Remembering Frank Fritz: 7 Memorable Moments | American Pickers | History

Danielle what do you got girl are you ready for this you sitting down listen I finally got in touch with Aerosmith management the band wants to buy the van and use it in their Vegas residency are you kidding me wow what this has been a long road with this van and now we’re down to the last 350 miles and the closer we get the more I’m starting to worry and wonder what am I going to say to Aeros Smith what do you even say to a band that’s been such a big part of your life here we come pegas baby got it AR Smith I can’t believe this okay so that’s good that’s good I know it’s been a while but I’m so excited I am can’t wait to show you come on back all right we good it’s close yeah it’s close enough smells like gas Joe you ready for

this holy honor honor honor oh my God you doing thank you I’ve been listening to this band since I was a kid I mean I’m standing here next to Steven Tyler Joe Perry Brad Whitford Joey Kramer and Tom Hamilton this is a mind blower what do you think Joe that’s the money shot amazing all of the miles that I was spending trying to figure out what to say to them I realized I didn’t need to say anything nobody did we were all just taking it in let me tell you a little bit about this guy okay this guy’s name was Mark Layman he drove the van he serviced the van he set up our gear and he ran the sound system Mark was buddies with me and Tom before we moved to Boston you guys did such a great job making it look like it did then because it does have

[01:57]this is the kind of wear that was on it except this in the tree that grew through the window the doors were rotted on the bottom wait wait wait wait wait wait wait we got pretty much that you got to do it did you just hear that you know there’s two sounds there’s two sounds that that I remember one is the tape rewinding yeah in the studio and that and that Thor amazing get in there you got to cren it I can’t believe it drives man wow yeah here we come yeah we had two guys in our shop in Tennessee that worked hour after hour on making sure that everything on this van was up to what you guys would want it to be when you guys said you wanted to preserve it our guys got on it it boggles my mind that the only thing that

[02:49]made it through 35 years in the woods is the artwork I know it was almost like the dirt and grime had preserved it we drove it all the way down the strip and people were like going yeah oh yeah people are freaking out I can tell they love that they made the decision to preserve and not restore the van from here all the way back to this piece right here is original paint this was gone I all this was gone and that’s why when Danielle started talking to you guys about getting a donor van to find panels or to make panels like this would have been almost you know impossible and we matched the rust that was on the other door we had an incredible painter had a really good process so the frame underneath here the engine in the rear end is from the donor

[03:36]van this whole front end is from the donor van other than the grill did the donor van have a window on this side no Mark had cut that window in it yeah everything that we could use from the original van we did meticulously come on All Aboard get in get in there Brad remember the old days that’s good no stash I mean you know we spent a lot of time and hours and traveling in this in this box and it looks and feels the same so that’s good that’s good they were there talking about this van in a way that they’ve never talked about before because when they were in the van they didn’t know at the time how important this was to them they were riding from show to show trying to figure it all out and it was just a utility vehicle to them now with all the

[04:29]fame all the Fortune they’re just Five Guys from Boston reminiscing about a van that literally changed their lives I can’t remember a time when we were left stuck it always ran Mark took such good care of it he kept this thing really well and looking back of course I think Mark Layman was so much our savior we all lived together we were all like you know doing our thing you guys kind of all raised each other that was a dream to move to Boston all live together and write some songs you know to finally meet Joe and and Tom they rocked out like none of my bands everever had well you’re still doing it to this day still as a family we’ve been living the dream we’re lucky us too thanks for let us be a small part of it when this van came into

[05:13]our lives we knew it was something special we’ve been having a moment with it for a long time through the whole process now seeing them have their moment makes it all worthwhile so what’s the next step for the van well I think we’re going to bring Mark Layman into the picture cuz we haven’t seen for 40 years we give him a we let him drive it down the aisle of our residency here in Vegas with us in it I’ll bring back some memories for him that would be incredible somehow it’s going to end up at the hopefully the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that would be great find the damn thing and bring it to us what a handoff there are no we’re honor we’re honored to be a part of the story we truly are a lot of bands had had their Vans there

[05:54]were caral Lions but this was ours another couple of years and it would have been part of the for again we saved it you guys are the only guys that could have done it man there’s nobody else out there doing that kind of stuff when this van came into our lives it was rotting into the ground and you know after we bought it I always hoped we could make it to where we are now and after all of this time and all of this hard work we put the van back where it belongs in Aerosmith’s hands NB you have company hey buddy how’s it going hey orb how you doing I’m Mike and this is Frank I’m Frank nice to meet you your daughter Heather okay called our shop in Iowa and told us that you might have some motorcycle parts your interest and SE I I not really interested in don’t

[06:53]know why my daughter called you guys uh no I get that I mean I’ve got stuff I wouldn’t sell either I understand okay I got a bikes but they’re all old friends sure I know exactly what you mean I bought a I bought a motorcycle one I was 15 I still got it yeah you yep well oh yeah we both ride quite a bit one of the bikes in there is kind of it’s been with us over 40 years over 40 years I’ll be which one’s that that’s my knucklehead oh the knucklehead yep oh baby that’s his baby that’s his baby Frank awesome well why don’t you take him inside and show you guys like to come in we would love to come around yeah oh yeah this looks good norb jdvl this looks like norbert’s shop where he works on his bikes and spends

[07:39]some alone time here’s your baby oh yeah and sitting by the entrance is this 1946 knucklehead it’s got an orange and black paint job on it I mean it’s got the beehive tailight oh yeah it’s got a luggage rack it’s got a cigarette lighter with a coil cover over it it’s even got a European SP on it this thing is trick in the 1970s people were building bikes that were expressing what was happening in the counterculture guys were cutting and chopping everything back then but this bike he spared he wanted to leave it bone stock this was a bike that he was really going to honor its history and the fact that he hasn’t erased all of that is incredible can we hear it run sure oh yeah hey good job that’s pretty cool man when you hear that engine that big twin it comes alive yeah if you’ve ridden a bike

[08:43]like this you can appreciate that sound even more that mayy fired right up oh yeah she’s a good old she gets temperamental sometimes oh yeah I don’t want to walk off this property without this knucklehead it’s a $30,000 bike and I’m ready to step up if he’ll consider an offer have you ever thought about selling this over the years I’ve had some thoughts and entertained some offers but it’s an old friend I got you I’ve had it for over 40 years I can still start it I can still ride it yeah do do you still ride it oh yeah oh yeah I think it over a little well weddings and funerals I don’t really know you and you want my knucklehead what are your qualifications you better get off this here I’m getting too used to it you know I’m really in love with this bike but right now nor is

[09:37]saying he’s not selling and I’m not surprised I’m going to look I’m going to look around a little bit by all means all righty but his wife and his daughter said he needs this cell so I’m going to put the bike on the back burner for right now but I’m not done yet you think we could take another look at the knucklehead you can look all you want look but don’t touch no you can touch it all right I’ll let you touch it earlier all right that’s fact I know I sat on it got to be gentle felt good be gentle Frank I’m practicing my windup we’ bought a few things here norbert’s happy with our prices I’m getting ready to slow pitch on that knucklehead so we’ve been walking around we’ve did the circle Mike’s bought some parts and stuff from you what about the

[10:19]knuckle here what are you thinking I know every bearing in this thing every part A lot of them I’ve made this is my pride and joy I’ve owned it for well over 40 years uh I really like to help you out but the knucklehead’s family family the knucklehead is part of me part of the family I can still write it it’s staying here I can understand I can understand why he kept it I can understand why it’s not for sale right like hey when I can’t start it and I can’t write it I’ll give you a call all right Frank I’m going to grab some of these parts all right today wasn’t my time but that’s not the only knucklehead around careful on the heads and I put these in a box in there if I could pick anyone that I really want would be the first year 1936 knucklehead

[11:14]life’s all about timing there’ll be one down the line all right appreciate you guys have a good saf had a good time thanks for the apprciate the parts oh thank you for the entertainment this must be the place Frankie hello hey you Joe what’s up kind of working on a little junk here we speak the same language yeah jump how you doing my friend good good Danielle said you are the sweetest man in Tennessee yeah good she said you’ve been collecting for a long time nearly 60 years oh Lord she said you had a real passion for anything that’s run by steam we got a lot to look at all right all right let’s do it we got a lot lot to look at where you going to where you going to look am I going to get dirty I hope so 35 buildings Bo you got to go

[12:01]all [Music] right it was amazing to see that much stuff I mean he had old train cars he had old steam engines he had old architectural stuff it’s incredible a lot of stuff here Joe oh yeah oh yeah when Frankie and I cruise into any barn and there’s a bunch of old motorcycles in it that’s a good day to be a picker what’s the story on your motorcycle here it’s a Harley frame yeah got a chrome 750 engine it was fuel injection on there mhm and that bike runs like a top like a top I thought here we go he has a Honda 750 Chopper I am really into 1970s motorcycle pieces like [Music] that last time I was licensed Mike M no plate on license on you got a title on it no title I traded uh some of these bikes ain’t got no titles well they

[13:08]don’t got titles they’re just pretty much parts bikes you know something without a title is a definite no no if you don’t have a title it sometimes it creates just a big hassle the item could be worth 200 it might cost you 500 to get a title for it what do you got to have for something like [Music] this I couldn’t take no less than about F 500 for it 5500 mhm when he said $5500 I thought I was going to have to get the smelling salts out those bikes retail for $2,500 at best no way we could pay that kind of [Music] price I’m not having any luck on this trip I need a break that’s when I spotted the Moto scoot ooh this is cool what can you tell me about this a moto scoot scooter between World War I and World War II out of Chicago

[14:02]wow that’s cool yeah that’s old no seat the motor scoot is a very rare scooter they were made by a very small little company in Chicago during the Depression and not many of them were made push out a little bit here Mike let’s see what you’re looking at what you got here this thing had an awesome look to it what’s a tank look like Mike fresh is the day it was made it’s pretty clean pretty clean pretty clean 99.9% of it was there we had to try to buy it what are you thinking I mean are you ever going to use [Music] it I won’t uh take 15 bills for it oh I could never do that you know Joe has some really nice items here but the problem was what he had that he thought was nice was very overpriced how about how about

[14:53]850 I just can’t do that 15 15 1500 1500 w all right there’s $1,500 Joe was at 15 Frankie was at $850 I mean it was funny seeing Frank go up against the guy with so much knowledge and had been doing this for so long I mean I like it Joe it’s cool I mean I see a lot of things here I don’t know if you’re doing anything with any line that Frankie threw at him Joe had heard it before it’s getting dark I’ve been bit my mosquitoes all day long this is it this is the best part of the pick the dance I’ll do $1,000 on it and that’s my best offer I don’t know about that I mean I’m at a thousand or I’m I’m checking off down the road if I don’t make this deal on this motor scoot I’m going to have to hear

[15:45]about it all the way back to Iowa that’s cash the only one I’ve ever seen 75 years old but I’m on trade with you we do a th000 th000 all right $1,000 finally I catch a break all right Frankie is that delivered at the beginning I didn’t think he was going to go for the $1,000 but at the end I was really glad he did yeah I love this scooter it’s early and you just don’t see him like it it’s got nice lines I bought the motor scoot for $11,000 I’m thinking to the right guy 1,700 to 2200 this is where all the magic happens Joe Joe was a great character man I mean he was the the kind of guy that I like to talk to when I was a little kid because he had so many stories and he’d been collecting so long that he had some

[16:35]great old stuff the old stuff is getting harder and harder to find Joe thank you so much thank you thank all right we had a good time a good time come back we’ll be back thank you all right I’ll see you later all right o I can see motorcycles already all right be cool no you be cool I will you be cool I haven’t seen Frank that nervous since he asked Mary Redmond to the eighth grade dance hey hey how you doing Mike nice to meet you hi Frank Frank you talk to Danielle yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah okay I’m excited I’m excited Frank the fly what yeah over the last eight years Frankie and I have been very fortunate to meet some pretty famous people William Shatner Dan AR F Jack White Rick neelson Neal hell yeah I love it and then all of a sudden we got

[17:35]Tim Corwin and Frank’s like losing his mind I mean I first seen you guys yeah I seen you guys on American band right that’s right and then yummy yummy chewy chewy down Lulu’s Big B about Mercy Mercy Mercy remember that one my name is Tim Corwin I was a drummer in the Ohio Express I think we have more more bubble get hits in that type of music than any band the Ohio Express is known as the kings of bubblegum we had the first so-called bubblegum hits when I was young bubblegum was big good stuff though it’s forever as early as a junior high I started performing every weekend in a band that we had formed called Sir Timothy and the Royals and then got picked up by an agency out of New York to then appointed us the name Ohio Express and the first thing we did was B

[18:24]boring steel and it was a hit and ended up living in New York youve been flying in and out all over and we had fun what else you got to show us this is what you call Mass Insanity I suppose oh my gosh he got a little bit of everything here oh yeah MGS these are fun cars I had one I like my MGS they are fun cars yeah man he’s got more sports cars motorcycles and planes this place is packed what do you got let’s let’s see I see the planes I see the I got everything wow I got stuff everywhere I see that um can I get an autograph yeah Frank finally gets up the nerve to ask Tim for an autograph Frank too Frank something that he’s been wanting to ask for all day long all the best to Frank oh yeah oh oh yeah cool

[19:16]don’t mess that up let’s first and Tim was more than accommodating I got a question Tim M about this BSA hair what’s the story on that uh that bike I got from a guy up in Northern Ohio in a big old garage he had a number of bikes and uh it it’s a 1965 BSA lightning 650 right nice running bike I is older restoration or is that a it’s a very old restoration it actually will clean up pretty nice BSA was the largest motorcycle manufacturing company from the 1930s to the 1960s bsas are very collectible and think about who owned it Tim so what’s NE about the 65 BSA it it was part of the the whole British Invasion you know not only were the bikes coming in here comes the music I mean it’s it it you know it just has it all around it the British Invasion when

[20:04]the Beatles came along with I Want to Hold Your Hand it was like this music really is different and really strong they just took you over and then the zombies and the drugs and all these different bands and then at the same time the British came in with nice bikes so the British Invasion invited not only great music but great vehicles is this something you would sell tim I would sell that yeah does it have a title yes it does has a title it’s clear title that’s a and it it is fresh guts in that it cleaned up that went through probably have the carburetors cleaned out a little bit Yeah you got to do the carbs you know how that work get looking bike what would you have to have out of it Tim what I’ve done to it and the way she sits right now with the cleaning in that

[20:58]I say around four Tim you’re kind of getting up there towards the retail I mean I see the choke is down here it’s got a little you know got some dirt bike stuff on it here MH she’s got old gas it’s super clean man clean it’s clean I know it’s clean yeah yeah Mega claim I don’t know how about at 35 I sign it for you there you go Frank it’s an original that I like it because it has a title plus I get a double signature cuz it’s in your name right title yeah you got it all right thanks Tim all right thanks Tim appreciate it I’ve got another one you got another one just like it I got one at the shop okay it’s a thunder it’s a thunderbolt a thunderbolt one card people are going to go where did you get this and I go hey you ever heard of

[21:43]yummy yummy yummy that’s who used to own it if he’s an old guy like me a rock and roller he’s going to know exactly who I’m talking about is this a Model A fir truck right wow we’re here in Indiana with Vanessa and her daughter Savannah Vanessa’s father was the model a king and now she’s carrying on his legacy what’s top speed in a car like this 55 I bet it get some looks oh it does everybody almost a bunny and Clyde car only a little bit earlier out of all the models that have passed through Bill’s hands these are the ones that he held on to look at this Frankie oh that’s nice he kept the rare the unusual the different I love this kind of stuff this is made in Canada it has a 29 cow but it is a 30 30 what’s so special about this

[22:32]one is this Carriage company may have made more but I feel like it’s the only one that has survived another one of Bill’s crown jewels in the collection is a truck from Canada the body was modified by a carriage company and as far as Vanessa knows it’s the only one what do you value this car at I’d like to get 35 35 out of it I can kind of set my own price because it’s the only one that exists Vanessa feels this truck is so rare that she can set her own price there’s nothing to compare it to it’s beautiful this truck right here we got some history this is my pouting truck what do you mean by pouting truck oh me and Mom you know our little spats mother daughter when you didn’t get your way I didn’t get my way and it was too cold to

[23:16]walk out to the horse barn I would just come to this truck right here cuz it was super comfortable sit in the truck did you know that’s where she was cross my little arms and work it out I mean we had conversations me and you you weren’t even in there but it still happens I couldn’t help but notice the Texico sign right for a single decoration on a wall Texico is one of the top tier names for petrole onic collectors made in 1948 it’s double-sided I mean it is porcelin it’ll clean up the only thing bad that’s got going for it is whoever mounted it has these big creases in it yeah I mean that’s the I don’t want to say the kiss of death but that’s that’s the bad part about how about 650 six and a quarter it’s yours six and a quarter y all right good deal

[24:08]sometimes it takes a little longer to move these bigger signs but even with the damage and the creases I can still make a little money I just discovered I had a 29 back half I got 29 doors and I have a 29 cow in another barn that I can make a 29 Roadster pickup I love that you know what everything is somebody had told me I was going to do this for a living when I was 16 no way I was a hairdresser okay hairdressers to M right Vanessa is such a strong beautiful woman and over the years she was determined to make it on her own and honor her father along the way your dad be really proud of you yes just getting to know him and doing the business with him and seeing how he would wheel and deal and it I wouldn’t have give anything for that

[24:58]experience let’s go see if we can find Frank he’s probably getting in some trouble I don’t trust him with Savannah by himself Frank I want to show you my car all right this is my 1931 a400 wow this is nice she’s very special that’s why she’s in the back in the back we got touch H that’s right my dad wanted to make sure each of the kids inherited some kind of a modelite what’s the plans on this here I’m going to sell it I would really like to be able to take the money and take care of my family and have a home so you want to buy a house yeah I want to buy a house I want to buy some land good for you I’m hoping it’ll help me pay off college and property kids and property Frank take a peek into my world I’m looking at your

[25:44]world right here I I can see why you were selling so much in your booth yeah Savannah is very persuasive just imagine her all shines up and those seats I could almost pout in those seats too but I don’t think he’s going to buy this car a guy in Alabama offered my dad right before he passed away 110,000 for that one and this one and dad in the hospital sitting he said Vanessa I should have taken that what were you thinking on it we wanted 50 but 45 45,000 mhm cash money it’s a nice well that’s the only way to go that’s the only way to go is that cash money I really appreciate her showing me the car I’ve never seen one like it but today I’m not a player hey hey if I knew you guys were in town we would have been gone how youing

[26:35]really this was the first post-war American sports car it came out in 1951 the Chevy Corvette came out in 1953 think about the guy that bought this car back in the day they were a driver it was extremely expensive they knew what they were getting into [Music] Stitch show me what you did the Master herself it’s got power windows it does push the button wo are you kidding me lick huh I like that we literally had to fix everything every time I went to work on it something was rusted shut I had to wrestle this car to the ground and put my boot on its neck oo baby I love when you talk that way this was one of those projects that we were pretty stoked to get but we had our moments where we just really weren’t that excited about it I’ll tell you why

[27:29]years man well here’s the reason why is because in a normal restoration you bring it back new this what we’re trying to keep it like like it just came out of the barn not all shiny news so I mean you know we just threw stuff at it until we liked what we saw weed differentes yeah I mean you know he welded some panels in which were you know fresh metal had to be patined to make it look like it is and this car has been like a wild animal that needed to be tamed from the moment we decided to pull it out ho W this thing fought me tooth and nail it made me scratch in the mud in the rain to resurrect it but I had the easy part of this job crafty B and Stitch are the ones who been living with this thing for two years we had a

[28:18]little problem with the motor and it had to come back out we had some push rod issues something that happened at the engine machine shop nobody caught it wasn’t a big deal but they fixed it and we put back in and that’s a lot of engine the coolest thing about this car was totally the motor and the fact that somebody pulled the original motor out and put a Cadillac motor in it that’s the moment for me that is killer when Nash was thinking about building the car he wanted a caddy engine in it now we’re bringing all that back to life and crafty be you know was the guy that did it we actually buffed the paint you know and I think it buffed out pretty good and then we Blended in some different like actually wood stain and then we cleared it we fixed all the rust can I touch it

[29:01]sure you know you wanted gray so I gave you gray I love gray I wanted to put a little plaid influence in there I wanted to keep the style like the original seat was as far as the pattern I was trying to get into the brain of Mike of what is your passion what are you thinking but also trying to honor the original interior of this car so I was added a little bit of European influence suited to the car the age the year and then I thought well the red carpet bounded it in the gray see I I wanted to Turn You Loose on this I wanted you to do whatever you wanted to do I entrusted you it’s incredible really I mean it’s beautiful it is I mean it’s it’s a work of art when you look at the exterior of the car and you can see it’s worn and

[29:42]it’s weather and it tells a story you don’t want to open the door and go wow what happened to the interior you want it to connect she did that she did the right colors I mean the choices that she made are absolutely perfect Frank check the key man oh that’s cool that’s a crafty that’s a crafty B custom start her up big boy let’s hear this thing perr sounds good the car exceeded every expectation the steering wheel is huge man it’s like a school bus steering wheel this was an evolution that had to happen I got to drive it man brakes are good sorry man hey wait for me crafty be Stitch lived with this thing for 2 years and they never lost sight of what my vision was and they carried it through me it’s bad to the bone I’ve sat in this car a few times

[30:44]and imagined what it was like to drive it how it was sound how it would handle it’s been a journey but now after driving it and feeling it I know I made the right decision on the shop I chose and just flat out doing it because now man it’s got lots of life and lots of miles ahead of it today we happen to be close to this Museum I’ve been dying to check out come on we’re in Rockford home of chap trick Rick neelon the leag guitar has its own Rock Museum right here in Rockford I mean we’re here we’ve got to go Ricks pick Ricks pick oh my God you are seriously driving police Cheap Trick they’ve been cranking out the hits since the [Music] 7s turn turn turn turn all right there it is how bu settle down take my picture he losing his mind

[31:59]I mean he’s really freaking out he’s got cheap trick on the brain look at the guitars wow oh there’s the skeleton suit he’s having just as much fun as I am hey he is that your van outside yeah anti archaeology Rick I’m Rick N how you doing doing hey how you doing Frank was like a little school girl that saw Elvis Presley it was a Silent Scream I had no idea you were such a big collector oh this is just a tip of the iceberg I collect a lot of different things mainly musical things this place is packed with so much memorabilia it’s really hard to believe that he’s got more if we go out to the warehouse you got a warehouse yeah if you guys have time to come and take a look myself are you kidding me I’m on fan mode right now I’m not

[32:49]thinking about business I’ve actually got a set of these but do I have a set that was gave to you and from Jean no I’m at 200 bucks on these and 100 bucks on this if you sign it to Frank my biggest fan deal hell yeah 300 remember the biggest fan part I love it this is like the best of both worlds for me because I’m a big kiss Freak Plus I’m a cheap trick freak