Fall Carlisle is less then a month away. Anyone planning the trip?? I am starting to dig stuff out to take. I am sure the meet will be down but I have to go..It's my fishing trip.. I will be in the same place ask always (ND42) and hope if any of you get there you will look me up. I will have some neat stuff and some stuff I just want rid of but most of all it's all about the finding of stuff.. chopped30
I'll be at Carlisle-stocking up for the long winter and I might even get two days at Hershey. Hershey has always been such a problem if you can't go every day . If you want to see the cars, you need to go Saturday-but all the vendors pack up and are gone by noon on Saturday-so if you want vendors you need to go earlier in the week. Hershey's the only multi day show that doesn't run on Sunday. Maybe all those really old dudes that restore antique cars are retired and just don't care. or know, what day of the week it is.
I'll be there Wed-Sat. I'm hoping to score a set of 49-52 Chevy doors. My parents live in Mechanicsburg so I don't have to worry about a place to stay.
It's been that way for the 39 years I've been going, may be some town ordiance. As a vendor I start packing up on Friday. Last Carlisle trip that was worthwhile was about 1974.
If all goes as planned I'll be there Wednesday, maybe Thursday. Then Saturday I'll be at the Jalopy Showdown Drags!!! http://jalopyshowdown.com/ (shameless plug)
i always find things in carlisle but hershey you have to get there early in the week and walk past space after space of camper,s who just bring junk so they can use the space but i go all ways hopeing to find that part
I think Hershey has some sort of Blue Law that prohibits the show on Sunday, but I couldn't find the ordinance. ITOH, it might be all those old antique car driving dudes (old cars and old dudes) may need an entire day just to get back home and ready for their geriatric exams on Monday?
I plan to go. First time in two years. My family has had spaces since year 2. We arrive Wednesday and leave Saturday. I've been goint to Carlise since the 7th grade (Fall 1986) and I can tell you the real buyers are done buying by Friday night. Saturday is a day of what we refer to as finger printers and cattle. They touch everything and buy nothing or they just move on by and don't look left or right. So few items are sold on Saturday that we'd rather pack up and go back to our families. We usually wait till noonish to see if it's worth staying any longer. It very rarely is. The last few years when you try to barter the price with someone, the standard response has been "I can sell it for more than that on Ebay!"
I bought my Model A on Sunday-a better deal because the guy didn't want to take it back home. And while it's true that Friday is a good day, some of us work and can't do anything until saturday. Plus Saturday is fine for things like picking up parts I ordered from Mac's (no shipping), sticking up on fittings and a things for winter, eating hot sausages, getting some exercise, avoiding working on anything important and,occassionally finding the overlooked deal-one person's trash--you know.
I'll be there on Thursday. Small crowds, some good pickins', and easy in and out day. Always looking for garage items and racing memorabilia.
I agree about Saturday being slow. Everyone who is looking for something special has already been there. We pack up and leave around 1 or so depending on the people. Hopefully with an empty or better yet NEW junk we just can't live without.
They're having a cruise in Sunday. Bring your hot rod and park on the grounds for $5, $10 a carload. See www.carlisleevents.com
Just got back from Fall Carlisle. Went for Thursday only. It was really weird. The vendors were there for the most part but not the crowd. There were empty vendor spots but that has been the case the last couple of shows. Thursday is usually a big day and crowded in the afternoon. Yesterday, there were no lines for anything. I was able to walk into any mens room without waiting. I didn't hear any calls for recycled car coral spots, meaning no cars were selling and lots of empty spaces there. I saw some vendors closing up at 3:00 in the afternoon. We usually camp at Carlisle. Last spring's fiasco with the surprise of no camping in the big field next to the armory due to new construction. This year we reconsidered and decided to do a day trip. When we checked out who was camping and the field was half empty. I heard a lot of foreign languages. Again, that isn't unusual, except that there weren't many other people. Talked with a guy from Sweden that showed me pictures of his sweet 58 Chevy convertible. He said he's been coming over to Carlisle and Hershey for the last 4 years. I'm not sure what this means but thought people might like to hear what was happening at Carlisle.
Thanks for the update! I think Hershey is going to be the same. I'm loading everything I don't want any more, don't plan on buying anything. Anybody going to Hershey with money will be able to pick up stuff cheap IMO.
Got back Saturday night. Great year as always! We got there Wednesday morning about 3am and slept a little. Wednesday and Thursday were mostly dealers looking to add to there stuff so they were not looking to spend much. Friday was GREAT for us. Sold most of our parts. Skipstitch's dad sells a lot of small lights and I sold all my Mopar/Hot Rod lights and lenes to the same guy that always buys from Sweden. Skipstitch could not make it because he had a new baby Wednesday.... Not much of reason to miss a swap meet..... Also stocked up on some supplies for the shop at good prices. I guess the show is what you make it.
Yes, swap meets like Carlisle have peaked and are not as glorious as they once were, but I still both sold several items that I was glad to see go, and bought several more for good prices, including a pile of new rebuild parts for a 59A flathead for cheap.
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