On Tuesday, July 14, 2015, film production began in the morning hours at Kustom Metal in downtown Fulton, IL, to tape segments for the History Channel’s “American Pickers.” Owner Ben Eshelman has been working on the newest project brought to him by program stars Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz. He has been restoring a 1933 Ford Coupe to its original shape. This car was discovered by the Pickers in California. This patinaed car was found unprotected, left in the open to the elements to age naturally.
During this half-day shoot, additional filming took place for the Ford Motor Company. The Antique Archeology van is a Ford Transit van, that requires a decent amount of torque to haul all of their treasures as well as providing pull power. Representatives from Ford Motor Company and the History Channel were on hand to oversee the production of certain aspects.
Krumpets owner, Renee Holmes, and manager, Jessica Holmes, provided lattes and cookies for the crew, talent, and representatives. The City of Fulton and neighboring businesses cooperated with Kustom Metal to allow for this to take place easily for those working behind the scenes.
- Fulton Police ran patrol to monitor safety.
- Public Works supplied barricades for potential use.
- Mitchell Repair supplied trailer use.
- Midwest Collision assisted with towing services.
- Wendel’s Repair, Witt’s Ends, and Johnnie’s Tap were patient with parking and traffic flow during the morning and early afternoon.
On hand for filming were Mike Wolfe, Frank Fritz, Dave Ohrt, and Ben Eshelman.
Please check your local programming to catch new episodes of “American Pickers.” Stay tuned to see who and what made the cut for this episode.
