Episode
American Pickers: Motor City
Overview
Driving through Michigan in a freak spring snowstorm, the prospects look bleak until the guys spot an interesting old Cadillac for sale. With their picking senses twitching, they stop to see what else is on the property. Frank falls hard for a deluxe Model A roadster. But to seal the deal, he's got to talk to the boss and she's not at home! Passionate about revitalizing Detroit's city core, Joel owns an entire neighborhood of 50 adjoining properties, including a 50,000 square foot warehouse that's jam-packed with cool cars, old signs and architectural salvage. It's a picker's dream and the guys dig deep to see what they can uncover. Collecting on a monumental scale, father and son duo Jerry and Jerry's 40-acre property includes a life-size model train town and over 1,000 classic bicycles. The only problem is they've got a hard time selling and their prices are frozen in time! After dropping thousands of dollars on the Model A, Frank faces the appraiser's verdict.
Details
- Series
- American Pickers
- Season
- Season 3
- Episode
- Episode 11
- Air date
- 2011-09-19
- Runtime
- 45 min
Episode context
Motor City is Episode 11 in Season 3 of American Pickers. It aired on 2011-09-19. The runtime is 45 min.
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Episode 10: Automotive Archaeology
The guys head to Michigan hoping to strike automotive gold in the heart of the America's car capital. Clearing the contents of derelict storage lockers, Brian's sprawling auction house is a picker's playground where Mike and Frank get junk drunk as they dig deep. The guys next meet Jim's awesome collection of original automotive advertising art. And Tony wants to thin out his collection of old car and gas station memorabilia. Hoping for a lottery-style return, Mike and Frank battle it out for a collection of motometers before uncovering two items, each with a jaw-dropping pedigree. And Mike makes a sweet deal with a museum curator to ensure that a rare piece of car history finds a permanent place of honor.
Episode 12: 8th Grade Humor
Determined to uncover a hidden honey hole, the guys are freestyling on their home turf in Iowa. And to keep himself entertained, prankster Frank has a few practical jokes up his sleeve. After the boys spot a rusty toy museum sign, lifetime collector George opens the doors to his heavenly collection. A former church turned personal showcase, the shelves are overflowing with vintage toys and George is in the mood to sell. The bearded charmer works his magic and the guys soon find themselves picking with a local history buff. As a fire marshal, John empties abandoned houses before burning them down! He's filled several outbuildings with salvaged treasures. Mike spots an item so unusual he's willing to take a huge gamble. In Des Moines, auction-addict Roger has a 3,000-square-foot mega-pick that's jam-packed with treasure that he's finally willing to sell.
More episodes from this season
Episode 9: Urban Cowboys
Looking for picks in Texas, the guys see a sign for Gilley's Club, the honky-tonk club made famous in the 1980 film Urban Cowboy. Soon they're face to face with country music superstar Mickey Gilley himself who has a warehouse jam-packed with rare Gilley's memorabilia. Later, Paul's sprawling junkyard features a staggering amount of stuff. His grandson Pride takes the guys on an adventure, and when it comes to negotiating, young Pride proves he's tough. Gilley steers the guys north to a peanut factory where Jim has preserved all the big-ticket items from Gilley's, including a mechanical bull. But when Frank gets a load of the bar's original grand piano played by many a music legend, a potential deal is music to his ears!
Episode 8: Frank's Pacemaker
Thousands of miles from home, the guys are scouring the back roads of Texas desperate to find the big-ticket item that will make the long trip worthwhile. Just like his late father, Aardean is a funeral director who never throws anything away. And with everything from neon crucifixes to an embalming table with an incredible history, the guys are dying to dive in! On a mission to preserve the history of the telephone, Don's jaw-dropping personal museum includes over 200,000 rare items. Featuring room after room of vintage signs, toys and mantiques, Susan's suburban home is packed to the rafters with Americana. The good news is she's downsizing and everything is for sale, but the bad news is the guys still haven't found that big-ticket item. After touring Cecil's awesome vintage car collection, the guys get access to his "toy box." Making a series of great deals, Mike leaves Frank in the dust. That is, until the "bearded charmer" spots a rare scooter and makes his move.
Episode 7: Pinball Mania
The guys head to the Lone Star State, hoping to uncover a Texas-size honey hole. Once there, Mike and Frank dig through a huge outbuilding filled with dead coin-operated games (in the dark because the electricity was out). While they make an offer on a few rare gems, the owner struggles to let go of his grandpa's merchandise and all the memories that go with them. He steers the boys to a hangar-sized warehouse down the street where the guys discover the mother-lode of pop culture pinball machines. They end up at John`s jaw-dropping collection of rare motorcycles, bikes and even rarer parts. At first the guys go into overdrive, but when they realize nothing is for sale, Mike switches gears and comes up with a plan!
Episode 6: Frank Bears All
Mike and Frank are picking their way through Florida when they get a lead on a potential gold mine -- a five-acre property that's an automotive graveyard. The guys also visit an off-the-grid hangar-sized geodesic dome home where they discover two gems: a very rare piece of rock 'n' roll history and an unusual motorcycle sidecar. Mike's hunger for seafood lands them a chance pick through slot machines, vintage advertising, sci-fi movie props and taxidermy bears.
Episode 5: Pandora's Box
Mike and Frank are cruising around Daytona Beach, and while the sun is shining outside, the van reeks and the hunt is on to find out why. The guys stumble onto a street lined with abandoned businesses and fall head over heels for a girly neon bar sign. Barbara's bayou property is a pickers' paradise. Plus, Randy's suburban home is packed to the rafters with rare collectibles. But when the guys get a load of his prices, it's time to pull out all the stops.
Episode 4: The Pick, The Pawn & The Polish
In this special American Pickers/American Restoration/Pawn Stars crossover episode, Mike and Frank are in Arizona when Danielle calls about a high profile client with a tough deadline: Pawn Stars' Rick Harrison wants a particular model of a 1957 Chevy for his dad and gives the guys a one week deadline to find the rare car. After some dead ends, Mike and Frank finally find a car in need of considerable restoration. They arrange to meet Rick at Rick Dale's (American Restoration) shop where both Ricks can see the car and they haggle over the price. Can these tough negotiators agree on a deal?
Episode 3: Airstream Dream
On their first-ever trip through Arizona, the guys tap into their spirit animals to track down a lifetime picker whose property is packed with killer stuff. A real-deal cowboy with a serious poker face, Fargo's Wild West ranch is like stepping back in time. And, while picking behind a remote strip mall, a bizarre totem pole catches Mike's eye but it's an original Airstream trailer that renders him speechless.
Episode 2: An Indian Reunion
In Florida, Mike and Frank visit a hangar-sized barn full of treasures, owned by a couple of junkyard junkies who've been picking since 1948. An awesome circus property turned animal preserve features lions, tigers and bears among circus paraphernalia and a mysterious locked trunk. And while freestyling, the guys come to a screeching halt after spotting a zebra-striped vintage motorbike in a yard. The collection is an Indian's dream. A major score leads to an unlikely reunion at a vintage motorbike museum.
Episode 1: Civil War Pickings
The guys are on an assignment that's 150 years in the making. The Gettysburg Museum asks Mike and Frank to help expand its collection by hunting down some hard to find Civil War items. It's a daunting task made even harder with a limited budget. Danielle gets things rolling when she sends them to a previous customer who's a Civil War buff. Frank scores a Spencer Carbine. They next visit a collector, Keith, who doesn't want to sell, but they convince him to loan a rare Dog River Confederate sword to the museum. They also buy a Springfield musket and canteen. But their picking skills are put to the test when they spot a Union frock coat. It's at the top of the museum's wish list, but can they negotiate a sale and keep within the museum's tight budget? In addition, the guys experience a Civil War adventure when they sign up with a local re-enactment group. As Captains on opposite sides they go into battle, leading their respective troops.