Aerosmith‘s first tour van has been found!
During a recent episode of History Channel’s American Pickers, hosts Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz visited Chesterfield, Massachusetts, on the hunt for the band’s 1964 International Harvester Metro van that was abandoned in the 1970s.
They found it with a man named Phil, who owns the property where the van was found. He informed the Pickers that the car was on the land when he bought it.
The van—which still prominently displays a caricature of the band lead singer Steven Tyler and the band’s name in bright colors on its side—is in rough shape. It’s missing a door, the tires are flat, and there’s carpet falling off from the ceiling.
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“This guy is deep in the woods,” Wolfe says. “He’s off the grid, and I keep thinking to myself, ‘what the heck would this van be doing here?’”
According to CBS News, the backstory of the van has not been revealed and it is not known why the band, which formed in Boston, abandoned their original tour van. The outlet reports that before they were arguably one of the most famous rock bands in history, they were traveling around the northeast in this van.
In order to prove the vehicle’s authenticity, the show hosts paid a visit to former guitarist Ray Tabano, one of Aerosmith’s founding members, who validated its origin.
“It certainly looks like it. Oh my goodness gracious,” Tabano said when he was reunited with the vehicle. “I’m afraid to say how long it is, but it’s been like 40 years since we were in this thing. It was like a touring hotel… This is definitely the van. You found it.”
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“This is it, baby,” he added when reminiscing about how the band would drive to play shows in New Hampshire—for which they were paid $125, but only pocketed about $3 after food, tolls and gas.
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In the end, the American Pickers hosts paid Phil $25,000 for the van.
“We just got a piece of American rock n’ roll history,” Wolfe said. “If you had the opportunity to buy one of the biggest and most iconic pieces of rock and roll history for $25,000 — hell yes you would.”
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