Roadside Relics & a Time-Capsule Truck | American Pickers (S12)

A Kentucky roadside attraction is packed with rare signs. In Louisiana, bundle-master Mike helps Robbie seal the deal on a time-capsule truck. See more in this scene from Season 12, Episode 12, “Sign of the Times.”

How you doing, man?

DICK: Morning.
ROB: Rob Wolfe.
MIKE: What’s going on? I’m Mike.
ROB: Nice to meet you.
MIKE: Nice to meet you.
DICK: Pleased to meet you.

MIKE: Hit him with a flyer.
MIKE: Right there. Trucks. You have no idea how excited my brother is about trucks.
MIKE: You guys are cut from the same cloth.

DICK: I like trucks.
ROB: Yeah, I like trucks.
(laughing)

MIKE: How many trucks you got?
DICK: I don’t know, 50?
MIKE: 50?!
ROB: 50?!

DICK: That’s part of the reason I called you guys. I got a precious little girl by the name of Bria.
MIKE: Okay.
DICK: She’s eight. And I’m hanging out with her all the time now.
MIKE: Okay, you got a granddaughter.

DICK: You know, she’s got a couple vehicles in here she wants Papa to make sure she gets.
ROB: Yeah?
MIKE: Okay.

DICK: And the rest of this stuff probably is gonna go away.
MIKE: So, priorities are changing?
DICK: Bria is my granddaughter. That’s a lot more important than a ’65 Chrysler.

DICK: So, I came up with a five-year plan to sell 20 cars a year, because I gotta downsize somehow.
DICK: I’m ready to go to Hangar 5.

MIKE: Alright. How many hangars you got?
DICK: Uh, that’s the only one next to the airport.
MIKE: Did these used to be hangars, though?
DICK: No.
MIKE: Were they connected to the airport?
DICK: It was a funeral home.
MIKE: Okay.

MIKE: There’s a lot of people that are in the same exact position as Dick.
ROB: Dude, were you in the towing service?
DICK: It was my own rig for my own stuff.

MIKE: They’re starting to reevaluate things, priorities change. But he’s way ahead of the game because he’s making these decisions himself. He’s not waiting until the last minute when sometimes these decisions are made for us.

ROB: Who’s Dean?
DICK: Uh, he ran a copy service here before the funeral home.
MIKE: Wow!

DICK: I was a member of an antique car club here in town. And I bought a wrecker.
DICK: Then the word got out, you know, and then people would call me and say,
“Well, my aunt, she’s got this old car. She can’t drive it anymore. Why don’t you come look at it?”

DICK: Of course, I’d buy it.
DICK: The next thing I know, it got crazy and I just kept buying stuff.
DICK: It was a hobby that went astray.

MIKE: I noticed this car when I was standing over there.
ROB: A bright orange Studebaker.
MIKE: What year is it?
DICK: ’14.
ROB: Wow.

DICK: It’s like a tractor. You got hand controls.
DICK: Back in the day, you had primer cups.
DICK: You’d dribble a little down each one of these little…

MIKE: We all benefit from guys like Dick in the hobby.
MIKE: The ones that really dive into and research the mechanical aspect of everything.

DICK: So then we do this, close them.
MIKE: Not just to fix things, but also to help us understand the evolution of what we have.

DICK: Alright, you ready?
ROB: Yeah.
MIKE: Yep.

(engine sputters)
(engine starts)

ROB: Bam, starts right up!
ROB: There was never a cover on that.
ROB: Look at how that flywheel spins down there.
ROB: It’s a magnificent piece of machinery.

MIKE: Yeah.

ROB: So, are we ever going to go see that truck?
MIKE: Robbie, did you see this sign?

MIKE: Patience has never been one of my brother’s strong suits.
MIKE: It looks like it’s been through a fire. Are you familiar with where it was?
DICK: No.

MIKE: Because you can see some char on this side.
MIKE: And you can see how this sign is bent.

ROB: Well, what happened was the porcelain kind of heated up.
ROB: You’ll never get it to straighten out because the heat…

MIKE: Look at this patch that melted.
MIKE: Look at this side of it, Robbie. Or right there.

ROB: Oh yeah.

MIKE: Porcelain is pretty much indestructible, but this one has been in a fire.
MIKE: The damage that it sustained is irreversible.

MIKE: The retail on it is like 700 bucks.
MIKE: I’ll tell you what, I’ll do five.

DICK: Let’s go.
MIKE: You want to do it?
DICK: Yeah.

MIKE: Okay. I mean—
DICK: That’s fine.

MIKE: Here’s the deal. It’s like there’s always an entry-level collector.
MIKE: This is a really rare sign and it does have the original bracket, but condition is everything.

ROB: Hey, Dick, can I see those trucks?
DICK: Oh, right. Next building over.

ROB: You weren’t even kidding here.
ROB: You got a B Mack there, this is an Autocar.
ROB: You got a Ford in the middle.

DICK: That’s why we named it Big Truck.

MIKE: What’s this project you’re working on here?
MIKE: What are you doing to this Chrysler?

DICK: That is a ’35 Chrysler.
ROB: Wow!
DICK: ’35 Chrysler. Eight cylinder. One of the high-end cars for ’35.

MIKE: He’s freaking right now, Dick.
DICK: He likes trucks.

ROB: I owned my own business my entire life.
ROB: Trucks are for people that want to get stuff done in the world.
ROB: And you wonder why my brother always calls me.

ROB: That’s the one. Forty…
DICK: Seven.
ROB: Seven.

MIKE: This is hand-painted right here. Valentine’s 86 proof.
ROB: Does this thing run?
DICK: Yes. It’s a cabover.

ROB: Yeah.
DICK: So, the engine sits between the driver and the swamper, okay?
ROB: What’d you say? The driver and the who?

DICK: Swamper.
(Rob laughing)

DICK: You know, the guy that does all the work.
DICK: The driver sits here and steers.

MIKE: Oh yeah, baby. Look at this, RJ Wolfe.
ROB: Yeah, look at that.
ROB: Crank the window out. That’s the AC right there.

MIKE: I know.

DICK: Dwight Renard, who loved Fords, bought it,
and he and my friend Jack Thomas would drive this
to the Pate Swap Meet from Shreveport
with all their junk in the back.

ROB: So, what is Pate, like two and a half, three hours from here?
DICK: He’s stuck.
ROB: Door’s locked. You got to bump it now. Bump it.
(laughing)

DICK: I could get you out.
(Rob laughing)

ROB: Alright, Dick says you can get out.
MIKE: How about this side?
(laughing)

ROB: Dude, it’s right here. I got him.
ROB: You’re trying to tell me that these guys drove this every year
to the Pate Swap Meet?

DICK: They did.

ROB: Did you sleep in the back?
MIKE: How far is it?
DICK: 300 miles.

MIKE: Can you imagine, Robbie?
ROB: No.

MIKE: Seeing this thing go down the road.
That’d be nuts!

DICK: You know, it drives 40 or something.

ROB: It has no rust in it whatsoever.

MIKE: Robbie, look at this!
There’s a different liquor on the other side.
Look at that. That’s all hand-painted.

ROB: Oh, wow.
ROB: Look at that.

MIKE: Man. This thing is so solid, it’s crazy.

ROB: So, do you got a title to this thing?
DICK: Yeah, I got a title.

MIKE: The condition of the signage on this truck is incredible.
It’s all hand-painted.
The graphics, the color.

MIKE: I think this might be the coolest cabover I’ve seen.
MIKE: It’s a real time capsule.
I could see why my brother is geeking out over it.

ROB: 48,000 miles on it.

DICK: The first engine was the ’47.
Lloyd put that ’53 flathead in there
with a distributor and a much better engine.

ROB: Dick is one of those guys,
you wanna call him a savior because this truck,
had it been sitting outside,
all the advertising on the side of it
would’ve been gone.
It’s not even faded out.

ROB: Let me look at the other side of this thing.

ROB: Then you got the condition of the Coe itself?
I mean, it’s magic.

ROB: This is for sale?
DICK: Yes. I’m thinking 30.

ROB: 30,000?
DICK: Mm-hmm.

ROB: You’re thinking 30 because of the advertising?
DICK: Yes.

DICK: The paintings on the back
are something nobody can do over.
It’s a time capsule.

ROB: I was thinking like 17.
Just because of the work
that’s going to go back into it.
I’m not gonna put it back on the street the way it is.
I can’t drive 40.

ROB: The fact that the truck engine
has been changed to a ’53 with a distributor,
big plus.
Easy to work on.

DICK: I’ll come down a little,
but not 17.
You gotta…
You got to pick your game up a little bit there.

DICK: I’m with you.

ROB: Okay. I’m here.
I gave you a number.
Your number’s here.
I’m right here.
Where does it need to be?

DICK: 26,000.

ROB: No…
I want to be at 20 grand.

DICK: How about 26
and I’ll haul it to your house?

ROB: For free?
DICK: Well, how far do I have to go?

MIKE: Iowa.

DICK: It’s about $1,000 to haul it up there, probably.

ROB: I think I’m pretty good at—

MIKE: Dick.
What do you think of this, Dick?
If he’s at 20,
I know he has to come up a little bit.

MIKE: I’m looking right through him
staring at this cool motor sign.
Okay?

MIKE: How about if I did, uh, you know,
because condition is everything on that,
there’s a little bit of whammy,
I’d do four grand on the sign.

MIKE: I’m just gonna throw my hat in the ring
and see if I can bring this deal together
for these guys.

MIKE: This is a 1930s Koolmotor
clover-shaped sign.
Very rare sign.

MIKE: They also had an earlier version
that they called the kite sign.
A lot of the Koolmotor stuff,
especially in this condition,
is extremely hard to find.

MIKE: Four thousand for the sign,
and would you come up a grand?

ROB: 21,000.

DICK: Bingo.

MIKE: We’re doing it?
DICK: You’re alright.
(laughing)

ROB: That work?
DICK: It worked!

ROB: I wasn’t sure how it would twist,
but it twisted.

ROB: It twisted right?
Is that how it works?

DICK: That’s okay. I can do that.

ROB: Okay.

MIKE: You owe me 500.
(laughing)

DICK: As far as I’m concerned,
Mike saved the day.
(laughing)
I don’t know if I want to tell him that.
(laughing)

ROB: Alright, so I gotta ask.
Were you serious about hauling it for 1,000 bucks?

DICK: Yes. I’ll make a trip to Iowa.

ROB: So, if it’s a little bit more than that,
I would be glad to pay it.

DICK: Okay, so if it’s $2,500,
that’s okay?
(Mike laughing)

ROB: There’s a cap on it there.

MIKE: Wouldn’t you crap your pants
if he showed up
and drove this up there?
(laughing)

MIKE: I got to look at this sign
now that I bought it.

ROB: It’s cloverleaf.
MIKE: Yeah, man.

ROB: How’s the other side?
MIKE: It’s got some whammies on it,
on the edges of it.
But still.

MIKE: It’s amazing.
It’s got the original sign frame
and bracket here.

DICK: You need a bigger truck.

ROB: We need a bigger truck?
We could fill that truck up
and you could haul it up there for us.
(laughing)

MIKE: I think he has you leaving tonight.

DICK: I’m ain’t going to live long enough
to move all this stuff out.

DICK: I’m not really interested
in calling auction company ABC
to come in
and swipe it all out of here in a week.
That’s no fun.

ROB: Hey.
I appreciate you taking the time, buddy.
It’s been a good day.

DICK: It’s been a good day.

ROB: That truck went to a good home.

DICK: I had a lot of fun.
It’s been a good day.

DICK: Thank you.
Thank you for coming down.

MIKE: I appreciate it.

ROB: Dick’s one of those guys
you want to inspire to be like.
Maybe in a couple months
I’ll go back there,
knock on the door,
and see how many other trucks
he wants to sell.

(honking)

MIKE: See you, buddy!

DICK: Yo!