FOUND IN AN ABANDONED MINE - BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE!

This week on the #DriveForHistory, we're in our most talked-about exhibit - Homemade America. Today we fire up the Davis Motor Mine cart after a few "miner" repairs. Found in a mine in Northern California, the cart was built from a Harley-Davidson B-model and was used to haul ore out of the mine.
Dale's Wheels Through Time Museum, located in Maggie Valley, NC, features over 375 American motorcycles, unique cars, and transportation history.
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[@JonnyMudMower]

Imagine how loud that would be sitting on that all day underground .

[@JonnyMudMower]

Robert Johnson ya it would be a constant headache at the least .

[@rickdaystar477]

What? I can't hear you..

[@houstonhelicoptertours1006]

To be honest...that's nothing compared to the noise produced by other mining equipment.

[@beezertwelvewashingbeard8703]

The dirt walls would probably absorb a lot of that noise, and mines are usually ventilated.

[@Mrshotshell]

@@beezertwelvewashingbeard8703 pretty much all mines are in hard rock and most soft material needs to be reinforced, usually more hard stuff

[@denaldomagataco8409]

That harley handles like it's riding on rails

[@Chainspike101]

Oh that was good haha

[@charleychafin4882]

Gotta say that was an awesome comment lol

[@mattskustomkreations]

WIN!

[@Septic_Lemon547]

Yea literally

[@scottmartin356]

Never been a big fan of motorcycles, though I've had a few, but keep coming back to your channel because of the knowledge, detail and enthusiasm! A huge plus that you can start and run them! It's that kind of joy that reveals new interests in my life- keep having fun, it will keep bringing new fans!!

[@BennyTygohome]

The thing I love about this channel, other than the awesome bikes, history, and rarity... you guys actually startup , run and operate these things. So cool!!!

[@theone2be33]

Love how you start things up and tell the story. Brings the history to life and makes it relevant. 👍

[@rickdaystar477]

I wonder how the motor survived sucking mine dust into the carb with no air filter.

[@purebloodheretic4682]

I was just thinking the same thing, Very Dirty Dusty Environment down a Mine! I Guess K&N Filters weren't Invented yet!!😆👍

[@ADITADDICTS]

It was a placer drift mine, very wet conditions inside. I've never been in a placer mine that didn't have water coming from somewhere in it.

[@rickdaystar477]

@@ADITADDICTS That's an interesting detail thanks.

[@ADITADDICTS]

@@rickdaystar477 Not a problem. Now I haven't been on the inside of the davis motor mine due to the fact that it is eroded shut and has been for decades now. But the water seeping from where the portal used to be is fairly significant.

[@EGGSHL]

I could tell it was running rough. She could use a new piston. Maybe a valve idk. Oil could be wack anyways, but every engine deserves a rebuild

[@craigapelbaum1629]

It's nice to see history come alive. And it's nice to see old machines still work after many years.

[@ElectricalDynamo]

Man the old timers sure had style that is some cool stuff 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻✌️

[@robertedwardlee8227]

*Boomers.

[@chuckthebull]

that's really cool. thanks for featuring it, I see you have some great cars in your exhibits too. I'm fascinated by the old model t flathead and how they got used in a lot of other applications by clever farmers and the like. I'm building up my Harley flathead in a customs 70s aftermarket frame and love the flathead design..might not be the most efficient engine but supper reliable and you can see why they made such great workhorses.

[@purebloodheretic4682]

*For Down a Mine they should have used a 'Shovel Head'!!👍😆*

[@chetmatras5319]

Hey i get it

[@davegibbs403]

Gold mine? How about a Pan Head?

[@lostpony4885]

Theres always a knucklehead somewhere.

[@ADITADDICTS]

Davis actually died from burning a lantern while working at the mine. He was found unconscious way in the back of the workings and died in the hospital a day or two later. The mine is about 2½ miles from our cabin.

[@joeyknight8272]

Wow

[@ADITADDICTS]

@@joeyknight8272 Yeah it was pretty foolish imo because he had a ventilation system for the mine that he either forgot to turn on or didn't think he was going to be in there that long and got distracted. Either way it could've been avoided.

[@superbmediacontentcreator]

So we will all visit you...

[@ADITADDICTS]

@@superbmediacontentcreator Party!

[@KC9UDX]

Forgot his canary

[@larrytownley2231]

If ya went back, and poked around that mine wt a metal dector, ya might find All kinds of parts !!!

[@elonmust7470]

Maybe even some pickers!!!

[@daretolive9357]

So cool ! I spent years building railcarts to ride on abandoned railroads, And still do. So I love this.

[@Liam1H]

That motor mine cart is downright elemental. The low profile fits its natural environment and the raw strength of all that Iron gives it the look of a bulldozer, minus its tracks. As always, thanks for making these vids. History is cool and motorcycle history is particularly cool.

[@jfk64kennedy95]

that was Harley's precursor to the ROAD KING, the MINE KING.....

[@marioncobaretti2280]

harleys outlived all the other bike companys because they had the most torque to pull around fat biker chics .

[@scottmartin356]

That was before the Couch King!

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

That would be so cool to drive down railroad tracks after you get permission of course and if it's standard gauge

[@robfelt9283]

What a great find. So great that you are able to share this with all of us.

[@MandoThingz]

I swear I had a dream of walking into a motorcycle museum with the old wood, the classic tools, classic bikes, the items, you name it, it was in my dream 👀

[@garysmith5781]

I love the ingenuity of old america😁

[@gramursowanfaborden5820]

i mean, "old" America is still less than 100 years ago in a lot of cases, "old" Europe is threefold and an order of magnitude older than that.

[@tiffanyglass2212]

At the coop I work at we get a Iowa tractor magazine. That had a article about a home made tractor built in the 1950s that was powered by harley davidson flat head. had working hydraulics and PTO out put. The family was still using it. it was very cool.

[@kc5hgv]

Matt me and Sonya my wife went to your Museum back in fall of 2015. I have had several bikes over the years but the old ones like your dad and you have were great to see. We got there just when you opened in the morning and did not get out of there till about 2pm. I took my time but Sonya enjoyed the Museum as well. Thanks for sharing your collection with us. Craig

[@ericheine2414]

What a gem. Can you imagine getting off work after riding that thing. Looking for your bottle and some food. Hell yes!

[@bartschwartz7217]

In New England they made iteams to use around the farm and carts to haul produce from the harbor to the warehouse not fast but the torque to pull ratio was approximately 3000 lbs so hook up a ranger bed with some weight not fast but made work life a lot easier

[@bartschwartz7217]

Maybe 1/4 mile each way

[@hyattbusbey3563]

I will be coming to your museum when the world allows it again. Thanks for making these videos.

[@kanethompson708]

🤘

[@andefina5676]

Necessity is the mother of invention, a fool crashes his bike, miner buys wreck, as he needs something to fit in narrow tunnels and move carts full of ore. Funny thing is it would have cost him almost the price of a brand new 1920 bike to set it up for mine work.

[@jmccormick1490]

Rick from pawn stars: They made hundreds of these Davis motor mine cars. Everyone in Southern California has one in their garage. I'll give you 13 bucks and its probably gonna sit in my shop for 5 years.

[@edwardmcguire5734]

LOL! I can hear him saying that in my hear!

[@lawnmowerdude]

I would love to see a video of every single machine in that exhibit.

[@robertdees2179]

I seen several Harley Davidson powered chain saws in southern Oregon. At an old lumber camp

[@ls6-ss413]

I remember an aluminum Buick V8 powered chain saw a few years back. That was awesome

[@CraftyOldGit]

I love how you keep so many historic machine running.

[@daviddonaghy6494]

Nice to see a Harley that does something better than going down the road near my house at 2am without any mufflers.

[@canadianrydz7057]

Hahaha

[@deckerhand12]

Does it make you jealous that others have that and you don’t ? Go away Karen

[@michaelgreve1578]

It’s amazing what the people did back in the day I love the machines they way they were put together to work so much easier I would love to see everything in person where are you guys located

[@travelingkaspersworld4096]

The story of the friend helping keep the Goldmine Find for a year is the best part. Things happen instantly in a world full of money and time, otherwise progress is only achieved through friendship.

[@JoeRocket-sf6qs]

Awesome stuff love the homemade,very clever.

[@VWLivin]

that machine is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

[@supertramp6011]

Not sure I’d call it beautiful,but I love it’s functionality!

[@Waveluth]

Thank you for bringing all this wonderful history to us

[@davidlandeck9566]

That's gotta be one of the coolest pieces of machinery I've ever seen 👍thanks for sharing

[@brainsmith9827]

Thanks for getting right to it

[@7980flh]

Just when you think you've seen it all. Great stuff!!!!!!!

[@johnc.wunscheljr2873]

I live in the gold country 3 miles from where gold was first discovered in 1848. Colma caif . That is so cool🤠

[@whydahell3816]

I can't WAIT to come to that museum man!!!

[@MrJoseefus]

totally OSHA approved I'm sure!!

[@MrJoseefus]

@jason9022 ok professor, it's called a joke, lighten up!!

[@skyb8687]

OSHA is in the city....MSHA is the mine OSHA

[@elonmust7470]

@Heads Mess OSHA comes to the logging woods....

[@tommypetraglia4688]

No regs until it became law in 1972

[@gramursowanfaborden5820]

it's ok, this thing pre-dates safety... by a pretty safe margin.

[@CharlesFlatBaby]

Your museum is amazing. I've gotta make some plans to come down and see you guys and the bikes.

[@joshuagibson2520]

You'll never run out of content for youtubes. There so much to teach us about that you have around there. Will Def be coming over the mountain to NC. I'm not far over the Tennessee boarder. Morgan County. A trip is in order.

[@dotlaj]

My sister has a 1931 hd that used to be a pump for a milking machine on a farm in Iceland. It looks like new and running good to day but as a motorcycle haha😉

[@darrenantoine7333]

That is probably the best bike used for a work vehicle I have ever seen. What a find what a story. Would be cool to put wheels back and tuner down the rd

[@davidedgar2818]

Ingenious and amazing, what an artifact for your museum.

[@bobsmarts2662]

Incredible, American ingenuity at its finest!

[@josephrapoza6453]

insane, Great job Matt

[@victorslowik3786]

Only if that mine cart could talk, the stories it would tell!

[@KC9UDX]

"Potato potato potato, potato, potato. Potato potato, potato potato potato potato. Potato: potato potato; potato potato potato, potato."

[@goodtohaveinajam8148]

Just missed you actually sitting in the seat! Excellent museum piece, a real find, and fixed up!

[@davidwood1923]

Super Cool Find... Thanks for Sharing... Oh .. and it Runs

[@briantodd2693]

There a some super smart people in this world that make cool stuff out of anything! Super cool!

[@mariapugh4000]

Love your clips and would love to visit your Museum one day.Here in New Zealand old Harleys were turned into Jiggers to run on bush logging trams to get the loggers in to the logging sites.

[@stevewheeler5097]

Not only does the fan put some cooling to, I guess to the engine. But I could see where it would blow warm air at the driver which would be great in a cold mine shaft

[@rexjolles]

Imagine all the fumes in that tunnel haha

[@jacobg5122]

Considering that a mining skiff (basically a passenger car but with no roof or sides) weighs between 1 and 4 tons, that extra transmission would be necessary for the low gearing.

[@Chr.U.Cas1622]

👍👌👏 Ingenious! Simply fantastic! Thanks a lot for making restoring teaching recording editing uploading and sharing. Best regards, luck and health.

[@johnnieantler58]

Hot damn, got a new favorite channel. Love it, never saw that model before & im old as dirt & been an HD guy for over 50+ years.

[@sargentsakto9236]

That thing had to run every day pulling tons of material in and out of the mine. Great piece of history and American ingenuity.

[@DFDuck55]

What makes this thing even more of an oddity than it already is, is that mines typically don't allow any type of internal combustion engines in them. They must have had an extremely efficient ventilation system in that mine to blow the carbon dioxide exhaust out. Normally any "engine" used in a mine would be steam, air, or water powered.

[@kevinrogan9871]

Diesel engines are approved for use underground, it’s not the carbon dioxide that is the problem but the carbon monoxide produced by petrol engines, NOx and particulates have to be scrubbed out of diesel exhausts but CO cannot be scrubbed from petrol engine exhausts, CO2 is not a poison but an asphyxiate - it was called black damp by the old miners

[@DFDuck55]

@@kevinrogan9871: My bad, I actually do know the difference between carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Not sure why I wrote dioxide. I have recently gotten a laugh hearing people say that when wearing a mask for China Virus you are breathing carbon monoxide.

[@kevinrogan9871]

My reply to your comment was not really about CO or CO2, but rather that most mechanized, trackless underground mines, which are in the vast majority, use diesel powered equipment. And yes there are strict ventilation standards requiring minimum air velocities and volume flow rates per kW of engine power underground but the use of petrol engines underground is strictly proscribed mainly for CO and obviously also because of petrol’s low flash point. So the Harley Miner would have been highly illegal not to mention a severe safety hazard, but of course not everyone adheres to good safe work practices.

[@colintinker7778]

No filter on the carburettor.... amazing this thing runs as well as it does as it must have sucked in loads of dust and grit in it's lifetime.

[@frankfilippone9679]

Amazing! You have the best job in the world !

[@maxz.6849]

Can’t wait to see you guys fire up and talk about the 1916 Traub!!

[@diymatt]

I feel like my 95 year old grandfather would have no problem moving his lawn with that

[@glengerdes2447]

Thanks for showing it. I've heard about it. Too cool.👍

[@michaelschaller7572]

Yup ok shoulda just said “ coolest thing in the world found in a mine

[@WildBillFlysRC]

The Snow blower with a 26 or 27 Harley engine was built by my buddy's dad Mr. Payson. It came from Maine.

[@raymondoliver7381]

I'd have a small circular track to run it on .... very cool piece , thanks for sharing

[@supertramp6011]

Imagine how much kids would love being hauled around a small track by this beast,in cute little mine carts! Awesome attraction for this amazing museum!👌

[@rcfundyer5739]

Really cool piece of history thanks for sharing

[@paulosborne6517]

I have a question - you said you fired it up and run it round your parking lot - how does that work? Unless your parking lot has rail track laid around it... 01:59

[@kasmathis6501]

Did anyone else just kinda scroll past this video and RAPIDLY scroll back and yell at the top of their lungs “WHAT THE F*CK!” when they saw the thumbnail lol 😂 Edit: still a very cool and interesting video

[@ricinphx]

This is a prime example of machines “in the good old days “ you built what you needed.

[@davidmurphy5405]

I'm same size as hulk hogan. Crashed my bike 87. 24 broken bones 24 orthopedic surgeries and 24 months I walked out of Prescott VA. I immediately gave my doc a picture of me on a bike riding with a cast still on. 33 years later I had to get a bicycle engine and all the accoutrements to equal the amazing 1900 two wheelers. The kids absolutely loved it and I sold it before I had some kids mom in the morgue explaining why I ever let them ride that thing.

[@marcuslambert2162]

sweet machine ,definite necessity,who wanted to lug them carts up by hand & back.

[@andycapo9you]

It has a cord pull start pulley on the left as well; I think they run out of battery a couple of times at the bottom of the mine to add that... I want to see it rolling!

[@napoliinchavero680]

Saludos amigo me gustan tus videos son muy interesantes

[@patricktrous]

I saw this in a mining video not to long ago. Ausome

[@atomikcosmonaut522]

I'm diggin the little metal fan

[@Jimmer93]

Love me some quirky Rail machinery. Interesting it has two transmissions. Guess the Auto one from a car was maybe for pulling full wagons out the mine, bit beefier than the bike one?

[@Heysupdan]

We will make your museum a definite destination in our travels

[@ChaChiVooDoo]

That jet ski used to be mine. My late friends the Wendrich Bros built it in 1930. I sold it to the guy that sold it to you.

[@johnnieguitar5724]

Great purchase by Dale! One of a kind. What's with the pinched exhaust pipe on the right side?

[@robedmund9948]

Tell Mike Wolfe where that mine is! He's have those front forks for you inside a week!! WOW! That thing purrs!!

[@danstewart8218]

Utterly Fabulous !!! 👍👍👍👍

[@tonyprebensen1527]

The geared electric starter motor and the one way clutch sprocket it drives looks to be the same as my 1915 Studebaker

[@torrosixsixzero]

what an awesome machine. Would love to see it on some rails and get some speed up. Peoples ingenuity amazes me. Great vid.

[@randyoregon3429]

Saw a old pump in yollebolly driven with harley,never know what might find in old mining country!!

[@andrewharris3380]

Wow that’s incredible. As a HD master tech I’ve never seen anything like that !

[@Lagoonster]

Andrew Harris, I could use your services, what state are you in?

[@lindalakota38]

Awsome pulled the other miners into mine and probly ore carts.

[@wishbone20t]

If I was working in a mine I want that job!

[@elishahmartinez1452]

all this means that we need Harley Davidson powered ATV's.

[@lazydog1964]

Just Amazing

[@toddclark332]

Really cool buddy thanks for the show.

[@marcconyard5024]

Is there a boat anchor powered by a Harley in the collection?

[@christianmotley262]

Bahaha!

[@carlthornton3076]

Very Good!!!

[@FINNIUSORION]

when you want to play with old bikes but you also have to be at work lol

[@billymiller8936]

It looks like a snow shoe where the fork is supposed to be 😂

[@rayburton4263]

I think it would be cool to add more track so you could move it back and forth.

[@edwardmckenzie3402]

Very Cool!

[@massimobianchi4262]

absolutely amazing !

[@rickwidlund1327]

Been there, if you ever get the chance, Do Not pass up a trip to Maggie Valley , NC.