Original subtitles

GORDIE: You can just switch hands rapidly.

MIKE: I'm learning from the guy that taught Lone Ranger

how to smoke 'em.

JB: Okay, gentlemen, welcome to Zephyr‐ville.

Huh?

GORDIE: Put the barrel into the holster,

and then turn it into the holster.

ROBBIE: Ha! Wow!

This is like pure jewelry right here.

MIKE: Oh yeah, look at that buckle.

GORDIE: Hi‐ho Silver, away! MIKE: [laughs]

JB: A car of this quality is gonna be close to $200,000.

MIKE: [laughs]

GORDIE: He was a pain in the butt.

MIKE: [laughs]

♪

♪

ROBBIE: I like warehouse districts.

MEFFORD: Yeah, we're real close, aren't we?

ROBBIE: Yeah, it's gotta be right up here.

It's right here.

MEFFORD: Oh yeah, look at that.

ROBBIE: Huh...

Looks like the gate's locked, dude.

What's up with that? [honks horn]

MEFFORD: God, look at this place.

Anybody here?

ROBBIE: Hello!

Doesn't look like anybody's here; place is locked up.

MEFFORD: Hey, Walker! ROBBIE: Walker!

♪

ROBBIE: There you are. MEFFORD: There he is.

ROBBIE: You Walker? WALKER: Hi, yeah, that's me.

ROBBIE: Dani sent us.

WALKER: Oh, great. How you doing?

ROBBIE: Said you got some stuff for sale, maybe.

WALKER: We do have some stuff for sale.

Let me, uh, just open up here for ya.

WALKER: Come on in. ROBBIE: How you doing?

WALKER: I'm good, how are you?

ROBBIE: Rob Wolfe. good to see you, man.

WALKER: Nice to meet you.

MEFFORD: Hey, nice to meet you, Walker.

MEFFORD: This is some of the stuff we're looking for.

WALKER: Okay, you know, that'd actually be more my dad's call,

but he's around here; you wanna go see if we can find him?

MEFFORD: Okay. ROBBIE: Show us around.

So, how long have you had this yard here?

WALKER: Uh, as long as I can remember.

I remember running around here as a little kid.

I'm a little over 30, so probably 25 or 30 years.

ROBBIE: So you've accumulated that much stuff?

WALKER: Well, yeah, I called you guys because

my dad's getting a little older, and a couple of years ago,

he put me in charge of selling some of these old cars.

WALKER: Hey, Dad!

JB: Yo! ROBBIE: How you doing?

JB: You have friends.

MEFFORD: Good friends. We're good friends.

ROBBIE: We're friends. JB: Car guys?

ROBBIE: Yeah, we're here to help you.

ROBBIE: We're here to help you. JB: Car guys?

MEFFORD: Name's Mike. Very nice to meet you.

JB: You're not with the government, right?

MEFFORD: No, not with the government at all.

ROBBIE: No, no government.

MEFFORD: Hey, these are some of the things we're looking for.

JB: Okay. ROBBIE: Got any of that stuff?

JB: We're a little short on old dolls and uh...

JB: Yeah, we got a lot of this stuff actually.

MEFFORD: Hey, one thing that caught my eye...

is the fiberglass body over there.

JB: Come here, you get a little closer, I'll show ya.

It's an actual race car body. MEFFORD: Look at that thing!

JB: It's a piece of art, it really is.

MEFFORD: Oh, it is.

Especially with the air scoops and stuff on it.

Robbie, look at this.

ROBBIE: Did you guys make this body, yourself?

JB: Uh no, I rescued it.

JB: It was at a race car shop that was closing down

and they didn't know what to do with it, and I said,

"I know what to do with it. We're gonna save it."

ROBBIE: How long has it been hanging around here?

JB: Oh, it's 50 years old.

My plan was to keep it from being destroyed.

ROBBIE: Oh, and that was it.

JB: And worry about the rest of it later.

JB: How could you go to the dump with something like that?

That's how I value everything,

is will this be a part of history?

Are you gonna destroy history,

or are you gonna preserve history?

JB: One of the reasons I kept this is because

I'm in the fiberglass business.

JB: In 1969, I founded American Fiberglass.

We're a custom job shop.

Essentially we are known as the Dirty Harry of Fiberglass.

If everybody else can't or won't do it, they come here,

and we end up doing a lot of the more challenging work.

MEFFORD: What year do you think this was produced?

JB: Well, it's gotta be '60s.

Everything was built in wind tunnels.

Even the air intakes... MEFFORD: Um‐hm.

JB: ...were streamlined and that sort of thing.

It's just a piece of art.

MEFFORD: Look at this. JB: Yeah.

MEFFORD: Look at the sloping on the rear here.

JB: That's the beginning of the modernization

of race cars.

JB: Formula Vee and some of those Formula Ford

were intermediary type of racing,

when you could build your own car, your own body,

your own chassis, you were limited on the engines,

but really the aerodynamics of it was the fun part,

and that was the art of it.

JB: A local privateer decided he was gonna try and enter

a car at Le Mans, and we were fortunate enough

to build the body for it.

And it actually wound up finishing

second overall at Le Mans.

MEFFORD: No kidding! Wow!

ROBBIE: What year was that? JB: '87.

ROBBIE & MEFFORD: '87.

JB: There's an incredible amount of racing based out of Phoenix.

Drag racing was our foundation, and we had a car that we built

that won the Trans‐Am Series,

and won the Solo II Championship in the '80s.

So it's really been an amazing ride.

I had a lot of good fortune.

MEFFORD: Would this be something you'd consider selling?

JB: I've always wanted it to just go to a good home.

I think I got over the idea that I was gonna do it.

So, you make me a reasonable offer.

MEFFORD: You know, it's all about condition.

You know, I'm gonna have to do quite a bit of

fiberglass repair here, underneath,

in the back here to bring it up.

Would you consider about 650?

JB: Hmm. Um...

Hadn't think of giving it away that cheap.

I, uh... but, you know, I realize that you‐‐

if you're gonna have to do a lot of work to‐‐

I just want to make sure

it's gonna be taken care of, honestly.

I've been watching over it for 25 years, so...

MEFFORD: Oh, I'll take care of it.

JB: Okay.

MEFFORD: And I'll do the work on it, and I'll...

JB: And I want to see it when it's done.

MEFFORD: Okay. You got it.

JB: Take it. MEFFORD: Thank you.

MEFFORD: One thing I really want to do

is to make it structurally strong again.

ROBBIE: Grab the honey hole. You got it, Mefford?

MEFFORD: Got it.

MEFFORD: Then I'd like to paint it.

I'm thinking about going with a traditional white...

ROBBIE: [grunts]

Thank god the thing's light, man.

MEFFORD: ...with maybe a blue or a red rally stripe

down the centre.

And then it'll just be a work of art.

MEFFORD: How fast do I look like I'm going?

ROBBIE: You look like you're going 100‐mile‐an‐hour.

JB: Hey, I want it back now! I haven't seen it in 20 years.

JB: What... this is the coolest thing on the planet!

How much you want for it?

JB: He really‐‐ he was really happy.

That's worth all the money in the world right there.

JB: You got it? MEFFORD: Got it.

JB: Don't drop it. Oh, don't drop it.

MEFFORD: Oh, yeah...

JB: The physical representation of that kind of a piece of art

is priceless.

JB: Okay, gentlemen...

Welcome to Zephyr‐ville!

MEFFORD: Ahh...

JB: Huh?

Got enough Zephyrs for ya?

The biggest collection of '38 and ‐9s anywhere that I know of.

MEFFORD: Really, right here? JB: Yeah, right here.

JB: Lincoln Zephyr, I was first introduced to them

at a show at the Phoenix Art Museum.

That was the first time I'd ever seen one.

I mean, they're incredibly rare.

You just don't go see them at car shows; they're not there.

JB: In that show were a lot of handmade one‐off cars,

but there was one car that was stock,

and that was a '39 Zephyr Coupe.

And it just stood right up and said,

"I'm as good as any of you guys."

It was magnificent.

And I thought, "Wow, better get on that."

That was 15 years ago.

There's no question that Zephyrs are art.

JB: There's nothing more beautiful than that car.

Bring them on. Bring on the Ferraris,

the Maseratis, Hispano‐Suizas.

This thing holds its own against anything.

That's an amazing accomplishment for an American production car.

JB: This whole thing was made to go through the air.

This whole shape flows together from the sides,

into the middle, from this side into the middle.

And then it flows‐‐ the air goes over the top.

ROBBIE: Watching JB look over the lines on this car

and he's describing it, his arms are flaring up in the air;

he actually looks like he's the conductor

for the New York Symphony.

JB: Edsel Ford spent a lot of time in Europe.

Over here we were building boxes, and he told his dad,

he said, "Look, I don't want to do boxes,

"I want to build cars that are beautiful, they're streamlined,

"and are modern and take us into the next generation."

JB: They have a magic to them that only gets better with time.

JB: This one came from California;

that one came from Arizona.

JB: You're never gonna find a bunch more of them;

they're not gonna make reproductions; this is it.

JB: If you were interested,

and you want to put a car together,

you take a front end off of this car,

you get the back end off of that car, the fenders,

you end up with a complete car for, you know, 4 to 6 grand.

MEFFORD: He's getting us the vision

of what we can do with this stuff.

ROBBIE: I'm liking the way your mind works.

But is there anything that you have that's up on wheels,

with a motor in it already?

JB: Uh... they're a little spendy.

You sure... ROBBIE: Show them to me.

JB: Okay.

Well, if you're okay with it, sure, I'll be happy to.

MEFFORD: Let's go. ROBBIE: Yeah.

MEFFORD: God, this is incredible.

But a little bit too much work,

a little bit too far gone for me.

WALKER: So, this is American Fiberglass.

This is where we do all of our fiberglass work.

We do a broad range of industrial,

architectural art projects.

JB: You know, there's art in engineering,

and there's engineering in art.

And what we've been able to do is tie the two things together.

We've executed some of the largest pieces of art

in the world, and they're still functioning.

They're in a public setting, so they need to be durable.

WALKER: This is also where we keep our project cars

that we work on in various stages of restoration.

MEFFORD: Such as this 1953 Buick?

WALKER: Yeah, that's exactly right.

MEFFORD: Anniversary edition.

Super rare. Is this for sale?

JB: That one's already gone. But this is an even rarer car.

This is a 1940 Lincoln Zephyr convertible coupe.

MEFFORD: Is it for sale? JB: Yes, it is for sale.

Almost all of them run from 35 to 55,000.

MEFFORD: Now, this car is complete

with the engine still in it? JB: Absolutely.

Yeah, everything is complete, and that's very difficult

to do with a car this rare. MEFFORD: Yeah.

JB: In order for us to afford to work on the cars,

we have the same people cross‐trading to work

on industrial, so that we don't have to lay them off.

The average term of work here is 36 years.

ROBBIE: You haven't hired anybody in 36 years?

JB: No, sir.

We just try to cover our expenses

and keep our people employed.

Then they move back over to the industrial side.

JB: Find good people, motivate them, pay them well,

and get the hell out of their way.

That's how you run a really good shop.

MEFFORD: Wow.

JB: This is a really rare car here.

MEFFORD: Oh, yeah.

JB: This is a '39 Lincoln Zephyr convertible coupe,

which arguably is one of the most beautiful cars ever made.

A car in this condition, where everything's there,

the body work is pretty much complete,

is in the 50 to $60,000 area.

MEFFORD: You're right on it for the price.

But unfortunately, we're not the guys to finish it.

JB: Yeah, I understand it. It's not your deal.

MEFFORD: I can see why Zephyr‐ville was so important,

because that's his little yard where he gets a lot of his

parts from, to put these project cars together.

MEFFORD: What about this one? This is a '38, this is the king.

Three‐window coupe, I mean, look at it, look at the sloping,

the back end is just as sexy as the front.

The way it swoops back. Split‐window.

They thought '63 Corvette did a split window, come on,

they had it way before that. JB: That's where they got it.

MEFFORD: What kind of number do you have on this?

JB: Uh...

WALKER: This one actually isn't for sale.

This is kind of the king.

It's one that we're gonna keep and restore in‐house.

JB: You know, when you told me that you thought this was

the better way to go, I just missed it.

As usual, I'm going way too fast.

But you have a habit of studying things and understanding them,

and for that, you know, I'm incredibly proud of the fact

that I get to work with you.

And that's the god's honest truth.

WALKER: Thank you. JB: You're very welcome.

WALKER: I'm really looking forward to it.

JB: Okay, good.

JB: You know, to work with your son, it's a tough thing to do.

WALKER: You know, why don't we show them some stuff

up in the parts room that actually is for sale?

ROBBIE: Alright. MEFFORD: Let's do it.

JB: It normally doesn't work, mostly because the fathers

can't honour their own sons.

They keep seeing them as their children.

You have to see them as men; you have to see them as leaders.

And he's gonna be running this place.

It's an incredible blessing.

WALKER: Okay, Dad, why don't you take them upstairs?

I've gotta go meet with a customer right now.

JB: Okay. WALKER: Thanks for coming.

It was really nice to meet you. MEFFORD: Nice to meet you.

ROBBIE: Nice meeting you. Good to see you, buddy.

WALKER: Thanks so much. MEFFORD: Alright.

JB: See some good parts? MEFFORD: Finally, yeah!

ROBBIE: Yeah. JB: This way.

MEFFORD: Let's go. ROBBIE: Lead us the way.

GORDIE: Well, I was one of the stuntmen

♪

DANIELLE: Hey, listen, Gordie's already called me;

he's looking for you.

Man, that dude rises with the sun.

MIKE: What time did you tell him I was gonna be there?

DANIELLE: Well, I said in the morning.

But Mike, he rises with the sun.

MIKE: I thought you said he was 90 years old.

DANIELLE: He is, but this guy is a pistol.

MIKE: Trust me, I'm feeling this one.

I'm excited to meet this guy.

MIKE: While Frank is out of commission,

I'm picking solo in Florida.

MIKE: I mean, how often do you get a chance

to meet a real cowboy?

DANIELLE: I know! That's why I'm jealous!

MIKE: I'm on my way to meet a Golden Age Hollywood stuntman,

Gordie Peer.

MIKE: I'll call you later and let you know how it goes.

DANIELLE: Alright, have fun, I'll talk to you later.

MIKE: See ya, honey. DANIELLE: Bye.

MIKE: As soon as Danielle starts telling me about Gordie,

I'm painting a picture in my mind...

MIKE: End of the trail.

Oh, yeah. Wow.

MIKE: ...and imagining what he's gonna look like,

and what it's gonna be like to meet him.

♪

MIKE: Gordie!

Hey!

GORDIE: What the heck are you doing here?

MIKE: Hey, you talked to Dani on the phone?

Danielle in Iowa.

GORDIE: I've been waiting for four hours for you.

What the hell's the matter with you?

MIKE: Really? Oh man, I'm sorry.

MIKE: If you're gonna be a cowboy and you're gonna be

a badass, you better be on time.

MIKE: Hey, I drove down here from Nashville.

Good to see you. GORDIE: Really?

MIKE: Yeah, good to see ya.

She probably gave you a list of this stuff over the phone.

But, uh... when she called me and she told me your story,

I just made a bonsai right down here; I had to meet ya.

GORDIE: Really? MIKE: You're a big deal!

I heard about you all the way up in Nashville!

Yeah, yeah.

GORDIE: It's all a bunch of bull.

None of it's true. MIKE: Well, I'll tell you what,

I appreciate you letting me come.

Can we look around a little bit?

GORDIE: I'm Gordie Peer, and this is my ranch.

♪

MIKE: So, this is what Dani was telling me about.

GORDIE: Yeah, this is where I set up all my stuff,

so that people could see stuff that I've done.

MIKE: This is a guy that lived it.

He worked it, he experienced the Golden Age of Westerns.

MIKE: Who's this guy? GORDIE: That's me.

MIKE: That's you? Wow!

GORDIE: That's me with this hat on, spinning the gun.

MIKE: Look how fast you're spinning it!

You can't even see the gun. GORDIE: Well...

I'm faster than lightning. MIKE: Dang.

GORDIE: Throughout my whole life, I've entertained people.

I could do stuff with a gun and a whip and a rope,

and made a heck of a living at it.

GORDIE: That's Greta Garbo's Duesenberg,

and that's me driving it. MIKE: No way!

GORDIE: One of the big things that I did is doing stunts

in the movies.

Sometimes it was playing a character,

like when I had to ride a horse and jump over a fence

dressed as a girl.

MIKE: Did you hang all these pictures up?

GORDIE: Yeah, and...

there were photographs that I've collected over the years,

of people that I knew, and most of them are people

that I worked with.

MIKE: To meet somebody that walked among the giants,

the stars of the Hollywood Westerns is epic.

He's the real deal.

GORDIE: You see that picture down there on the bottom?

That's actually Clayton Moore,

who played the Lone Ranger. MIKE: Yeah.

MIKE: The Lone Ranger is an American icon.

He is a hero to generations.

TONTO: Here's gun to kill bad men.

LONE RANGER: I'm not going to do any killing.

TONTO: You will not defend yourself?

LONE RANGER: Oh, I'll shoot if I have to.

But I'll shoot to wound, not to kill.

If a man must die, it's up to the law to decide that,

not the person behind a six‐shooter.

TONTO: That's right, kemo‐sabe.

GORDIE: Well, I was one of the stuntmen that worked with

Clayton and filming the series...

MIKE: On the Lone Ranger? GORDIE: Yeah.

On the Lone Ranger series. MIKE: No kidding!

MIKE: So, how old were you when you met him?

GORDIE: I was 17, 18 years old, and I had met Clayton.

His original name was Jack.

I got to be friends with him and he says,

"Try to get on the set and get some of the stunt jobs with me."

MIKE: No kidding.

GORDIE: So that's when I started doing stunts with him

and several of the guys. They were in Hollywood.

GORDIE: I've gone to do shows and they say,

"Lone Ranger, who's that?"

You know? [chuckles]

They've forgotten, you know?

It is...

gradually being lost.

MIKE: When I was a kid, we knew who he was.

Even though the show had probably been out of production

for 15 years, we were watching reruns, man!

We were chilling out in the morning in our underwear

wearing our holsters and our cap guns.

We wanted to be him.

GORDIE: That's me and him together in street clothes.

MIKE: Oh yeah, look how young you were there.

GORDIE: And we were standing out behind a barn practicing,

and this woman come up and says,

"Could I take your picture?"

He says, "Turn and draw your gun."

And he says, "Don't beat me. I'm the Lone Ranger."

MIKE: [laughs]

GORDIE: And I stopped... just in time.

MIKE: "Don't beat me, I'm the Lone Ranger!"

GORDIE: Clayton was playing the part of the Lone Ranger,

and few people realized that he was making $25 a week.

MIKE: He was making 25 bucks a week as the Lone Ranger?

GORDIE: As playing the Lone Ranger.

MIKE: Imagine if the Lone Ranger's salary

matched his fame, how big that number would be.

25 bucks for somebody that was so iconic, even back then?

It's crazy to even think of.

MIKE: Then if you were a stuntman for him,

what were you making a week?

GORDIE: Well, I... you don't work continuously.

It's so you gotta make a living,

so I would go get beat up making movies,

and then go off on the weekends to a rodeo or something.

I'd do a knife throwing act. MIKE: Okay.

GORDIE: Or I'd go and do a program

at a theatre or something... MIKE: Yeah.

GORDIE: ...and I'd get paid to do a show.

You did what you had to do to earn the money to eat.

MIKE: Yeah. Well, of course.

GORDIE: When you're familiar with the trade

of being a cattleman,

well, I found out that I could

capitalize with my abilities.

Sometimes with a demonstration,

and sometimes a rodeo, and sometimes a Wild West show.

And then I found out that a lot of people who are actors

don't know how to do that.

Well, I would train them.

GORDIE: See, Clayton Moore, on the series,

he draws the gun out, and then he shoots the gun.

MIKE: So he picks the gun up straight and then shoots?

GORDIE: So he's shooting the gun.

MIKE: Okay. GORDIE: I would show him

how to put your hand right where it belongs

and brought out and don't change your hand.

Now, when Clayton wanted to put the gun back in the holster,

he'd have to look down.

MIKE: Uh‐huh. GORDIE: I says, "Don't do that."

You drop the gun in your hand. MIKE: Yep.

GORDIE: Put the barrel into the holster and then turn it

into the holster.

MIKE: So you're the guy that taught the Lone Ranger

how to do that?

GORDIE: Yeah. Here.

MIKE: It's got some weight to it.

Oh yeah, look at that buckle. Look at that one.

So you've got it out, and you're gonna drop‐‐

GORDIE: No, but... but don't hang...

Put your gun out; put your finger on the trigger;

that's what you gota do. MIKE: [laughs] Okay.

Alright, so I'm here, I'm here.

Wait... I'm here...

[both laugh]

MIKE: Easy, Gordie! Okay, here...

There...

There.

Look, I didn't look!

GORDIE: Hi‐ho, Silver, away! MIKE: [laughs]

MIKE: I'm learning how to holster a six‐shooter

from the guy that taught the Lone Ranger!

You know, this is like learning how to karate chop

from Bruce Lee, or...

how to paint, you know, from Van Gogh,

or how to swing a bat from Babe Ruth!

Or maybe it's more like learning how to do that

from the guy that taught those guys...

[laughs] But it's still cool.

MIKE: So, what's changed for you

to want to sell some of these things?

GORDIE: What am I gonna do with it?

I kick the bucket, somebody comes in here and it all gets

thrown in the trash barrel. MIKE: Yeah.

GORDIE: Why don't some of the people that really appreciated

the old Westerns and still, you know, idolize that stuff...

MIKE: Fans of the stuff, yeah.

GORDIE: ...would give them the chance to have some of

this stuff that belongs to me. MIKE: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

MIKE: This is a huge deal that Gordie has decided to even sell

some of this stuff, because this isn't your typical collection.

These are bits and pieces and memories of Gordie's life.

I am so honoured that he even called us.

MIKE: Look, here's Tom Mix's handkerchief.

How'd you get that? GORDIE: Yeah.

A guy that was a friend of his gave it to me.

MIKE: Wow.

What are you thinking on something like Tom Mix's hanky?

I mean, do you think he ever blew his nose on it

or wiped his face or anything?

GORDIE: I don't know whether he ever did or not,

but I just always cherished it because

it's a bit of the beginning of the old Western movie.

MIKE: Yeah.

MIKE: If you're a fan of Westerns,

you're a fan of Tom Mix.

GORDIE: And Hoot Gibson gave me that.

MIKE: But Hoot is my guy, man!

Movies like Death Valley Rangers, Lucky Terror,

Edmund Richard "Hoot" Gibson, he was the man.

I mean, I'm a huge fan.

MIKE: Would you sell something like that?

GORDIE: Well... yeah.

MIKE: Look at that, alright. GORDIE: Yep.

MIKE: Ooh, it's a silk handkerchief.

And who was the gentleman that gave it to you?

Was he directly working with Tom?

GORDIE: Well, he was travelling with the Eskew Rodeo,

and he knew me and he said,

"You know, you ought to have this."

I've just always kept it like that.

MIKE: When it comes to the American Western stars,

Tom Mix, no doubt, number 1.

MIKE: This one was Hoot Gibson's.

MIKE: But Hoot was right there at number 2.

Now number 2 usually means the first loser,

but not when it comes to Hoot Gibson, man.

MIKE: These were dress‐up hankies, man.

These things are silk.

MIKE: I mean, to have both of these guys' handkerchiefs,

is a big deal, man.

GORDIE: And it's all in knowing how to tie one.

MIKE: Is this a letter he wrote ya?

GORDIE: No, that was a letter that was given to me.

MIKE: "Mr. Buddy Mefford, Los Angeles, California, 1942."

GORDIE: Buddy Mefford.

MIKE: It says, "Dear Buddy, I was glad to hear from you

"but sorry to hear the bad news,

"'cause I sure had figured on coming down there this month,

"but I guess with the war situation the way it is,

"no one knows exactly what to do."

Wow! GORDIE: Um‐hm.

MIKE: Then there's that personal letter that Hoot wrote

to a friend back home, while he was serving his country

in World War II.

This is some epic stuff.

MIKE: Okay, what about his handkerchief, the letter,

and this handkerchief for...

400.

GORDIE: What are you gonna do with them?

MIKE: Oh, are you kidding?

The first thing I'm gonna do with this is put it around

my neck, and ride my 1937 Knucklehead down the road.

GORDIE: [laughs]

Is it gonna be some place,

or where... MIKE: Yeah.

We would put something like this on display.

But the thing is, if somebody comes in and they want it

more than I do, and they're gonna cherish it...

GORDIE: Yeah. MIKE: ...or they have

a connection to it, then I'm gonna sell it to them.

GORDIE: That's exactly what should happen.

It should be passed down to where it doesn't end up junk.

MIKE: No, nothing like that.

GORDIE: Is my name connected to that?

MIKE: Of course, your name is connected to all of it,

my friend. That's why I'm here.

GORDIE: They need to go someplace

where somebody will really see what they are.

MIKE: 400 bucks.

GORDIE: I am sure that there's people

that would probably give me more.

But the dollars and cents is not the point.

GORDIE: Yeah, okay.

MIKE: Okay, my friend, thank you.

I appreciate it.

MIKE: To have the opportunity to even purchase

something like this, from a guy like Gordie, is legendary.

This is like picking folklore.

GORDIE: You can just switch hands rapidly.

♪

JB: Well, the parts are up here, you guys.

We have an upstairs, and there's a lot of Buicks...

ROBBIE: Whoa! MEFFORD: [laughs]

ROBBIE: Ha! Wow!

MEFFORD: Oh my god, look at this!

This is a '39?

JB: '39. MEFFORD: Oh!

ROBBIE: This is like pure jewelry right here.

JB: This is one we're just finishing.

MEFFORD: This is stunning!

JB: Yeah, that's about 5‐ to 600 hours of just body work,

200 hours of paint.

So it's almost 1,000 hours.

JB: Sometimes it takes weeks and weeks just to hang one door,

to get it to fit like that. That's a round car.

All the way around that door is round,

all those interfaces are perfect, or they're not.

ROBBIE: Man, the craftsmanship in here

is just absolutely crazy.

So you guys built the steering wheel,

all these handles, everything? JB: Right, right, everything.

ROBBIE: It's even further proof of JB's integrity in these cars.

MEFFORD: Oh, look at that. ROBBIE: Wow.

JB: This engine took eight months.

ROBBIE: Are the three carburetors set up?

Do all three work? JB: Yes, they do.

ROBBIE: Most guys that do anything with carburetion,

they stamp two off and they make one run.

They make it simple.

MEFFORD: JB, educate me on this.

What's this thing worth?

JB: A car of this quality is gonna be close to $200,000.

MEFFORD: Beautiful.

Absolutely beautiful.

What do you say, Robbie?

♪

♪

♪

GORDIE: Spin it around like that.

If your right arm gets tired,

then you do it with the left hand,

or you can just switch hands rapidly.

If you keep going, you keep switching.

MIKE: We meet a lot of collectors.

MIKE: [laughs]

MIKE: But every once in a while, you find somebody like Gordie

that wasn't necessarily a collector,

they were just more of a curator of their own life.

Meaning, like, I collect old motorcycles,

I wasn't experiencing them.

MIKE: Ahh! You see that?

GORDIE: Yeah.

MIKE: I'm learning from the guy

that taught Lone Ranger how to smoke 'em.

MIKE: Damn!

MIKE: This is like a Hollywood movie

that I'm just walking around in and it's real!

MIKE: [laughs] I did it.

GORDIE: He did it! He did it!

MIKE: [laughs]

Ugh!

Almost!

Woo!

Ow... I just whipped myself!

[both laugh]

GORDIE: There you go.

MIKE: I'm doing it!

It's got a handle that spins. That's cheating.

MIKE: [laughs]

Alright, I'm done!

[whip snaps] MIKE: [laughs]

MIKE: What else you got?

♪

GORDIE: That's Jock O'Mahoney.

Started off playing Tarzan.

MIKE: Oh yeah, yeah.

I have a huge lobby piece from one of his movies,

and his son sold it to me. GORDIE: There you go.

MIKE: And he was telling me‐‐ I thought that Jock‐‐

wasn't Jocko a stuntman for a while?

GORDIE: Yeah, he did stunts.

JIM: My dad used to do Errol Flynn's stunts.

MIKE: Really. JIM: Yeah.

Jock Mahoney. MIKE: That's your dad.

JIM: That's my dad.

MIKE: Your dad starred in this movie?

JIM: Yeah. There he is, Jock O'Mahoney.

GORDIE: And that's Jocko when he and I were

making an appearance together.

MIKE: It doesn't surprise me that Gordie knew Jock O'Mahoney.

GORDIE: He could jump and land sitting in the saddle.

MIKE: Whoa, so he would swing his leg over the top?

GORDIE: And I did it too. MIKE: No kidding!

GORDIE: And he says, "You can't do"‐‐

but Jocko was that much taller than me.

MIKE: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

GORDIE: He says, "You little pipsqueak,

"you can't do it." So I would go and do it again.

He says, "I'm gonna cut your legs off," you know?

MIKE: [laughs]

GORDIE: He gave me all kinds of fit,

but I got along fine with him. MIKE: Oh my gosh.

Well, tell me about this photograph.

Where'd you get that at?

"21st Annual World Championship Rodeo

"cowboy and cowgirl contestants, Madison Square Garden, 1946."

GORDIE: The Madison Square Garden Rodeo

was the original national final.

It was when rodeo was becoming a sport rather than a show.

GORDIE: I was there that year, but I wasn't in that picture.

MIKE: This photo is documenting a pivotal moment

in the evolution of the American rodeo.

It went from entertainment into a sport.

MIKE: So amazing.

I mean, the more you look at it,

you know, the more you see, like...

GORDIE: Well, you've got all the bull‐riding,

the bronc riding, the steer roping...

MIKE: This is Gene Autry? GORDIE: That's Gene Autry.

MIKE: Gene Autry was a singer, a song‐writer, an actor,

a musician, but what a lot of people don't know,

is the guy was a rodeo king.

You know, he was a rodeo star, he was the real deal.

The fact that he's sitting in the front row in this image,

it takes it to the next level.

MIKE: Now, would you sell this photograph?

GORDIE: Well, depends on how much they gave me for it.

MIKE: Um...

250 bucks.

GORDIE: 200 and...

GORDIE: I'm gonna go to get my pistol and flat his tire.

[off‐camera laughter] GORDIE: Golly...

MIKE: What are you thinking?

GORDIE: 3?

MIKE: 300?

[exhales]

Man...

It's so epic.

MIKE: To me, this photo represents

the celebration of the American cowboy,

their skills, their abilities,

and also think about it, it's 1946:

the War was just over in Europe, it was a great time in America.

MIKE: Alright, I'm doing 300. I absolutely love it.

GORDIE: Okay. MIKE: I think it's brilliant.

MIKE: I love everything about this photograph,

from the subject matter, to the time period,

to the way they're dressed.

It's a clear, professional image

that documents such a huge event.

MIKE: You've got a pretty incredible memory.

I love this.

MIKE: Oh, here you go.

♪

JB: A car of this quality is gonna be close to $200,000.

MEFFORD: Absolutely beautiful.

What do you say, Robbie?

ROBBIE: You're looking at me like we're gonna buy it.

MEFFORD: No, like you're gonna buy it.

ROBBIE: This thing's gorgeous.

But no, we're not gonna buy this.

JB: Okay.

ROBBIE: But I do have to ask about that.

JB: Oh, you have a good eye, good man.

ROBBIE: Yeah. JB: This is a US Royal.

Fact is, I think pretty sure this came off this building.

ROBBIE: Oh, really? JB: Yeah.

It was a tire distribution warehouse.

ROBBIE: It's one skin, so it actually needed both sides

going together, so you gotta build a can for it

and then do the neon for it. JB: Right, right, right, sure.

ROBBIE: US Royal Tires started in the early 1900s.

They weren't just automotive tires;

they had their hands in everything.

The fact that it's neon is a big plus.

JB: You could do a permanent repair on it.

ROBBIE: Yeah, it just needs a back.

You're gonna lose a little porcelain on it right there,

but, you know, just to build the can for it, but...

JB: Right.

ROBBIE: What are you thinking you gotta have?

JB: Oof.

Well, if it was just a flat sign, it'd be different.

But it's a neon, so... ROBBIE: Right.

JB: Probably in the 3 grand area.

ROBBIE: Once you build a can for it and you put the neon on it,

you're probably gonna be...

JB: Another couple of grand?

ROBBIE: Yeah. And then...

JB: And then what's a really good fetch?

ROBBIE: The last one I seen sell,

probably right between 5 and 6,000, but...

JB: Okay. ROBBIE: ...that was mint.

JB: Yeah. Are you seriously interested?

ROBBIE: Yeah.

I'd be interested in it for 1,700.

JB: How about 2?

♪

ROBBIE: 1,750, that's gonna be it.

JB: That's it? ROBBIE: That's it for me.

Here, I'm sure you've heard this a million times.

You have to leave a little meat on the bone.

JB: It's just a question of whose bone's leaving meat on,

you know? ROBBIE: [laughs]

JB: Alright, I'll do it. ROBBIE: Alright.

JB: Okay? ROBBIE: Awesome.

JB: Alright. ROBBIE: Appreciate it.

JB: Let's go. ROBBIE: I'm following you.

♪

♪

MIKE: What year is this hat? This one's...

got some age to it right here, man.

Look at that sucker.

GORDIE: That belonged to the guy that kind of raised me, like.

He was an Indian guy, and his name,

Indian name, would be Calago‐Wasaga.

In English, it would mean "Two Tall Pines."

MIKE: Danielle told me that you lived on a reservation.

GORDIE: I yeah, I did for a while.

When I was young and I needed a place to live,

so I lived with them on and off for several years.

They became as‐‐ almost like family to me.

MIKE: Yeah.

So the gentleman that owned this hat...

GORDIE: Yeah, he was...

MIKE: ...was someone that you looked up to?

GORDIE: Yeah.

His daughter was a girl that I used to go with and everything.

Her name was Gaji‐jawak. MIKE: Okay.

GORDIE: That means "The Shaken Flower."

MIKE: Beautiful.

GORDIE: We left the reservation, hopped a freight train.

We ended up in a box car with hay in it,

and that was hay to feed the animals

for a Wild West Show. MIKE: Wow.

GORDIE: They said, "You got a free ride, go to work."

MIKE: No way, so the train took you to the Wild West Show.

GORDIE: Yes, sir.

There's a picture right over there of Rex Rossi.

He was in that Wild West Show.

Rex Rossi's the one that took me out there to Hollywood.

MIKE: Gordie was destined for greatness long before

he was ever a stuntman.

It was almost like his path was chosen for him.

His life reads like a Hollywood movie script.

He's one of most authentic, fascinating people

I have ever met.

GORDIE: You want to look back here?

MIKE: Hell, yeah.

What's in here? GORDIE: That's all gun parts.

MIKE: Gun parts. Okay.

Did you have these on display for a while somewhere?

GORDIE: Yep.

They've been on display in several different places.

MIKE: Wow.

MIKE: This stuff is incredible.

Whoa! Look at that.

GORDIE: Those are all vests that I wore for different shows...

MIKE: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I gotcha.

Oh, here you go.

What kind of age does that have?

GORDIE: Duncan Renaldo gave that to me.

MIKE: The Cisco Kid, the guy that played Cisco Kid?

GORDIE: Yeah.

MIKE: Whoa!

MIKE: People might not know who Duncan Renaldo is,

but they know who the Cisco Kid is.

I mean, he was huge in the 1950s; there was movies,

there was radio shows, TV shows, comic books...

I mean, this stuff is epic.

This is a great piece of Western movie memorabilia.

MIKE: Would you sell this for the right money?

GORDIE: He's got a jacket there that have been hanging there,

and I've been looking at it for years.

And I've had several people that's tried to buy it before.

Well, it's time.

GORDIE: What's the right money?

MIKE: Did he say this was something

that he wore in a movie? GORDIE: I don't know.

I can't tell you that he did wear it in a movie.

MIKE: Yeah.

500.

GORDIE: No.

With them buttons on there, you know,

that's unusual like that. MIKE: Um‐hm.

GORDIE: Yeah, it's gotta be worth 200 more,

'cause you bought it two ways.

100 each way. MIKE: [chuckles]

Double buttons, double the money, huh?

Oh, yeah.

GORDIE: Daggummit, it fits too! MIKE: Damn.

GORDIE: That's worth another 50 bucks.

MIKE: [laughs]

MIKE: A piece of clothing of someone's is so personal,

'cause it gets into their stature and their style.

He wore this.

MIKE: 550.

GORDIE: He was a pain in the butt.

GORDIE: 60. [laughs]

MIKE: [chuckles] Alright.

GORDIE: I gotta be the winner!

MIKE: This is a piece of a part of America

that's never gonna come again, man.

MEFFORD: Oh, God! Look at that, Rob.

♪

JB: Okay, we got a lot more stuff in here.

ROBBIE: Alright.

MEFFORD: Oh, God! Look at that, Rob.

ROBBIE: Look at this thing. What the heck is this?

JB: It was a carnival ride from the '20s or '30s.

MEFFORD: Oh... Where did you find this?

JB: It was at an old carnival, and this thing just jumped out

at me and said, "Take me home."

ROBBIE: Look at the bottom of it.

JB: "Save me, save me!"

MEFFORD: Oh... yeah. ROBBIE: Look at these hinges.

ROBBIE: It screams "cool" because of all the rivets on it.

And it was all rounded out.

It even had two exhaust ports like it was a spaceship.

JB: Everything about it is difficult,

complicated, and beautifully styled.

Somebody needs to appreciate this for what it is.

ROBBIE: So, what's that appreciating price?

JB: The appreciating price...

Da‐da‐da‐dah...

is...

$1,200.

ROBBIE: It is a killer piece. JB: It really is.

ROBBIE: But I don't think the end user would be

in those numbers. JB: Really?

ROBBIE: Yeah. JB: Okay.

ROBBIE: I mean, that's the only thing.

JB: Where would you need to be?

ROBBIE: We sell these in the store, I mean,

really nice rocket ones, the aluminium ones

that have guns and stuff on them.

JB: Yeah. ROBBIE: We might get

6 to 800 out of those. JB: Really?

ROBBIE: Yeah. I don't want to insult ya.

JB: Insult me.

ROBBIE: 400 bucks.

JB: Okay. MEFFORD: Wow.

JB: Everybody always thinks your stuff's worth more than it is.

But when you're selling something,

you have to shift gears.

JB: Okay, you got it.

JB: Everybody has to come away with something.

♪

♪

♪

MEFFORD: How about this one? JB: Oh my god, look at this!

MEFFORD: Now, is this something for sale, or no?

JB: Oh, geez! Ay‐yai‐yai.

MEFFORD: I... I could go 2,200.

JB: I'm gonna hang onto it.

I'll probably restore it. MEFFORD: Okay.

JB: But you're right. I mean, your offer is fair.

JB: The difference between these guys and other people

I deal with is that you can look them in the eye and say,

"What's the best retail on this?"

And he will not be kidding you; he will not be lying.

It's really a refreshing experience, honestly,

to deal with honest people.

There's not a whole lot of them left out there.

[laughs]

ROBBIE: I found this on the bottom shelf.

JB: Oh!

ROBBIE: What's the story behind it?

JB: This is a pedal car based on a Mercedes race car.

ROBBIE: It doesn't have the original drive train on it.

JB: No.

ROBBIE: Yeah, I mean on the bottom...

JB: It's got most of the... the bottom.

ROBBIE: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Pedal cars are big money.

Problem is, the drive train did not look right.

ROBBIE: That looks damaged in there.

That is all... JB: Right.

ROBBIE: So this would have gone down like...

ROBBIE: It needs a lot of work.

JB: I would say it's worth a couple of grand.

You know, it's just a beautiful piece of automotive art.

ROBBIE: Honestly, I think the person that at the end

of the rainbow's gonna want this thing restored.

JB: Right. ROBBIE: And at 2 grand,

I think it's above where we would want to be in it...

JB: Okay, I got it.

ROBBIE: ...because then by the time we put money into it

and got things done to it... JB: Sure.

ROBBIE: I love the piece. It's absolutely gorgeous.

ROBBIE: He's not there, ready to sell a lot of this stuff.

MEFFORD: 650?

JB: Boy...

If Walker was here, you'd own it.

ROBBIE: And I can understand that.

Hopefully he makes the phone call to us

when he's ready to sell that stuff.

JB: Adios! ROBBIE: Man...

Look at that thing just fits in there.

MEFFORD: Ah, it fits perfect.

MEFFORD: What I loved about the whole thing is meeting JB

and his son, Walker.

JB: You take care of her, alright?

MEFFORD: Oh, I will, bud. JB: Okay.

MEFFORD: He's still working his business at 72 years old.

And I really respect that.

ROBBIE: Come see us in Iowa. JB: We will, we will.

MEFFORD: Come see me in Columbia.

JB: Okay. ROBBIE: Yeah.

MEFFORD: That was great. JB: It's good to meet you guys.

MEFFORD: And thanks for racer. ROBBIE: Thank you so much.

JB: You're very welcome. MEFFORD: I appreciate it.

JB: Give it a good home. MEFFORD: Okay, I will.

JB: Alright.

JB: People are what this is all about.

It's not cars; it's not signs;

it's not their stuff. It's them.

And that's the important message I think.

[Robbie honks horn]

MEFFORD: See ya later, JB! ROBBIE: Adios, woo, amigos!

JB: Dude! [laughs]

♪

MIKE: Is this photo original? GORDIE: Yeah.

♪

MIKE: Yeah, look at that.

Not too bad, that's all cracked up.

MIKE: Gordie is 92 years old.

He knew the life he was living

was above and beyond anything he could imagine.

So he documented it like he was trying to prove to himself

that it wasn't all a dream.

MIKE: What about this photo, I saw this.

GORDIE: That's another one of them Madison Square Garden deal.

MIKE: I know.

And this one's got extra stuff with it here.

GORDIE: Yeah, that's the PRCA:

Professional Cowboys Association.

MIKE: How about that? Would you sell this one?

GORDIE: Okay. 500.

MIKE: 500?

Alright.

500. We're doing it.

GORDIE: You're too easy to get along with.

MIKE: [chuckles]

♪

♪

MIKE: Did you ever ride in the rodeo?

GORDIE: Yeah.

GORDIE: I was clowning and broke my leg.

You did comedy stuff in the arena but you bull‐fought too.

You drew the bull off the rider when he got bucked off,

so that the bull didn't catch the rider.

And you were on your feet and the object was

is to outmanoeuvre them and outsmart them.

And sometimes you got caught.

GORDIE: I have a titanium hip now today because of that.

MIKE: Is this photo original? GORDIE: Yeah.

That's an old roll‐out.

You see it's been weathered. MIKE: Yeah.

GORDIE: And I salvaged it to try to save...

MIKE: You did a good job.

I mean, I'll tell you what, a lot of people

would have tossed it. Here's another one.

MIKE: What Gordie calls a roll‐out, I call a yard‐long.

And these are some of the most impressive photographs

that I've ever seen.

MIKE: Yorkton Rodeo and Stampede 1934.

That's 1925.

Adam's Rodeo Company.

GORDIE: That one's 1930.

MIKE: These are images of Wild West Shows

that go all the way back to 1925 up into the 1930s.

MIKE: You've had to be collecting these

for a really long time.

MIKE: These shows were presented

as if they were the essence of the West.

I mean, these were real cowboys and real Native Americans.

GORDIE: They did this photography in a lot of rodeos.

MIKE: Oh my god, yeah, I've got yard‐longs of motorcycle clubs

from the same time period. GORDIE: Um‐hm.

MIKE: I mean, but obviously with this,

the subject matter is really incredible.

GORDIE: Um‐hm.

MIKE: Native Americans and cowboys were hired to do

trick riding, shooting, rope tricks,

living dioramas of cowboy campfires,

reenactments of famous battles.

MIKE: Oh, this is Iowa!

Des Moines, Iowa. GORDIE: Yeah.

MIKE: Look at that, 1930.

These are Iowa, baby.

MIKE: By this time, a lot of Native Americans

were living on reservations

where there wasn't a lot of opportunity.

As exploitative as these shows were,

they signed on to get off the reservation

and for the chance at a better future.

The dark side of this is that it exploited the image

of the Native Americans to the American people.

♪

♪

♪

MIKE: I mean, I'm interested in all of these, man.

GORDIE: Haul them in here.

MIKE: Alright, let me see.

MIKE: At the time these photographs were taken,

the Wild West that we romanticized was basically gone.

MIKE: Okay, so this one's obviously got some damage in it.

There's a big water line through here.

GORDIE: Forget about the water damage,

just look at that coliseum.

MIKE: The subject matter's amazing.

I mean, the subject matter's great.

GORDIE: That's absolutely right.

MIKE: The main subject of these photos, the troop, the cowboys,

the Native Americans, is incredibly impressive.

But when you look behind them in the stands,

there are, so, so many people.

MIKE: It's incredible, right? GORDIE: It's sold out.

MIKE: The want, the need, like where did that come from?

If you go to the root of it, it was Roosevelt, man.

When Teddy Roosevelt hit the dirt in Washington DC,

the West opened up.

One of the things he did was establish the National Parks.

MIKE: Roads were established, cars were better,

and a lot of Americans were travelling to experience

for themselves what they saw on the big screen

or what they read in a book or heard on the radio.

MIKE: How about... for these,

1,800.

GORDIE: I was gonna whip his butt.

Getting crotchety.

[laughs]

GORDIE: Okay.

MIKE: So, we'll do 1,800 for these.

MIKE: Gordie's life was like a movie.

Raised on a reservation, freight hopping trains across America,

which led him to the circus, his life as a cowboy,

and finally, his career as a stuntman.

MIKE: I'm gonna cherish this piece.

GORDIE: [laughs] MIKE: Seriously.

It's incredible. It really is.

GORDIE: You know, I'll probably get shot over that.

MIKE: All of this, at a time in America

that will never happen again.

To say it was an honour to spend time with him

would be an understatement.

GORDIE: Mwah! [laughs]

MIKE: I appreciate you spending your day with me.

I mean that.

GORDIE: Well, thank you. Thank you.

MIKE: Thank you. I'll see you down the trail.

GORDIE: Keep a good thought. MIKE: Thank you.

GORDIE: We will continue to do this here,

and there might be people that say,

"Well, I remember Gordie Peer.

"And I'm just thankful he gave me this old pair of boots."

[Mike honks horn] See ya, Gordie!

GORDIE: Have a good one. Happy trails!

GORDIE: Hi‐ho Silver, away! MIKE: [laughs]