The stars of History Channel’s American Pickers never thought they would come across Aerosmith’s historic, rock-n-roll 1970s tour van while filming their hit show. Before Aerosmith became enormously popular, the band was traveling New England and trying to bring more recognition to their name. They all rode in a 1964 International Harvester Metro van that had a cartoon man and “Aerosmith” painted across the side in bright colors. Now decades later, the American Pickers crew found the tour van in a small Massachusetts town.
While filming the show, Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz were amazed to find the infamous tour van while filming an episode in Chesterfield, Massachusetts, about 100 miles west of Boston. The owner of the property where the 1964 van was located said the International Harvester Metro has been on the land since he bought it from someone with an Aerosmith connection. The tale of the van has yet to be confirmed and it is unclear as to when and why Aerosmith abandoned the van. Wolfe thought, “This guy is deep in the woods, he’s off the grid, and I keep thinking to myself, ‘what the heck would this van be doing here?”
In the episode, that aired on July 30th, the two hosts, Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, came to Chesterfield to inquire about the van. The discovered the van with all flat tires, a missing door, and rusted paint.
American Pickers was able to successfully reach out to a founding member of Aerosmith, Ray Tabano, who had confirmed it was the exact van the band used in the 1970s before they became widely known.
“It certainly looks like it. Oh my goodness gracious,” Tabano said. “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.” “I just flashed back to when we started the band,” “This is it, baby,” Tabano exclaimed as he took a look inside of the van. He recognized the carpet on the ceiling that had been falling off just like it was back in the day. He also shared an old photo of himself in the van and then recreated the image on American Pickers.
The show paid nearly $25,000 for the 1964 International Harvester Metro van, which is considered a piece of American rock and roll history, according to Mike Wolfe, who purchased the car from the lot’s owner Phil.
“We just got a piece of American rock and 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.”
