Hagerty Video: INSANELY RARE Harley-Davidson, Indian Motorcycle & Black Shadow Collection in NYC | Barn Find Hunter

Hagerty Video Transcript

I asked some friends what would be the most challenging place in the United States to find old cars and universally they said New York city so here we Are I’m not sure how many old cars are hidden but we’re going to try do our best to try to find cars that maybe have been forgotten about as people take more bicycles taxis Ubers lifts Subways trains and buses I hope you enjoy it when we decided to come and do a a

Series of barn find shows in the New York area I called a friend I called Rob Ida now you may have heard of Rob Ida uh I think there’s a lot of things that Rob Ida is an auto stylist fabricator but I think he’s a hot Roder and I think

That’s probably what he’d want to be known as more than anything hot Roder yeah that’s true I do love hot rods and uh that’s kind of what brought us here today um Walter and Kathy Caro um lifelong friends I was just a kid when I would know them at at car shows and

Things when I’d go with my family sadly Walter passed away this year and um you know one thing that we always knew about Walter is that he had great cars but he made his living in the motorcycle world but I always heard about bikes in his living room and his basement these like

Very special motorcycles he would buy them and he’ put them down there and some of these bikes have been there for 30 years and they’re some of them are almost brand new they were collectible pieces that he had no intention of selling so they would go in the basement

And just kind of be forgotten about so did he ride these bikes in Staten Island or bring them to shows or or they just kind of sat well he had a dealership in Staten Island for like custom bikes and used bikes and with that the love for

Bikes was a separate thing and that was his his collection here so these bikes were not really part of his business these were his personal his personal love and Kathy and Walter were always together anytime I saw Walter I saw Kathy they did everything together they

Went to car shows and bike shows so she knows as much about these motorcycles as I think Walter did I just want to show you that you know you could ride down this Suburban Street and it could be in Staten Island or it could be in Illinois

It could be in in in Oregon and pass a house like this and you’d never know what’s on the in the on the inside and you say the basement is filled huh it’s full I mean it is absolutely jam-packed with special bikes well let’s go talk to hello

Rob introduce us to this this fine woman this is Kathy you have known you know most of my life and I love her so much and uh so she was kind enough to have us here at the house to show you her her bike collection that her and her late

Husband Walter put together over a lifetime and I think that you’re going to see some really special stuff in the basement in the garage in the dining room in the living room I mean there thank you Beau no problem enjoy C you he would have loved this well he is loving

It yes yep so what are you going to show us here I heard you got a couple of bikes oh I have a couple I got more than 40 bikes so when you have when you have Thanksgiving dinner you have it right here with the surrounded by Harley-Davidson by the

Hary you as you come into this room you’ll see this 1911 LA police bike now how long have you had something like that oh he’s got he used to go out on the we used to in the ’90s we used to sell a lot of bikes over to Europe and

Cuz that’s when their money was oh cheaper so when they could buy the stuff and as he did he would go through the Weds he found this magazine and he found one this bike and he tells me oh I only paid $2,000 for this B it had a thing it

Was it was I not sure if this is the one that was in a holly uh shop or not but he picked it up and he brought it home not sure if this is the one that was in a holly uh shop or not so this has been in the house and

Ran he took a couple of car shows and he would ride up in how he you have to Pedal the thing to start it yep and he had that then behind you is a 26 um board tracker and if you look at this the sprockets on the back wheel yep it

It all depend on if it was a short track or a long track they just switched the wheel so you got a sprocket on this side yeah and this would be a larger sprocket so it be a taller so it would go this would be for higher speed yes and a and

A longer track and the other one was for the short one so you know all these years you know all the oh yeah I know all the years W A lot of that well we’ been we always went to the swap meets he’s had the motorcycle shop since 73

That’s a 50 wizer that he had and you still got a pedal this is the pedal car room oh well not this one not the 26 as you then there’s be behind you we have the 1910 that we bought from a friend of ours that’s a 1910 Holly uh

Vin uh silent gra uh fellow that’s what they call them so this is a 10 and what years that’s a 26 and this is an 11 so that had a chain this had another belt this is the belt the belt drive ones you had a pedal to start the motors up this

We had gotten from a friend of was years ago and Walter the guy needed some help we helped him and the guy wanted the bike we we offered the bike back he said no so we’ve had that for about 30 years and this is it and this is a picture of

Him from the ’90s and our worker Richie and that’s one of the women that we were selling the bikes to years ago in uh Germany oh jeez if we go in here if you want to see any of this this is um an old picture from the Gypsy tour from uh

When is it 1941 as you see we have a lot of pictures we I don’t know if you want men who who’s this chick this is Lady Gaga we they did a show with her on New York I one of the the the shows in the morning and she used our 59

Cadillac and she she loved it and my nephew was the driver pictures of my husband and stuff but all the thing then we got with pitch with him with dom Delise belly to belly oh boy and that’s when we opened the shop in 73 now I’m seeing a a

Beautiful bike in here now we’re in the living room this is a Vincent Black Shadow the back name plate has even the Ed Roth Big Daddy Ed Roth signed signed it for us we a friends of him too this is 1950 if you look at speedometer they

Do we’re doing 150 M hour hour in the 50s I remember there there’s great pictures of a guy lying on here with a bathing suit at Bonville yeah wow I mean Vincent were the bike that was the bike and I remember you know they’re always distinguished by his huge speedometer

They were fast they handled well amazing there’s been songs written about these and this this is your art your art in your living room that’s it living room it’s a piece of art in here well okay so what room we going to next we’ll go down

And right now this is W where Walter’s resting right now in the Indian gas tank his ashes are that’s a 1940 inan gas tank his ashes are in that oh my God yes but these are his cars we have like if you’ll see them outside that’s the 1948

Caddy this is the 56 pickup which is in here right now it’s getting worked on that’s a cameo pickup is yes Cameo and you’ll see all these cars in the garage let’s go oh man today’s sponsor is consumer s they reached to out to us because they

They dig barn finds but they also dig barn find people like you they know the money that you save each month on your cellular plan you could invest in your barn find new Wheels tires rebuild that motor it’s a no-brainer so to save money for your next project car check out the

Link in the description below this is his this was his dream garage it’s when did he build this uh we’ve had the garage about 10 years yeah we we had a Steve McQueen in 19 um 11 Steve McQueen motorcycle that was in the used to be in the living room and that’s

How we got the garage it’s that bike now is in the Peterson Museum in in California so you sold that bike and built this bu the garage man yes this is the 59 Cadillac now how long has have you owned these cars this the 59 Cadillac we’ve how to have this almost

40 years it’s beautiful and when the top is down it’s it’s like you when you’re driving you think there’s somebody behind you now do you ever drive it that’s yes I drive this year I drove all the cars and you can open the doors Tom and it’s comfortable it’s very

Comfortable to sit in and enjoy it’s a nice Cruiser and when it TS down oh yeah i’ never Asbury Park soon soon as yes so Lady Gaga was in the back seat here Lady Gaga was in the back seat with a paper paper dress the car above is a 1948

Cadillac is that a hot rod yeah it is Rob that one you did the work on this one um I did something some of it with the that the front suspension this is like it lows it goes all the way down to the floor it’s like a low rider all

Right so Rob is this late model drivetrain or what I think it’s got a small block Chevy in thater and um and Mustang style front suspension air conditioning right yeah so how long have you had that one that’s that one we had about 30 years we drove them all over

The place the newest car in here is my 51 Merc Coupe and that’s yours that’s mine all right that one is got um LS crate motor I think it is it’s loud noisy this was a friend of ours built this over 30 years ago he never used it

He used it maybe twice and he sold it to another friend and the friend knew Walter wanted the car all right Kathy if I ask you nicely would you start this for us sayy start oh yeah yeah ready whenever you are if it starts if you want we can back it Out good good sounds good that’s good and this is some of the bik now you can see this is the IND Indians so what do we got here the white one is I think it’s that’s a friend of ours that’s a 40 chief that was his dad’s runs good they

Um and this one is a 41 military Chief Yep this one here is a 36 Indian Chief and it’s they’re all they haven’t been running they’ve been just say he bought them years ago used them some times but the past three years he really was couldn’t do too much

Since Co this one is a 53 electric start love the more we love all motorcycles you know and so what what what’s the lineup over there okay the line up over here these are Knuckleheads and pan heads that one is a 40 this is a 41 this is a 38 this is a

38 um 52 pan head that’s a 52 and this is a 55 Pan Head and those were his little swap me bites his little Hondas and that’s it side cars are 47 and this a knucklehead one of the we have some of the bikes are for sale some we have people that are

Interested but some of them I’m not ready to let go yet I get I get it what what what would be one you would that’s not sale this one this one is for sale the 47 knucklehead the Indians you saw over there those are all for sale oh the not

The white one the white one is the only one that’s not for sale that’s not my bike come on we all go down the basement all right this is a 50 marable wow this is another one we’ve only had for for the past 3 years truth if you enjoy our YouTube videos

And have been wondering how you can help support their creation consider joining the Hagerty Drivers Club which includes includes a subscription to hagy magazine unlimited access to our valuation tool exclusive offers and rewards with reputable brands in the automotive industry 24/7 roadside assistance with flatbed towing Early Access and VIP

Perks to select Hagerty member events and unlimited classified listings with no additional fees you can find the link in the description below so 3 years no kidding this one yeah this is the am this is black all red interior it’s got to put button but you got to that’s why

I leave the windows open the red red pleated interior so where did you get this car W the saw they had in in the one in the marketplace Facebook Marketplace Facebook Marketplace saw it there he called the guy up the guy goes well I got a couple of people that are

On he goes listen I’m coming there right now this here is a 1939 Indian 4 cylinder four cylinder check this out so I mean how many bikes have you seen with a four-cylinder of this vintage is is this one you bought like this or this way he bought it just

Like this he loved the he loved the no skirts you’ll see the end the between the other ones the other ones of the 1940 have the full skirts now I’m not a bike guy these are half but this this is a hard tail right this is hard Tails got

No rear suspension so the suspension is the seat of your pants right here this this has got some Springs on it spring spring yeah this one here an XR 1000 mhm I think in the 70s I don’t know all of the years of the bikes this bike was

Owned by Malcolm Forbes really yes he bought this from the dealership um he was I forgot which it was dealership in New Jersey Walter they knew that Walter wanted bikes that belong to people and we wound up getting this bike wow so is have low mileage or something 53.4 miles

Oh I’m sorry I read the odometer it’s got 4,449 miles yeah yeah and it’s got the two carburators on bike see up Swip exhaust yeah yep okay superglide this one’s a 72 superglide night train a lot of people in see how the back tail tail

Piece a lot of them when it came out it’s like a cafe racer they came out before their time a lot of people would buy them and put regular seats and fend and put these seats away these and this was never touched this this one has miles on it yeah 371

Yeah oh no 15,600 15,000 yeah but I see what you mean about the the the bow tail they call it a bow tail this one is a Daytona and this one only has they only made so many of them this one has no mileage 2.1 miles yes they only made

1,700 the number is like 800 and what is it oh I see 700 8 800849 849 is the number they only made 1,700 not for sale personal bike yes so that paint Graphics everything this is they called it sand it was named the Daytona for Daytona is

Sand and ocean oh wow that’s the colors these are the four cylinder this one is a 1941 the green one this one here is his pride and joy this started him on the Indians no this is a 1940 so if you look at this this this

Light up front here yeah they all they lights up the whole face and then here’s the Indian Indian headdress and this was his pride and joy this start him this one will never get sold so see these fend skirs this a full Fender sh this is

Like Art Deco Man shifter on the right shifter on the left y isn’t that some y it’s different way that’s just suicide switch and isn’t there a thing where Harley and Indians have different breaks like one is a break on the left the one break on the right and it’s hard to

Switch in your mind which one you’re on oh yeah when you get on and then if you really go nuts this is the prime one this is the 36 knuckle this is the first year knuckle and how you could tell the 36 Knuckleheads when you look

At the motor on the motor there’s the two rivets right on the front on the I think that’s the timing cover this one here behind you is the Indian dispatch toe oh man I’m going to so that’s your business that was the business but I’m going to show you pictures of what this

Looked like before he had a done that’s it’s wood huh this is what this thing looked like done a Bui dealership he bought this he bought this thing a while ago and when they did the whole interior did I don’t before they put the metal on they used all different Woods it looked

Like a piece of furniture and so this is like a delivery vehicle this is delivery this is what they used to Indian with if they had dealerships some they would put a a a box on the back sometimes and they pick up the bikes and put other bikes on

Behind it and sit on it so is this the clutch this is uh clutch yes that’s a clutch that’s the clutch here’s the shifter so you have to push the clutch on and you have to push it off yes and it’s it’s basically like driving a car

Yeah yeah yeah 1940 no kidding huh and this must be the brake okay and so we have another Army bike this is a holly not had the one in the garage is a chief Indian he just he’s had this one this one we went to a car show on the

Intrepid and this bike I have pictures of this bike up on the on the deck with the helicopters and stuff on it my nephew was riding it and then we got more by yeah yeah yeah this one he bought from he years ago he went went to

It was inlu on his way back from Daytona they stopped at Don garet’s place was having a swap me and he bought the bike from from Don they they gave Don Gus this bike when he was uh won a race so Walter liked it and it was cheap enough

It was a Suzuki and he bought this this one is another 72 nitr this is an electric start one so it’s like that one over there one over there and that’s K this one is electric start and it’s got more Chrome on it that one is all

Black and over here oh look at as you can see he every time he went to Daytona he brought home beer this is a little Pacer now that’s a baby Harley yes it’s a little B baby Harley that’s a little Pac now is that

Made for an adult or a child it was a regular like a woman’s bike they made the Little P Pacer the blue one next to it is a 65 pan head so like which one did he like to drive them ride theot he used to ride them all the time but when

He used to go to Dayton always took the four cylinder so did you go to bike weeks with him oh I went to Bike Week with him we went to Sturgis we had but we had a good time I want to thank Rob Ida for turning us on to this amazing

Collection in Staten Island Kathy thanks so much for allowing us to come here no problem and and visit your basement he would have loved it he would have loved it and your name is rich rich what elite elite thanks so much for helping starting that car and your no problem

Max Max what Decker and so these guys are helping Kathy clean out their uh motorcycle shop and bringing it here doing inventory so they can sell all these supplies and things but besides being a wonderful story um about a man and his passion and how his family and

Friends have kind of all come together to uh respect what he put together over his lifetime you can ride down any Street in Suburban America and pass a house that looks just like this anywhere in the United States and not know what’s inside a great collection of cars motorcycles

But best of all a great story Happy Hunting