Auction Hunters: Season 2, Episode 22: “Hot Wheels.”
Haff-Ton drove to “The Jewel of the Hot Desert.” That would be Palm Springs, California. The town of wealth and leisure. Duo expected to find treasure hidden in storage units.
Fact: Private golf courses in Palm Springs have membership fees as high as $250,000.
The weather was hot and miserable. The bidders grumpy and serious. The storage units were all outside.
In a word – UGH!
Fact: The highest recorded temperature in Palm Springs is 123 Fahrenheit, recorded on July 28, 1995.
Grab Bag Unit
Drums, amplifier, poker chips, vintage Pepsi cans, action figure, garbage bags, and boxes. This unit had a little bit of everything. Haff-Ton team won it for $200.
Allen found a TV, vinyl records, and electric piano. Duo carried a cheap coffee table out of the locker. That’s when Ton spotted tires.
Haff-Ton team moved mattresses and boxes and AHA! Cave man toy! A 1965 Mustang car-themed pool table!
Fact: The ’65 Mustang debuted on film in the 1964 James Bond movie, “Goldfinger”
Duo took the pool table to Dennis, a gaming expert. The model for the table made from original Mustang parts. The original headlights, tail lights, and bumper were still intact; and the tire chrome rims were real.
Fact: The Ford Mustang is named after the WWII P-51 Mustang fighter plane.
It was a classic collector’s piece.
Dennis wanted to buy it for $5,000. Allen asked for $6,500. Stalemate. The only solution? A game of pool. Dennis picked his opponent. Ton played dumb as though he did not know how to play pool. Dennis chose him. Bad move! Ton had been playing since he was a kid.
Dennis just got hustled!
Ton won in 1-2-3, eight in the corner pocket. Allen asked Dennis to show the “Color of your Money.”
Fact: Paul Newman reprised his role as “Fast Eddie” in 1986’s “The Color of Money”
Off-Road Unit
Cabinet, R.V. tractor tires, motorcycle riding gloves, car frame bender, door, work bench, and boxes. Duo saw something big in the back; won the locker for $240.
Allen found a microwave. Ton discovered off-road chest protectors.
Fact: Off-road chest protectors guard against puncture wounds from flying trail debris.
What was in the back? SAND RAIL! An off-road vehicle which was light weight but heavy on the horse power.
Fact: Some sand rails boast over 400 horsepower, and can jump over 10 feet in the air.
Ton glee like a boy with a toy. He enjoyed driving sand rails up at Dumont Dunes.
Fact: The largest of the Dumont Dunes, Competition Hill, rises 500 feet above the Mojave Desert.
Duo took the vehicle to a sand rail expert nicknamed, “Animal.” 
He said the sand rails were at their prime in the 1970’s. Several of the custom pieces for sand rails could not even be found anymore.
Fact: Sand rails feature special tires to ‘float’ on top of sand.
Allen took the uber-fast dune buggy for a test drive. He drove fast! Mad Max had nothing on him. Dust whirled about like a tornado as Allen pushed the pedal to the metal.
Duo wanted $14,000 for the sand rail. Animal was a little reluctant, until he took it for a ride. Then he fell in love with that sand rail. In his own words: “Dude, you got a deal!”
Ton played Fast Eddie. Allen played Mad Max. It was a movie-themed auction day for the duo.
Auction Total:
Paid $440
Sold: $21,420
Profit: $20,980
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