Event Coverage Portland Swap Meet 2025

Last year I got clipped by a guy in a golf cart with a '55 Chev bumper sideways on the back of the cart. He was jabbering away with his buddy and driving too fast through a pretty crowded area. I yelled at him, and at the same time he caught a much older gentleman and took him down at the same time. He finally stopped, and got off his cart, but I'd already helped the older man up. I gave him a good talking to about driving too fast, and having a load hanging well outside the cart. But he simply drove off and didn't change how the bumper was loaded.
I personally wish they'd police people driving too fast in anything! I've had kids on BMX bikes nearly run me over too.

 

We'll be at Expo again in our new "usual spot." Coming up on two decades for us. Old signs, Model A and flathead parts, plus a ton of surplus tools and equipment from my brother's shop that's gotta go. Look for us at the apex of the passthrough between Buildings C and D, or as we call it, Cape Horn. When you see the giant 9'x6' WWII Navy signal flag, you've found us. Unless it's been sold.

 

My buddies and I used to go every year, and since I was the one interested in selling stuff, I got to watch the booth. We were always in the Expo, and those buttheads would leave in the AM, saying "we'll be right back". Well you know how that crap works. Not only did I never get around the setups in my area, I never did get to the track.... The only way I saw the track was from behind the wheel of the Crosley V8-60 racer during the Vintage Races. Probably better, 'cause I tend to buy stuff....
By the way, The Firebird Spring swap meet is coming up on the 12th of this month, and it had been getting really good... Also a race day, so you can watch me make noise with my '53 F ord gasser....

 

I assume Matt won't be in attendance because of the recent incedent?
Hope you do well selling stuff that needs a new home!
Thanks from Dennis

 

I'm on the lookout for a Competition Plus shifter for a muncie - must have bolt on handle and a set of lakester style headers for a SBC- prefer ceramic coated. Anybody have these for sale let me know. I usually stay at PIR but can go uptop if needed. Happy hunting everyone!

 

Went over the mountain in the rain and a little snow. Got to PIR at noon. Rained on and off most of the day and looks great from here on out!
Looking for early hemi heads, intakes, valve covers? Flathead brakes from '35-'48? Got those too. Come see us in space 5046.
Ran into several old friends today and had great visits!

See ya!
Dave

 

Got to PIR this morning early, and they began letting us in at 6:30AM! Problem was most spaces were covered up still, so halfway around the race track before I saw open spaces. I did the whole swap meet, then back to the start to do the first part that wasn't open. But I did find one great piece I didn't know I needed. Looking at a big space of all GM parts and sitting amongst other grilles were both halves of a 1939 Chev grille in perfect condition! But odd thing is it's still in the bare metal, and appeared to have never been chromed! Not a spec of rust, just bare steel. Price was great, so didn't even dicker with the seller. Hope to get it plated without breaking the bank.

 

I just got home. 12 hours of walking, my dogs are barking! Weather was fantastic! My only bitch is they really need to have somewhere to sit and rest. I popped a squat on an empty trailer for 20, that was about the only break in the action. Oh, and I nearly got ran over several times by morons in heir golf carts. They are looking at the booths and not the pedestrians and driving too fast! I yelled at one idiot (not a dude) "THIS ISN'T A RACE TRACK!"...which it actually is, and everyone around (including me) had a laugh at the irony.

I got a few things that I needn't need to compensate for the $15 parking and $16 admission,

a Stanley claw hammer roach clip (I have arthritis ),
2 Boston 8 tracks (first two albums),
a vintage tubing reamer,
a vintage tap holder,
a cool, small, chrome and black Ford emblem,
another fog light topper like the one I just put on my roadster (Unity brand),
a brass Ray-O-Vac flashlight with a really cool, beveled glass lens,
a 60's era gas pump that needs complete restoration,
A slice of pepperoni and sausage pizza,
a sausage on a stick,
one beer,
some stupid expensive coffee (seriously?, one black coffee and one with cream and sweetener $17.00),
and a partridge in a pear tree.

My wife shook me up a martini, I took off my kicks, swallowed some Advil and I plan to fall asleep watching Forged jn Fire. Great day!

 

Oh, and 12,169 steps. PIR is a killer swap meet.

 

$16 admission? They charged me $13 to get in. Still an increase of $5 more to park, and $3 more to get in.
I had numerous instances with those frigging golf carts, and people stopping in the middle of the road to get out and look at both sides. Plus spectators who just turn from a booth to walk across and don't look to see what's coming! I came close to hitting over a dozen people riding my bike with the cart behind. Only thing that saved them was me riding slow and my brakes squealing anytime I grabbed the levers to stop. They worked better than a horn to get people's attention!

 

Maybe it was $13, to walk in, my buddy paid that one. The City of Portland is really gouging it. Every one of the careless drivers I saw were young, healthy people. If I ran the thing, I would limit the motorized vehicles to those that require it. Golf courses in Europe and other places are walking only (as is the PGA) unless you require assistance to be able to play. The same should apply here. The organizers will likely wait till someone gets hurt and them ban them all out of ignorance. And stay off my lawn! All in all, a fun event but my feet and legs are a bit worn out today. I also have to figure out a way to get that heavy ass pump out of my 4x4 truck. Beautiful day today for the expo sale. I may run over tomorrow for a few hours but today I need a rest and to finish a brake job.

 

I was there Thursday riding a 3 wheeler bicycle and it wasn't too bad. There was the usual people walking in front of you without looking but a
bike doesn't really make too much noise. I thought for the most part, the motorized vehicles went pretty slow and looked out for people. The worst part was some kid about 10 years old riding his bike as fast as he could down the middle of the road, dodging people and screaming out loud. There was a fellow in a four wheeler that was actually racing him for a short distance. Requiring handicap place cards on all motorized vehicles would be a good start.

 

I'm with you Billy! If you're not handicapped I'd not allow any electric or gas golf carts. They're too big, and too fast so easy to get someone hurt. I'd restrict it to peddle powered vehicles like bikes and 3 wheeled bikes. Then people can still use the pay to haul people to haul your stuff out. At least those people can be easier controlled to stay at a safe speed if they want to keep their jobs.

 

I walked the track on Thursday and the Expo center on Friday. The vendors at the track were okay, but I didn't see much stuff that interested me. Expo, on the other hand, was quite disapointing; a shadow of its former self. Not to mention $10.00 domestic beer. Don't think I'll go to Expo next year.

 

I walked both Expo and PIR Friday. 12+miles. $15 to park, $13 admission for each event, $18 smash burger w/ fries (worth it - I was on the struggle bus), $18 for a bottle of water and a beer for my bro, $11 for a hot dog, another couple beers for me and bro at $22....and all that I actually bought was a $1 Twin Blue oil pressure gauge... There were a couple things I thought - hmm... I might try to make an offer on those but I don't want to carry them.... I ended up coming back Saturday, and walking both swaps again LOL. This time only 4 miles, but about 1.5miles of that I carried a pair of Trick Flow aluminum camel hump cylinder heads back to the truck. My arms are still sore. I picked up a couple Holley 4bbl carb cores at the Expo, along with an Art Deco under-dash heater, all of which I carried in my backpack. I'm happy I went back the 2nd day and that the things I wanted were still there. All in all a great swap, but I think the Expo needs to figure something out quick or they'll be lost to the sands of time.

 

Never hit the expo, I walked the race track on saturday. I bought a 4/71 blower with a snout and pully, bought a set of 15x6 halibrand wheels with good tires on them. They were aluminum but thats ok. The weather was great, had a good time and made it home in time to work on my flathead T. All in all I would count it a success!

 

Yeah the nice weather killed the buildings at the expo. The big problem up there at this point is the loss of almost all the parts businesses that would setup inside. No Drake, Sacramento Ford, or other smaller street rod shops. Chevs of the 40s scaled back.

it also didn’t help the quite a few vendors packed up after one day. The track also opening on Thursday hurts up above.

overall though my grandfather and I did alright selling, made a little money. Scored a super nice 409 dual quad intake and a secondary carb for it. Made a little space in the shop as well.

 

Chevs of the 40s scaled back. ^^^^^^^^
Didn't the owner die las year?

 

Wow, @ClarkH , looks like ya took over an area where I used to sell.
I walked Expo and it was a good time, yeah, beers were concert priced, but still tasted good!
The Portland swap meet folks need to wrangle back on some of their hard rules on vendors, and drop some prices on the booths as well.

 

Hey @Spooky, good to hear from you. Yeah, you mentioned this was your former spot in last year's thread. This is where we landed after they consolidated the lower-lot vendors last year, and the new location has been good to us. In fact, I just had my best selling year ever, and that spans two decades. The good weather certainly helped; happy people spend more. (Still have that darn signal flag, however.)

I see some folk knocking Expo for not being what it was. Well, there's an old saying: Comparison is the thief of joy. I say, look at it for what it is, which is still a good, decent-sized meet that complements the Racetrack very well. For some of the mobility-challenged, Expo is their best option. And the indoor venue, in particular, accommodates some high-end vendors that might have difficulty in the more rough-around-the-edges PIR.

Obviously there's no certainty with the future of this or any swap meet, but I intend to ride with Expo as long as I can.

Oh, and for you guys lamenting high food and beverage prices: Now that Expo has opened the lower lot to parking, it's only a couple hundred yards to your car. Bring an ice box.

 

I wasn't intending to complain - just capturing what was observed and experienced by feet on the ground. I'll walk both again next year, and I'll pay dumb money for food and beverage, too. That's part of the fun!

 

A buddy selling at the race track says he brought home 20k. Even after you deduct the fabrication and "rounding errors" sounds like he did pretty good. I paid so much to get in and eat I had to buy some stuff. This is the 1959 Wayne pump I bought for a beer under a $100. This is after spending the weekend tearing it apart and polishing it. The base and tins are at the sand blaster removing about 30 layers of enamel, latex, krylon and stickers.

The sides are all SS and polished up like money! I tore out all of the wiring, Ill add LED lighting to it.
Sand blasting and powder coat will cost more than the pump. Thinking Gulf or Texaco livery.

I love the PIR swap meet. Seeing friends, getting some exercise, spending money on crap you don't need...perfect.

 

I didn't see Coker Tire either, but I also never made it into the old northern most building. As to Thursday PIR opening, with both locations capable of burning up a whole day each I like the different opening days.

 

Coker was in their usual spot.
I was at the Expo and did fairly well.
Lots smaller but what swap meet isn't?
I'll keep going as long as it does, a couple of the guys I share a booth with called it quits this year.
Aging out as opposed to disappointed.

 

I'd say for anyone mobility challenged Expo is the wrong choice! My knees and feet can't do all that walking, but at PIR I can ride my bike and pull my 4 wheel cart behind, so it's easy to do the larger PIR venue.

 

That gas pump is sweet!

 

Thanks. I always wanted a tall, vintage one but the prices are silly expensive. I love swap meets. It's like a box of chocolates...

 

This tells me how much I was paying attention last week, I saw a good number of cars headed south on 97 in the middle of the week and it didn't hit me that they were headed to the swap meet.
I need to be selling rather than buying though.

 

I remember one time (long ago) I made a big mistake, I had just brought home a bunch of stuff from the Portland Swap Meet thinking "maybe I can use this some day"....................
Not long after that I walked by my wifes' closet and noticed she had a lot more shoes (many brand new) than I realized, the mistake was asking "do you really need all those shoes"................yep, I was reminded of those parts I brought home (and never used).

 

I finally had a moment to rest and reflect on my annual Portland Swap Meet experience. The weather was amazing. There was an intoxicating buzz in the air and everyone was having a great time. I ended up walking 43.5 miles over 5 days! I bought more than I sold....Oh so much fun!

My first Portland swap meet was in 1984 with Mom pushing me around in a stroller…. I don’t remember it but that’s how much of a tradition this event has been for my family and I. A lot has changed over the years with the meet. Some good and some not. Regardless it is an event I look forward to all year long. So many great friendships have been made through this event. Every year I am asked “how was the swap meet?” And every year I say it was Great! This year is no exception!

So many outside distractions and changes to our world has changed all car swap meets in a variety of ways. Attendance feels down at all of them and you could point at a ton of excuses such as eBay, internet shopping, people passing on, lack of interest or hobby changes, the economy, too many rules……on and on and on…. Yeah, some may be correct but as far as it goes for me I will continue to keep going not just for the good deals and cool parts for my car but for the people I see and the friendships I have made and continue to make! I will continue to go to both EXPO and PIR meets as long as possible!