Im jamie colby in oxfordshire, england. And i feel like im driving right into a scene from a 19thcentury romantic novel, which, in a way, i am. Im on my way to meet a descendant of the great writer, jane austen. Austen left a strange inheritance worthy of a quintessentially british uproar two centuries later. My name is nicky gottelier. I inherited a ring that once belonged to jane austen, my great greatgreatgreatgreat aunt. Hello. Im jamie. Hello. Im nicky. My first question for nicky how did she get the ring . I shall tell you. Come with me. She invites me in and explains her family lineage. Jane was one of eight children. And her eldest brother, james, was my forebear. So it came down through my grandmother, my father, and then me. Did everybody know about your familys connection to jane . In those days, you didnt really brag about the fact that i was a fivetimes great niece of janes. Nor would it be proper to brag or even mention that the family is the keeper of this ring made of turquoise and gold. They believe it was worn by aunt jane. If so, its one of the few possessions still around that once belonged to one of historys most beloved novelists. She wrote there . She did. Mary guyatt is the curator of the jane austens house museum. This must be the holy grail when people come to visit. It is. Many a visitor have a little cry here. I really cant believe the size. Its not much bigger than a dinner plate. Janes born in 1775. She starts penning poems and stories when shes 14. Mary, whats here . Its a red riding jacket. And its said that the austen children used to dress up in this. They used to act together and write stories. By the time shes 23, shes written the first drafts of three novels, northanger abbey, sense and sensibility, and pride and prejudice. But its not until shes 35 when, with the help of her brother, henry, she finally sees one in print. Even then, sense and sensibility is published anonymously. Why did jane publish without using her name . At the time, novels had a bit of a dubious reputation. And for a women to be writing a novel was not necessarily the thing to be seen to be doing. Nevertheless, janes career is off and running. She goes on to publish, again anonymously, pride and prejudice, Mansfield Park and emma, all of which use biting wit to show how Polite Society worked at the turn of the 19th century. She was writing from a womans perspective about subjects that still affect us love, marriage, money. Shes pretty blunt about what she thinks women should do, like finding wealthy husbands. Money was critical. I mean, then it was about survival. Finding a husband with a significant income was part of the job of the family. But jane herself never marries and never gets wealthy from the books that tens of millions of people will read over the next 200 years. When she dies of a Mysterious Illness in july 1817, at the age of 41, she doesnt leave behind many worldly possessions, which is why nicky gotteliers strange inheritance is so intriguing. Its just a very plain ring set in gold. We dont know where jane got it from. What do you think the story is behind it . Its thought that it might have been an engagement ring. Say what . Coming up. Did she have a lover . But, first, our strange inheritance quiz question. The answer when we return. You ever wish you werent a motaur . Sure. Sometimes i wish i had legs like you. Yeah, like a regular person. No. Still half bike half man, just the opposite. Oh, so the legs on the bottom and motorcycle on the top . Yeah. Yeah, i could see that. For those who were born to ride, theres progressive. Yeah, i could see that. I am totally blind. And non24 can throw my days and nights out of sync, keeping me from the things i love to do. Talk to your doctor, and call 8442142424. And the clock could be ticking towards bad breath, receding gums and possibly tooth loss. Help turn back the clock on gingivitis with parodontax. Leave bleeding gums behind. Parodontax. So, which teen actor rose to stardom after appearing in a 1995 jane austen adaptation . Its a. Alicia silverstone hit it big in the movie clueless, a revamp of austens novel, emma. When jane austen dies in 1817, the world does not yet know shes the anonymous author of sense and sensibility, pride and prejudice, and emma. Unmarried and of modest means, she leaves her sister, cassandra, a very small number of cherished belongings, including, apparently, this curious ring of gold and turquoise. It happened to be her birthstone. Its also mine. That was it. The ring is passed through the female descendants of jane austens family and winds up in the hands of nicky gotteliers grandmother, winifred. What was your grandmother like . A terrifying woman. I have to say that i didnt like her terribly. She would never have talked about the ring. I didnt actually see it until i was 15. Grandmother winifred keeps her treasure hidden away until she dies in 1973. Nicky and her sister, sarah, rarely see it until their father, robert, passes away in 1981. Did dad leave specific instructions in a will of who gets what and how it should be divided . No. I think he knew that we would do it in a fairly honorable way. The sisters decide that nicky should get the ring while sarah gets this portrait of aunt jane painted 50 years after her death. Were each of you satisfied with your decision . I think so, yes. Nicky, now 36 and married with two young sons, socks her ring away in a drawer, much as her grandmother and the generations before her did. To all intents and purposes, for a long time, it was pretty well forgotten about. But its jane austens. I know. But you cant have it out. We had two small boys. Lots of people come into the house. Anything could have happened to it. Did england know that the ring existed . No. Wow. Nobody. With the passage of time, the story behind the ring is lost to history. Nicky speculates it could be an engagement ring, which would be really something, since the great writer of english romance novels, whose characters extol marriage as indispensable to a womans happiness, never herself walked down the aisle. But how close did she come . I ask mary guyatt at the jane austens house museum. Did she have a lover . Well, who knows . Theres, of course, tom lefroy, who was a young irishman, who she met at the age of 20. After jane meets tom, a middleclass law student, she write her sister, cassandra, to say, i rather expect to receive an offer from my friend in the course of the evening. Weeks pass. The proposal never comes. He wasnt welloff. And nor was she. And that combination was doomed. By her parents, do you believe . By the older generation. A young couple could not marry unless one of them had some wealth. Jane never sees tom again. Six years later, at the age of 26, she receives a Marriage Proposal from a wealthy family friend named harris biggwither. Does harris give her this ring . Impossible to say. All we know is that jane accepts. But, overnight, the match fizzles. Why do you think she called off that engagement . I think she just got cold feet. Perhaps she wanted to keep writing and knew that marriage would mean children and a different kind of life. When she dies 14 years later, four people attend her funeral. Only after her brother, henry, reveals her true identity does all of england come to love jane austen. There werent that many women who wrote books at that time. And she wrote so well about the times. It was just a very accurate description of what happened and how things were done. Such is the stuff of timeless classics, the books that become required reading in high school and college. But janes not just homework. Generations upon generations of students love to read her and, eventually, watch her. By the 1990s, there are movies, more movies and even some careerchanging roles. You must allow me to tell you how ardently i admire and love you. In declaring myself thus, i am fully aware that i will be going expressly against the wishes of my family, my friends and, i hardly need add, my own better judgment. Actors like colin firth as darcy and Gwyneth Paltrow as emma inspire a third century of austen fans, including these socalled janeites, decked out in regency dress for an annual 10day jane austen festival in bath, england. Ladies, tea . Twentyyearold Sophie Andrews and 24yearold laurie valetdeleyre. So, hey, thank you for having us. Yeah. Thank you for having us. Are really enthusiastic about their heroine and her relevance in the 21st century. What is it about jane austen that has you being jane austen . Her novels still endure 200 years later. The characters, theyre all still totally relatable. We all are looking for our mr. Darcy, arent we . Oh, yes. But hanging out with janeites is not the way to find a man these days. No. If there are any men at the festival, theyre either gay, or they have been dragged there by their girlfriend or wife. So, we have no chance. We should go to bars more. Yeah. We do too oldfashioned. Like this . No. Maybe not. No, maybe not like this. These ladies, and goodness knows how many others, would covet anything jane austen touched. But a ring, maybe even an engagement ring, can you imagine . Which brings us back around to our heir, nicky gotteliers, strange inheritance and her sudden and momentous decision to sell it. My first instinct when its jane austen ill let this person down gently. Thats next. Heres another quiz question for you. The answer in a moment. At Fisher Investments, we do things differently and other Money Managers dont understand why. Because our way works great for us but not for your clients. Thats why were a fiduciary, obligated to put clients first. So, what do you provide . Cookie cutter portfolios . Nope. We tailor portfolios to our clients needs. But you do sell investments that earn you high commissions, right . We dont have those. So, whats in it for you . Our fees are structured so we do better when our clients do better. At Fisher Investments were clearly different. So, which writer said jane austen was her favorite author . Its j. K. Rowling, who said she finds austens books unputdownable. For 30 years, nicky gottelier has barely thought about her strange inheritance, a goldandturquoise ring that, according to family tradition, belonged to her ancestor, the worldrenowned novelist, jane austen. But when nicky hits her 60s, she needs to figure out what to do with the heirloom thats been in her family for some 200 years. I have two sons, neither of whom were interested. And it was mine. I could do with it what i wanted. Including sell it. Was there ever a plan to sell it before . No, never. I thought, theres no point in hanging onto it forever. Now, she is really big all over the world. I thought, lets see what happens. Nicky and her husband, david, first connect the jane austens house museum. But it has little to spend. So they try the literature expert at sothebys auction house in london, gabriel heaton. My first reaction was to kind of prepare myself to disappoint someone. And so you kind of, like, put your hand over the phone, so to speak and went, pfft. Well, i expected it to be a fairly flimsy story. He thought he had a couple of nutters on the phone. Until nickys husband explains the family lineage. It was when he said, oh, no, no, were descended from the austens that i really got very interested. Heaton promptly sets up a meeting. We got there and produced this tiny, little ring in its tiny, little box. And thats not all. Nicky also produces this handwritten note dated 1863 from the widow of janes brother, henry. My dear carolyn, the enclosed ring once belonged to your aunt jane. Yeah. How exciting. It was given to me by your aunt cassandra as soon as she knew that i was engaged to your uncle. I bequeath it to you. God bless you. November 1863. Yeah. Was that it . Yeah, that was for me, that was it. That was tremendously exciting. Most of her belongings went, of course, to her favorite sister, cassandra. Then, here, you see cassandra giving this ring to eleanor when she marries janes favorite brother, henry. Did the letter, on its face, read authentic . It did look authentic. But the main thing that we did was to compare the handwriting. It was undoubtedly the same. He was amazed that it was something that was real. The idea that youre handling something thats one of the greatest writers of the english language kept on her finger, its a special feeling. Heaton gives the ring an estimated price of £30,000, or roughly 45,000, and sets the auction for july 2012 in london. We knew that there was interest. Quite where that would go, we didnt know. With nicky sitting quietly in the audience, bidding starts at £15,000. And then what every auctioneer hopes for most happens, a bidding war, £30,000, 40, 45. I felt that it would probably go for about £50,000. But theres an anonymous bidder on the phone who is determined to get that ring. Very, very quickly, it climbs up. £85,000, 90, 95. It just went up and up. At nearly £100,000, i began to feel a bit sick. £115,000, 120,000. Thats over 200,000. Who is this mystery bidder . And the hammer comes down at £126,000. Okay. And youre thinking. Im thinking, goodness. With buyers fees, that amounts to about 236,000. We got up and left. And we walked down bond street and had a bottle of champagne, which i paid for. Miss bennet. I did not expect to see you. But like any good austen story, this one cant end without a twist. The powers that be refused to let it out of the country. For it turns out the winning bidder is from america, a huge jane austen fan and an idol in her own right. Thats next. Whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. Announcer there are everyday actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory diseases. Wash your hands. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Stay home when you are sick. Cover your cough or sneeze. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects with household cleaning spray. For more information, visit cdc. Gov covid19. This message brought to you by the National Association of broadcasters and this station. Of broadcasters and i like to question your im yoevery move. N law. Like this left turn. Its the next one. You always drive this slow . How did you make someone i love . That must be why youre always so late. I do not speed. And thats saving me cash with drivewise. My son, he did say that you were the safe option. And thats the nicest thing you ever said to me. So get allstate. Stop bossing. Where good drivers save 40 for avoiding mayhem, like me. This is my sons favorite color, you should try it. [mayhem] you always drive like an old lady . [tina] youre an old lady. Now, back to strange inheritance. Nicky gottelier has just auctioned off a ring that belonged to her ancestor, novelist jane austen, for 236,000. It went for an absolutely phenomenal amount of money. Its revealed the buyer is american pop singer Kelly Clarkson. Turns out shes a janeite. I just loved how her characters were so strong and so confident and almost had the mentality sometimes that a man would portray in that time. Theres just one little hitch. Before clarksons allowed to get her purchase home to nashville, the British Government steps in and declares the austen ring a National Treasure. Shes so important to the idea of britishness. Philippa glanville sits on a committee that makes the call. Its extraordinary how little trace shes left except in our imaginations. I totally agree. It is a National Treasure for yall. But i kind of felt like theyd maybe should have claimed that before i bought it. But. Did you think it was a National Treasure . It never crossed my mind. What now . The u. K. Minister of culture gives a deadline of five months for a british buyer to come forward and save the ring for england. And the british savior must match the price Kelly Clarkson paid for it. That gave the museum, suddenly, an opportunity to have a second chance. Mary guyatt and the Jane Austen Museum launch a campaign to raise the money to buy the ring from the american pop star. Within six weeks, they succeed. I was surprised at how fast things moved. Once it becomes clear that Kelly Clarkson will never get to have the ring, her own mr. Darcy reproduces it for her. My husband actually surprised me at christmas that same year. He embellished it with diamonds because he doesnt do anything without diamonds. And i bawled when he gave it to me. Nickys strange inheritance is finally unveiled on valentines day 2014 at the jane austens house museum. Today, you can buy your own replica of the ring for 550. The janeites i met say thats a bargain. I wear it every day. I like having it as a reminder of jane, really. I feel like shes always with me then. As for nicky gottelier, whose family safeguarded the ring for 200 years. Are you happy with where the ring is now . Oh, i think so. Yes. In the end, poor kelly had to part with it. I would much rather shed kept it because she was such a fan. But it did finish up at the Jane Austen Museum in chawton, which is actually where i would have liked it to have gone in the first place. So esteemed is jane austen in Great Britain that, in 2013, it was announced that her face would appear on the countrys 10pound note. The image printed on the bill, the original one depicted on nicky and her sisters other family heirloom, that portrait of austen commissioned in 1869, half a century after her death. That little painting may not be deemed a National Treasure as nickys ring was. But its good enough for the bank of england. Im jamie colby. Thanks so much for watching strange inheritance. And remember you jolly well cant take it with you. Theyre cars you never heard of. He liked to buy unique cars kissels, grahams, overlands. He always used to say, i dont want to meet myself on the road. Its a great hobby. Keeps you out of the beer joints. Do you have your foot on the brake, teacher . Just in case . I havent jumped out yet. These heirs hit a fork in the road. So that is a point of contention. Do you donate cars here . Do you have an auction . Its really tough to get every sibling on the same page. Yeah, id say were no different. Until they hear an emotional voice from the past. When we go by his gravesite, hes probably on high spin mode up there. Its just money. Cant take it with you. Im jamie colby, and today im cruising through boone county, iowa, smack dab in the middle of corn country. Im here to meet the heirs of a man who left behind dozens and dozens of orphans. Orphan cars, that is. So, whats an orphan car . Youre about to find out. My name is jerry quam. My father, grant quam, liked to collect orphan cars, which are cars that were manufactured by companies that are no longer in existence today. Many of these are rare cars of which theres only a few known to exist. I meet up with jerry and his brother john at this modern, climatecontrolled barn. Whats in the barn . You got tractors, you got horses . Something better. Better than that . Youre gonna love this. Whoa. I am in heaven. Did you know i love cars . Ive heard a rumor. This is an incredible collection. You inherited this . Our fathers collection. I imagine theres a great story behind these cars. Each and every one. These car stories begin right up the road in roland, iowa, where john and jerrys father, grant quam, grew up in the 1920s. Why was your dad so passionate about cars . He grew up on a farm and they were pretty poor, but hed see people coming into town driving around in these fine cars, and that got him excited about it. While grant may not be able to afford these fancy cars, he sure can fix em up. He had a real knack for fixing things. He was just fascinated with machinery and cars. Soon enough, the budding mechanic is running a little repair operation out of the farm corncrib. And when hes a teen, grant finally figures out a way to buy his first car using his school lunch money. So cars were more important than food. Thats probably true. When the Great Depression hits, it devastates farm country and grants family. His father they lost the farm and stuff. You know, when he left home, everything he owned was in a shoebox. At the same time, hundreds of Car Manufacturers are losing it all, too. In the early 1900s, nearly 1,800 companies are in the carmaking game. And as late as 1925, some 237 remain. But the depression wipes out a great many of those, with some Luxury Brands hanging on only to collapse after world war ii. Cars like the piercearrow, peerless, and packard, you dont hear of any of those today. Theyre all gone. So an orphan car is a car with no parents. Yeah, thats basically right. So when grant reaches his mid50s and starts seeing some realestate investments pay off, hes finally able to track down those orphan cars that fascinated him in his youth. Theres not a lot of fords or chevys. He liked to buy unique cars. He always used to say, i dont want to meet myself on the road. Grants not likely to meet himself on the road driving one of these. Not only are his cars from unique manufacturers, many of the particular models are extremely rare, too like this 1936 piercearrow roadster. Theres maybe fewer than five that are known to exist of that car. Im totally loving the paint. Is it also unique . The guy he bought it from liked butternut coffee, so he painted the car to look like the butternut coffee can. Grants 1925 kissel gold bug, made popular by amelia earhart, is just as rare. Can i get inside . Absolutely. Im gonna try to slide in. [ grunts ] wow. You had to be petite. Not so graceful. I could drive this. Now you guys know what i like, okay . Some of grants finds are so uncommon, they were thought to have vanished long ago. This is a 1934 plymouth phaeton. When he first bought this, a lot of plymouth people here in the u. S. Claimed that the car didnt exist. What . And they said that it was false advertising on the car. But finally, after some background checks, it turned out to be the real deal. And heres another rare phaeton, this one supposedly built at the 1934 worlds fair in chicago. Grants orphan cars even become the focus of segment on a local public tv program in 1999. Did you see the pbs clip when it aired . I did. It was a show that they were doing at the time in iowa that was about people had unique collections. In 2007, grant passes away at the age of 91. Was he specific with you, jerry, and your family about what he wanted you to do with the cars . He never really approached it when we were alive. He never really talked about that. Do you wish he was more specific . Yeah, in some ways it would have been better. Six years later, when their mom, betty, dies, grants four children now orphans themselves still havent settled on a plan for their strange inheritance. So that is a point of contention. Do you donate cars here . Do you have an auction . Every family has their differences. Some want to do this, some want to do that. The oldest sibling, john, wants to keep the collection intact. The youngest, jerry, whos gone into collecting, leans that way, too. But the other two siblings, jim and marilyn, dont have the same emotional connection to the cars and would just as soon sell them. Were all pretty independent people. Thats hard. Absolutely, its hard. And it wont be getting any easier because while grant had plenty of beauties like these, he left behind even more like this. I thought, oh, my gosh, what have i gotten myself into this time . This was like entering a crime scene almost. A crime scene . well walk it, next. But first. The answer when we return. Meet jim. For jim, comfort is king. Which is why when it comes to his dentures only new poligrip cushion and comfort will do. The first and only formula with adaptagrip cushioning technology. Choose new poligrip cushion and comfort. And a few practical waysith you your family can stay healthy. First, hand washing is essential. Children should wash their hands after coming in from outside, before eating, after coughing, sneezing or blowing their little noses. Second, limit all crowds and explain that no one is shaking hands or hugging because that is how germs can spread. What changes need to be made now, i encourage parents to let children know this will not last forever. I urge you to stay connected to family and loved ones, stay safe and remember while many of us are apart, we are all in this together. Please be sure to follow cdc guidelines which can be found at coronavirus. Gov along with other information and resources. It made her feel proud. They saw us, they recognized us. Ancestry® specifically showed the regions that my family was from. The state of jalisco. The city of guadalajara. The results were a reflection of our family and the results were really human. I feel proud about my identity. Greater details. Richer stories. And now with health insights. Get your dna kit at ancestry. Com. Were cooking with mom. She always said, food is love, so when she moved in with us, a new kitchen became part of our financial plan. I want to make the most of every meal we have together. At Northwestern Mutual, our version of Financial Planning helps you live your dreams today. Find a Northwestern Mutual advisor at nm dot com. There never was an airmobile. Owegos were produced in owego, new york, american chocolates in a chocolate factory, and a car without a name thought owners might prefer to title their models themselves. Grant quams passion was tracking down orphans rare and unusual cars from nowdefunct automakers. Can you rattle off for me some of the rarer cars in the collection . 1925 kissel gold bug. 1911 and a 1913 overland. 1913 studebaker. Piercearrows, grahams. He gathers over 80 unique models, such as this 1920 peerless roadster. It was one of the most original cars hes ever bought. It still has the original radiator hoses. Theyre white because that was the natural color of rubber, and they started to color rubber black later on. After grants death in 2007, his heirs are torn about what to do with their fathers unique car pool. Do they sell . Keep . Donate . You know, i find, with inheritances, its really tough to get every sibling on the same page. Yeah, id say were no different. But before any decisions can be made, the family needs to know what the cars are worth. For that, they bring in appraiser jim mcdonald from des moines. He learns grants hoard of automobiles is spread out among three locations, and not every car looks shiny and new. This machine shed is jampacked with grants junkers, barn finds, and project cars. When i first walked into it, i thought, oh, my gosh, what have i gotten myself into this time . This was like entering a crime scene almost. A lot of these cars had been sitting for 10, 15, 20 years. This looks like it was last driven in 1956. These cars are worth a little, maybe a thousand more if they get fixed up. A second building holds about 15 midtierquality cars. Jim puts these in the fivefigure range. But the real money is in the final storage area, what grant called his inner sanctum. This had his piercearrow, it had his auburn, it had his kissel. It had all the better cars. Jim photographs and grades each one, including this exceptionally rare model, a 1922 Detroit Electric. Electric cars were very much favored by women in the early days of cars. They were popular because women werent able to crank the cars and get them started. Im in this is the steering wheel. Really . Well, kind of. This is like a tiller on a boat. Okay. So if you want to go this direction, you push that way, if you want to go that direction, you pull back here. Okay, i got it. Then, this is your speed. Here is the brake that works sometimes. Sometimes, john . Ready to go . Yes. Lets do it. The engine turns on with a simple flip of the switch. The first click, and there you go. Oh yikes. There you go. Oh, slow it down, slow it down, slow it down. Pull this back. Im an excellent driver. Im an excellent driver. This is like drivers ed. Do you have your foot on the brake, teacher . Just in case . I havent jumped out yet. Going straight is one thing, but now the real challenge turning the turns are not so easy. No. Youd do well back in that time period. Youd be the, uh, envy of the neighborhood. Whoohoo howd i do . Excellent. Yay better than me. Sold. Including that Detroit Electric, the appraiser arrives at a total value for the collection of over one million dollars. A nice chunk of change, but even that doesnt shift grants heirs out of neutral. The siblings need something more to finally settle the dispute on how to handle their fathers cars. Thats when they receive a message, almost from beyond the grave. Thats next. Heres another quiz question for you. The answer when we return. music i am totally blind. And non24 can make me show up too early. Or too late. Or make me feel like im not really there. Talk to your doctor, and call 8442342424. These expect and way more. Internthats xfinity xfi. U get powerful wifi coverage that leaves no room behind with xfi pods. And now xfi advanced security is free with the xfi gateway, giving you an added layer of network protection, so every device thats connected is protected. Thats a 72 a year value. No one else offers this. Faster speed, coverage, and free advanced security at an unbeatable value with xfinity xfi. Can your internet do that . He committed the first speeding infraction in the u. S. , winding up in jail for driving a breakneck 12 Miles Per Hour down lexington avenue, four over the limit. Grant quams four children cant agree on what to do with their strange inheritance 80 socalled orphan cars potentially worth over a million dollars. Jim and marilyn think its time to sell, but jerry and john would like to see the collection kept together. Ive had a chance to experience most every car here. Spent a lot of time in these. Ive driven most of them through the years. Its two against two. Somethings got to give. How do they decide . They go to the videotape. Remember that localtv piece featuring grant all those years ago . Turns out a crucial part of grants interview was never broadcast. It was like a 15minute segment, but later they offered up the entire raw footage of the shoot. They pop the cuttingroomfloor footage in the vcr. During the unedited, hourlong interview, grant is asked about many topics that never reach air, including the future of his cherished autos. Listen. [ laughs ] their fathers words end the debate the siblings will auction off the cars. Now, for me personally, um, that was probably a harder pill to swallow. Did you fight it . No. Theres a time when things, whether you like it or not, need to happen. My ideal thing would have been not to have sold the cars, but that that wasnt gonna work. Soon after, the family hires auctioneer Yvette Vanderbrink to handle the sale of their dads collection. My First Impression was, wow, this is really a lot of automotive history. Yvette immediately puts the family to work. She wants as many of the vehicles as possible up and running by the auction. So here we are at the farm. This gives you an idea of what were up against. How much work went into getting them ready for auction . Its overwhelming to deal with. You got to get the mechanics up working on em, you got to get the detail people to come up. Its a long process. Despite the challenge, the family brings many back to life. And as the auction nears, the reality of saying goodbye to dads cars begins to sink in. This is a piece of dad. Its very personal to your father. Yeah. But he always used to say theres time slots in life, right, for different things. And, uh, anyway, this time slot is over, right, so its time to sell em and and move on. Of course theres no telling what grants unusually rare models might sell for. How do you set a price on some of these . That is the hard part. How do you find a comp for a 36 pierce when theres never been one sold and theres only five made . What do you expect . Its really, really hard to know, because as my dad used to say, an auction, you need two buyers that want the car, three is better. Up next which of grants orphans find a good home. At 40, 40, 40. Now 5. And which ones do not. Whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website strangeinheritance. Com. As we work to get through these times together, you may not be thinking about blood donation, but blood is needed to save the lives of people who are sick with a range of illnesses. Its easy and safe to give. If you are in good health, please donate. We need heroes now. Visit red cross blood dot org to schedule an appointment. From anyone else. So why accept it from your allergy pills . Flonase relieves your worst symptoms which most pills dont. Get allinone allergy relief for 24 hours, with flonase. Motor . Nope. Not motor . Its pronounced motaur. For those who were born to ride, theres progressive. For those who were born to ride, today, john got dressed first date with sarah. John told his stitch fix stylist evan that tonight was a big deal. So his stylist did the hard work for him. Browsing hundreds of styles and sizes to find the perfect fitting shirt and blazer. So that tonight john could feel totally himself. At stitch fix we dont just see your size or your style. We see you. Let us find your perfect fit at stitchfix. Com. Now back to strange inheritance. In september 2015, the heirs of grant quam are auctioning off their fathers treasured fleet of orphan cars. You think youre doing this auction to his satisfaction . Well, thats a good, good question. We always tease that, uh, when we go by his gravesite, hes probably on high spin mode. The biggest concern whether the right buyers will make the trek to smalltown iowa for these exceedingly rare models. Its been a long adventure, nine months of getting ready. So were kind of anxious to see how this all goes today. At 37, now 8. At 38, at 8, at 8. Auctioneer Yvette Vanderbrink kicks things off with the heavy hitters. Were gonna start with the better cars and sell them right off the bat, and the reason why i like to do that is, everybody has money and comes to the sale. Everybody wants to take the prom queen. But some of those prom queens arent going anywhere without the right bid. This is a 1936 piercearrow. This also is being sold subject to confirmation. This will be the car that tells the tale on the auction. There were some serious players here yesterday looking at it, so well see what happens. At 35, at 5, at 5. At 35. Where are you gonna find one . Its one of five, guys. But today, that right buyer doesnt show up. Okay, folks, that has not met the reserve. If you are interested, come talk to us. Grants 1925 kissel gold bug also fails to hit the minimum bid. You have to have the right people here, and you never know. We dont want to give the cars away. After that distressing start, they learn they wont have to. The auction picks up speed with the 34 phaeton, said to have been built at the chicago worlds fair. At 45,000. At 45, 5, 5. At 40,000, lets go. You have to step up your game there. At 51, 1, 1, at 1. At 51,000. Its just money. Cant take it with you. Sold at 53,000. [ applause ] soon after, someone steers away with that Detroit Electric i drove for 48 grand. [ calling ] and the auction just keeps rolling. Grants 34 plymouth goes for 45k. His 37 lasalle brings in another 48. A 36 graham fetches 28k, while this 1913 studebaker sells for 25,000. So far its looking looking okay now up for bid grants 1920 peerless roadster. 60, 60, 60, at 60. At 60,000. Now 5. At 65, 5, 5. At 65. Now 90. At 90, 90, 90. At 90, at 90,000. Now 5. At 95, 5, 5. At 95,000. 1, 1, at 1. At 101. 101,5. Sold at 101,000. That was surprising because it takes a very special buyer to buy that car. By the end of the day, the family hauls in over 700,000 bucks. And with those two bigvalue cars still left to sell privately in the future, the family believes theyll break the milliondollar mark. Its a bittersweet thing. I mean, as i started seeing cars going out of here, its kind of reality. But it feels good to see people that love them, and theyll take care of them. And isnt that what adopting an orphan is all about . Jerrys sure hes done right by his dad, getting his babies into good hands. His time slot is over. Its time for another custodian to take ownership and enjoy the car, because sitting inside in a dark Building Made no sense. They should be out and enjoyed. So were happy to see that, and he would have too. Before the auction, jerry quam purchased a few cars from his fathers collection. He didnt pick the ones that were the most valuable or rare. In fact, the cars didnt even mesh with his personal car collection. The vehicles simply reminded jerry most of his father. So even after his children have to bid farewell to their dads precious cars, a part of grants legacy will live on and stay in the family. Im jamie colby for strange inheritance. Thanks so much for watching. And remember. Its just money. Cant take it with you. A sanctuary for exotic animals. Hows his health now . Hes doing good. [ lion roaring ] call of the wild. Yeah. Rescued by quite an a odd duck himself. We use 26,000 lbs. Of chicken or beef every six weeks. What was his reputation . A wild man. Was he a guy that played by the rules . Um. No. When he dies, the authorities want to shut his heir down. He left you with a mess. He did. That was when anger just hit. Will it cost his widow her strange inheritance . I didnt go through everything, all those years, to just give up. [ lightning strikes ]