My buddy just called me from the swap meet. Be on the lookout for a nail head two four manifold with carbs. Some thieving ******* stole it from under his booth last nite. $500.00 bucks. He just bought it yesterday. I hope the ***** that stole it puts it on his car and it burns to the ground.
Hope it gets found. with that avatar pic your statement fits. I will forward this to the NW hambers so they can keep an eye out.
Doubt if it will show up on a table at the same event....but you can bet it will show up elsewhere in a few months. Many meets I attend theft is rampant. I now have an enclosed trailer that I lock up my inventory at night at all outdoor events, and have to hope no one steals the whole trailer. Bad enough you have to watch the spectators during the day don;t walk off with your merchandise, it's even worse when you are closed with the "fellow vendors" you work along side day to day. They will all pay for it in the end.
I have had parts stolen at every swap meet I've ever been to. I put tarps over my stuff and tie it all down and inevitably, someone during night gets what they want. For that reason, anything I buy or anything of real value doesn't stay overnight at my space. It goes with me. I had a pair of '55 Chevrolet spindles, hubs, backing plates, brake shoes and drums for sale for $75 a few years ago. A guy kept coming by my space all day, lowballing my price. That night, they disappeared, and they were HEAVY. Was it that guy? Maybe, but who knows? Wherever there is money to be made, there are those who lie, cheat and steal. Just reality.
If you're going to throw a tarp over your stuff stop by the dollar store and pick up a couple of these magnet alarms. Self adhesive, stick one side on the parts and the other on the tarp underneath. They are pretty loud, might scare 'em off or alert someone nearby.
I used to think there was a code of honor a****st true Car Guys. I suppose there is, but there are many who are a****st us who have no honor. I trust very few any more, at least at first glance or meet, and although many may be trustworthy, handshake trust is earned, and my stuff is under lock and key, or a big pile of junk in the back no one wants to rummage through.
I remember going to drag races and swap meets where you could leave your windows down, tools on the ground and open cooler's with beer, NOBODY touched anything. At one time, there was a code of honor.
That's really sad, but I get what you're saying. I still believe that it is very few, percentage wise. I think most car guys still have a code of honor and abide by it...but maybe I'm fooling myself.
I'll have to watch me stuff a little better. I haven't had a problem at Portland in the last 7 years. I suppose it depends on where you are and whose around you.
Geezer, this really ****s. I often wondered how guys keep track of all their stuff when their flea market tables are packed with people. I guess the answer is to have undercover "buyers" and take out their knees when they try to steal.
Sorry for your loss- like someone else said, there's a bunch of bottom feeders loose out there.Most car guys and vendors are cool, but with the popularity of the "hobby" for lack of a better word, the attention given to it, and E-bay and cl***ified sites broadcasting the value of parts, as usual MONEY changes everything (for the worse).Don't know how it will pan out, but good luck. Mike from M***.
last yr at moultrie a guy was looking at my 57 side trim . he came back several times. i needed to go to the bathroom and told the lady next to me to watch my stuff. when i got back she told me the guy came back to get the trim that he had already paid for . the 57 side trim was gone.
The Jalopy Journal
