Went to the Early Bird swap meet on Saturday. This was probably my 20th year (missed a few in between)… and it seems to get smaller every year. I needed a few specific things, so I walked through quickly with laser focus… pretty much left empty handed. (Grabbed a few vintage decals and a door knob for a shift knob). $10 to get in… nothing really made me want to spend $$ Although, there was a really low quality fibergl*** deuce body that I came REALLY close to grabbing. (I have most everything for a roadster build). Envisioned an early 60s heavily channeled, no door deuce (think belt buckle height). Oh, well… it’s always fun to wander around a swap meet. Anyone else feel like the more of the older generation that leaves this World… the less “Good Junk” we have available? Makes me wonder where I am going to get gennie parts in another 20 years? Here are some pics of the swap:
Thanks for the pics. Always fun to see a familiar event through someone else's eyes. My perspective is a little different: I was quite pleased that the event even happened at all. Last year, the local Model T club that ran the thing announced they were bowing out; they put up big banners wishing everyone farewell. I was sorry to see the meet go after so many years. Then out of the blue an outfit stepped up to take over--a pub of all things. They rebranded it as a "Swap Meet and Bargain Fair," so I didn't know exactly what I'd find when I rolled in early on Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised. There were more or less the same number of parts vendors as in recent years; lots of familiar faces in their regular spaces. Yes, there were a few odd non-auto displays, which I guess represented the "Bargain Fair" aspect, but they weren't overly intrusive. The crowd was decent, no doubt thanks to lack of rain. I picked up a number of cool things for myself, and some things I'll vend later for gas money. All-in-all a fun day. Much better than sitting at home and lamenting the demise of yet another swap meet.
There was a pretty good size crowd there. I only bought several books, but currently don’t need much for my current project except for getting it finished up. There were a few open spaces especially in the far north building. Seen some good deals on some stuff. I’d still rank it as a pretty good event.
Agreed! Always a good event, but definitely smaller. I have set up there in the past. Some things are easier to get than ever (Epay, Amazon, etc). But, the hard to find stuff gets harder. (I keep hearing stories of entire inventories of car parts dealers going into construction dumpsters, and old wrecking yards going into the s**** metal shredders). Will continue to hit the 4x4, almost Spring, Monroe and Portland meets when I can. Like so many others, I have been downsizing lately... rather than hoarding.
Was my go to swap when I lived in WA. Great swap. That and Monroe, Corvette and High Performance were all great swaps. Seemed the best swaps was when it was raining.
Having spent most of my life in Michigan and going to swaps meets there, Puyallup and Monroe Wa swap meets are by far much bigger than anything back there. Definitely more older stuff here.
I thought it was a great swap Thankfully it’s still goin on Friend from Canada bought the gl*** 32 roadster body He’s building a bonneville car out of it Should be perfect for that
Glad to hear that the "Canadian Buyer" he was leveraging, actually got the body! I am glad I p***ed on it. I have a full plate at the moment!
I went for the first time on Sunday. Most vendors were gone but I expected that. That said I picked up a NOS tune up kit from K-Mart for my car, a used and NOS voltage regulators for the same car. I could have bought more but I restrained myself. Waiting for Monroe and Portland next.
Well this one is coming up next weekend, it's usually pretty good... https://www.thefair.com/activities/almost-spring-swap-meet/
The Jalopy Journal
