Who says swap meets are dead??
 

With Brian riding shotgun and skeptical expectations I hauled a load to the Monticello IA swap this morning. With realistic pricing and some negotiation I sold more than 2/3 in four hours. Rolling out Ben Franklins like toothpicks.
Saw tags from IL, WI and MN. - Bill W

We don't have as many up here in the Cities as we used to. Not surprised if people are traveling further for these. Some years ago, I was a regular at many of them at the fairgrounds and Hugo. I did attend 1 last fall to try to make some space in the shop, but didn't hit any this year. Just too damned busy after moving 4 yrs ago.

Only 15 dollars for a swap space? Swappers should have been all over it at that price. Last Iowa swap I went to was 2018 at Greenfield. :burnout:

Went to one early spring about an hour from me that iv never been to place was packed. Walked it then on the way out bumped into and old friend that was just coming in so I decided to walk it with him. Scored a NOS fender for a 69 chevelle for a $100. I ask the guy if it was aftermarket he says im not sure it belongs to a friend of mine. He had it listed for $125. I bought it. Get it home pull it out of the truck I’ll be dam if theres not a GM sticker on the inside

Bill my 69 L78 Nova was sold new at K and P Chevrolet in Monticello IA. Always looking for anything from there. Earl

A lot of my buddy’s are back at the swap meets who haven’t gone in years .

Not around here they're not.
New England Dragway swap is the last sunday of every month.

This was from yesterday at Stafford Springs:

I should've grabbed these for the L71- the price was right, and they were originals.
But I love my Hookers- and there is no way I could ever convince myself to pull them off.
That car just sounds so good- so I knew these would just go on the shelf in my shop and sit for the next 20 years...

I think there is still a percentage of Old School parts sellers who won't, or refuse to, deal with the internet and would rather bring it all to a Swap meet and there are still deals to be had as a result. I love walking the lots, even if I don't buy a single thing

The Jefferson swap meet continues to draw pretty large crowds too. People still looking for original parts rather than the junk reproduction stuff. The demographic doesn't seem to be trending much younger though.......

Jefferson is huge. I went a few times 15 years ago. My in-laws lived in Madison and we would go there for weekend. My most ingrained memory was, if the people in the area needed spring rain they could count on a deluge that weekend. Glad I had a 4 wd pickup, as twice, there were cars stuck all over the parking field from small ponds and mud created after we parked.
As for demographic, it's the same with most car shows and swap meets. Same people from the era of muscle cars and we're all getting old. My local Camaro Club hosts some shows for all year and make cars and then the younger genre show up with their rice burners and twin turbo, LS cars.

I was at the Monticello IA swap meet yesterday from southern MN. My son and my dad were with and we all bought stuff. It's a decent swap meet that isn't overrun with the flea market junk that clutters up so many swap meets.
Chad

You'll get no argument from me,fairground shows will always be on my list.
Morris Il. had their annual car show/swapmeet yesterday & Sat.Weather made many stay away,but I didn't.Some good stuff showed up. :)
Also Peotone Il. annual Oil & Gas swapmeet was yesterday too,as well as the Countryside Il annual vintage Toy show.I made it there & found a nice collection of redline Hot Wheels to buy.
I wish I could've made Peotone too,but these 3 shows were too far apart from each other to attend in the same day.

I used to go to all of Gary Esse's swap meets as a buyer. Jefferson, Elkhorn, and I recall he even had one or two at Janesville. I still have friends from South Bend that make the trip several times a year to both Jefferson and Elkhorn. We would always buy spaces just to keep from having to carry everything we bought out the gate.

Me too,and Waukesha,Wis. was once on the Madison Classics list and a GREAT swapmeet/carshow.I miss that one.I found a complete NOS 1970 CD-3 windshield wiper option there once,still regret letting that go today..Some great resources are around Waukesha.

In Illinois, Santa Fe Speedway and the LaSalle Speedway (and drive in theater :hmmm:) used to be two swap meet that were my 'must go to' list. I LOVE circle car swap meets. You never know what kind of parts those guys are gonna come up with.

That was it, Waukesha, not Janesville. Thanks for jogging my memory.

It's great that there are meets still thriving! Still the best way for parts to change Hands IMO.

Charlotte AutoFair since COVID is down dramatically and I don't see reason to go back.

Locally the Cedar Rapids meet is faltering after moving from Hawkeye Downs Speedway to the fairgrounds.

I first Went to Fall Carlisle in '76 and maintained a space in the race track infield for about 25 years, just for parking. I remember "Vendor: What are you looking for? Me: '67 Chevelle parts. Vendor: Why would you want parts for that??" Memories of pre-dawn flashlights and frost on tarps. Usually came home with a full truck. Those were the days!

I used to set up at Jefferson but haven't been back for 25 years.

Some great scores at Peotone back then too!

In the Corvette world Bloomington at the fairgrounds used to be epic, but is a mere shadow of that now.

I have 2 in Phx & 1 in town next month. I always hope to find something other than a burrito but it's still fun to go & see some of my car buddies....Joe

My brother and I grew up at the show when it was at the Bloomington Fairgrounds back in the day. Great memories.

I didn't hear about Derek hauling his "collection" down there. He must have been busy with Cale's new car.

Is Iola worth going to? Went for a few years in the early 2k.

Then CL exploded and I was finding everything I needed there but that and FB have about played out for me with all the scammers.

I will likely haul a load down next spring to the Lincoln 1 day swapmeet. On good weather years it has more car parts per stall than any other meet Ive been to

Saw Gary at a local show a few weeks ago, handing out flyers for his 2024 schedule. He has added a show/swap Saturday June 15 at the Racine WI County fairgrounds.

www.madisonclassics.com

I bet some of you guys have spotted and bought some great (rare) parts over the years.

I spent a weekend at Iola about 20 years ago. Didn't sell enough to pay for the fuel and almost nothing for '67 Chevelle parts, no NOS. I did score a nice Chevy dealership clock to justify the trip. No reason to go back...

Used to be a really good Swap for years down in Mass at the Great Woods Center.
After the Wu-flu hit, they never had another- the group that organized it went completely off the radar.

I still miss the old Amherst, NH swap.
The New England Dragway Swap took off as the new default when the owner of Amherst sold the property.

For you So. Cal guys:

What is Pomona like these days?

We would arrive in CA Thursday, shop the Pick-A-Parts. Rarely any 1st Gen Camaros to pick, but plenty of '60s Chevelle, Nova, full-size. Arrive at the swap Sunday by 0500a, walk around with a flashlight. Bought armloads of stuff; 66-67 Chevelle 4-speed consoles, 67-69 Camaro doors, trim, air cleaners, you name it. Recall buying a '69 Camaro BB 4-speed shifter with rods and mount for $40.

We had a colleague there that would ship it all to WI for us.

Pics from the early '80s.

Well, I saw this thread start on Sunday after I returned from Pomona... was going to eventually chime in, but I may as well now since the question has been asked directly...

I've been going to Pomona for nearly twenty years now and I too, initially bought a space so I wouldn't have to haul any finds out to the parking lot and so I could lay out enough stuff to recoup the cost of admission.

It's never been "amazing" IMHO, and I often lament that I missed the heydays but I have at least, on every trip, found something that has made it worthwhile in terms of a rare, valuable, or needed part...

It is big, but really, only about 15% of any of the sellers, their spaces, or their stuff would interest us... there's lots of toys and hotwheels, and I don't mean redlines or collectable stuff, I mean the new stuff that you can get at target straight out of those cardboard boxes with the purple stripe that likely fell of a truck on their way into the target back off loading room... There's tons of kitsch too, not cool old stuff but dolls and man cave signs and that kind of stuff. There's lots of yardsale stuff and tools, oh my gosh... every fellow who buys a storage unit of tools brings them out here. And lawn equipment... never mind the little red wagons that are ubiquitous. But to be fair, I've sold some wagons there too; people will buy any wagon to help get that third member out of the lot...

Everyone once in a while there's the family or kids of someone who's left this world and left their collection to be spread to the wind; sometime those spots are good, sometimes not, but always interesting. That's happening more and more now, sadly.

This past weekend, there was a guy who had, junk was the only way to describe it, in his truck and he didn't seem to value it too much as he lowered his tailgate and reversed into his spot then with a sudden brake let everything slide out. I was impressed that he kept it all in his spot actually and went over to investigate when I heard the crash... I wondered if he ever cleaned it up when I left on Sunday.

The kids came with me this weekend and they often have fun, but with full sun and the heat it can get tiresome for them, who knows what adventures of Boss Baby they're missing on that dang tv...

Then there's the guys that are just there to cook and hang out, nothing wrong with that but those spaces don't have any interest to me but then again, every once in a while, the aromas coming off their BBQ's make me pause, some could certainly be paid chefs.

And the place is full of people that quote what the last thing that sort of looks like what you're asking about sold on eBay for last year. The prices that most people are asking for are crazy too... everyone quotes the internets for what their part is worth, and it gets quite tiresome if not annoying... This reminds me of an episode of Pickers from maybe a decade ago when the guys found and old blue kiddie stroller with beads on the front, you remember, anyway, they "valued" it at something crazy and wouldn't you believe it, for the last ten years you can find that same stroller at Pomona for the same $200 at any number of sellers' spaces?!

Finally, the tough guys walking three abreast down the isles just looking for you to look at them sideways is quite off putting, especially at a family event.

But the anticipation of the weeks leading up to each meet is what keeps me going; I'm so excited the week before, thinking this will be the one! It's like holding that PowerBall ticket two days before the draw!

Cheers Friends!
Anthony

Pulling a wagon up and down those hills was no thrill either. Once was enough.

Like Anthony, I've been going to Pomona for a while. I think I first went when I moved to SoCal in '88. I've actually attended less frequently as the years went on and the parts (NOS, nice used, stock, etc.) we would buy started drying up. It got to a point that I would go, pay to park, pay to get in and come home with a roll of tape! Too much of the "as seen on tv" type stuff, repops, arts and crafts. Prices have gone up. You make an offer, they turn you down saying I can get X for this on ebay. I've told 'em, "if that's what you want, put it on ebay". I haven't gone in a while. I've had better luck at the Long Beach swap meet in the later years.

My cousin and kids in Pasadena was a family of serious car nuts, so I tagged along to Pomona a few times 20-30 years ago. Lots of cool stuff but don't remember buying anything. They sold a few cars there and assisted the buyers in getting them to the docks for shipment overseas.

It was worth $10, doubling the price of a loaded door purchased, to pay the kids with motorized wagons to haul it out.

The first time I went I was probably 20? Just out of school and broke but I did have a 68 Chevelle. Anyway there was a guy there with an entire collection of NOS 68 Chevelle panels. I needed them but regardless the price I needed the lottery to afford them. He sold them.
Subsequent trips I started seeing the career junker patterns and stalls, so I got pretty good spotting the new guys who were just trying to clean out the shed.

I went about 10 years ago looking for parts for my 2 Chevelles and Camaro. Yes, walking those hills got tiring and I saw about 3 parts for anything newer than 1940. Mostly early 1900's to 1930's. Like Bill, no urge to go back.
Dustin, where is this Lincoln swap you speak of ? Can't be Lincoln, IA, population 121 ?? Nebraska ?

Lincoln, NE was always a good one but it was hell from Canada when the speed limit was 55.... HA !

Yeah, Lincoln is a solid 7.5 hours for me at 65-70. 10-12 hours on I29 would put anyone to sleep.

As mentioned its Lincoln NE at the Lancaster event center. Its one day and on a Sunday at that. Doors open at 3AM. I get there around 7AM and thats probably too late. This one is very weather dependent also, any hint of rain or cold temps will end out door swappers attendance and some of the 40* stalls as well. Good weather and I havent been able to see it all. Chevelle/ Camaro parts arent bad most years

For as far away as you are, I dont know if I would dedicate the 3 days it would take unless you could combine a visit to Speedway museum or Omaha activities

https://www.enwicc.com/49th-annual-r...swap-meet.html

It's only 2 hours from me.........not worth the trip for cars or parts IMO. If you want signage and memorabilia, it's a good trip. If you need some jewelry, a t-shirt, or a mower deck, it's the place for you!!

3 days ?? Leave at 6 pm the night before, get there early, nap for a while in the truck, walk the swap, load any treasures I buy and beat feet home by 12 pm...:biggthumpup:
Actually, I'm starting to get a little on the grey side for those hours anymore, but, I'd still try it. 5 yrs ago, I drove straight thru from San Antonio home and 4 yrs ago, from Ocala straight home. That same yr, I drove to Buffalo, NY and back in 42 hours for an NOS Camaro fender.