Rust to Riches: Rare Vintage Trucks | American Pickers

Mike and the team hit the road and score big with some of the coolest truck finds in American Pickers history. From massive collections to rare gems, these classic rides show just how valuable rusted steel can be.

MIKE WOLFE: All right. Here it is there.
ROBBIE WOLFE: This is it right here.
MIKE WOLFE: There are some old cars.
ROBBIE WOLFE: Oh, I love that.
I see this truck.
It’s a 1947 Chevy.
Look at the chrome coming off the front end.
I am just in love.
That Chevy’s really nice, dude.
Really good.
MIKE WOLFE: Then you need to ship it all the way from here.
When you see a full lot of vintage collector cars, it’s a good sign.
That means the guy is a collector.
But the thing is, they don’t want to sell.
I don’t want Robbie to get too jacked up on something he can’t buy.
Howdy.
Hey, I’m Mike.
– I’m Dave. – Nice to meet you.
Rob.
Mostly what I do is run a recycling business.
Can we look around in here?
Yeah, sure.
Dave cracks open the barn door, and we look inside.
And there’s a lot of stuff in there.
Right away I’m seeing cars.
I’m seeing bicycles.
I’m seeing some advertising signs.
I mean, this guy must’ve picked everything on this island.
What about that speaker there?
Where did this come out of? Have a look, Robbie.
DAVE: I don’t know.
Probably a restaurant, I would guess, or someplace.
Uh-huh.
To me, music has always told a story.
And the way this speaker looks, it represents the heart and soul of that.
How much is something like that?
Hm.
I don’t know.
I’m thinking like 20 bucks.
I don’t know.
I’d probably sell that for 30 bucks.
It’s got a cool look to it.
This would look great up on the wall.
Yeah, that’s another one of those, “someday I’ll put a speaker in it.” 30 bucks.
We broke the ice.
And there’s this.
What about this?
What’s the deal on that?
That looks hand painted.
When I was a kid, there was a guy who had a grocery store here that also sold dynamite.
So the dynamite was stacked right next to the grain.
So the guy at the grocery store sold dynamite?
Yep All it does is take me back to the days when I used to blow things up with firecrackers.
I’m thinking to myself, this is a great piece.
“Flammable” on the other side.
Yep.
Explosives.
Does that got a name on it?
50 bucks is the name on that one.
ROBBIE WOLFE: 50?
It’s pretty cool.
I’d probably do 40.
Well, then you’d probably do 45.
[laughter] He’s got your number.
ROBBIE WOLFE: I got it.
45.
OK.
Thanks, man.
Mike and I have driven all this way, but we still haven’t found that big item that’s going to take us over the top.
I keep thinking about that ’47 Chevy.
I can’t get it out of my mind.
Hey, Dave.
Yeah?
That ’47?
Yeah.
You didn’t tell me it had a name, that’s for certain.
I’m know that. – No, it doesn’t have a name.
No name?
Game on.
Is that something you might be interested in selling?
Yeah, I suppose I would.
This pick has just taken a huge turn.
The cars that were NFS– Not For Sale– this truck could be the one that is for sale.
There it is.
Here’s the money shot right here.
“Cope’s Mobil.” ROBBIE WOLFE: Look at that.
It says “gas” on here.
Ho, look at this, Robbie.
It’s got the Pegasus.
When I look at a truck like this, I see its entire life– the hard work, the romance, the rust and dirt, the open road.
This is an amazing piece.
Let’s hear this thing run.
Crank it up.
OK.
[engine turning over] Is that the gas?
Yep.
That’s the [inaudible].
Oh, there you go.
Almost, almost.
This thing won’t start.
But you can tell, it’s almost there.
It wants to start.
I wonder if it’s getting gas.
Here, hold that up.
Dave, let’s do it old school way.
You’ve got a chain?
Sure.
Another vehicle?
DAVE: Yeah, let’s do that.
Let’s pop start this baby. DAVE: That’d be the easy way.
Well, I’ll tell you what.
Let’s slow down here a little bit.
Robbie is really excited about this truck.
He needs to calm down, slow his roll.
We have no idea what he even wants for this thing yet.
What are you thinking on the truck?
I’d have to get 2,500 for it.
ROBBIE WOLFE: Dave wants $2,500.
Unless this thing sings like a Singer sewing machine, no way in hell I’m going to pay that.
Let’s get it started, and then we can talk about it.
I want to hear this thing run.
OK.
We have to pop start it.
Mike and I used to pop start his Volkswagen all the time.
This is going to be so cool.
MIKE WOLFE: Hit it, brother.
All right.
MIKE WOLFE: Yeah, start it in second.
Get it, get it, get it, get it, get it.
[rumbling] Is it running?
There it goes. Is it running?
Whoa. It’s running, isn’t it?
Running!
[cheering] All of a sudden, I pop that clutch, I feel that engine start turning over.
It was like seeing 4th of July fireworks on Christmas morning.
It’s smoking a little bit.
This sucker is firing.
It’s not all the way there.
It’s only on maybe three or four cylinders.
But it’s running.
Everything looks solid.
Everything is there.
The radiator is not leaking, the engine is not blowing oil.
I mean, this is starting to look like a really good deal.
I’ll tell you what, Dave.
We’re going to have $1,000 in hauling this thing home.
On top of that, I don’t really know what’s wrong with the motor.
It sounds like she was running on four cylinders.
I’m already calling it she.
I’m thinking about a name for it.
Yeah, you see, now you’re naming stuff.
Charlie.
Charlie.
So?
You haven’t made me an offer yet.
I mean, you were at 25.
Dave?
Yeah.
It’s not very often things leave this island.
[laughter] So I’m going to be at 1,800.
Well, 22.
I’ll tell you what.
Two grand.
It’ll be the first thing that leaves this island.
Well.
I guess, if you promise to give her or him a good home, that’ll work All right.
OK.
Appreciate it, man.
Yeah.
It’s a her with a him’s name.
– A her with a him’s name. – All right.
We like that.
I’ve gotta hand it to my little brother.
He really saved this pick.
He made coming all the way out to this island totally worth it.
I don’t want to have blinders on.
I don’t want to pigeon hole myself.
But today, I kind of did.
I didn’t ask about the truck, because he was a car guy, he was a hot rod guy.
But I’ve bought a lot of things in the past because I asked.
Today I didn’t do that.
My little brother showed me the light.
All we had to do was ask, and all we had to do is ask for two grand.
Little girl.
Take care of my baby.
DAVE: There she goes.
ROBBIE WOLFE: This thing’s a piece of art.
It’s like folk art driving down the street.
It’s a piece of history.
I am the man today.
I bought the 1947 Chevy truck for 2,000.
Mike’s going to easily sell this for 6.
I’m going to make sure that I get my cut on this one.
All right.
ROBBIE WOLFE: All right, buddy.
Thanks for working with us.
You betcha, man.
– Appreciate it. – Thank you.
It’s been fun.
I will miss looking out the window and seeing the ’47 Chevy sitting there.
But it’s going to a good place where somebody will spend some time and energy on it.
So I’m fine with it.
See you, Dave.
Thanks, Dave.
MIKE WOLFE: We’re here and her daughter Savannah.
Vanessa’s father was the Model A king, and now she’s carrying on his legacy.
FRANK FRITZ: All right.
Show us around.
MIKE WOLFE: So you guys do have a lot of parts.
VANESSA: This isn’t the half of it.
My dad spent his entire life going to flea markets, going to the swap meet, and going to auction sales and buying up parts.
Fenders– FRANK FRITZ: Axles.
VANESSA: –doors, wheels, tires, anything that he could make a dollar on, and went with the Model A– he bought it up.
Whoa.
What the heck is this?
Does it– does this all work?
VANESSA: Yes.
It needs a lot of stuff done to it.
MIKE WOLFE: I see this really cool tow truck.
So this a one-ton truck?
Yes.
Yes.
AA.
MIKE WOLFE: The Ford AA came in a lot of different body styles– anything from a tanker truck to a flatbed.
This is a cab-only model.
It’s a dually.
It’s got a manly boom on it.
And this boom here was actually made for this truck.
Well, I’m sure they sold them to other farmers and other things, but– – Well, yeah.
It was on anything.
–Henry Ford chose manly booms to run his– So you’re saying that in the literature– VANESSA: Yes –you could have ordered the truck like this.
– Yes. – OK.
Yes.
[orchestral music] I have pretty much everything for the body– the engine, I may even have rear axles for AAs.
Do you have a windshield for it?
You’ve got the frame and everything.
VANESSA: Yes. MIKE WOLFE: You got glass?
Yes You don’t got tires for this thing, do you?
Yeah, I have six.
They’re older, but they’re still new.
It’s a rare truck.
It’s done right.
I love that smell.
There are some issues with the body, but overall, it’s a very straight vehicle that needs some massaging.
FRANK FRITZ: It’s got a little rust, down there.
MIKE WOLFE: Like the door skins.
They’re really bad at the bottom.
Do you have another door?
A AA door?
Oh, are you kidding?
This door is for a ’31 pickup truck, and you can’t find another door.
Not even from you?
FRANK FRITZ: Because it’s got the three hinges?
No.
MIKE WOLFE: What are you guys thinking on it?
Eight?
MIKE WOLFE (VOICEOVER) Even though Vanessa is giving us prices on this stuff, I mean, you can tell that she’s still on the fence.
As much as Papa loved his cars, he loved you more.
Oh, yeah.
It’s time.
You know?
Release.
You need release.
Mhm.
Because no one likes to see you stressing– struggling.
I love you.
It kills me.
Savannah is there to kind of just move her forward– you know, take that ball across the line, and go, “Mom, it’s time to move on.” I’m interested in this.
If we’re going to even think about buying this vehicle, we would have to take it to the next level.
We’re going to have to get new rubber on it, fix the door skins, get it mechanically sound, driving right.
If we’re going to pay 8,000, can we get it out?
Oh, definitely.
How are you going to get it out?
You got a Bobcat or something?
No, I’ve got Brad, my boyfriend.
Let’s go see if Brad the boyfriend wants to pull it out.
He’ll pull it right out of here.
– Pull the A right out for us? – Yes.
There we go.
BRAD: Bam.
Yeah.
SAVANNAH: There he is.
VANESSA: And look at him move.
They’re not even stuck.
FRANK FRITZ: Thanks a lot, Brad.
It’s got brakes.
MIKE WOLFE: Nice.
It’s got the look.
I can imagine it with new tires on it, rolling down the road.
What do you think, Frankie?
I think it’s pretty cool.
Look at the headlights.
MIKE WOLFE: I know.
I saw the accessory running lights on there.
And that’s the right front bumper, right?
Bingo.
Get Ben to heat that up.
We’ve got Ben to skim those doors, and just massage it a little bit, you know?
The roof is definitely going to leak.
Well, that’s definitely going to have to be soldered in.
MIKE WOLFE (VOICEOVER): Our guy Ben at Custom Metal in Fulton, Illinois, is the wizard when it comes to anything metal.
Most of the time, people bring me stuff to restore and make shiny– Yeah. – [laughs] –and you’re the only guy that brings me stuff that I have to rust up when it’s done.
MIKE WOLFE (VOICEOVER): If we do the deal on this thing, it’s going straight to him.
Oh, yeah.
– Oh, you’re looking smooth. – Look at you.
MIKE WOLFE: You need a tow, ma’am?
SAVANNAH: He looks like a model.
Oh my gosh.
Did you hear that, Frank?
I didn’t hear that.
You do too.
MIKE WOLFE (VOICEOVER): The tow truck was unique.
There’s not a lot of back end, but it’s just something I can’t walk away from.
I love it for 8.
I love you for 8.
I love it for 8.
I love it, honey.
Thank you.
It’s all about letting go.
And somebody else is using it, and it’s not sitting in my barn, rusting more.
Savannah.
Oh my gosh.
Thank you.
MIKE WOLFE (VOICEOVER): A lot of Model As are on the road and still alive today because of Vanessa and her father.
We’ll have Danielle call you again, to figure out the shipping.
OK.
And if I need any parts for it– Call me.
–I know where to call.
I’m really proud of her, today, because she– she did a great job letting go of some things.
Bye, guys.
FRANK FRITZ: Bye.
My dad would have got along with Mike and Frank amazing.
Mike and Frank might have learned a few things, today.
Yes, they might have.
[laughter] See you, girls.
Y’all come back now, you hear?
This is my El Camino garage.
El Camino garage?
Nice.
Look at this.
El Camino.
That’s us, yeah.
Is this an ’83?
This is an ’83 Choo Choo Customs.
Yeah, the Choo Choo.
Choo Choo Customs is a company out of Chattanooga, Tennessee that did luxury van conversions.
This is their idea of an El Camino.
I got another one right here.
It’s another SS.
That’s killer.
1983, I was one year out of high school.
I can imagine myself with a mullet, cranking Def Leppard “Photograph,” kicking it in my Choo Choo Customs El ‘Mino.
You selling this car?
No.
I don’t blame you.
There’s a lot of things I want to get done yet.
There’s plenty of projects around here that he wants to get done or done yet, and I’m sure we’re not going to get to all of them.
Here’s a ’59.
Not for sale.
OK.
We’re asking about a lot of cars in here and getting a lot of no’s.
I have sold very few vehicles.
I probably can count four that I know that he’s sold.
– In his lifetime? – Oh, yes.
OK.
These are the things that he doesn’t want to let go because these are the things that he worked hard for, and I get that because, at the end of the day, we all want to surround ourselves with family and things that bring us comfort.
Are there any other trucks that you would consider selling?
It sounds like you’re really into the cars.
Yes.
I would sell the ’48.
You have a ’48 truck that you would sell, a ’48 Chevy?
It’s got five windows.
It’s got the little corner windows on the side.
– Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. – And it’s low mileage.
Can we look at that?
– Well, absolutely. – All right, let’s look at that.
Let’s go look at it.
In the late 1940s, when Chevy redesigned the truck, every company across the United States was redesigning vehicles.
Chevy took it to another level on their trucks.
They redesigned the cab itself so it had no blind spots in it.
They put five windows on it.
The corner cabs became glass.
Rather than stick your head out the window and look out, you actually had a window that you could actually see through– absolutely amazing.
We probably had most of these all 20 years at least, if not more. – Wow.
Yeah.
All right, there’s the five-window back there.
Yes.
Wow, so cool.
I love trucks, but my brother, he is a truck nut.
His nickname in high school was Dump Truck because he was just plowing through everything with his head.
Is that original paint on it?
I– I think mostly– I mean, obviously that firewall is right there.
I think most of it’s original.
Look at the paint here.
Yeah, wow.
This five-window Chevy truck, I love it.
Basically, this design was a deluxe cab.
It was a little bit bigger inside, had extra chrome features, so it wasn’t just a working man’s truck anymore.
It was the guy that actually drove to the office.
He could drive this and feel good about it.
Here’s the deal.
It’s a great truck, but this roof– I mean, this can all be banged out, but this is some serious damage here, man.
And there’s really no paint at all on the roof.
With the way this is, I think you got to start at eight.
Yeah, I mean– Absolutely, because after we ship it– – Right. – Why don’t we do that?
Why don’t we go hit him up and talk to him about it for eight?
You’s guys look it over. Call back in a little bit.
– All right. – All right.
This truck has a few issues, but overall, it’s got great bones in it.
Big deal, it’s got a dent in the roof.
We can clean the body up.
We can get this thing running and driving down the road.
That’s simple stuff.
So we’ve been talking about the truck.
We love it.
We think it’s the greatest thing since pockets.
The ’48 truck is in great shape for being a Wisconsin truck, for being around here all its life.
This is an accessory, which is rare.
Yep, this is an accessory.
This is an accessory.
Flood lights are rare, yeah.
All these accessories, from the visor, to the bumper brackets, to the fog lights– man, they made the Chevy truck look like a million dollars driving down the road.
It’s got a problem with the clutch.
OK, so it probably needs a clutch.
Yeah.
That’s not the end of the world.
Now we’re starting to understand the big picture of the truck, which is it needs a clutch.
That was not factored into anything with our price before.
We talked about the truck as far as, like, what we need to do to it.
Um, we’re thinking eight grand.
I wanted 10.
To me, this needs to be handled.
I’m not talking about, like, making this look perfect.
I’m talking about just banging this out some.
The truck, if it’s going to present better, this has to be taken care of.
You got a title to this?
Yeah, I should have the title because it’s got the collector plate on it, yeah.
OK, why don’t we do 85?
If there was only one of you, I would tell you to get going.
But there’s two of you.
OK.
[laughing] 85. – Oh, we’re doing it?
85, OK.
Lewis, thank you.
All right, we very much appreciate it.
Really do.
We love the truck, love the way it looks.
It is a good truck.
We bought something for your dad.
Those guys, they’ll fix it up and get it running, and they’ll find the right home for where somebody will appreciate it.
It sounds like they might even drive it around for a while.
[Mike] Hey man, what’s up? Talked to Dani on the phone?
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I guess we’re finally catching up with ya.
-I’m Mike. -How you doing man, I’m John.
Nice to meet you.
When I was 13 years old, I salvaged this ’60 Chevy Impala. Ever since then, I just keep dragging stuff home. [Mike] This a ’59?
[John] Yeah, we found this in an old bone yard.
My mind never stops. We found this in a backyard, just the body and the bed.
Gonna put it together and go have some fun at the drag strip.
You build one, you sell it. You go on to the next project. I love building customs. This one’s gonna be all OD green.
We’re gonna throw some stars on it and make a World War II staff car out of it.
-Really? -Oh, cool.
[Mike] This is like a laboratory of creative ideas. I mean, he’s working on old cars with new ideas and still loving the history. I got my foot in the door in Hollywood now, so I recently started renting stuff to the movies.
Really!
It’s so cool that he has the insight to do that and the ambition to do that. He’s a young guy and he’s not wasting his time. What was your favorite movie you worked on?
Captain America: The First Avenger. This truck right here was actually used in the film.
Oh man, look at that. That’s cool.
That’s the old Hydra logo, the German science elite.
-Yeah. -Very cool.
It’s not like Mark’s business is in Hollywood or Burbank. He’s in the middle of nowhere. People love comic books and stuff and this is the real deal from the movie.
That’s awesome!
This is a perfect example of how impactful your business can be online, if you know how to market it correctly.
Is that sign a local sign?
Oh yeah, that’s actually from the town up the street.
That’s the old Shafter Motel.
Growing up on a small farm in rural Kern County, all the small towns around here are kind of historic to me. They tore that hotel down when I was a freshman in high school.
And that was sitting at the city yard in the weeds, and they moved locations and called me, and heck yeah, I took it in a heartbeat.
This is what it takes, younger people that connect with history in their own way. Mark is doing that through old advertising signs, cars. He’s keeping local history alive and pushing those stories forward.
Where did you get the Kelly Tires sign?
It came from Preston Tire Service -out of Shafter, also. -Really?
Lot of small town histories, I love that kind of stuff.
No way.
Kelly Tires is one of the oldest tire companies in America. They’ve been around for like 130 years, and eventually got swallowed up by Goodyear. So that came how far down the road here?
Oh, just up the road a few minutes, and uh, that old tire shop started way back in the ’50s.
Matter of fact, found a receipt in their office from 1957 with my great-grandpa’s signature on it.
-Really? -Yep.
This is a porcelain sign way before the 1950s.
-How much is that? -Yeah, how much is that?
Yeah, I’d probably do about $1800.
Huh.
-I’ll give you 2,000 bucks. -Yeah.
You know what? I think I would do that.
-Okay. -Yeah, definitely, dude.
Good for you.
That would help out the family farm.
One of the reasons why I called you guys is uh, family farming out here, especially the small guys, it’s just not the same anymore.
Small family farms are going out of business.
It’s time to sell a few things off and uh, keep the bills paid. Cheap labor in other countries, -Um, we can’t compete. -Yeah.
Growing up in Iowa, I can empathize with Mark. There are a lot of factors that affect a small family farm. But he’s taking his passions and using them to help out. Hope you guys got your walking shoes on ’cause there’s acres and acres of stuff to look at.
-Look at this, man! -Holy mackerel, man!
-Woof! -Dude.
-What’s going on? -This goes out to the horizon.
This ranch was bare 15 years ago.
All right, you got some problems, man.
-Yeah, dude. -Yeah.
None of this was– none of this was here?
-None of this was here. -Oh my gosh.
-You created this? -It was an empty ranch.
Can’t even see the end of it.
This is like an old Western, man.
Like we’re going into town.
[Western music playing] -Dude. -Wow.
There’s a lot of military vehicles to the right and all of the classic car parts to the left.
[John] This is a pretty massive collection. I can’t believe this guy did this in 15 years or so. -This is the military items. -The military stuff is cool.
Yeah. Everything got “surplused” after the wars, and guess where it ended up? Ranches and farms.
-Sure. -So this stuff is all– -Working trucks. -Right.
A lot of this stuff is just out and about and a lot of times I get stuff given to me for free.
That’s a nice ride here, what’s left of it.
-What’s left of it, yeah. -Yeah.
-This is a ’59. -A ’59 Impala.
[Mike] Damn.
Have you had people approach you about this one?
Yeah. Yeah, and I just kind of, -I’ve hung on to it, yeah. -Yeah.
Anybody else would have maybe scrapped this.
-It’s great you saved it. -A lot of these have been saved right before they ended up at the scrapper.
I’ll intercept scrap guys and try to buy this stuff before it gets crushed.
I mean, it’s all history. It all needs to be saved.
Even if it’s rough, I still think there’s parts that are worth saving. You know, somebody out there is looking for a particular part.
Mark has a huge heart.
And we’re walking through proof of that. Can’t believe this place was empty 14 years ago.
-It’s blowing my mind. -Yeah, that is crazy.
-Definitely. -Yeah, I think you’re -an old romantic, dude. -[laughs] I understand what he’s saying, because I’ve pulled the rustiest piece of nothing, almost, out of a creek bed or something just because it had the head tube lug. Something so far gone that most people would step over it, you know? If you’ve got that big heart and you love history and you’re like, “I know exactly what that is.
Even though it can’t look the way it looked when it was new, I still gotta bring it home.” What was this, for like a circus or something?
Yeah, this was an old giraffe trailer for a circus.
I guess they used it in quite a few movies.
-Why’s there no roof on it? -Was it really for giraffes?
Dude. This thing’s killer, man.
-I love this. -[chuckles] The giraffe cart just gives an example of the diversity of Mark’s collection. It’s got no roof on it.
So the giraffe can stick his head up to it.
Right, giraffes. You don’t know how tall the giraffe’s gonna be.
A giraffe trailer. When’s the last time you saw one of those? Does it have a value?
I don’t know.
There’s still giraffes.
They gotta haul ’em somehow, right?
Everybody likes the circus, right?
Yeah, everybody loves the circus.
This is American circus history. -[chuckles] -Woo!
Okay. Ah, watch out, yeah.
-Okay. -Oh, yeah.
My grandmother always said I was an old soul and I must have come back from a previous life. -Dude. -Nice meeting you.
Love your passion for local history.
-It’s all about the history. -Hell yeah, buddy.
You got it, it’s all about that story.
I’ll tell you what, you’re writing a pretty big one yourself.
-Yeah, you are. -[chuckles] The great thing about today is that the whole experience was brought to us by a younger guy that loves history just as much as we do.
Come to Nashville, I’ll buy you a beer.
You got it.
-Hey, you guys drive safe. -Thanks.
Mark is a hands-on, hard-working big dreamer. I wanted to buy a lot more, but it was really cool to see him love things so much that he didn’t wanna sell it. [van horn honks] Hasta luego! -See you later. -See you later!
[Mike] I can respect that.