On this episode of HOT ROD Unlimited we discover a hidden collection of cool old hot rods
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00:00 We're in Evansville, Indiana, a medium-sized city on the border of Indiana and Kentucky,
00:04 known for their yearly Frog Follies rod run that has become the largest independent hot
00:08 rod event in the country, with 4,000 to 5,000 pre-1949 hot rods showing up at the end of
00:13 each August for three days of hot rod heaven.
00:16 Rick Bonenberger is one of the proponents of the Frog Follies, and we're going to take
00:19 a look at his stash of cars, parts, old gas station stuff, and automotive signs that he's
00:24 hidden in an old warehouse outside of town.
00:27 I told my wife I was going one time to do a soul searching, and so somebody called and
00:40 said, "Oh, he's out soul searching."
00:43 And they said, "What's wrong with him?
00:45 What's happening?"
00:46 She says, "There ain't nothing wrong with him.
00:48 He's out looking in the junkyard for parts."
00:50 Going into like a junkyard, especially a junkyard with older cars, and looking through, sitting
00:56 in the seat of it, and thinking, "Man, who drove this car, and where did it drive?"
01:01 You know, a hot rodder, yeah, that's what I am.
01:04 Rick, how you doing?
01:05 Hey, how you doing, Tom?
01:06 You got the '32 Phaeton there.
01:09 Yeah.
01:10 The difference between the American and Australian Phaetons is the American Phaetons have a
01:15 seam that goes right here, so it's a three-piece back, and the Australian ones don't.
01:22 So this is an Australian one.
01:23 It looks really solid.
01:25 And it's a hot rod.
01:26 It's got a Chevy in it, right?
01:27 Yep.
01:28 283 Chevy, '39 Ford Transmission, Model A rear end.
01:31 Model A?
01:32 Model A.
01:33 Really?
01:34 Mm-hmm.
01:35 It's definitely an old-style hot rod.
01:36 Well, Phaetons are really rare.
01:37 In America, they made 1,100, 1,200, something like that?
01:41 It's a small number, that's for sure.
01:42 Yeah, I mean, you can't believe that they tooled up.
01:44 I don't know how many Australian ones they made, but amazing.
01:48 From the beginning, I liked hot rods when I was a little kid.
01:50 And I used to read Henry Felsen's hot rod books.
01:54 I used to take them out of the library and put them in my book and read them in school.
01:58 So hey, it's one of those things.
02:00 Look at all the gas pumps.
02:01 I mean, this is just one little section of them.
02:04 You've got them all over.
02:06 That became a fascination for me.
02:08 I'd go out on weekends and hunt them, even through the countryside or farms or whatever.
02:13 I'd buy one for 50 bucks and haul it home.
02:16 Well, there's more, I know.
02:17 I know this is just...
02:18 Yeah, there's just a couple more.
02:19 Yeah, a couple more.
02:20 And this '51 Merc, this was one of your first cars?
02:23 Yeah.
02:24 I drove this in '72, '73, '74.
02:29 That was my everyday car.
02:31 And then I set it aside like that.
02:32 And I think I paid $325 for it.
02:36 And good car, good running car.
02:40 It's all stock.
02:41 Brookville?
02:42 Brookville, 32 Roadster body.
02:44 That's one of my projects.
02:46 I'm not sure what the priority line is, but you know...
02:51 This is a priority?
02:52 Yeah, it's up on the higher echelon of the list.
02:55 Is the priority over the Phaeton?
02:56 Oh, I think the Phaeton's gonna be pretty good.
02:59 But this one I think I can get done quicker and easier, because I just want to make it
03:03 just a good driver, just a '32 high boy, just have fun with it.
03:07 Because to me, driving them, that's where the fun is.
03:11 Living in a rural setting, Rick has a nose for scrounging great stuff laying around,
03:15 much like some of the shows you've seen on TV.
03:18 In Rick's case, it's all cars and petrolania, and he's amassed quite a nice collection of
03:22 restored gas pumps, signs, and more.
03:25 But what's more amazing is the stuff that he hasn't restored.
03:28 That's what we're looking at today.
03:33 Rick's got a lot of stuff.
03:34 He's been picking stuff up for a long time, and the cool thing is that he's been picking
03:37 it up since back in the day when it was cheap.
03:39 I would say as these types of collections go, he doesn't have a lot of money in it relative
03:43 to guys who are just getting into the deal recently.
03:47 There's a Corvette here, and then there's another one over here.
03:52 The first one here is a '56, and then the second one there is a '62.
03:58 Now was this originally a Fuele?
03:59 It wasn't a Fuele, but I have a Fuele unit for it.
04:02 Just to make you look real bad, how long have you had this one?
04:06 Somewhere around '72, '73.
04:10 Is when you bought it?
04:11 '72, '73?
04:12 I went up and went down to put a chain underneath of it and to pull it like it had a wasp nest
04:17 down there, and it just peppered me with the young wasp stings.
04:26 One of my faves, super rare Willys sedan delivery.
04:29 It's either '35 or '36, right?
04:32 Yeah, '35.
04:33 '35.
04:34 I think '35 had these.
04:35 I'm not sure about '36.
04:37 Super rare though.
04:38 Now how long have you had this?
04:41 It's probably about 40 years.
04:43 40 years?
04:44 Yeah, I think I paid $7.50 for it.
04:48 Are you kidding me?
04:49 We negotiated.
04:50 I think I wanted to do it for five, and I think he wanted to do it for 10, so I think
04:54 we made over $7.50.
04:57 This is a 1916 Baby Grand Chevrolet Touring car.
05:02 Why'd they call them a Baby Grand?
05:04 God if I know.
05:05 I thought you knew.
05:07 The truth is, we don't have time to look at Rick's entire collection.
05:11 That'd take hours to show.
05:13 What we're looking at is Rick's collection of leftovers.
05:15 It's an amazing collection of what if cars and parts mixed with some great Petrolania
05:20 and signs that even in their as-found condition can go for four and even five figures.
05:24 And then a slightly newer Chevy over here.
05:28 Yep, Chevy Nomad.
05:29 How long have you had that?
05:31 Oh, maybe 38 years.
05:34 38 years?
05:35 Yeah.
05:36 And you're sure you're going to do something with it?
05:37 Yeah, that's right.
05:41 Rick's been able to collect and keep everything he's found, and that's pretty unique.
05:45 Most of us have to sell one thing to get another.
05:48 With his successful business and knack for finding on the cheap, he's amassed a huge
05:52 automotive treasure trove and never looked back.
05:55 Yeah, that's a 33-stand delivery.
05:57 My brother and I drove from Newark, New Jersey to get it, basically the body.
06:02 We left on a Friday evening at 6 o'clock, and we came back on Sunday morning at 6 o'clock
06:09 and had it on the trailer.
06:11 Good car, 350 Chevy, 350 Turbo.
06:14 And then this is a more recent acquisition, right?
06:16 The four-door here?
06:17 Yeah, it's a '32 Ford four-door sedan.
06:20 Goose four-door, yep.
06:21 And for some reason, I don't know why, I've always liked a four-door sedan.
06:25 I think it needs a haircut.
06:27 Like an inch and a half out of the top.
06:31 Something subtle.
06:32 Something subtle.
06:33 An inch.
06:34 Rick Bonenberger falls into the category of hot rod fanatics that have managed to get
06:40 a few cars completed over the years.
06:42 If I could only keep one car, I think it'd be a toss-up between this 1933 Hotmobile Vicky
06:51 that I just basically got done with or this '32 Phaeton.
06:56 And the Hotmobile is a slick car, and this Phaeton is a slick car even with its primered
07:02 fenders on it.
07:03 It's a fun car, it's a driver.
07:05 When I go someplace, I slam the car door, don't look back, and just have a good time
07:10 with it.
07:11 Am I done collecting?
07:13 Nah.
07:14 You know, that's not going to happen.
07:18 But I mean, you know, I'm going to say I'm slowing down on it.
07:21 But there's some neat cars, neat gas pumps still out there.
07:24 Sometimes our appetites are bigger than our stomachs, and Rick knows that.
07:27 But he's an obsessed collector and can't stop.
07:29 His wife told us she's thought about pulling something from his pile of stuff and giving
07:33 it to him for his birthday or Christmas.
07:35 When I asked him if he'd know where it came from, he said yes.
07:39 So he somehow keeps track of all this stuff.
07:41 We didn't ask if he has an endgame to all this.
07:44 Let's just say we're glad he grabbed this stuff before the recycler and hope that if
07:47 Rick doesn't restore them, that these projects can find new owners that can bring them back
07:51 to their former glory for all to enjoy.
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