Things arn't what they used to be

Well, I went to the Raceway Park Swap, and it was worse and better than I expected. It was raining, and my van was acting up the whole trip, stuttering and popping, because of the downpour. The stupid show or swapmeet, whatever you want to call it, was over 2 hours from me, which, of course, is not the show's fault, but you all know that sickly nervousness that arrives when you have a vehicle acting up and you are hours out from home in the rain. Anyway, in the rain, and after paying twenty bucks for me and my wife to get in, we found out that everyone was packing up to leave. Many had gone already. The days of old time Englishtown, however, are long gone. I walked around and picked up a stock aluminum water pump for my small block (GM stamped on it) 15 bucks, and I found one more 15x6, 5 on 5.5 steeli, fomoco, for 20 more; and, lastly, I found a box of 4 quadra-slob carbs for 15 more dollars (I think I'll make one from all four). I think the backyard mechanic and hot rodder, are disappearing. I remember, back in the Eightees, when there were literally hundreds of vendors, and there was so any common parts. I don't know if its steel/s**** price or what ****here was really no one there. There were a few rears and tranzs and other junk, but ost had cleared out. I was alittle annoyed at first, but then figured, whatthe hell, we are here, make teh best of it. Maybe I am just getting old, but we are not a nation of mechanical people anymore. We have become kind of stripped of that ability with all of this finite technology. Kids don't mess with cars as cheaply as we did years ago. There is less wrench and torch work and more purchase and tune through the computer. You go into junkyards now, and they expect an arm and a leg for stuff that was so plentiful just 15 years ago. Getting back into rodding, after a 20 year break, kinda makes me feel bipolar. Since I have started to build this project, I have these ups and downs where I am so eager to do stuff, and then I realize that I need windows and a roof for the house, and that it's justy not feasable to part with another 200 bucks for the rod. So the project sits, that really makes me feel like a total ****ing loser. Yes, I attempt to consider alternatives to make the project cheaper and workable (isn't that great), but that is as cheezy as buying the stuff you need in billiet. I don't know where this is even going, I guess just therapy for me and a very boring and insane sounding clip for anyone unfortunate enough to read this far- sorry.
Pork
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eBay.

 

Damn, that was hard to read.

 

Ask any swap meet sellers and they'll tell ya the crowds are returning this year but most are walking around with empty hands.

Bad sales plus bad weather equals leaving early. Personally, I'll tough out the rain if I'm gonna sell a few hundy. But if it looks like a $40 afternoon, fawk it, time to pack up.

better luck next year

 

your post is kinda rambling and hard to figure out what your saying , here is what i think:

i have to agree that swap meets are not what they used to be , but time has changed things and there are other ways to get the parts you need...ebay, fordbarn , hamb cl***ifieds etc. i think it is actually easier and faster now to find stuff

as for kids messing with cars as cheaply...i bought and restored my first model A for a total of around $900. sounds cheap...but i was working for $1.25 and hour at the time and that was a lot of money to spend for a 17 year old kid

as i said , times have changed

 

No doubt swap meets are changing and prices are so sky high that you wonder where did all the bargains go? It takes all day at a large swap to find the bargains but there still out there if you have the leg power to hold out all day. With the economy what it is today the vendors are spending more in gas to get there plus there space is more so its a double edge sword. One big difference here is in the old days it was a way to pick up a few extra bucks by getting rid of all your old **** in the shop you didn't need. It was a time to haggle and bargain to get the deal you thought was right but now there are many vendors that depend on a big income supplement or some that its there only job. This combined has taken away the old style of swap meets. Possibly one day the Swaps will return to the old days of doing business when it was fun for every one.

 

Since old is all of a sudden cool people think that anything with some dust on it is a diamond in the ruff and feel that they can charge accordingly.

 

Yep, and a loaf of bread ain't .25 anymore
Deal with it
This is 2009 not 1981

 

You mean you got all the way through it.....

 

Not the longest diatribe that I have read. At least it wasn't one long sentence like some that I have seen.

Times are tough and everybody wants or needs to make a buck. Some swap meets are still pretty good places to find much needed parts, but the price is still going to be an issue.

 

Well, It sounded like you picked up some good deals, and you did not have to pay shipping! Does that make you feel better?

 

Things change, accept it, sometimes you just have to evolve...At least your old, ur almost done, I'm 27...FAWK, I guess my life will be pretty ****ty.....

 

Still beats a day at work dont it?
Still beats a kick in the head dont it?
Keith

 

You get out what you put in. Due to few people our swaps are so-so lots of times but I ALWAYS find at least piece of my puzzle. Our fall swap this year was pretty damn good. The only vendors I heard *****ing had little to sell and it was priced High. I came with a full trailor and priced fair ready to deal and made a killing.

Try being gl*** half full type person instead of such a pessimist.

 

To add...if you were born in 1987, when Fuel Injection became standard, do you know what a choke is...or how to set it? Most young'uns don't. I deal with this daily with new rodders. I guess I'm old too.

 

There's another side to that too, being born in 67, I am still trying to get a grip on factory fuel injection. My 454, was a factory injected engine. I put a carb intake on it to avoid any h***le down the road.

 

I do but I was born in 72

 

I find good stuff at any swap I go to, even tractor/pop engine shows. What I find is either stuff I need, but more likely somethings that I KNOW I can turn a quick buck on...then spend that profit on buying from a friend, or ebay or hamb clessifieds.

You just got to know a good buy on many different types of parts. Use the web to get to know what's what, and what it looks like.

How bout an unpitted, nice paint, 32 heavy axle with mint Model A bone for 15 bucks at the first tractor/engine show this spring...the guy insisted the whole thing was Model A. sold the stuff at a rod show.

 

On the one side, times are tough and people are more willing to part with their stuff..on the other, there is a finite amount of good old stuff/speed parts, they don't make it anymore..some of the garage stashes are going to open up as us older guys let go and p*** stuff along..like the dudes garage I was at the other day with shelves of factory SBC 2-4s manifolds, Rochester fuel injection, Cameo parts, Whizzers, my little mind was blown...

 

Most customers don't realize it cost 75-85 bucks for a space, then gas for a round trip, plus accomadations for a couple of days. I price my parts fairly and get run over by some one that wants it for half price. I will have cked on prices ,and what i have in an item before I price it. Some items you just break even, but you can't do that on all.

 

yep trying to live in the past will drive you insane..

 

First, let's not flame somebody cuz they aren't a keyboard whizkid. I'm not a wrench twister but like to try .... and get razzed for it every time too

But then I'm paid VERY well to be mostly a tech writer/editor/wordsmiffer and have seen & tried to decipher much worse writing at my workplace than anything I've seen on the HAMB. Try reading for content, vice format.

Second, there's a good point here. It ain't the same as it used to be - but then, what is? Swaps are still fun to go to, and even better if ya find one little thing you didn't know you needed till you find it. I've done both sides of the "counter" (seller and looker/buyer) at swaps and will probably never get tired of doing them.

Online sales have had a significant impact on swapmeets, of course. I've seen non-mech techs at swaps in "business casual", scarfing up anything they think they can make a buck or 2 on, on ebay or CL, but with no idea of what they they're buying only that it's old, dusty and car related. Any seller that marks stuff to sell should be prepared to have one of those types come in and grab any and all of their stuff if it's cheap. I had a guy grab a whole box of old tachs & gages right out from under my eyes, he paid for it and I bet before I got thru the rest of the meet he had 'em posted on ebay. So who' to blame for not being able to buy "cheap" anymore? Likely it's not the real car folks. Yeah, it sure ain't like it used to was. As said above, welcome to 2009.

 

I usually buy stuff I wasnt looking for at swap meets. If you depend strictly on swap meets for your obsolete parts, you will spend a lifetime gathering them. It isnt 1981 anymore as was said earlier in this post. Gaining new friendships and contacts are the best things about swap meets today. Many swap meets I attend I see those few select persons I may only encounter once a year, at that particular meet. When I see them its nice to catch up with them and reminise. I have met many wonderful people over the last 30 years at swap meets and shows. Priceless, no matter how far I drive or how much gas may be a gallon that particular year.

 

I've seen non-mech techs at swaps in "business casual", scarfing up anything they think they can make a buck or 2 on, on ebay or CL, but with no idea of what they they're buying only that it's old, dusty and car related.

that's funny. if you don't know what it is how do you know how much it's worth or how to list it? there is no way a person off the street could walk into a swap and buy stuff with no knowlege and make a profit.

 

Still deals to be had, some local craigslist goodies I scored over the weekend: Really good prices!
Magnesium American Torque Thrusts 15x8.5's chevy pattern and a very nice Arrow Signal Co. 8" STOP Light:
I find alot of kool stuff on little local websites, craigslist is awesome, can't afford much of anything off of eBay, I make sure I know what stuff is worth, about all I can afford, Is a good deal, hell I eat plenty of Peanut****er & Jelly samwitches just so I can s****e up spare $ for the goodies. Makes me appreciate a good deal when I manage one. Couple of swapmeets I go too, are swamped with late model ****, but once in a while, good stuff pops up, I always make a point to talk to my Elders in the car hobby, they will put you on good leads, if I find stuff and I can't use it or afford it, I make a point to let other people in the hobby know about it. Keep Digging, you'll start finding it.

 

so let me get this straight, you're saying things aren't what they used to be?
hmm. i don't believe it.

 

Not trying to stereotype here. But to clarify, some might know what a tachometer is, that it looks "neat" or "old", maybe not. The guy I saw was not likely a car person. He saw a potentional "deal" and ******ed it up - nothing wrong with that but I'm just sayin'.... he needed a whole BOX of tachometers??? (must've been 8 or 10)...where does that leave the guy who might've been looking for just one old $10 tach he could tinker up to work for his project? Point I was trying to make is that some don't care what the item(s) they're buying fits, but instead will it turn a buck? Call 'em speculators? I don't know, they're out there and I've seen it several times and I think it's part of the reason why real car people can't find as many good bargains anymore.

Also as said by others, the camaradery of going and meeting car folks at swaps is still there and is often what some go for, if nothing else. But the days of finding inexpensive, "good stuff" isn't like it was in the past; sadly is just ain't the same ,no matter what the reason.

 

Where've you been? I've been doing that for like 10 years.

I sell at the swaps, too, but I go around and buy other guy's stuff that's priced cheap to resell - a lot of guys do - sometimes I resell it at the show even, other times it goes home and goes on eBay. I have most of my swap stuff divided out because there is no point to carrying things to show after show that I can't get the going price for and no point to giving away things at a swap so someone else can sell it on eBay and make the money on it. It's a lot easier to just stay home and list on there. Or I can buy a spot, load my truck, go set up and unload, hope it doesn't rain, deal with people all day who want to give me 10 cents on the dollar for stuff, watch people pick things up and not even go $5 on them, pack most of it up at the end of the day and if I'm lucky I sold more than the spot cost me plus my lunch and my gas, and take it all home to put away.

Some stuff there just is no point to even taking to swap meets. I had a '29 Dodge dash panel I carried around for three years marked $125. I would have taken $75 if someone had offered it to me. Last week it went on eBay and I got $86. It's going to Australia, I don't think I was ever going to find that guy at a swap meet.

 

I prefer swaps over Ebay. Because you can actually see if the seller is willing to look you in the eyes and tell you sure its a good one!! I always try to get a read on the seller to see if he really knows what he has. AND most of all what kind a guy he is. {honest or not}

 

Buying them on eBay for $10 or $20 just like everyone else?