voluntary is better. that's our show. see you next week for a new episode again in our new time spot. good night. ♪ ♪ will. announcer: was he a lifelong corridor or collector? the answer lies in sizes knowledge regard told what rusty old cars. which is the truth? we are about to find out. ♪ ♪ jamie: i am jamie colby, i am

just driving into enid, oklahoma, about 90 miles north of oklahoma city, population roughly 50,000. right here in enid, they have the largest capacity for grain on the planet. but wedged in between the silos of enid, lies a legend who left his grandchildren with a very strange inheritance. >> my name is stuart piontek and in 2003 my brothers and i inherited something unusual from my grandfather. his name was oliver jordan and he died in 1995. he was a child of the dust bowl. he held onto everything in his life whether it was a tin can or a copper wire. jamie: and he kept it all here for 60 years. this was his sanctuary, his fork not. >> welcome to paradise. jamie: the rusty old cars some

of them relics from the roaring 20s. born in 1908, he was born on the wheat farm. at his obsession was the fabulous new invention the car. >> it was just beginning to happen, it was a lifelong passion. jamie: he grows up and gets married and then it at 34 years old abandoned his wife and three young kids for a 16-year-old girl in town. >> when my mother and her brother and sister were children, my grandfather left the family for another woman. her name was ruby and that was a scandal. and everybody was hurt by it. jamie: in 1946, he bought a salvage yard in enid where he and ruby live, he runs the

salvage yard successfully for seven years and then in 1953 he gets into a nasty argument with the town of enid over zoning and regulations. two words that he detests. >> the city came in and told him that he had to put in a bathroom and other things and grandpa been like to be told what to do. >> he was not a rule follower. >> he said okay, fine, we'll close the door. jamie: he continues to be a hoarder of old cars, and doesn't let another soul inside the salvage yard. >> everyone would drive by grandpa's property and see all of these old cars sitting right there and some people, they thought that they were a nice eyesore. >> i walked across the street and i said mr. jordan, i'm looking for a starter for a six

cylinder engine. and after a long cause he said, that's going to be $50. i came back about a month later with my $50 and he said no, 75. so i learned a little bit of horse trading at that time. jamie: as a boy, stewart never got to know grandpa oliver. oliver's daughter dies when he steward is only six years old. it separates him further from his grandfather. >> we would come to town to visit my grandfather and grandpa had all of these cars in front of his property. he had them protected with a fence and mean dogs. we couldn't get past the dogs. jamie: did you ever wished wish that he spent more time with you? >> i was eager for the opportunity to get to know him. jamie: after his death, stuart

and his family move away. when stuart graduates high school in 1984, he takes a summer road trip back to enid. >> i got a greyhound bus ticket and he took me over to his shop in for the first time i got to spend some time with my grandfather. jamie: with all of those cars, sure they look like heaps of scrap, but stuart come to understand that this was his pride and joy, his collection and his centerpiece, these depression era cars. >> he had an obsession with it, they had done some ingenious things under the hood. jamie: after his high school road trip, stuart heads west for college and then launches a successful furniture business in san francisco. then in the fall of 2000, a call from out of the blue and then stuart scrambling back to enid.

>> he opens the door and use covered from head to toe in feathers. announcer: first, the "strange inheritance" quiz question. what was the lowest produced mass american car? is that

announcer: what was the lowest priced mass-produced american car? it is the 1925 model tee runabout at $260. it sold for $5 less than the 1924 model. ♪ ♪ jamie: for half a century, oliver jordan simulates hundreds of old cars, some of them are very rare and mostly intact, but all of them rusty as he grows old. then in the fall of 2000 and his grandson gets a phone call that opens the door to a new relationship and to a strange inheritance. >> ruby had fallen off a ladder and broken her hip and she was in the hospital. she called worried about grandpa because he was back at the house and he was 94 years old. that was the open door.

jamie: so it took until his 90s? >> yes, because of who he was. he didn't want to meet anyone. jamie: stuart hops on a plane not knowing what to a expect. >> even at 94 years old, he has a commanding presence and he opens the door and is covered from head to toe in feathers. they had a couple of dogs and one of the dogs had torn up the featherbed. there was something about him that commanded respect. jamie: seen him in such a terrible state, stuart decides to stay in oklahoma for a wild and take care of his grandfather. >> i was getting to know my grandfather. he was so proud to be showing me these cars, for me to be experiencing his life's work and pride and joy. jamie: two things become immediately clear. first oliver knows he doesn't have much time left and second he is worried about the state of those cars. >> at one point he said thank

god for you, thank god for you. and i think he was so worried about what would happen to his bangs. jamie: stuart is no expert, but he confirms that the centerpiece of the whole collection is indeed the cars from the 1930s, the one that he remembers from his high school road trip. >> may be not more than four or 500 of these were ever made. best case scenario were stored, is probably $300,000, $350,000. jamie: that will take you more than a decade to travel down this road and cost him plenty. just for starters he lays out tens of thousands of dollars to ship in secure containers and build a facility to house the most prized cars. >> of these things are so valuable, why are they just rotting away here enact one has the definite do something about

it. jamie: in august of 2003, oliver jordan dies at the age of 95 years old. even his enormous automobile collection to stuart and his siblings. >> the original windows that they would stick and asides. jamie: stuart tells me that this touring car is one of his personal favorites. the model was popular among bootleggers during prohibition. >> a toggle switch on the dashboard is where they would turn off the tail lights if they were being followed by someone. jamie: these cards represent just a snippet of the collection jamie: i have never seen anything like this. >> yes, it's quite a strange thing to inherit. jamie: before he dies, oliver gives stuart some business advice. >> he said don't cell them all at once because you can do it one at a time and make more money that way.

jamie: he realizes it will take the rest of his life to sell them one by one, but just eating the titles for all of them takes months. jamie: you had to get titles everyone of these cars from the '30s? have you do that? >> i will show you. jamie: first you have to find the car id numbers. >> we had to polish it off, but we were able to actually get titles for the majority of the cars. jamie: years quick by like odometer miles and stuart keeps you spend more and protect the old cars, a lot of trips from san francisco and back. by 2013 he has invested $400,000 getting the collection time for auction, ready or not, it is time to sell. >> how are you? jamie: he contacts the auctioneer to appraise the collection. is he sitting on a pile of junk or a potential old mine enact.

>> there are about 220 of them. they are mostly american cars and they are prewar, pre-1942. and they are very rare cars because once they had world war ii, you could only get one from a rationing coupons once world war ii started. jamie: they make plans for a one-day auction on the salvage lot. word begins to spread about the old treasures and stuart learns that's not altogether a good thing. >> we found someone had cut through the fence and then cut a hole in the side of this building, the size of a human body, and they sold over 250 antique radiators, tons of chrome parts and a lot of nice stuff. jamie: the radiators are worth at least $40,000. but the biggest loss for him is the rare and beloved harley-davidson, possibly worth several hundred thousand dollars.

>> we had to higher security and we had to move the auction forward. jamie: that entails some word of mouth advertising ♪ ♪ jamie: we have more next. announcer: here's another quiz question. which of these deceased celebrities cars sold for highest bid at au ah! come on! let's hide in the attic. no. in the basement. why can't we just get in the running car? are you crazy? let's hide behind the chainsaws. smart. yeah. ok. if you're in a horror movie, you make poor decisions. it's what you do. this was a good idea. shhhh. be quiet. i'm being quiet. you're breathing on me! if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico.

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it is the actor steve mcqueen. in 2013 his car sold for $11 million. jamie: stuart piontek is racing to auction off hundreds of vintage cars, his grandfather's obsession has become an his own. he has invested 13 years and $400,000 in the collection. ♪ ♪ i caught up with him at the hot rod association valley in oklahoma city. >> hello, my name is stuart. did you know my grandfather? jamie: while he works the crowd, i'm going to see if i can get behind the wheel of one of these automobiles. >> hello, i am jamie colby. tell me about this carp enact. >> it is 837 chevrolet, 77 years old. jamie: i've just gotten the keys. let's go.

>> you have insurance? [laughter] >> hold on, now we are talking. jamie: yvette vanderbrink is here as well. >> you can tell that there is value here, but they aren't? >> no, they are not. it is a different trend in the car collecting hobby. jamie: that trend is called patina. some of them relish the vintage barn find look and spray clearcoat on top to reserve it. that can be good news for the rarest car that stuart has, the car from the 1930s.

but if you're like me, you're wondering what they might look like restored. i did not have to go far to find out. you remember brat who wants wants to buy a starter from old oliver? he spent over 30 years restoring this one. it is a stunning example of what it looks like in all of its glory. >> we went through the engine we painted it and fix the interior and it's something that we looked at restoring history and not just putting on a nice paint job and everything. ♪ ♪ jamie: on june 7, 2014, it's finally the big day of the auction. >> we are going to have fun. the auctioneer welcomes a crowd of at least 300 people. his sister, crosses his fingers.

>> it is a lot of hard work. i hope they at least he gets back what he has put into it and that my other siblings. jamie: stuart has put in $400,000. doers they don't worry if something's possible. they just do it. at sears optical, we're committed to bringing them eyewear that works as hard as they do. right now, buy one pair and get another free. you're not mr. craig. yeah, i'm confused, where's mr. craig? well, i'm sorta mr. craig. we're both between 35 and 45 years old. we both like to save money on car insurance.

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that would be my daughter -- hi dad. she's a dietitian. and back when i wasn't eating right, she got me drinking boost.

it's got a great taste, and it helps give me the nutrition i was missing. helping me stay more like me. [ female announcer ] boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a delicious taste. grandpa! [ female announcer ] stay strong, stay active with boost. announcer: back to "strange inheritance." jamie: the buzz over oliver jordan antique car auction has brought collectors from all over the country to enid, oklahoma. some are looking for parts and others are here with plenty to spend for just the right vehicles. >> i came with a trailer and pick up, if i have to, i will run back and get a bigger truck and trailer to haul the cars.

jamie: you have to be quick to purchase in this game. these cars can go in less than a minute. ♪ ♪ ♪ was. >> sold at $906,000. >> things feel like they are moving pretty well. jamie: they are about to go up for bid. and stuart things that they would be worth six figures if fully restored. but how much in this condition? >> the 193-7812 beverley supercharged. this was one of his favorite vehicles. >> i have 40,000.

>> $40,000. >> 42,000. >> $42,000 going to new york. jamie: what will the second one to value bring? >> sold for 22,000. jamie: an anonymous telephone bidder pays $64,000 for both. stuart says he's not disappointed. >> that is as much as i could hope for and it's really great because they are going to move on. jamie: after an emotional day, the grand total is $540,000.

it is a profit of $140,000 to split with his siblings. after all of that, the family invested in a strange inheritance and it is no windfall. but then again, watching the grandchildren of oliver jordan pop open a bubbly has to make you wonder what their 13-year-old enterprise, 3 13-year-old enterprise, was it really about turning rusted iron into gold or a different kind of alchemy? one perhaps that restores broken and bitter family ties into strong and lifelong bonds. >> we didn't really get to know her parents that well. and so this brought us closer. >> will grampus a? >> i think that he would say that i'm proud of you.

>> that is really what it was about for me. doing right by you and my family. jamie: stuart's sold all of his grandfather's cars and regretted losing only one. the 1924 roland at touring car. on auction day, and 86 old woman just came to see it. she explained that her grandfather had driven it to the hospital the day that she was worn and then sold it to oliver jordan. of all of the stories about this strange inheritance, this one may have been his favorite. so stuart let the man know that he might want to buy that one back if the man who bought it ever resold it. i am jamie colby for "strange

inheritance." thank you for watching and remember that you cannot take it with you. you have a strange inheritance story that you would love to share with us? we would love to hear it. go to our webs show that touches base with you folks. "strange inheritance." >> a world famed musician dies. >> his love. his heart. his voice. >> it's more than 300 years old and could be worth many millions. this strange inheritance is more than about money, it's about a father's legacy. >> it was clear to us that he did not want it to be hidden away. ♪