08x01 - Parked in the Keys

[bunniefuu]

Right now on "fast n' loud"...

Okay, Mr. Fancy-pants.
You go build your Harley.

Hod-rod hunter Richard rawlings

and master mechanic
Aaron Kaufman

get down on two wheels...

That's all you.

As they try to bring

a '42 Harley-Davidson
back to its roots...

Icky, more icky.

...to race against other vintage
bikes on the New Jersey shore.

Hey, look what they got,
Richard.

Meanwhile,
Richard gives the monkeys

their own mission...

That's pretty rad.

...handing them
a '37 panel wagon

to turn into
the perfect platform...

What the hell?
Bam.

...to take
Aaron's Harley to the race.

It's kind of got a stupid look
to it that's just really ugly.

But when last-minute problems

put the Harley's future
in doubt,

Aaron's trip
to the race of gentlemen

may be over before it begins.

Holy

this is not good.

Captions by vitac...





what kind of bike
is this, again?

I think a wl, wla...

I'm not sure, but it's
a '42 model or something.

It's looks like
all the other ones,

just everything
on it's shrunk.

You think it'll work
for the race?

Yeah, I think it might.

So, as you all know,
over the past few years,

I've had the privilege
of participating

in a number
of auto races...

Pike's peak,
roadkill nights...

But I've always had
an interest

in putting together
a vintage race bike,

but I've just never really found
the right motorcycle

or had a good excuse.

But a buddy of mine
just called,

and he's got a '42 Harley
that he's looking to unload.

Does it run and drive,
or no?

I don't know.
He didn't say.

I don't think so.
He would have said if it did.

All right.

Aaron's had his heart set

on racing a bike
for a while now,

and he's got his eyes set
on a race

coming up in New Jersey
in just a few weeks.

So, to keep my easily bored
master mechanic happy,

I'm open to financing
a racing bike,

so long as I can
make some money off it

or at least break even.

That the motorcycle?
Oh, yeah.

- What's going on?
- Hey, man.

How are you guys doing?
Good to see you.

Living the dream.

- Aaron, hey.
- How you doing?

My name is Aaron mather.
I live in Dallas.

I've been friends with Richard
and Aaron for a long time.

So, what you got?

It's a '42-year model,


Well, me and Aaron were trying
to figure out what is that...

Like 10 or 15 horsepower?

Maybe 7.

But, yeah, it's like
somewhere in the middle there.

It's 7, 8.
This is it.

So, we walk in,

and it's always cool to go
over to Aaron's place,

because he's got all his bikes
sitting around,

and, you know, the garage is
just one of those cool places

you want pop open a cold beer
and hang out

and look at the stuff
on the walls.

But it's pretty
cool-looking.

I mean, it's got this
orange-and-yellow paint job,

kind of looks like
some kind of carnival bike.

Yeah, I mean, this is exactly
how I bought it, Richard.

Has it got a seat?

I got the seat and another
brake for it over here.

Seems that someone
has kept up with it.

It's never been
sitting outside.

It's never been
in an alleyway.

It's never covered in tarp,
you know, sitting somewhere.

It looks like it's always
been inside a garage,

which is a big bonus.

And I'm just looking
to get out of it

and not lose any money,
is what I'm trying to do.

It seems so small in comparison
to the other bikes.

And this is the shifter.
Rad!

It's pretty cool-looking
though, man.

I mean, it's almost like
a piece of art.

Yeah.

You could put that
in your living room.

Man, I don't know if they go
for that in my neighborhood.

When you guys
think about a hog,

you probably picture
a nice, big cruiser

with a large compression engine
out ruling the road.

But Harley-Davidson bikes
have been the epitome of cool

in america
for almost 115 years now,

and they've always come
in a lot of shapes and sizes.

When america entered
world w*r ii in the '40s,

Harley-Davidson got patriotic

and churned out
over 90,000 military versions

of its wl-model bike
to be used for the w*r effort.

The single-rider bike

had a small 45-cubic-inch
flathead engine,

so it wasn't that powerful,
but it was incredibly reliable,

which is exactly
what a soldier needed.

Cross-country daredevils,

they will get urgent
w*r messages through,

come hills or high water.

With gis riding them
all over Europe,

they earned the nickname
the "liberator,"

and guaranteed Harley-Davidson

a permanent place
in every American's heart.

It's basically all there,

and you won't have
to do a whole bunch...

Just get it running.

There's not
a whole lot there.

I don't know how to price
something like this, Aaron.

Well, I'll take all the thinking
out of it for you.

I got to have 9 grand
for it.

I mean,
that's what I got in it,

and I'm not letting it go
for any less.

You can't take a loss?

I can't take a loss.

Come on, man.

As far as negotiation goes,

it's 9 grand
or hit the highway,

and, I mean,
that's a lot of bike

we're just buying to fix up
for a race.

Not even for your old pals,
rich and Aaron?

Not even for my old pals.

Oh, all right.
I'll take it... 9 grand.

- 9 grand, all right.
- That'll do it.

There you go, sir.
You sure this is 9?

Yes, sir.
All right.

Count it every morning...
Gives me something to do.

Let's load this thing,
Aaron.

- Yep.
- Cool!

Got myself a wl,
whatever the hell that is.



That's what I gave him
in cash,

and we threw the bike
in the back of the truck.

Now it's time just
to get it back to the shop

and see what Aaron can do
to get it ready to race.

Are you guys even helping?

No, it's all you.

I mean, the goal
is to build a bike

so that everyone at the race
sees the gas monkey name

when it crosses
the finish line

and knows that we're serious
about harleys.

But if Aaron actually wins,
who knows?

Maybe this bike
gains some value

and I can sell it
to a collector.

Maybe even
make a profit on it.

So, that race
is in two weeks?

Yep.

Man, sounds like you got
some work cut out for you.

One thing I am happy about

is that Richard and Aaron are
gonna take care of this bike.

They're gonna do
something good with it.

I know Aaron will make sure

that it's done
and it's done right.

So I'm happy
with where it's going.

At least I'll know
that it's in good hands.

Y'all come back now,
y'hear?

**

- Dude, that's awesome.
- Yeah.

Old flathead.

What up?

Wow.

So, when Aaron and Richard
pull up with the Harley...

Man, I was so... I'm a bike guy,
always have been a bike guy,

always will be a bike guy.

It's a '42 wla.

Sweet.

It looks pretty cool.

I mean,
I think it looks...

Good wall art
or good shop art

or a good racing bike

for that race that
Aaron wants to take it to.

What do you got planed for it,
Aaron? What do you think?

Absolute and total abuse.

Aaron told me that he was
thinking about taking this bike

to the race of gentlemen,
which is an awesome race.

It's on the beach in New Jersey.

What?
That's a weird question.

Nobody knows what they call
the beach in New Jersey.

Hey, somebody look up what
they call a beach in New Jersey.

They have a beach
in New Jersey?

So, the race of
gentlemen's a beach race

where we're basically
drag-racing

right next to the water,

and since the race
is a vintage-class race,

you can only have
period-correctish parts on it.

No dish brakes, no foot shift,
no ratchet lid...

You know, no a lot of things.

Well, what am I gonna have
to spend on that, dude...

A couple grand?

It's like everything.

It's gonna be a lot
of inexpensive parts

that will equal
a lot of money.

Pretty much
straightforward.

Yeah, exactly.

Aaron's like,
"hey, I'm building a Harley,"

and I'm like,
"well, okay, Mr. Fancy-pants.

You go build your Harley."

But we got to remember
two things...

One, we're already 9 grand
into this thing.

And, two, Aaron's on
this unbelievable tight deadline

that is so unbelievable
you would never even comprehend

how to even analyze the fact
that time is moving so fast.

So fast that there's not even
time to put air in the tires.

Just it, we're gonna
ride them on flats.

All right, well,
somebody help

Aaron get it out
so he can work on it,

and then the rest of y'all
do something else.

Nothing left for me to do
but have a cold beer.

God, I'm good at this stuff.

So, basically, I have
two goals for this Harley.

One... get the bike
in operational condition

in a fashion that meets
race requirements.

And two...
Make it as fast as I can

by losing as much
unnecessary weight as possible.

So, to do both of these things,
I'm gonna strip the bike

and begin the process
of determining

which parts are usable
and which parts are not.

I'm hopeful that
the engine's going to run,

but I'm gonna have
to tear it down

to make sure there's not
any obvious issues.

Regardless of what I find,

I'm gonna change
some of the other equipment,

including the wheels and tires.

I'm gonna put 18s on it,
front and back...

With the same tires,
front and back on it...

Just balance the bike
a little better.

Um, in terms of paint,

I don't have
to repaint the bike.

The paint on the bike's
actually in decent shape.

It looks like
it'll buff up nice.

I'll also need to switch out the
electric ignition for a Magneto,

add something to sit on,

and then, hopefully,
two weeks from now,

I'll be tearing down the beach
in New Jersey.

Do I know what they call
the beach in New Jersey?

Is this a trick question?

**

Mike, get out here!
We're going for a ride.

You ready to roll,
bro-hammer?

I'm ready.

So, when Aaron brought up
the Harley,

I'm like "fine.
Aaron can build the Harley."

But, you know, the other
five guys can't build harleys.

So, when this friend of mine,
Rick fairless,

called this morning, told me

he had an ambulance-panel-Van
thing in the back

that belonged to a buddy of his
and he wanted to sell it,

that got me thinking...

Maybe I can k*ll two birds
with one stone.

I mean,
it'll keep the monkeys busy

and build something
I might actually be able to sell

and make some money on it.

Well, it's only two miles
down the street, so...

...here we go.

Here we are...
Strokers Dallas.

Let's go see
what we can buy.

All right.

You don't need
another motorcycle.

Of course I do.

There he is... the proprietor
of this fine establishment.

- Hey, pal.
- What's up, Rick?

I'm Rick fairless.

I'm from Strokers Dallas,
born and raised right here.

How you doing?

- Living the dream.
- I know you are.

You taught me how.
Look at you.

Good to see you.
Good to see you, Mike.

You know,
at Strokers Dallas,

it's a motorcycle shop,

but it's also a bar and grill
and a tattoo parlor,

and we do custom parts
out of here.

You hadn't been here
in a while.

Dude, I've been working hard.
It's been crazy.

I haven't seen him
in forever. He's busy.

But we did some rides together
and all that.

These are my personal bikes.
Heck yeah.

I love riding the long,
stretched-out chopper.

Well,
that's me and you both.

So, we walk in,
check out a few things.

- Remember Betty?
- Yeah.

That's Pam.
That is rad.

I expanded the courtyard
since you've been here last.

Dang, dude, you did.

Remember the old dinosaur?
Yeah.

He kind of strolls me
straight to the bar,

and I'm like, "wait a second.

You're setting me up,
aren't you?

You're gonna give me some beer,

and then you're gonna try
to spend all my money."

- There you go, boys.
- Oh, look at that, dude.

All right.

Cool.
But, hey, you're driving.

I didn't drive up here.

Well,
you're driving home now.

Sorry about that, Mike.

So, I need to just focus
on getting the panel Van bought

and get out of here.

Hey, boys.
Then Joe t. Comes out,

and I'm like,
"what's he doing here?"

Dude, I haven't seen you
in forever. How you doing?

He's like, "well,
he actually owns the Van."

I'm like, "wait.
I'm getting doubled-teamed."

And, you know,
"this is not good."

Coming up on "fast n' loud"...

Richard's offer falls flat.

I was thinking more
about $8,000.

- Oh, please.
- Oh, please.

And later,

Aaron may be out of his depth.

I don't know anything
about the motorcycle.

**

So, you know what I learned
years ago?

Cold beer loosens up
the pocketbook, see?

Well, you got me, too.

So, Mike and I are out here

at Dallas' own legendary
motorcycle mecca... Strokers.

I've been working real hard,

so I don't get to come down here
on the weekends

like I used to,
and I kind of miss the place.

Hey, look what I got,
Richard.

What the hell?
The grateful dead bus, right?

- It is.
- I used to own that.

That's your old
grateful dead bus.

That's rad.
How did you end up with that?

Well, you know,
you sold it to Mike.

We're here to buy
a vintage panel truck

so the monkeys
can have something to do

while Aaron's building
his Harley

for the race of gentlemen,

and I can have something
that I might

actually make some money on
when it's done.

We expanded years ago,

but I don't know
that you've seen it.

Richard was one
of the first customers

to ever come in here,

and I want you to know

he hasn't a changed a bit
in all these years.

He hasn't changed.

He's still a little bit wild,
but he's a great guy

he trimmed up
his beard some.

He kind of make it
like the devil...

Kind of like that thing.

Yeah.
Little, pointy thing.

He didn't used
to do it like that.

There's the truck.

That's pretty rad.
Did you build it?

My cousin did.

Used to be a chicken Coop.
k*ller.

So, the history of cars
and trucks in america

is not all fun and games,

and light-duty trucks
like this panel wagon

were the workhorse of the 1930s.

These bare-bone vehicles

were perfect
for neighborhood deliveries,

and the side panels provided
plenty of room for signage.

They were so versatile that
they got used as paddy wagons,

ambulances...
Hell, even chicken coops.

All right, so this one was built
for use as an ambulance

instead of a delivery truck.

I mean,
what does that mean?

The only difference
is the glass.

Panel wagons
didn't have a glass.

- Okay, got it.
- Just the cars.

How's it powered?

Good.
It's just a little 327.

- So, 327 automatic.
- Yep.

- Power steering, yes?
- No. No power steering.

- Power brakes? No.
- Nope.

Runs and drives good?

Yeah.
We drove it in here.

How many dead bodies
you reckon this thing's hauled?

Who knows?

Now if you remember,
one of the main reasons

I'm considering buying
this panel truck

is to keep the monkeys busy
while Aaron builds his Harley.

But right now,
I'm looking at this thing...

How's the rear suspension on it?
Is it dual parallel leaf?

- Yeah.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

...well, I'm thinking it might
actually be cool to use it

to transport the Harley
to New Jersey for the race,

kind of like
a mobile advertisement

for gas monkey garage.

What do you think
about the body, coy?

It's a lot nicer
than what you usually buy.

I don't see anything
that a couple hours won't fix.

I mean,
it just depends on the price.

I knew I had him, baby!

I knew I had him.

He wanted it.
I know.

And he's not gonna say
he wants it.

I saw it in his eyes.

What do you want for it?

I think we've got to have
$18,000 out of the dang thing.

I can't pay that.

So, Rick threw out 18 grand,

and I'm thinking, "ugh,
it's probably worth $15,000,"

but I need to buy it
way less than that,

'cause I'm gonna have to sink
a lot of money into it

to fix it up the way I want,

so I need it around
$10,000 or $12,000.

I'm sure everybody'd like
to have $18,000 for it,

but I was thinking
more about $8,000.

- Oh, please.
- Oh, please.

After two beers,
$8,000?

No, I just started
my second one.

Okay, we'll go down to,
like, $15,000.

It's worth $15,000
all day long, brother.

I get to keep the Gumby?

- Yeah.
- I'll throw in the Gumby.

How about 10 grand?

Uh, can't do that.

Getting too low there.
Yeah.

Hold on. I don't even know
what christie gave me.

Who's in charge
of this place, Richard?

- Christie.
- Christie.

- Okay.
- All right.

Christie gave me $12,000...
In cash, right now.

What do you think?

I can use the space
in my warehouse.

Take the $12,000.

Ah, I'm not driving it.

I'll take it.

Bam.

- Okay.
- Cool.

Good deal.
Thanks, guys.

We would have sold it
for $8,000 or $9,000.

We took the $12,000.

Where do you get
this "we" stuff?

I would have sold it...
My warehouse.

My car.

Now it's his car.
Well, okay.

We got $12,000.
I'm happy.

I'm happy, too.

All right, Mike.
Tell me when it's loaded.

Where's the bar, Rick?

Bar's this way.

Air cleaner,
floor boards, petcock.

And then clutch pedal and cable
seems to be fine.

So, we got
this '42 Harley in the shop,

and we're under the g*n
on this one.

The race I want to compete in
is less than two weeks away,

and the rules stipulate

that the bike can't have
any modern equipment on it.

Everything has to have been
built prior to '47,

or reproductions
of early speed equipment.

So my first priority is to get
a lot of parts ordered.

Check and see if this thing
has intake gaskets.

I don't think it does.

What are you gonna do
about exhaust?

Oh, you're pretty much
looking at it.

All right.

And so the majority of this is
basically getting pulled apart,

checked for mechanical ability,

and then,
if it's deemed unmechanical,

repaired and reinstalled,

or tossed aside
because it's unnecessary.

We're not building this
to go across town,

we're not building it
to go cross-country.

So, this is being built
just to hammer, turn around,

come back, shut down.

So, the first part
of the build...

Icky, more icky!

...taking the parts off
that aren't going.

**

So, I've kind of desired
to have an old Harley

for a long, long time.

There's one massive problem...

Old harleys,
like a lot of old stuff,

are really, really expensive.

Okey-dokey.

'45s are the babies.
They're the little ones.

Obviously they're less money,
less power,

less desirable, less everything.

The one interesting thing
is this particular model...

We used these in w*r.

We used this
to further our agenda.

We used this to save our lives,
protect our lives,

you know, on and on
and on and on and on.

This is a part of our heritage
and our culture.

So, it's not that this is the
greatest bike on the whole planet,

it's just part of our culture,

and that's the reason
I wanted one.

There it is.

That's all she wrote,
and then some.

**

Bam.

It's my '37 ambulance,
man.

Wow.
This is cool.

So, the panel wagon that
we're building, I guess,

is actually being built
to carry the motorcycle

to the race.

So, that's pretty cool,

'cause, I mean,
if I had that panel truck,

I'd be putting my bikes in it.

Sweet. Got a little
small-block in it.

Look at them seat covers.

I mean, it's a pretty decent
little ride.

What do you think, Aaron?

My wla
is such a small bike.

It'll definitely fit
back here.

It's just really ugly.

You know, if Richard wants

to drive this thing


what I'm concerned about is
not breaking down along the way.

And this panel truck...
I think it'll be fine.

- It runs and drives.
- Yeah.

I think it's really just,

make it look the part
a little better.

You know, give it a base lift,
wheel it up.

That's right...
Wheels, tires.

The junky bucket seats
got to go.

Delete the windows,
get some paint on it.

You can have Tanner come over
and logo it.

It'll be "gas monkey... parts,
sales, service" underneath it.

Pretty sweet.

I think it's a pretty cool
street rod as it is.

It needs to be jazzed up.

It's kind of got
a stupid look to it.

But at the end of the day,

to have this kind of
retro-feeling,

you know, Pre-w*r badass
Harley-Davidson race bike

with a panel Van transporter...

I think I hit, you know,
marketing gold here.

I've got a Harley to build,

and I've got enough work
for myself,

so this right here's
really y'all.

And I think y'all
are definitely the team

to knock it out
pretty quick.

You're not putting me
in that "y'all," are you?

- No, no, no, no.
- Okay, I ain't in "y'all."

Y'all are "y'all."

So, y'all have 10 days.

Best of luck, guys.

I'm digging it.

A '37 panel truck, baby.

I think it'll be
a pretty cool transport vehicle.

Unfortunately, we've got
a really short timeline on this.

That's putting
a lot of pressure on us.

Aaron's gonna be on the bike,

but the good news is

that leaves
all the other six of us

to take care of the Van.

I've got a rack right there
behind you.

Actually, it's more like
five and a half.

See, keke's out of town,

so Richard brought in
this new guy, Tony,

to give us a hand.

Don't look at that.

Hey, don't break our crap.

In order for Aaron to have this
in time for New Jersey,

we're gonna have to do our best
to work out of each other's way,

get it to Mike
as soon as possible,

get it back over here,
build it,

get the bike in it,
end of story.

What the hell
are you doing?

It's your first day,
dude.

Coming up on "fast n' loud"...

Mike goes old-school
on the panel wagon.

And Aaron gets back to basics
on the Harley.

Junky, old motor,
I think that might fly.

**

Ugh, it's heavy
when you do it like that.

- You ready?
- Yeah, I'm ready.

So, I need
an inch and 11/16s.

Okay.

Today, we got
a lot going on in the shop.

It's not often
that we have two builds

that we have to get done
on the same timeline,

and a very compressed one
at that.

So right now,
it's all hands on deck.

So, I'm sanding
parts on the Harley.

Hope this thing works.

With my luck,
it's, like, 10 kinds of broken.

Webb and the guys are working

on deleting the windows
from the panel truck.

And Tony's stripping the paint
off the Harley's frame.

I wasn't going to paint it,

but the more I looked at it,
the uglier it got,

so Mike's going to seal it

and give it a fresh coat
of black paint.

That looks nasty.

Yeah, it looks terrible.

Looks like
a bad hot dog.

It's like a hot dog that you
put ketchup and mustard on it,

and it sat in your car
for two days.

The craft stripper
will do the job.

And if we keep
jamming like this,

we might even finish in time

to hit up the casinos
in Atlantic city

before the race.

Hey, Jason,
you want to do me a favor?

I need you to hold this.

- Top of it?
- No.

Yeah, get on that side
of the table.

Hold that right there.

Just hold it.
Just hold it down.

It'll get more heavy.

Come on, now.

All right.

Is it heavy enough yet?
Yep.

Today we got the Harley frame
and some of the smaller parts

back from paint,

and they don't
look much different

because we painted them
the same color

because I wanted the bike
to look mostly original.

Got it?

I think...

At this point,
I've only got like six days

before I have to have this bike
and the panel truck finished

and on the road.

The guys have their hands full

with the patina look that
we're going for on the truck.

And for the Harley,

I don't know anything
about the motorcycle.

And so there could be rocks
in the transmission.

There could be hopes and dreams
and bubble gum

inside the engine cases.

I just don't know.

So, I what I need to do now

is get the roller reassembled

so that I can dig in and begin
the assessment of the motor.

Mike said
it is a very simple machine,

but at the same time,
some simple problems

can leave us here in Dallas
and not at the race.

Oh, yeah.

All right, that is probably
sufficient for the evening.

Let's go before we decide
to bolt some more on.

**

* dun dun dun Da-dun-dun
dun dun *

ooh, that's green.
They don't want that.

So, on the '37 panel wagon,

the body is just about ready
for paint.

Empty.

Aaron and Richard want
kind of a grungy, rusty patina

to go with the '42 Harley,

so while Tony's
finishing up sanding,

I'm gonna throw
a bunch of colors together

and see if I can't come up

with a Doo-Doo brown
that looks kind of rusty.

You know what?
That's getting pretty close.

Pretty sure I can do that.

You mix a bunch of colors
together...

Ew. That looks gross.

...typically,
that's what you get...

A crappy-looking brown.

Let's go sh**t this on there
in random spots.

Let's throw some of that
in the mix.

Green might work.

Doing a paint job
using this kind of technique...

To simulate patina...
It's kind of hard.

There we go.
That looks dingy.

The hardest part is doing

what it took mother nature


and to put all the right marks
in all the right places.

So, when I'm doing this
and I'm mixing colors

and I've got all these colors
on the table,

there's certain colors
I want to hit

and certain colors
I want to do.

But the most important thing...

The actual key thing
to doing this

and actually
pulling it off...

Is that you make sure
that you...

My paint's too good.

**

So, what do you think
of the bike?

Is it cool? Is it all right?
Does it suck?

The paint job Mike did
on the frame looks nice.

Yeah.

Everything jams.

I just got
to fix the motor now,

or at least make it
more run-able.

So, on the '42 wla...
Over the weekend,

I was actually able to assemble
absolutely everything,

all the brakes.

Everything works on it.

But I ran into a small problem

when I was tearing down
the engine.

The front cylinder here...

So, the front cylinder
has a stuck valve.

I hit it with hammer,

and that's as far
as it wanted to go back down.

So, obviously,
it's not sealing.

See how it won't
go down in there?

What I'm thinking it is
is corrosion around the stem,

so I got to disassemble
the valve train,

which, you know, obviously,
I didn't plan to do.

The problem with a stuck valve

is that it disables the motor's
ability to make compression...

A vital aspect of operation.

It would be wonderful if I had
another motor sitting here,

but I don't.

Since getting the correct parts
will push me past my deadline,

I'm going to have to repair
the damaged parts

that I have on hand.

So, what I'm going to do
is try an old method

to see if I can fix
the valve seat

and get the engine
back in the bike.

But if I can't,
we are on hold.

I'm gonna try that.

There. That's...

So, what I'm gonna try to do

is use an abrasive compound
on the valve

with a suction cup on a stick,
otherwise known as a lapper,

to hopefully grind off
some of the surface pitting

and corrosions.

Ancient technology here.

Actually, can you stand it up
and balance it for me?

Oh, there you go.

It should take
less than a minute,

and if I do it right, the seal
will be air-tight when I'm done.

But if I can't
get the seal to hold,

I'm gonna have
a lot more work to do

and not much time to do it in.

Let's take a look at it.

Oh, a lot better
than it did look.

All right,
let's pop this back in,

see if it holds the seal.

Junky, old motor,
I think that might fly.

Valves are sealing really well.

So, right now,
what I'm about to do

is put it all back together,

do some sliding
around the parking lot,

throw it in the bed of
a pickup truck, and head north.

Coming up on "fast n' loud"...

Aaron's surprise proposal
stops Richard in his tracks.

I'd love to have it.

But the Harley
doesn't want to start.

The answer is "d."

From 1971 to '75,

Harley-Davidson made
a line of snowmobiles,

which today have become highly
sought-after collector's items.

**

Oh, crap.

**

So, how's this thing doing?
Going pretty good.

I had the whole thing together
and then tore the motor down,

and I'm just trying to pry loose


So, Aaron told me this build
was gonna be a cakewalk

and we'd be hanging out
at the New Jersey shore by now.

But with the pile of parts
in front of him,

I'd say that Aaron doesn't know
a whole lot about cake.

Is that gonna put us
in too deep?

I mean, the thing's not worth
a whole lot anyways, is it?

Uh, yeah. No.

The cool thing is the parts
are fairly cheap for it,

but it took a lot of them,

and then, on top of that,
it's, um, not worth much.

So labor tends
to stack up on it.

And even though the parts
don't cost much,

there's a lot of them.

It's probably worth more fun
than it is money.

Well,
I need to find somebody

that wants to have some fun
with it, then, 'cause...

Oh, I know a guy.
Who's that?

This old Harley really is
a cultural touchstone,

and the more time
I spend with it,

I'm really digging it.

I don't think
I want to let this one go.

Man, to tell you the truth,

for not being worth
a whole lot,

I'd love to have it.

You know I don't care.

Wherever I get profit,
I get profit,

so I'd take from you
or them guys or anybody.

Well,
I was gonna say, with me,

you kind of stand a chance
of breaking out.

The other guys,
you stand to lose some money.

I don't know,
if we can't move it,

I say I'll take it
off your hands.

Plan "a" was to go out

and build a Harley
and win a race,

get some respect
for the old machine,

and then sell it
for a tidy profit.

Unloading it on beard boy?
Eh, that's not a bad plan "b."

All right,
well, finish it up.

Let's see where we're at
on the total, and...

We'll see if we can
get it fired up.

I'm sure it'll fire up.
It's just how much we got to do.

Yeah, if it'll run good.
Yeah.

All right, man.

We'll see what the total
looks like when you're done.

**

Chuck, you almost done mounting
the k*ll switch for the mag?

I want to get
the cylinder heads on.

Yep, just finishing up.

So, we're closing in
on the race in New Jersey

really, really quickly.

So right now,
I just need to tie up

a few last things on my list
before I can get it off the lift

and try and get it fired up.

Basically,
what I'm doing right now

is I'm wiring the mag.

It's just a k*ll switch.

This Harley
needs to have parts

that were appropriate
for the 1940s,

but it also needs to be
light enough for the race,

so Aaron decided
to remove the battery.

We done did away with it
and stuff.

So, basically, what I'm doing

is I'm running a line
to the Magneto,

which is basically
a little generator

with magnets that provide spark
for the engine.

It's simple, reliable,

and it weighs a lot less
than a big battery.

And, hopefully, we can
get this thing running

sometime this afternoon.

We really need it
to be running.

Deadlines are real.

All right. Let's get
this first cylinder on.

All right.

So, last night,

Charles and I
worked pretty late.

We got it all back together,

fixing to drop
the cylinders back on,

and we had
a major valve issue.

Got it sorted out,
got it cleaned up.

Valves are sealing really well.

Cylinders are completely
put back together.

I like that.
I like that, man.

So, everything looks great
appearance-wise.

I think mechanically...
I think it's gonna run great.

I think it may
make a little noise,

but I think it's gonna run fine.

Let's go kick it around the
parking lot a couple times.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm gonna go kick it around
a little bit.

**

My list today is awful short.

So, if in the next few hours

we can get this thing
to talk to us, it'd be great.

**

- Ready?
- Yeah.

Well,
we're coming in the final day

of working on the '37 panel Van.

We're out of time.

We've still got
to run all the wiring,

get the wheels and tires on it,

and then go
through a systems check,

so we have a lot of work to do.

This is the last day.

There's gonna be
a lot of pressure today.

Everybody's
pretty fired up about it,

but we got a lot to get done.

So, that's what
we're dealing with.

**

Set it, and then we'll just
raise one side.

- It's good.
- All right.

- Whoo! Done!
- I wish it was that easy.

So, sometimes you can't even
see the end vision of these vehicles,

and as they come together, you
even kind of have to step back

and go, "wow, we did that
in such a short amount of time."

You're pretty impressed
with what the whole crew does.

So, really excited
about this thing.

Today, we need to wrap it up,

and I think we can
ultimately get that done.

Ándale, homes.
Let's roll, ese.

No? You got
to suck it up, man

suck it up!

Is that it?
Is that good.

Let's roll, ese.
Okay, man.

Ándale.

All right.

Let's, um...

I guess we're gonna
get it on the ground.

It's a little easier to go
through the next process.

The little bike
that I've got...

The 194245-inch wla...
Is ready to go.

Really, the only thing
left to do is fire it up.

Tune it a bit, and then
we're headed out tonight

to the sparkling ocean waters
of south Jersey.

I don't have the time to do all
the things that I'd like to do.

In the future,
would really like to make it

much, much more of a hot rod...

Do some intake manifold,
carburetor modifications...

But with the short amount
of time,

I'm gonna be happy if it runs.

You know, as far as taking
a break from working on cars,

I absolutely adore
working on motorcycles.

I really, really do.

Choke's on.
Let's turn the fuel on.

I... I do. I adore motorcycles
and I love working on them,

so taking a break from the cars

is definitely
a welcome opportunity.

**

**

Holy

**

After a lengthy attempt
to get the bike running,

I realized that I have a very
large leak in the engine's intake,

which is something
I wasn't expecting.

The intake leak is happening
behind the carburetor,

preventing it from pulling

the proper amount of fuel
into the engine,

and that's why I'm having such
a difficult time starting it up.

It's not really
a horrible problem,

but it is time-consuming
to correct.

But I don't have the parts,

and even if I did
have the parts,

at this point, I don't
have the time to get it fixed

and make it to New Jersey
for the race.

One thing's for sure...

Once I'm able to get my hands
on the parts,

I'm gonna find a way to ride
this bike on the beach,

come hell or high water.

Coming up on "fast n' loud"...

Aaron finally gets
to race on the beach.

But will Richard go home
empty-handed?

Now what am I supposed
to do with it?

I don't even have
a buyer for it.

Hell, yeah! Whoo!

What's this?

So, discovery sent us a prop
from their new show.

It's "Harley
and the davidsons."

I think they felt bad

because Aaron doesn't have
a bike to take to the race.

- Oh, yeah?
- No, not really.

News flash!
Discovery channel's getting out

of the reality-TV business, and
I know what you're thinking...

It sucks for gas monkey...
But we flip cars.

That's how we make money.
Now... just kidding.

What's really happening... new
miniseries premiering tonight

about Harley-Davidson and when
it all began as a business.

And they sent us over

one of their prop bikes.

So, does that mean
it runs... Or has run?

I would assume so.
Or is capable of running?

I'd be willing to bet it does.

Why don't you jump in there?
We can send you back.

Trying to get rid of me?

We'll just trade for you.

This runs better
than your bike, Aaron.

**

All right, I know
you're really bummed out

about missing the race
in New Jersey.

Yeah, well.

So, I've got a little
surprise for you,

now that you got
the engine problem sorted out.

Yeah?

**

All right, man.
This is it.

So... well,
it's not it, is it?

It's not
the race of the gentlemen,

but we got a beach.

Ready to run?

Hey, what's up guys?

- Hey, man!
- Hey.

What are y'all doing?

Well, fixing to find out

how fast or slow
this little scooter is.

And you're here
just in time.

I need you
to go down there

and Mark out 660 feet...


And draw a line in the sand
with a stick.

Oh, man.
I'm on vacation.

You dress like that
on vacation?

Nah, I guess I am here
to do a job.



I'll get the starting line
going.

**

...173, 174, 175...

Not this again.

...186, 187...

Close enough.

Hell, yeah!

**

Here we go, guys and gals...
A 1942 Harley-Davidson wla.

Now, this wasn't the fastest
bike on the planet back then,

but it was awful cool,

and it became kind of the staple
for Harley-Davidson

for quite a number of years
afterwards.

These little bikes,
they were Hardy,

they were trustworthy,

they were pretty easy to repair,
pretty cheap to maintain,

which made them an excellent
choice for the front and at home.

We poked around the garage
of Aaron's dad...

I mean Aaron mather...
And we found this old Harley.

He was ready to sell it,

and Aaron wanted to go
to the race of gentlemen,

so that's what
it's all about...

Getting it back on the beach
and having some fun.

That being said,

the little bike
needed some love,

and I thought
this could be the one

that carried me
down the beach.

So we brought it home,
and as it turns out,

it needed quite a bit more.

But there was one thing
in mind...

We needed
to make it lighter

and we needed
to make it tougher.

So, being that a bike is,
you know, that size,

and really can only use one, maybe
two, guys working on it at a time,

we got a lot of other monkeys
sitting around

with nothing to do,
and I figured,

"well, we're gonna have to have
a little transport action

for this
wla Harley-Davidson."

So we scooped up
this '37 panel wagon

with the idea that it would be
our Harley-Davidson hauler.

The real benefit
of this one

is that they already had
a motor and transmission

that didn't need
to be replaced.

The worst problem was
the offense done to the body.

Then somebody
put windows in it,

but they didn't get windows
that fit the panels.

They just kind of cut them in
just randomly,

and so that really wasn't
gonna work for me.

The other obvious thing was
the entire truck was primered,

and primer's not a paint,

and it's definitely not
a paint job.

My paint's too good.

Part of the idea
was we wanted something

that was kind of indicative

of what we might have had
as a shop truck,

and it had a hard 10 years...
A hard 12 years or so.

That's the reason
for the fauxing the patina,

'cause I wanted to have
a beat-down, old shop truck.

A panel Van would
typically be your shop vehicle,

so, obviously, you want
to put the big "gas monkey"

on the side of it,

let everyone know
who you are.

But, you know, it's also
still just a panel Van,

so you can't dump a whole bunch
of money into it,

'cause, let's be honest,

there's not any hundred-thousand-dollar
panel vans out there,

or not very many.

When it came to putting interior
in our '37 panel delivery,

we got with lebaron Bonney,
and we actually got

some appropriate late-'30s,
early-'40s material,

the headliner of the carpet
and the seat material,

so everything appeared as
appropriate as we could make it.

With two weeks to build
the little Harley,

I thought we could move
through it pretty quickly,

and I couldn't have been
more wrong.

From the word "go,"
from the teardown,

we realized that there
were gonna be some issues,

but we checked them off
one by one.

It's cute, huh?
The biggest being

the motor
and transmission.

I didn't expect it,

but the frame
needed to be painted.

Of course, wheels and tires
needed an update,

and then a new seat
and handlebars,

all along the way, trying
to strip weight off the bike.

But one thing
I kind of hadn't planned on

was having major problems
inside of the motor.

I really kind of thought
this might be

like a lot of our cars that really
just needed some attention

and would fire back up.

I was, sadly,
very mistaken.

For countless hours... and
I do mean countless hours...

Of kicking and trying
to get this thing started,

we ran out of time.

We had to call it off.
It was not going to make it.

Well,
there's always next year.

**

I'm really not sure
if I'm gonna make money

on the bike
and/or the panel Van,

for that matter.

And we did miss our date
up in New Jersey,

and, well,
that just kind of sucks,

but we got done,
and here we are.

While it wasn't
the Jersey shore,

one thing
that we know for sure

is this pair is a fun pair
to ride or drive.

It works both ways,
and they're a lot of fun.

Had you at 12 1/2.

Right on.

Not bad
for a junky, old scooter,

'cause I think
it can go a lot quicker,

but it definitely ain't
gonna do it today.

Now what am I supposed
to do with it?

I don't even have
a buyer for it.

Yeah,
I'll make you an offer.

I'll take it off your plate,
you know.

Why do I feel like
I'm getting suckered?

This was chancy
at 9 grand anyways,

so what are you gonna give me...
Like $14,000?

Let's go $10,000.

Man!

You made $1,000 dollars.

I didn't
make $1,000 dollars.

I had parts, and then
I got labor bills.

He's trying to cut
the loss of income.

Well, I'm gonna
make money on this.

You know, I'd be willing to bet
that one makes money.

Yeah, that one's definitely
gonna make money.

All right, cool. So, you'll
give me $10,000 for it?

Yeah.

No matter what's wrong
with it?

You own it.
All right.

Done deal.

You can have that
for $10,000,

but y'all got
to get it home.

I'm gonna go have some fun.

Didn't rent this beach
for no reason.

Boy, it's gonna be
a long push, man.

Hey, don't forget...
This doesn't float.

**

So, what do they call
a beach in New Jersey?

The Jersey shore.

And I don't think
anybody wants to go there.