THOUSANDS of Dollars in Recovered “Junk” | American Pickers

Mike and Jersey uncover some exciting finds in an old junkyard.

JERSEY JON: Hello! MIKE: Hey, hey.
JERSEY JON: Hello? MIKE: God dang, I can spot that truck a mile away. I’m Mike.
JERSEY JON: You can see that truck from satellite.
JIM: Jim Martin. JERSEY JON: I’m Jon.
MIKE: Jersey Jon. JERSEY JON: Nice to meet you.
MIKE: This reminds me of so many places that I kind of grew up around in Iowa.
JIM: Well, this is an old farm place.
It’s been in the family since like 1946.
MIKE: So, what generation are you with it?
JIM: Be about third generation. MIKE: No kidding.
JIM: Yes sir. MIKE: So, who was the last one in your family to live on this property?
JIM: My uncle. He was a World War II veteran.
He lived here until like, I think, 2013.
He was 90 years and six months when he passed.
MIKE: Really? JIM: I think my uncle, he was my mentor. He didn’t start collecting engines until he was in his mid-60s. I’d bring him back for him to look at or work on, get running, he just loved it.
He didn’t care if they were his engines or mine, they were our engines. JIM: My dad is 94. He was a mechanic in the Korean War, but yes. Both are mechanics.
MIKE: So, did those guys work for themselves?
Did they have their own shop?
JIM: They had their shop. Martin Brothers.
MIKE: That’s so cool. JERSEY JON: That’s cool.
JIM: Garage. MIKE: I grew up picking places like this.
Guys just like his uncle that were mentors of mine even if it was for a short time. I mean, basically they lived in their own little world in the center of their collection, really, frozen in time, and those are people and places that I’ll never forget. And the greatest gift that any of us have ever been given is more time. We’re all living longer. And what are collectors doing? We’re coveting more, we’re collecting more, we’re searching for more, and we’re learning more.
And we’re passing that on to younger people. MIKE: Open. Sound horn.
You remember where that came out of?
MIKE: Or was that here when your uncle was here?
JIM: It might have been my uncle’s sign.
I didn’t know it was in there.
MIKE: Anything that’s connected to petroliana, to service stations, to body shops, all of this stuff is hot. This would’ve been like… (mimics horn) And they would’ve pulled the door up to let you in, you know.
Especially in the wintertime. They weren’t just keeping the door open. So, the sound the horn sign is cool because it’s hand painted. It’s older. MIKE: I’m thinking like 75.
It’s one-sided and it’s peeling pretty bad, but obviously, it’s for some sort of service.
JIM: Absolutely. MIKE: Service garage.
JIM: 85. MIKE: 85?
80. JIM: Deal.
(laughter) MIKE: Alright, man.
JERSEY JON: Good. MIKE: I like the way you work.
MIKE: You got the windmill to this?
Or you just got the tailfin?
JIM: Oh.
MIKE: The F Ronstadt Company.
JIM: That was part of the Linda Ronstadt family.
JERSEY JON: Linda Ronstadt? JIM: Yeah, that’s her family.
MIKE: This is from her property? Does she collect stuff?
JIM: That was from– No, that was when they were using it.
That was, you’re talking 1905, 1910.
MIKE: Linda Ronstadt is from Tucson.
JIM: Yeah, she’s from that area out there. Absolutely.
JERSEY JON: Maybe she wants it back.
(laughs) MIKE: Yeah, there you go.
MIKE: This obviously started out life as a tailfin of a windmill, but its application in the future is probably gonna be something decorative. You know, like hanging this on the hallway wall, directional, looking down. I’ve done that with a wooden tailfin before. It’s very cool. The advertising is interesting. The fact that it could be Linda Ronstadt’s family takes it to the next level. JIM: That means a lot to me, Mike.
MIKE: Okay. JIM: It is the Ronstadt family.
MIKE: So, if it’s a lot what are you thinking?
JIM: I’m thinking 300.
MIKE: Sampson…
That’s the windmill brand?
JIM: That I think it is.
MIKE: 250.
You holding tight?
JIM: I am. I really like it. I mean…
MIKE: Alright. I like it too.
JIM: It’s really hard for me and the scrappers around here, that they don’t like me.
When they see me at an auction, they just cringe. They come to me and they’re like, “Jim, are you…” Yeah. I mean, that Model T, that engine, you’re not taking it to the scrapyard. I’m going to save it if I can, and I will.
JERSEY JON: He says he’s got a steam engine in here, Mike.
JIM: There is. JERSEY JON: Where?
JIM: Here, let me show you.
MIKE: There’s a lot of things that are laying around this property that are collectable now, but back in the day when they were here originally, but back in the day when they were here originally, they were just utilitarian. That’s how long these people have been on this property. This is a generational property. It is a rare opportunity for us to even be in a situation like this.
JERSEY JON: Whoa, whoa, whoa! There’s the steam engine!
There’s the steam engine. JIM: Yeah, there it is.
MIKE: Which one? JIM: Right here.
That’s the little Cretor’s popcorn.
JERSEY JON: Yeah! MIKE: You grab one and I’ll grab this one.
JERSEY JON: Can you grab that? JIM: I can.
JERSEY JON: This little model hit and miss engine is exactly like all the other hit and miss engines that are on this property. It’s an internal combustion motor, but it’s made in miniature. JIM: That one runs. We had it running not long ago.
JERSEY JON: You did? JIM: Yes, it will run.
MIKE: So, is that like a kit that somebody built?
JIM: I want to say it is.
A lot of the gas engine magazines…
JERSEY JON: Yeah, gas engine magazines.
JIM: You could buy a little kit.
MIKE: Like, from what time period do you think?
JERSEY JON: Well, here’s the thing, Mike.
Do you see these screws here? MIKE: Yeah.
JERSEY JON: These are Allen head screws.
JERSEY JON: So, that came out like in probably ’50s.
JERSEY JON: This is cool. What do you think this is?
JIM: It’s a steam gauge tester.
You put a gauge on it and you test it with a tractor or engine.
JERSEY JON: So, you put a gauge up here.
JERSEY JON: And then you would, like, pressurize it.
JIM: Yeah. But it tested steam gauges. I do know that.
JERSEY JON: It’s very interesting because the way it’s constructed, it tests gauges for steam equipment so you would know that your gauge was accurate and that it said the right pressure, because if it didn’t, your steam engine could blow up. JERSEY JON: Whoa, yeah! Now, the Cretors, man, this thing is cool. JIM: That is real cool.
JERSEY JON: Yeah. JIM: You don’t see very many of them.
JERSEY JON: I love the way they did the connecting rod, it’s all tapered. JIM: Yes.
JERSEY JON: It’s got the bronze fittings on here.
It’s got the label on here, Cretors Company.
JIM: And the number right there.
JERSEY JON: Yeah. JIM: That’s a good number too.
7711. I mean, good gambling numbers.
(laughter) JERSEY JON: It’s a small piece of steam equipment that would be on top of a popcorn machine. It brings you back to like an old carnival, or you’re on the boardwalk in Atlantic City and you can smell the popcorn, and you can smell the roasted peanuts. JERSEY JON: I mean, the Cretors is the best part.
JIM: Oh yeah. JERSEY JON: For sure.
JIM: That engine is worth around $1,300.
JERSEY JON: Yeah. I agree with you.
That’s a good retail number on that.
MIKE: What’s that one worth? JERSEY JON: This thing, I’m thinking… 350.
JIM: I think you’re close.
JERSEY JON: You’re kind of thinking, like, all three pieces retail 1,900, maybe two grand?
JIM: Yes.
JERSEY JON: Alright, tell you what.
How about 1,500 bucks for all three of them?
JIM: 1,550.
JERSEY JON: Done! JIM: Oh God.
(laughter) JIM: You’re killing me.
JERSEY JON: Thank you, man! JIM: Man.
JERSEY JON: That was tough!
JIM: The struggle was real, Mike.
JERSEY JON: Yes, the struggle was real.
JIM: Come here and look at this little scooter I got here.
I’m not even sure what it is.
You probably know a little more about it.
MIKE: Yeah, it’s a Motoscoot. JIM: Okay.
MIKE: You know. Here’s the front fender to it.
JIM: Oh, really? MIKE: Do you have a fork to it?
JIM: Actually, if I do, it’s gonna be…
This stuff came together. It might be, I don’t know.
I’m not sure. MIKE: Oh, this whole pile came together?
JIM: Yes. MIKE: The last time I saw one of these Motoscoots, Frankie and I were picking a guy named Joe Ramble, and he bought one of these scooters from him. JOE: A Motoscoot scooter from between World War I and World War II out of Chicago.
FRANK: Wow. That’s cool. What’s the tank look like, Mike?
Fresh as the day it was made? MIKE: It’s pretty clean.
JOE: The only one I’ve ever seen.
MIKE: Scooter guys get into one type of scooter, then they get into another, and another, and another, because you know, like, the way you look at the history of the hit and miss engine, or I look at the history of the motorcycle?
Well, the scooter guy is doing the same thing.
He’s looking at the history of the scooter.
And what’s great about the Motoscoot is that it’s just so airflow. It’s very art deco.
I mean, even… Look at the front there.
JIM: Oh, I know. It’s curved. MIKE: That’s all streamlined.
MIKE: From 1937 to 1947, the American Motoscoot was made in Chicago, Illinois. There was obviously a lot of manufacturing in Chicago. Excelsior was there, Super X was there, Ignaz Schwinn was there. I mean, Chicago was a two-wheeled town. What people love about the American Motoscoot, though, is how rare they are. I mean, every once in a while you’ll find a frame, or a set of wheels, or maybe a body part. MIKE: What’s this? What’s this?
JIM: That’s it, ain’t it?
MIKE: What’s this? That looks like it’s it.
This would have to sit in here. JIM: Yep, yep.
MIKE: Oh yeah, look at this!
MIKE: This thing is almost intact, but what’s there, the bones of what’s there is the beauty of the scoot itself. The frame, the way it swoops down, that really interesting front fork, that skirted fender like a little Indian fender, and then that art deco.
You know, airflow piece that you sit on top with the body that goes back. JIM: I like this here, this cooling, these cooling things here.
That’s pretty cool. MIKE: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
JIM: Looks neat. +MIKE: For sure.
MIKE: It’s just so cool. There’s a lot of guys out there that collect scooters, but there’s another breed of collector that all they collect are American-made scooters. MIKE: Alright, you ready?
Woo.
300.
(laughs) MIKE: That was fast. JIM: You got a deal.
MIKE: Thanks, man.
JIM: You know more about– MIKE: I do, I love this kind of stuff.
JIM: Yes, I know. I see your passion about it.
MIKE: But I want to buy it at a price where I can sell it to a guy. JIM: Yeah.
MIKE: For a reasonable price too, because he’s gonna be the one that’s going to restore it.
JIM: Yeah. MIKE: And, you know, that’s when the money comes.
JIM: Oh, I get it. MIKE: You know what I mean?
JIM: I have no doubt that the stuff I let go of today, there’s gonna be another collector that’s gonna want it, that’s going to appreciate it. I’ve got a lot of stuff, so, you know, I’m okay with letting some of it go right now. JIM: Jon. MIKE: If you find any more Motoscoot parts, call me.
JIM: I’ll get a hold of you. MIKE: Alright. You guys, I think this is gonna be a friendship for life.
JIM: Oh yeah. MIKE: It’s gonna be good.
JERSEY JON: The next time I’m in this part of the country, I’m gonna give Jim a call and we’re gonna go to the hit and miss engine meet. That’s the best part about picking. I mean, you could meet people, we both have the same interests, and that’s really cool.
(honking) MIKE: Motoscootin’ it!
JIM: Yes, sir. See y’all later!
JERSEY JON: Loot and scoot, Motoscoot!