want it.
Robbie: We don't need that thing!
Jersey jon: Ooh. Robbie: Dude, I just-
Jersey jon: I want it.
Robbie: We had a conversation about heavy crap.
What is wrong with you?
Jersey jon: Robbie, chill out.
Robbie: Seriously, what do you think it's worth, 5 bucks?
Jersey jon: No! That's like $100 just laying on the side of the road, robbie.
Robbie: Yeah, $100. Jersey jon: Yeah!
Robbie: The last thing we needed was another
Large piece of wood in the van.
Jersey jon: It's a 1940s tube radio, dude.
I think it's killer.
Robbie: Do me a favor, try and focus on some small stuff.
Jersey jon: This is what I know, and this is what I do.
They were chucking it out.
Mike: Dani d, what's up? Danielle: Mike wolfe.
How are you doing today?
Mike: I'm doing good, man,
Just driving in the hollers of pennsylvania.
Danielle: Well let me holler at you with this.
Are you getting close to freedom?
Mike: Yeah, I'm about 6 miles away.
Jersey jon: We got a text from dani. Robbie: Yeah?
Jersey jon: Yeah, let me put my glasses on.
'hey fellas, sending you guys to a couple of sisters named shelly and jenny.'
Robbie: Okay.
Danielle: Tony's been wrenching on cars
And racing since before he could even walk,
And- and by racing, I mean drag racing.
Jersey jon: 'the family has owned a farm for around 150 years.
And now they want to clear out the attic
And barns to fund the restoration.'
Danielle: I'm gonna tell katie you're on your way right now.
And I get the feeling that tony might not be
100% on board with everything.
You know, approach it when it feels right.
Mike: Okay, thanks for the warning.
Jersey jon: 'lots of accumulation from generations over the years.'
This sounds cool.
Robbie: You know what that sounds like to me?
Jersey jon: What? Robbie: A bunch of wood.
Jersey jon: I hope so.
Robbie: Just don't pack the van, dude, leave me a corner.
Robbie: Right here. Jersey jon: Very. Look at that.
Robbie: Look at that barn, look at that thing, dude.
Jersey jon: Yeah, the barn's killer.
Robbie: It looks like half of it's collapsed.
Jersey jon: It looks like it's falling down, yeah. It's going to be fun.
(honks horn)
Jersey jon: Hello!
Robbie: Hello, how are you? Shelly: Hi.
Jersey jon: Hey. Jenny: Good. How are you?
Jersey jon: What a place you got here.
Jenny: I'm jenny. Robbie: Jenny. Rob wolfe.
Shelly: Shelly.
Robbie: Talked to danielle on the phone?
Shelly: Yeah, she talked to my husband, jim.
Jersey jon: Jon. Shelly: Hi jon.
Shelly: The family farm was settled in 1867.
Our great-great-grandparents came in covered wagons
And built a log cabin.
And then in the early 1900s,
The family farmhouse was built.
Robbie: Can we look around?
Jenny: You can, you can go anywhere you want.
We can start here if you'd like.
Robbie: Alright. Was this one of the original buildings from the homestead?
Jenny: Yes. This used to be an ice shed.
Up on the curve, there's a lake up there, it's called dunn lake.
And they used to go up there and cut ice.
Jersey jon: Oh they would cut the ice and bring it here?
They pack it in sawdust and stuff.
Jenny: Yes, yes, they did. Robbie: Do you remember that?
Jenny: I don't.
Jersey jon: Yeah, that would have been way before your time.
Robbie: Yeah, this looks like stuff that you've taken out of the house.
Jenny: That- shelly: Yes. This is...
Jersey jon: That's renovation stuff, right?
Jenny: Yeah, this pretty much is junk.
Robbie: Okay. Jenny... There's a... Ugh...
Let me ask you...
Is this part of the homestead or is this something you guys
Are looking at keeping?
This uh... Was this on part of the... Whoa!
Part of the porch or something?
Jenny: The swing? Robbie: Yeah.
Jenny: Yes, that was original to the farmhouse.
Robbie: Yeah?
Jenny: But I'm willing to part with that.
Robbie: Jersey, help me get this thing out
So I can look and see if it has any rot on it.
Jersey jon: Sure, robbie. Robbie: Alright. I got this.
Jersey jon: You got it? Robbie: I got this side right here.
Shelly: Yeah, that's an old, old swing.
We used to swing on that as kids.
Robbie: Really? Shelly: Yeah. It's- it's...
Robbie: I love the paint on it.
Shelly: I think we all took turns swinging on the swing,
And it would hit the house and mom would like, 'stop it!'
Jersey jon: It looks like it's victorian-era.
Jersey jon: It looks like it's an 1880s porch swing.
Shelly: Yep, I believe the swing
Was made by my great-grandfather.
Robbie: Did you guys scratch your names in this thing?
Shelly: I don't know, maybe! Jenny: Ha! (laughs) probably.
Robbie: Well right here.
Was it your first like, kiss on the porch swing?
Jersey jon: Yeah, who got the first kiss on the porch on this one, huh?
Shelly: Possibly, I'm not telling.
Jenny: Shel... Shel-ley! Jersey jon: Ah, good for you!
Jersey jon: It's neat, robbie. Robbie: It's cool.
Jersey jon: Yeah, it's got a great look.
Robbie: You guys sure you want to sell this?
Jenny: Yeah. It's time to let go of some stuff. Shelly: We could let it go.
Robbie: Alright. Jersey jon: Alright.
Robbie: What separates this from picking a collection
Or a collector, is that you're finding these things
In their natural habitat.
Robbie: Not rotted anywhere. Jersey jon: No, it's not.
Robbie: It probably was built right here on the family farm.
But man, it was built heavy-duty,
To last 150 years.
Robbie: 200 bucks.
Jenny: I was thinking like, 3?
Robbie: 275.
Jenny: Okay. That's fair. Robbie: That work?
Jenny: That's fair, yep. Shelly: I think so.
Jersey jon: Cool. This thing is heavy, robbie.
Robbie: Let's put it down right here.
Jersey jon: And it's big and heavy.
Robbie: Oh are you- are you...
Jersey jon: Yeah.
Robbie: It's not like regular furniture, jersey.
Jersey jon: I love that you're buying furniture.
Robbie: Settle down.
Mike: Oh yeah, there they are.
(chuckles) (honks horn)
Mike: Hey-hey! Hey, you katie? Katie: Yeah.
Mike: I'm mike. Katie: Hi, nice to meet you.
Mike: How are you doing? Good to see ya.
Here, I'll hand you a flyer, dani probably went through some of that stuff with ya.
Hey man, how are ya?
Tony: Good. How are you doing? Mike: Heard a lot about ya.
Yeah, they're talking about you all the way up in iowa.
Tony: Good or bad?
Mike: Hey, you know, barnum and bailey said,
'who cares what they're saying, as long as they're talking.'
Right?
Tony: As long as they're paying, right?
Mike: That's right, as long as you're paying, yeah.
What do you got going on here, damn!
Tony: Working on a race car, me and katie.
Mike: Yeah? Oh she- you are working on it too?
Katie: Yeah, I dabble.
Tony: I've been collecting race car parts all my life.
My older brother, chuck, got me into racing.
Tony: I think I was 8 years old.
Mike: You were racing at 8.
Tony: Well, I wasn't racing, I was wrenching.
Mike: Okay, you were wrenching on stuff.
Tony: Some guy come down, chuck was sleeping in the car
'cause he had a little too many that night.
He says to chuck, 'hey buddy,
That little kid's working on your car!'
Chuck goes, 'get outta here, leave him alone!'
Katie: Growing up around the cars is completely normal to me.
I still have all my fingers, all my toes.
If it didn't have an engine, it didn't run,
I didn't care about it.
Tony: I bought her and her brother go-karts, mini-bikes.
Mike: Oh, you were one of those kids, huh.
Katie: It was an electric golf cart, right.
And he put car batteries in it.
And he goes, 'hey katie, you're the lightest, get in it.'
Rode a wheelie probably a quarter-mile down the road.
Mike: Get outta here!
Katie: He's going down there... Mike: Did you get wheelie bars?
Katie: No! Tony: No.
Mike: (laughs) katie: God no.
Mike: Once racing is in your blood, it is there to stay.
It's more than just tradition, it's actually in your dna.
Katie is second-generation.
And what she's out here doing with her dad
Is exactly what tony was doing with his brothers.
Tony: This car here's a '67 camaro.
Mike: Yeah? Tony: She'll be racing it next year.
Mike: No kidding, you're going to race this? Katie: Yeah.
Mike: Now what engine's going to be in this?
Tony: A 434 small block.
Katie: Yeah, just a little tickler.
Mike: Yeah. (laughs)
Tony: It's probably about 7- 800 horsepower.
Mike: No kidding.
Tony: My brother, bill, was racing the car for a while.
I'm going to feel proud when I see katie
Going down the track doing a wheel stand about this high.
Katie: Just like the golf cart.
Mike: Yeah. Katie: Yeah.
Mike: Where tony is at, we are all going to be there.
You know, guys who are wrenching on stuff, collecting things.
You have your circle of people that inspire you,
You have your family, and then you have your physical abilities
That start to kind of fall away.
What about anything back here, is there anything back here
That you guys have thought about maybe turning loose or anything?
You know, he's just realizing that like,
I can't do all this.
You know, I want to, I want to finish a car with my daughter,
I want to have that moment with her,
I want to have that connection.
But the rest of this stuff is turning into white noise.
All these things that he fell in love with
And he loved his whole life and he raced and wrenched on,
And worked on, it's like, all that stuff's
Kind of fading away, and it's just, it's more about him
And his daughter, and the car
That they're going to work on together.
Tony: How about 2 '59 corvettes?
Mike: Oh you got '59's? Tony: Yep.
Mike: Is that some of your first cars? That you raced?
Tony: The one was.
I don't know, I've had it since the early '70s.
And it's been sitting in the garage ever since.
Mike: Okay.
Alright, that has been sitting here for a while.
Tony: It's covered with everything. Mike: Damn!
Jenny: This was originally my grandfather's dairy barn.
Robbie: Okay.
Shelly: Then 2006 or '7,
A tornado came through, took off the roof of the barn.
And my dad didn't have the means to fix the roof.
And so eventually, you know, the elements came in...
Jersey jon: Yeah, once- once the roof goes, it's over.
Robbie: Oh yeah, yeah. You can see all that in here.
Are you guys going to rebuild these barns?
Jenny: Eventually, yeah. Shelly: Got a big job. We do.
Robbie: Got a lot of work, oh yeah, heck yeah.
Was this built about the same time as the rest of the property?
Shelly: It was built at the turn-of-the-century,
So 1904, something like that.
Robbie: Wow. Jersey jon: Ah cool.
Yeah, it's all hand-hewn beams, robbie.
Robbie: Yeah. Just like the family home,
It has great bones, it has a great foundation.
They still have the beams.
They can build this back to what it was.
Hey, look at this, jersey.
Jersey jon: Yeah, that's a nice forge, robbie.
Robbie: Was your dad a blacksmith
Or just was using this for shoeing the horses or...?
Jenny: He shoed our horses.
Jersey jon: At that time, farms had to be self-sufficient.
You had to make everything, and you needed a forge
To repair a harness, to repair a wagon.
Jenny: That was used by his grandpa.
Robbie: Yeah. Jenny: And his dad.
Jersey jon: Yeah, it's an early one.
This is like the centennial, like 1875.
It's one of the earliest forges I've ever found.
Is it something you want to sell?
Jenny: Yeah, I would sell it.
Jersey jon: They're never going to use a forge like this,
Because it's an antique forge.
It's more of a collector's piece.
I would do 200 on it.
Jenny: I was thinking like 4.
Jersey jon: Ooh... I couldn't even retail that thing for 4
All fixed up and running.
The best I could do is like 250?
Jenny: What do you think? Shelly: I think that's okay.
Jersey jon: Yeah, you're not getting into blacksmithing, are you?
Jenny: Might.
Jersey jon: Enh... Robbie: (laughs)
Jersey jon: Well, come down to my shop, you can use it anytime you want.
Jenny: Okay. What kind of horses you have?
Jersey jon: I love horses, but I don't have any.
I don't have the property for it.
But I do blacksmith work and I know a lot of people who do.
Jenny: Perfect.
Tony: I'll show you this '59 corvette that I'll let go.
Mike: God-dang, man.
A lot to take in here, tony.
Tony: Something how cars accumulate stuff over them.
Mike: Alright, I can kind of see it now.
You've stripped the paint, you've got it down to nothing.
I mean, this thing, there's no interior in it.
The doors are off of it, the windshield.
There's no engine in it.
What are you going to want for something like this?
Tony: It depends on what you're going to do to with the car.
Mike: Yeah.
Tony: Right now, the cars are bringing big money
As pro street, you know.
Mike: Okay, like building it as a pro street rod.
Tony: Yeah. Mike: Okay.
What I'd obviously like to do is see more of the car.
It's hard to make any kind of offer to you,
Without actually seeing some more of it.
Katie: I'll help you.
Mike: Ahh... I just don't want these to shatter all over it.
Katie: It's garage glitter when that happens.
Mike: Yeah... (laughing) there you go.
How long has this thing been buried here, tony?
Tony: Since 1985.
Mike: Okay, this gasket set to this car?
Tony: No. Gasket set.
If I break something, if I burnt the motor,
Then I have a spare block, I have a spare crankshaft.
Katie: If he gets pissed off and throws it at somebody.
Mike: Alright. So we got a big piece of plexiglas.
Tony: You could pitch that over wherever you want.
Mike: Alright, I got you.
Tony: Oh this is katie's hood there for her camaro.
Mike: That's the hood for your car? Tony: Yeah.
Mike: So do you want this outside? This is your hood?
Katie: Yeah, we could set it back here.
Mike: Sure. Katie: Yeah.
Mike: I can see...
The front bumper grille,
Look at that, there you go.
Oh yeah... Tony: Yep.
The iconic corvette... Mike: That's sexy, right?
Tony: For real. Mike: Yeah.
Do you have the seats for it?
Tony: I don't remember, to be honest with ya.
Mike: Oh yeah.
Ooh, when's the last time you saw that on there?
Tony: Been a while. Mike: Huh?
Tony: Been a while. Mike: Huh? What do you think?
Pulling all the stuff off the front of the car
And you see those dual headlights.
I mean, it's a '59, putting a hood on it,
It's easy to fall in love with it, man.
It's a corvette barn find.
But when you start thinking about the money
And the amount of time and the effort you would go into
To get this car to the next level, it's crazy!
Anything and everything needs to be done to this car.
You're starting from the very bottom,
You're starting from the grassroots of it.
Tony: There's only one little crack in the body,
It's right behind the front.
Mike: I see what you're saying yeah right, ow! Okay.
Alright, before we go any further with uncovering it,
I- I mean, I've seen the inside of it.
I see what's going on there.
Now, I can see the front end,
I can kind of see one side of the back end.
You know, you're telling me the only damage
On the body is here.
Tony: Right. Mike: That you know of, that you remember.
Tony: Right. Mike: Okay.
So to be honest with ya,
It's like putting all this stuff on top of it,
Over the years, protected it.
Is that what you were going for?
Tony: Yeah. Basically.
(laughs)
Katie: This car's been here for longer than I've been alive.
Whenever I was little, I used to jump on it and play.
'cause I had no idea what the hell it was, I mean,
Fully restored, these things are going for shh-
Well over $100,000.
We just don't have the time or the- the money to put into it.
I'd like to see somebody who's fanatic about these,
Get it, and do it right.
Mike: Yeah. A lot of them have been bought up,
You know, there are a lot of them that are in really,
Really bad condition.
Um...
What are you thinking?
Tony: I've turned down offers 20,000 or better.
Mike: Ugh...
This would be the kind of car you'd want to buy
If you were going to do the work yourself,
Or really rebuild something from the ground up
To make it your own.
Like drop an ls-7 in it, take the straight rear axle out,
Just like, upgrade it completely,
You know, make it a street rod like he was talking.
That might be the guy that would buy this car.
You know, like for me, I'm looking at it,
From a standpoint, you know, if somebody throws out $20,000
For this, and another $70,000
Or $100,000 to do the car, you're already upside down.
I'm looking at it to flip it.
I don't think there's room there.
Tony: Well, what do you think, mike?
Mike: Man, I'll tell you what, if I was looking for a corvette
That I wanted to restore and I wanted to keep,
This would be it, but I'm not that guy.
I mean, if you've had an offer at 20 grand on it,
I think...
I mean, that's- that's- that's more than I would pay for it.
I'm glad we asked before we dug the whole thing out.
Katie: Yeah.
Tony: Well, you can dig it all out for me.
Mike: You want me to dig it all out?
Tony: It's about impossible to find an early 'vette
That the front end wasn't wrecked.
Well, that car, the body on it's just about perfect.
Guess I'm going to have to call the people up
That offered me the more money.
(laughs)
I got a cheaper one. Mike: A cheaper one, what?
Tony: Corvette, '59.
Mike: You got a cheaper one than this?
Tony: Yeah. Mike: Why is that one cheaper?
Tony: Well, let me show you, you could see.
Mike: (chuckles) okay. Alright.
Shelly: We're going to go to the house.
It's currently being renovated
By, mostly by jenny's husband, matt.
Robbie: Yeah? Shelly: Watch your step.
Jersey jon: Oh yeah.
Robbie: Wow. You weren't kidding. It is getting renovated.
Jersey jon: Man, yeah, you really did a great job.
Shelly: The house is almost 150 years old.
Her husband, matt, has been
Ripping the walls down to the studs to rewire
And reinsulate and redo the floors.
Robbie: He's restoring it so that it can be here
For another 150 years. Jenny: We hope so.
Shelly: And that's what my dad wanted.
He wanted to keep passing down generation after generation.
So that's what we're trying to do.
Jenny: We lost father two years ago in may.
And I made a promise to him, I would make sure...
That the farm was kept in the family,
And it would be brought back to its beauty.
Shelly: That's a huge undertaking, as you can see.
So lighting is non-existent, so be careful.
Jersey jon: Love that banister. Shelly: Be careful your step.
Robbie: Wow. You weren't kidding.
Jersey jon: Yeah. Some serious...
Robbie: So no lights up here. Shelly: No.
Robbie: How many kids, just you two?
Shelly: No, there are 4 kids. Robbie: Yeah?
Shelly: One bathroom.
Robbie: I know, those are the best.
It's like, hey, it's like if you didn't show up to eat at dinner,
The food is gone, it was off the table.
Jersey jon: Let me get in here, robbie.
Ah cool.
Robbie: Why would there be motorcycle trophies everywhere here?
I mean, there's a pile of them.
Shelly: My dad liked everything fast.
He raced motorcycles, horses, and cars.
Robbie: He raced cars? Jenny: Daddy loved speed.
Anything that went fast, dad wanted to try it.
Shelly: I used to hide under my mom's coat,
Because I was terrified he would get hurt,
Because they were going so fast.
Robbie: These are from like, '60s.
Shelly: That's about right, yeah.
Robbie: Ice racing. Shelly: Yep.
Robbie: Wow. Now all of a sudden, I'm finding out that their father is a racer?
Wow, okay, I thought he was a farmer.
That's so cool.
I love the look of these trophies.
They're bsa and triumph.
Would you be interested in selling all of them?
Shelly: Yes.
Robbie: The big thing with trophies, it's about the age.
Nothing against them, but anything from the '30s
Is going to bring more money.
Some are missing the plates,
Some got some broken pieces to them.
I'm thinking 150 bucks out of all of them, because of the age.
Shelly: Um... Could you go 2?
Robbie: (sighs) 175.
Thank you, thanks. Jersey jon: You guys are cool.
Thank you so much. Shelly: You're welcome.
Robbie: Bsa and triumph don't demand the kind of money
That harley davidson stuff does.
But these are still cool.
They'll be easy to sell in the store.
Jersey jon: Shelly! Shelly: Yeah.
Jersey jon: These are old, I mean, this is like show chaps.
How do you pass up a set of buffalo hide chaps?
I mean, these things are from the 1880s,
And they're totally decorated.
And they still got all the buffalo hair
All over the things, these are really cool.
Little bit of decoration at the top of the leatherwork is really nice.
I've always seen these as the buffalo wild west shows and whatnot, you know.
Shelly: Actually, I believe these were worn
By my great-great-grandfather
To keep him warm in the winter, and they-
Jersey jon: They would certainly do that as well. That's for sure.
Shelly: When he was out working...
Jersey jon: He was working in style.
Shelly: ...With the bogs, and yeah, and used them
When he would like move cattle, or if they went hunting.
Jersey jon: It's just cool that they even exist, they're still here.
I'm thinking like, 150 bucks.
Shelly: Ooh... How about 3-and-a-quarter?
Jersey jon: I mean, if they were better condition, these are really, really tough.
They're literally starting to fall apart. 250.
Shelly: I think 300.
Jersey jon: I'll do the 300 bucks.
Shelly: Alright. Jersey jon: You got me.
I mean, you never see them. Shelly: Thank you.
Jersey jon: Yeah, you're welcome. I really appreciate them.
They'll find a good spot.
Mike: This looks like it had to be one of your drag cars.
Tony: Yes. I have pictures of it standing on the back bumper.
Mike: Get outta here! Tony: Yeah.
Mike: What's this say?
Tony: 'prest brothers racing.'
Mike: 'prest brothers racing.'
We all knew those guys, the local legends,
The guys that were bigger than life,
That could do things that none of us could do.
You know, that left an impression on us,
Those coming-of-age moments where you see somebody
Do something that's super-human.
Tony was one of those guys.
Tony: Well, I bought the car right out of high school.
In fact, it had a 409 in it.
Mike: Really? Tony: Yeah.
Mike: They're just so damn sexy, they're just so cool. Tony: Oh they are.
Mike: And the lines of this thing, I mean,
People had to freak out when you were drag racing this.
Seeing a '59 corvette going down the track on the back wheels.
(laughing) you know, that's crazy!
You can just barely read the name of their race team,
It's hand-painted on the car.
It's all faded out, the hood scoop, I mean,
Even though it has no rear end in it,
To me, this one has the look.
Tony: See mike, there's a...
Mike: Okay, I see what you're saying. Tony: ...Back half.
Mike: Okay, so that's what they call it a back half car.
Tony: Yeah. Mike: You guys did that work yourself?
Tony: Yeah. Mike: Man, it's really nice.
Tony: You could see how long the car's been sitting,
Look at the wood.
Mike: That's how long this car's been sitting here?
Holy crap. Tony: This was oak!
Mike: It's been sitting here this long.
Damn.
It's cool, man.
So you're saying that one of those hard tops in there
Goes with this car.
Tony: Yes. Mike: Okay.
So you got the hard top for this.
I noticed the dash is gone, do you have a dash?
Tony: I have a dash for it.
Mike: Look at that, there's a block in there.
Is that the original block to the car?
Tony: No, that's a 350. Mike: Okay.
I mean, there's absolutely no interior in this car whatsoever,
There's no dash in the car, there's just kind of like a...
Aluminum sheet for the floor.
You know, they lightened this thing up as much as they could.
The front half of the car has the original frame,
The rear half - boom - hacked off.
Mike: Do you have the rear end? Tony: Yeah.
Mike: That you raced with? Tony: Yeah.
Mike: What kind of rear end was it?
Tony: Oldsmobile. Mike: No kiddin'? What year?
Tony: Well in the old days, that's what we used to use, oldsmobiles.
Mike: What- like what year oldsmobile rear end?
Tony: I think '59, '62.
Mike: And they were like, indestructible?
Tony: Yeah. Mike: No kiddin', you can just thrash them.
Katie: They had to be, with this guy.
Mike: I was going to say, he's popping wheelies with the damn thing.
So what engine was in it? A 409?
Tony: Well, when I bought it.
But when I was doing the wheel stands,
It had a little small block in it, 331 cubic inches.
Mike: No doubt. What would it run?
Tony: It run in the 10s, in a quarter-mile.
Which was pretty fast for back then.
Mike: Hell yeah. (laughs) yeah, man.
Tony: The owner of mercer drag strip,
Him and his brother owned it.
George sinopolis and alex.
Every time we would pull the giant wheel stand,
Alex would come over and give us 50 bucks.
Mike: I bet.
Tony: When people would give alex a hard time,
And you'd hear, 'prest brothers,
Please come to the concessions stand.'
So me and my 2 brothers would go in there,
We'd have to straighten out the disturbance.
Mike: (laughs)
Tony: We were very good at that.
Mike: Yeah. (laughs)
Katie: Can confirm.
Mike: (laughs) this has got some memories, man.
Tony: Yeah.
Mike: Tony and his brothers were the real deal.
If they wanted to go faster,
They had to figure that stuff out on their own.
The stance of the car,
How light was the car, the tires on the car.
If they blew it up,
They had to start all over again.
It wasn't just about Friday night at the track,
It went deeper than that.
It was about proving it to themselves
That they could do it.
Mike: What are you asking for this one?
How does the front end of this look?
Tony: Good.
Take five grand for it the way it is.
Mike: That is considerably cheaper.
Tony: Yes.
Mike: Okay, so for 5 grand, what are you talking?
Like what comes with it?
Tony: The rear end, and the top.
Mike: And then where's the rear end, is it on this property?
Tony: No, it's down at my buddy's place.
Mike: Okay.
So do you think you have the rear wheels and the dash?
Tony: Yeah.
Mike: Why don't we do this?
I'm interested in the car, the number's not scaring me.
But let's just see if we can find
Any of that other stuff first.
Tony: Sounds good to me. Mike: Alright. Alright, dude.
We're doing it. You're helping me?
Katie: Yeah. Mike: Okay.
(laughs) alright, let's do it.
Robbie: One thing I learned from my brother a long time ago is,
You have to look through everything,
Whether it be a trunk, whether it be a suitcase,
Whether it be a chest of drawers,
'cause that's where all the good stuff was hidden, back in the day.
Robbie: Hey jenny. Jenny: Yeah.
Robbie: The wolverine western horse club.
Jenny: That is a horse club that my grandfather
And my dad started.
Robbie: He was stylin', man. Jenny: That was dad's.
And then the other one is grandpa's.
Robbie: Oh yeah, look at this. Jenny: Yeah.
Robbie: Look at the detail on that.
Those you want to keep, don't ya?
Jenny: No, I can let go of them.
Robbie: This is an american legion, looks like baseball?
Did your dad play for the- jenny: My dad did.
Robbie: He did, okay.
These must have been who your dad raced for.
It says 'college bike shop'? Jenny: Yes.
Robbie: There's another one right here.
This one's cool.
Jenny: That was his bowling shirt.
Robbie: This is neat. 'the competition riders, east lansing, michigan.'
Jenny: They wore those over their leathers.
Robbie: Here's the pants to that,
Here's a jacket that's in here, that's relatively small.
That's why I love vintage clothing.
It's about imagining a different time in america.
But it's also the road map of his life.
He was a horseman, he was a motorcycle rider,
He played on a baseball team.
This is the stuff I absolutely love.
Was this your dad's helmet too? Jenny: One of them, yes.
Robbie: Okay. Doesn't look like the guy ever went down.
I'd like to make you an offer on all of it.
Jenny: Okay. Robbie: $1,000, with the helmet.
Jenny: Okay.
Robbie: Does that work? Jenny: Yeah, it'd work.
Robbie: Alright. They're gonna go to a good home.
Jenny: Thank you. Robbie: They're gonna get used again.
Jenny: I know. Robbie: That's the key to it.
Robbie: They're going to be back out there.
Jenny: Alrighty, thank you. Robbie: Awesome.
Jersey jon: Oh... Hold on a second. This is cool.
Shelly: I don't even know what that is.
Jersey jon: That's a steam whistle.
These guys are trying to clean out their property.
I mean, we're trying to help them raise some funds
To help repair the roof. 30 bucks.
Jenny: Okay. Jersey jon: Yeah? Thank you.
Jenny: You're welcome.
Those were used to put around the horses hoof.
Jersey jon: What's cool about these beads,
That's lignum vitae, it's a really exotic wood,
Which you can't really get anymore.
I see these rarely
For tool handles and stuff like that,
I kind of repurpose this kind of stuff.
Shelly: 25. (laughs) jenny: 25 she says.
Jersey jon: I'll do 25. Jenny: Okay. Alright.
Jersey jon: That's worth it to me.
I got this vise here, that's heavy.
A blacksmith's vise, you know what that is.
Jenny: I do. We bent shoes with that for the draft horses.
Jersey jon: Probably 1875, 1880s.
I bought the forge, something you want to sell?
Jenny: Yeah, I'll sell it to you.
Jersey jon: This blacksmith vise is something I can reuse.
I found one other thing here. Hood ornament, it's a lion.
Probably after-market, die-cast.
Probably from the '40s or '50s.
I'm not sure what car it goes onto.
But it's a cool piece. I've never seen one like that before.
Jersey jon: I'll do 125 if you throw this piece in.
Jenny: Okay, yeah. I can do that.
Jersey jon: Thank you. Jenny: You're welcome.
Jersey jon: Alright. Robbie: Check these things out.
Jersey jon: What do you got? Robbie: Pull it out of there, jersey, come on.
Jersey jon: Urgh... Yeah right. Robbie: Come on, dude, come on.
Jenny: Careful, those are heavy, guys.
Robbie: Ouch, ugh... This thing is not light, jersey.
Jersey jon: Whoa-whoa... No.
You buy some heavy stuff, robbie.
Robbie: Dude. So what were these?
Jenny: They are the skids that came off of the flat wagon
That hauled the logs up here to build the barn.
Jersey jon: Wheels ain't going to go through the snow.
These would go over top of the snow.
You know, draft horses...
Robbie: Draft horses is pulling all that.
Jersey jon: They would pull logs, they would pull ice,
They would pull whatever you had to put on top of them,
And would skid over the ground.
This is heavy-duty construction.
This is bulldozer-tough, back in 1875.
Those are hand-forged skids, by a blacksmith back in the day.
It's wrought like an anvil.
That was a big heavy piece of equipment that they used.
Robbie: Is this something you want to sell?
Jenny: Yes. Robbie: I think there's 4 of them.
Jenny: There is 4. Robbie: I'd like to buy all 4.
Whoever buys these isn't going to use them on a sled.
They're going to use them as a chair, as a table,
Or an art project.
That's what's so cool about them.
Jenny: Throw me a number. Robbie: 250.
I'm not looking to put this back on a sled,
I'm going to repurpose it into something.
Jersey jon: We're buying it for the decorative value.
Robbie: Yeah. Jenny: 3?
Robbie: You know what, that barn needs a new roof.
Jenny: Aw, thank you. Robbie: Seriously, seriously.
Jenny: Thank you. Shelly: Thank you.
Robbie: 300 bucks. Jersey jon: Good stuff.
Mike: So you're saying there's an extra dash up here, maybe.
Tony: Should be. Mike: Okay.
Mike: (chuckles) alright.
Are these extra back bumpers? Here, katie.
Tony: I think so.
Mike: Okay, right now I'm seeing just this one.
Tony: Keep digging!
Mike: If tony and katie are game on
To try and find some of this stuff, I'm all in.
To find the rear end of the car, to find the rear wheels to the car,
The slicks, uh the dash.
I mean, he's willing to let me
Dig through all of this stuff that he has,
To find the parts and pieces
To kind of throw this thing back together.
So, you know, he threw me a number of 5 grand.
And obviously that doesn't scare me, that's interesting,
But I mean, the car has to be able to roll, man.
I mean, think about just shipping the car,
Without a rear end in it, I mean, that's expensive.
Hey, were the seats like a black fiberglass that were in there?
Tony: Yeah. Mike: Alright, I found the seat.
Is that it? Tony: Could be.
Mike: It could be? Tony: Yeah.
Mike: Alright.
You know, I think it's probably worth 5 grand the way it sits,
But what could it be worth if we find some extra parts?
I thought you said you had all this corvette (bleep) in one area.
Katie: (laughs) tony: That was your imagination.
Mike: (laughs)
Hey, would the wheels still have the tires on them or no?
Tony: No.
Mike: Ask him if that's one of the wheels.
Tony: No. Katie: Nope.
Tony: That's a truck wheel. Mike: Okay. That was a fast no.
Tony's sitting downstairs, 'yep', 'nope', 'yep', 'nope'.
I'm just, I'm just hoping for more yep's than nope's.
Mike: Uhh, I don't see nothing.
Hey what about this, this 6-pack.
You got a 6-pack up here missing a carburetor.
Would you sell that? Tony: Yes I will.
Mike: Ugh... Alright katie,
Alright dude, this thing is heavy.
You got it? Katie: I think so.
Mike: Are you sure? Katie: Yep. I got it one-handed.
Mike: You got it one-handed, okay.
Alright.
I mean, can you believe I found this?
It's just so damn cool, man.
Did you ever use it? Did you ever run it?
Tony: No.
Mike: Pontiac 6-pack,
Mid-'50s, early '60s, fits a 347.
This is a really cool piece.
Tony: I don't know, I see them
Go for a grand or more.
Mike: I mean, I don't know how well it would work.
But it's just bad-to-the-bone.
If you see them go for a grand
Or a little more, how about 600?
We're doing it? Okay. 600 bucks.
Jersey jon: Ah cool.
This is huffy. It's an oil can.
My dad has a place called stout mowers in piscataway, new jersey.
Shelly: Oh okay.
Jersey jon: So he had for like 35 years, he had a lawn mower shop,
Pretty big lawn mower shop, sold huffy mowers.
Jenny: Really. Jersey jon: (laughing) yeah.
Jersey jon: He did this for like 40 years, that's how he supported our family.
I mean, he sold huffy mowers,
He had huffy mini-bikes, they had huffy bicycles.
He sold huffy stuff.
He taught me how to do 4-stroke motors,
How to repair lawn mowers,
That's how I learned how to do motorcycles.
I had a motorcycle when I was, you know, 5 years old.
So, this reminds me of my dad. Jenny: Aww...
Jersey jon: So it's just the same way that this is your dad's spot, this is...
Shelly: Yeah. Jersey jon: ...My dad here.
So that's cool, you know. Shelly: Yeah, that is cool.
Jersey jon: I'd love to buy this.
Jenny: You know what, you can have it.
Jersey jon: (laughs) really? Jenny: Yeah, yeah.
Jersey jon: You're a sweetheart, thank you.
Jenny: You're welcome.
Jersey jon: It means a lot to me, it's so weird, I'm tearing up thinking about it, you know.
Mike: (muffled) there we go.
Katie: Oh... Tony: There you go.
Corvette. Katie: Huh.
Mike: That's corvette.
Alright, we found one corvette part back here.
This is tony's car, he raced this car.
Nobody knows the parts more than him.
So this is the mad scientist's shop right here, huh.
Tony: Some of it.
Yeah, I spent more time out here than I did in the house.
Mike: No kiddin'. This is where you guys were up all night working on stuff
Before the race, or after the race.
Tony: Getting the car done, ready to go.
As we got better, we start racing all over.
Mike: So if you guys were traveling that far
Racing that much, I mean, did you have a sponsor or something?
'cause that's a lot of cash. Tony: No, it's from me.
Between my trucking business
And my brother bill had a trucking business,
And that's what funded our racing.
Katie: I think I had my honorary cdl
Before I can even ride a bike. Mike: No doubt.
Katie: The neighbor down the street there,
I had a bunch of clothes to give her,
And you know, I didn't want to haul them all, like carry them all.
And I said, can I take the white truck down there?
They're like, yeah go ahead.
So I did. Mike: How old were you?
Katie: Probably about 8. Mike: Really.
Did she have like wooden blocks on the pedals?
Katie: No, I'm tall. Tony: I didn't think she'd do it.
Mike: Your neighbor must've freaked out when you pulled up.
Katie: No, not really. Mike: Really? Not really?
Katie: I mean, they're used to our (bleep) so.
Mike: Yeah, yeah, they're like, whatever, these guys are doing something.
Katie: Finding the parts was pretty on par, everything is,
You know, it's here, adjacent, we'll get to it... Eventually.
The only place I can think of is inside the basement
With all the oem parts.
Mike: Okay, is that one?
Tony: Yep. One of them.
Mike: That's one of them from that car?
Tony: Yep. Mike: Okay.
Alright, cool.
Leaf-blower, old radio... Here's a rim.
Right here, this is it, I think, this is it.
Tony: You got it. Mike: That's it!
That is it! Yeah!
Tony: I told you, it's all, it's all here,
You just got to look for it.
Mike: I know, right there.
You know, it's all coming together,
And every piece that I find to the car,
It's a time capsule, you know.
And you want to put it back to the way it was,
As close as you can.
Katie: It's like extreme corn hole.
Mike: Those are the tires that would have fit on it?
Tony: Yeah. Mike: I don't know, man.
I'm having fun digging through stuff,
Because if I'm digging through stuff,
Hopefully, maybe I'll find something else.
I mean, if I could get the car up on wheels,
That'd be bad to the bone.
Jersey jon: What is that? Like a...
Jenny: I have no idea what's in there.
Jersey jon: It's a trunk. Oh, it's a tool chest.
That's a world war ii tool chest.
Jenny: My daddy was a heavy equipment operator,
So that may have been in the back of his truck.
Jersey jon: Was your daddy in the war?
Both: No. Jersey jon: Okay.
That's like a military-issue tool chest.
That wouldn't have been a carpenter's chest,
It would've been on a navy ship or something like that.
This thing was designed to withstand the rigors of war.
They made thousands of these things, they do show up.
But this one's in really, really great shape.
It's got its original paint, it's got insignia on it,
It's got stenciling on it, the tool till's in it.
It's a really nice piece.
He probably bought it at a surplus store, and said,
Hey I need a chest, I gotta get my tools protected.
That's going to do the job, you know.
But now, like a lot of the times,
They'll repurpose this as a coffee table
Or sometimes they'll sand them down,
Sometimes this paint is just really cool the way it is, cleaned up.
You got to clean it up to see what it looks like.
Maybe you can put a coat of wax on it, leave it like that.
And the hardware, it has a great, it's got a- robbie: I love the straps on it.
Jersey jon: Yeah, the straps are cool. That has a great industrial look.
This is a really nice wooden chest.
The person who's going to buy this is not going to use this
As a tool chest, they're going to decorate their home with it.
Is this something you might want to sell?
Jenny: Sure. Shelly: I think so, yeah.
Jersey jon: I'd probably give you 100 bucks for it.
Shelly: 150?
Jersey jon: Hmm... 125 bucks.
Shelly: I think that's okay. Jenny: Yeah.
Jersey jon: Yeah? Alright. Shelly: We can do that.
Jersey jon: Thank you so much, I appreciate it.
And it was, it was your dad's. Jenny: It was my dad's.
Jersey jon: That means a lot to me. Jenny: Thank you.
Jersey jon: Robbie, robbie. What's in front of you, dude?
Robbie: It's just a piece of furniture.
Jersey jon: No dude, that's roycroft, man. That's cool.
Roycroft was like an artist community
In the upstate new york region.
And they did this particular style.
Do you see the decoration on here?
See it's all hand-carved, like ginkgo leaves
That's got the vines that go all the way down into the roots in the bottom.
It's a craftsman style piece of furniture.
It's a later example.
They were doing roycroft furniture from like,
1880 to like 1920.
Obviously, you can tell that I'm excited about furniture.
And it does, it really does, it floats my boat.
It's got decoration on the top.
This is a real stylistic piece of furniture,
Around the turn of the century.
If this was made by the roycroft company,
There'd be some kind of marking on it, something,
A paper label, a burn mark,
Some way to identify it made by the roycroft colony.
Oy... Nah. It doesn't have that.
This piece was refinished, here's the original finish on it.
But it's still in good condition.
This is a roycroft knock-off.
Hmm... If this was an original piece of roycroft furniture,
I mean, it'd be an 8 to $10,000 piece of furniture.
But it's from that time period.
It still has great design, great style, and great value.
Is that something you'd consider selling?
Shelly: I think so.
Jersey jon: The retail on this thing is like $1,200.
Shelly: Okay.
Jersey jon: Because it's been refinished,
It's missing the hardware,
It's got some white paint here and there, okay.
I'd be at like 650.
Shelly: Umm... How about 9?
Jersey jon: Yeah, there's just not enough room in it for me. I mean...
Shelly: The lowest I would go would be 8.
Jersey jon: (sighs) um...
I'll tell you what, man, I like it,
I don't see it that often, so thank you. Yes, I'll take it, absolutely.
Shelly: Thank you. Jersey jon: I appreciate it.
Shelly: I was surprised that letting go some of the things
Was easy for me to do.
I didn't think that it would be.
Robbie: Awesome. Jersey jon: Get that in there.
They're taking their family farm and they're doing what they can to keep it alive.
They understand what it meant to him,
And it's obvious that it really means a lot to them.
Jersey jon: Awesome, thank you. Shelly: You're welcome.
Robbie: Listening to their stories,
Takes me back to when my brother and I were kids
At our family farm, with our grandparents.
They got what it takes to bring this farm back to what it was.
Robbie: Thank you for sharing your...
Jersey jon: Thank you so much.
Jenny: I don't think that I'm going to miss anything
That we sold today.
Jersey jon: See you down the road.
Jenny: I think if anything, it's going to make the memories stronger.
Jersey jon: Adios, amigos! Jenny: See you guys!
Shelly: Bye! Jenny: Thank you!
Robbie: Thank you! Jersey jon: Thank you!
Mike: Alright, so we'll carry this,
Just going to move this out.
Mike: You got the back? Katie: Kind of.
Mike: Kind of? Katie: It's awkward.
Mike: Let me know when you got it.
Katie: Alright, good. Mike: Okay.
Mike: I've gathered everything that I can find on the property.
We got the seat, we got the rear wheels,
We got the tires, the roof of the car.
I mean, now what I want to talk to tony about is, the rear end.
So before we walked over there,
You said 5 grand, right? Tony: Yeah.
Mike: What are you think extra on putting the,
And you got the rear end,
The correct one that you raced with?
Tony: Yes.
My brother, chuck, started racing this love truck.
He took the rear end out from under the corvette,
And put it under the love truck.
I'll give you the discount deal.
Mike: Yeah.
Tony: 800.
Mike: 800 to mount the tires on the rims,
And the rear end in the car.
And when the shipper comes, we can just-
They can just push it into the trailer.
Tony: Yes.
Mike: I'm digging this car because it's got their name
Kind of like a ghost sign of it,
Faded onto the side of the car.
And I'm imagining kind of, you know, if I owned it,
Bringing that back a little bit.
Not repainting it, but just helping it
To where you could see it more.
The rear end in it with the big slicks on it.
It's got the look.
That's what's cool about this car.
Katie: So all this with the rear end in, so 5,800.
Mike: That's what I'm saying.
And possibly,
Possibly, let's keep in touch.
If you found the dash and the front wheels.
Tony: Oh we'll have that.
Mike: (laughing) you'll have that?
Thanks, mama. I appreciate you helping me.
Katie: Yeah. Mike: Woo!
I just really appreciate the fact
That he was willing to come with me on that crazy journey,
To find the parts and pieces for the car.
You know, and I think he was excited
That I was excited about it.
Imagine that.
You know, think about that, him working as hard as he did
His whole life, his brothers with the company that they had,
And spending the amount of money that they did
To go fast every weekend.
That's commitment, you know.
So he was committed to me for a very short amount of time,
With helping me, and that's very cool.
Tony might have slowed down, but his passion hasn't.
Alright!
Katie, thanks for your help. Katie: No problem.
Mike: Buddy I so much appreciate everything. Seriously.
We'll be in touch about shipping.
Tony: Okay. Mike: Alright, buddy, thanks.
Tony: I'm glad that mike bought the car.
I feel it's going to a good home.
With both my brothers gone, I'll miss it in a way.
Katie: I think we did them justice though,
This is pretty much what they wanted, you know,
Things to go to good places and get done,
And that's all they really cared about, carrying on the legacy.
Mike: See you, buddy!
Tony: See ya! (honks horn)