Over the past few months I have attended a few regional (read midwest US) swap meets aimed towards the "antique/vintage" crowd. I must say I have been mostly disappointed. All they seem to be filled with is overpriced Cheby junk and WAY overpriced new aftermarket junk. Has anyone else had this experience? Trying to find any decent Ford parts (truck or car) seemed nearly impossible. Must I go to Ford only shows to find anything Ford related? I went to a swap meet today in Kalamazoo, Michigan and was very disappointed. If I saw one more pitted, rusted chrome emblem I was going to puke. And don't get me started on the people selling stuff that could be "easily rechromed cheap". For me swap meets should have stuff that people want to buy, not stuff that looks like it is one heart beat away from the scrap yard. Paying $5 to get in the doors and vendors having to pay $75 for a table, you would think better stuff would be there. Thanks for reading my rant.... time to take the ole girl out and let the horses run.

 

I hear ya. Although the swap meets we have out here are free to get into (unless you are selling stuff) they are by far mostly full of chevy stuff.
The way I look at is this.... ...it doesn't take too much of an imagination to build a chevy. Heck, parts are readily available for them; used, new, and repop.
Fords take a bit more work to find parts for. It could be worse, just imagine trying to find parts for anything out of the norm; Hudsons, Studebakers, Packards, etc

Bobby

 

It's been like this for years. I remember when I first started going to swap meets many of the vendors were older mechanic types selling parts they amassed after years of working on cars. Now it's mostly like you said, mostly mid-70s Chevy stuff and new parts dealers. I guess that's just the way it's going. I still go just so because I like to got to swap meets. I've found a few treasures in recent years but there just doesn't seem to be a lot left, kind of like old junkyards that are going away.

 

Every year that goes by:

is another year of someone else finding a part that you may want for his/her project.... not to ever become available again.

is another part taken from the ever decreasing pile of parts that are still in good condition, leaving the worse ones behind.

is another year these things get older and age accordingly, be it left outside in the rain and snow, stepped on in the garage after it falls off the shelf, lost in a shuffle of moving, etc...

is another year, that prices continue to go up regardless of supply and demand.

is another year affected by the latest trend or craze, aka rat rods..... rust is in demand.... at all costs...... even if it means taking a good part and letting it rust on purpose to bring it to a buyer's market.

is another year of possibility that aftermarket makers decide not to renew that certain product line.

is another year EPA and such make it more difficult for re-chromers to stay in business.

 

I agree swap meets are becoming increasingly commercial. And as for there being too much Chevy stuff, well, that's a fact of life. I figure it's just one less booth I have to waste time in looking for good stuff. I can go right on by. At the Portland, OR, swap meet, one of the largest on the west coast, there's whole buildings now dedicated to commercial vendors. Most all of the good stuff can be found outside. In the rain.

 

Welcome to the age of eBay and Paypal, and for that matter the classified section here. The good stuff is being offered to a world wide audience instead of just those few who venture out to the swap meets. And because of that exposure, prices for the really hard to find pieces are out the roof. It's not hard for a seller to watch eBay to see what a part sells for, then list his own the following week with a similar reserve placed on it.

The bigger swap meets, though, are still worth the effort. There's the entertainment value, and there's always the possibility that a seller doesn't know the applications for all his stuff. Plus, if you're looking for big stuff, like sheet metal, you'll save being killed by shipping costs. I'm down to just Iola each year, until I decide to include Hershey to get it off my bucket list. Like Wayne said, you seem to develop the ability to ignore the booths that aren't worth stopping at. Even at that, Iola takes me two full days to do the whole field. And there, like the other big swap meets, you remember which sellers to go seek out because they have the same booth location each year. I mark the Iola field map each year to show what I bought and where, then take it back with me the following year. Stu

 

the best place for our trucks has to be the super natl... hands down ..go early and stay late. and bring all the cash you can get your hands on legally.be prepaired to rent a u-haul. i love that place and the event. see you there

 

Once in awhile I'll stop by those "chevy" booths and ask quietly, "Do you have anything for Fords here?"

Reactions are always fun, and usually they don't but if they do it's almost always old Ford stuff that they've been dragging around for years.

Swap meets are treasure hunts. But as mentioned above, the swap meet is going the way of tv stations, newspaper businesses, etc. The internet is slowly replacing them all as more info, goods and services are sold that way.

Why physically haul 100 pieces of stuff with you, pay to advertise it and then haul back 99 of them that don't sell and re-store 'em? Online ads let the stuff sit until someone actually wants it.

 

Same problem in my area. I see more and more of what i call "carnival junk" flee market stuff ,new and old,not related to the auto hobby at all. Those venders seam to get the prime set up areas. Oh and lots of chevy parts. Most swap meets are free to the public if out side. One place,a local drag strip charges $5.00, not to bad as they do some racing if the weather is good and no extra charge to watch it. It's allways early spring and late fall ,so some times no racing takes place.

 

You are exactly correct.

In the almost 15 years I've owned my truck,I do not believe I've ever bought more than two used parts.One was actually a trade from another FTE member.They've mostly been NOS from eBay sellers, or reproduction from parts vendors.A good portion have been NOS from Mom-n-Pop Ford dealers.NumberDummy graciously tracks down parts for me, then I pay, usually,ridiculously low prices for new 50 year old parts.I've given away,but never sold,many parts.

Granted,my truck is hardly as collectible as those from you fellas era,.I have no desire to spend my precious days off driving long distances looking for (probably) non-existent and crappy parts.I prefer the comfort of a laptop while sitting in my LazyBoy.Then,just wait for the mail/UPS truck.

 

For me, they're a source of exercise, walking around, and I like listening to the stories of guys older than me(which are becoming fewer and fewer). If I find a part I need, it's a bonus.

 

Pomona Swap Meet & Classic Car Show

This one is not to bad, bring your walking shoes.

 

True, and I usually run into some other gearheads and/or friends that I haven't seen in awhile. And just think, if you didn't go to the swap meet and stayed home just think of the chores the ol' lady would have you doing....lol

Bobby

 

I'm telling you said that!

 

Every show I have went to in this area (Memphis) , I have have yet to find a useable ford part. Seems like you come across a lot of people selling car related parts but not extra parts you would see left over from a build.