First time Carlisle do's/don'ts

pay what ever to park as close as you can it is worth it

 

Stohlfuz good. If coming from east, breakfast to fuel a good start is everything on the breakfast menu at the Midway Diner...mmmm...two pigs served your way, scrapple, grits, eggs...
There are also some remote food stands that serve real food, and surplus stands with MRE's if you are crazy.

 

"pay what ever to park as close as you can it is worth it "
Yes--that $10 will look cheap when you stagger out at 9 PM with a bent axle under your wagon and a trail of blood and grease leaking from the heap of scrap iron aboard...

Favorite Carlisle conversation: "I've been looking for a '32 roadster windshield frame for ten years...nada. Zip."
"You are standing on one."
Dang. He was right.

 

Shit, I'm tired just from reading this thread. Think I'll stay at work and ebay.

 

Now, just where the hell would we be if Lewis&Clark had adopted that attitude?

 

"Shit, I'm tired just from reading this thread. Think I'll stay at work and ebay" Excellent!

"pay what ever to park as close as you can it is worth it "
Yes--that $10 will look cheap when you stagger out at 9 PM with a bent axle under your wagon and a trail of blood and grease leaking from the heap of scrap iron aboard..." $5 to park at the Armory field

Check here for aerial photos,but,again, don't bother with the venders at the bottom of the second picture. http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/article/Spring_Carlisle_2009/

 

If you are going on one of the busy days like Friday or Saturday, make sure you drop your deuce in the morning before you get there. Trust me, do everything you can to give birth to that thing because if you don't, you will be standing in line praying to the lord to take you right then and there.

Also, if you see a wallet sitting on the peak in one of the porta johns, don’t pick it up no matter how tempting.

 

First come first serve. I've been going to Carlise with my dada ever since I was 7. If see it and want it, buy it and move on. The cool thing is when you load up parts and need to take them back to truck/car whatever, you can always move your vehicle closer and closer through out the day. Till by the end you're almost at the gate. Yea on the sausage! True Carlise spirit.

 

I've been going since the VERY beginning, haven't missed a year yet...maybe missed a spring or fall one once or twice.
I REALLY miss the "Famous Carlisle BBQ chicken". The one that was right in front of the grandstands seating. Half a chicken, a baked potato, applesauce, and a roll for like $6.00. They've been gone for over 10 years!
If you go on Sturday, you can get a Boy Scout with a wagon to cart your stuff to the car.

 

So they don't have parts haulers?????

 

Heart attack hill will tell you how old your are getting, I walked it backwards back in the day, now I take another route, if you are rounder than tall don't try to go down it, you may slip, get up to 40mph and hurt somebody or ruin their car. Don' be surprised at the junk, it is not what it used to be. The little guy with a small table sometimes has the best deals, take a pen and notepad, write down space numbers especially if you paid for something. Hang around until the crowd clears and then wait about an hour or you will sit in traffic, when the crowd clears that's where they are, in traffic. Don't be squeaky with your cash, the dolly and trash can is a great idea. If you go with a friend and have different goals split up you will save time waiting for him/her. The weather changes regular, it could snow, rain, or be hot! Get the program guide, map out your intended vendors, hit them first, if you run out of dead presidents they will cash advance free in the main building. Most vendors are honest, but there are sharks too. It is an experience, it's a great place where we all go for therapy for this insidious disease. You will need quite a few doses of it's medicine, and there is no cure.

 

Definately tip the bathroom attendants. It's only a freakin' quarter!They keep the port-a-potties as clean as possible and, more importantly, they keep the lines moving or else you'll be staring at all the closed doors and won't know if they are occupied or not. This stuff gets real important as you get older. Also bring a fold up poncho that will fit in your pocket, a canvas bag or knapsack that you can put small parts, books etc. in. Definately sun screen; some people still don't realize the importance of it, but believe me, it will come back to haunt you if you don't use it.

 

"if you are rounder than tall don't try to go down it, you may slip, get up to 40mph and hurt somebody or ruin their car."

That is freakin' funny!

 

My brother, nephew and I are going agin this year, it is simply a lot of fun. My older brother lives in WV and the drive is about an hour and a half, and we talk cars, women, dumb shit we remember doing (usually more talk about women), cuss, scratch and guy stuff all the way there and back. It's almost as fun as the "show".

I agree with everything said here, cell phones, get everone's wish list, the hill first, (nothing worse then walking through the "little guy" area and seeing empty spaces and thinking, "DAMN! I bet the grill shell I wanted was sitting right there! ..and I missed it!") water, broad brimmed hat, park as close as you can (carried a chevelle bucket seat on my head on the way to the truck, seemed like miles (and I'm still convinced it made me shorter)).

At noon I grab greasy fries (large), a few squirts of watery ketchup, and a coke and head to the grandstand to rest, get out of the midday sun and watch all the damn fools below.

As far as days, Thursday is good, but not all the vendors are there yet, Friday is the best almost all the vendors are there and the crowds aren't too bad, Saturday is NUTS! and at the end of the day some of the vendors are packing up, Sunday the worst day, vendors are kinda surly and snippy, though some deals can be had on the stuff no-one else wanted...... (be careful with that low ball offer, have a thick skin and make sure an escape route is handy) .

I love it...

 

If you are poor...be there late Saturday and Sunday for "Bottom feeder's Carlisle", the tour of all the stuff abandoned by venders heading home. If the weather is bad, sometimes entire spaces are abandoned! The junk picking is always entertaining, and sometimes I find stuff that I would have paid money for!

 

Some years the Boy Scouts have been there helping out, but don't count on it!

 

take some ibuprofen at lunch your knees and back will thank you later in the day.

 

i'm going this fall to both carlisle and hersey.

 

good sneakers are a must, if you walk the entier swap meet its claimed to be 15 miles.. and + 1 on the ibuprofen you will be sore and like evryone else has said purchace and plan wisly.. my first year @ 17 i bought a fiberglass hood for a chevelle at like 9am carried it most of the day on my back like an asshole... so commonsence goes along way

 

Thanks, Oh, and my space is at the bottom of the hill, I get tired of picking these guys up, now I just roll them down to the sausage stand squirt some vinegar on a napkin, wave it under their nose. They usually respond, get two Ole' smokies, inhale them, fart, pick their butt, and mosy along like nothing happened. It's good stuff, great entertainment, I really like watching the women with high heals, leopard skin outfits, three inches of makeup,walking along like everything is cool, the boyfriend usually is in black with a big gold anchor chain, talks so all of Carlisle can hear, then there is the brovas, cackling about nothing, sticking together like rice crispies in a bowl of milk. I gotta stop ..... but really sit back sometime and watch the people in the crowd it is good stuff. Now I'm all stirred up, can't wait to get there for another dose of fun. Greg R-49

 

i can see why some people hot rod old school busses.... to fit their asses in there..

anyhow thanx for all the tips people have given here, never been to thata big swap meet before, i was at the big three in sandiego last year, quite big, but we have swapmeets around here in sweden that is equal in size to that, not just the exactly same things for sale there though but often quite good old parts.. sometimes atleast, amongs the t-shirts and flower pots, and so darn

 

Haa haa haa,my boss is wondering why I'm laughing out loud and hyperventilating?
Now,if it's a quality-leather wallet perched on a "bowl-winder with only fourteen rest wrinkles....is that acceptable?
Thanks for the laugh! Scat humor is a good way to start the day?

 

Wasn't so funny the time some guy tried to run his truck and trailer diagonally across wet grass and ended up taking out a whole bunch of cars that weren't his. That's somewhere on here if you search and wrecked a very nice mid-thirties Ford and a bunch of others.

 

If you are able to, go with a friend that is a Veteran of the Parts Mahal!! My rookie trip was with a guy that had been going for like 15 years. Everything that everyone here has said holds true. The wagon is a must and make your own with inflatable tires and stands on it for hoods, fenders and other odd-shaped tall stuff. 2 pairs of shoes and socks are best...make damn sure that the shoes are already broken in too! Closed toe beats sandals, no shit! You will do the Wacked-Toe Shuffle for weeks if you wear sandals. Forget the beer until you are back at your hotel, camper or car for the night. Read on... Any food that stinks on the exhaust end when you are in your home garage, will stink with ferocity at Carlisle. Your tired, stressed, anxious and eager....makes your rattle hole a nasty bugger! Imagine rotten campbells soup and lighter fluid. Don't do that to your fellow Rodders. Remember, they may be H.A.M.B.ers. Oh, one last thing, set aside about 4 hours on your last day to just walk around looking for nothing. That's when we find our best deals! Above all, use your head. If you are willing to spend $50.00 for a widget and find a good one for $40.00, buy it. If you see another for $25.00, consider buying that one too. But, use your head and keep moving. Don't waste time thinking on any one thing for tyoo long. Like Bad71Burb said, there are 13 1/2 miles to tread. Keep rolling. Lastly, take a camera and have a blast!!! It's an event after all!

 

Walked down a long row with my buddy one year with a young couple pushing a stroller behind us. Halfway down the kid starts crying and crying. Said to my buddy,"Poor kid must be tired as all hell". He says,"Maybe not, I've been having gas ever since that big breakfast this morning". Kid's probably in his twenties now and can't understand his aversion to car shows.

 

I remember that! that was crazy

 

Only buy your food from the Carlisle High School Marching Band under the grand stand. Profits go to a good bunch of kids and not into someones 401K.

 

Sunday cruise in is a good deal. Bring your old vehicle and park right on the grounds at the stage. $5 for car and driver/ $10 a carload. Did that last fall, got a nice metal plaque and a trophy. Downside last fall was half the vendors were GONE. (There was still shoo-fly pie available.) See www.carlisleevents.com

 

I was there I saw the domino affect of cars getting squooshed! a light green '65 mustang with a passenger side "realignment" of the sheet metal after said trailer impact was the worst!

 

Have fun finding a YARD to park in .
Was $10 to park in yards last year .
Have good walking shoes on .
Must like damn large crowds .
Must like walking up and down the hills .
Must like to wait in line for 1/2 hour to take a piss !
Bring a cooler of beer !
Must like to look at some real shit that somebody else threw away before looking at the good stuff .
Must like Chevy .
Must like getting a Tattoo from a old guy in a tiny trailer !

All in all , check out all the yards first . You will find some real good deals there too !


Make sure you stay for the week !
Have fun trying to find what you need !