Is it just me, or is there more junk than ever at swap meets? I don't mean Mustang II parts, I mean JUNK, like used tires, rusty old parts bins, and half broken trinkets from grandpas garage? I went up to Jefferson this morning, looking for parts for 3 different vehicles, 72 Cutlass, 65 Impala, and 69 Chevelle. It was almost blinding trying to look through the junk for recognizable parts. You may see a pile of old radios, hidden amongst some pool table lamp or broken beer sign. Every weekend there is a couple of regular swap meets in the area, why the heck do people bring all this crap to a car show/swap meet? I only managed to score one decent piece in 5 hours of scouring in a hoarders paradise. Any one else find this frustrating.
Swap meet junk
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Came home from Jefferson tonight and said the very same thing, all junk.
I wont even bother stopping at the spots that can't even put some recognizable effort into organizing their crap anymore. If they are too lazy to put any effort in, I wont satisfy them by looking, screw it.
Didnt find crap, although the 69 Beaumont in the car corral was interesting to look at, but for $16,000 that guy was stoned.
Jeff
I wont even bother stopping at the spots that can't even put some recognizable effort into organizing their crap anymore. If they are too lazy to put any effort in, I wont satisfy them by looking, screw it.
Didnt find crap, although the 69 Beaumont in the car corral was interesting to look at, but for $16,000 that guy was stoned.
Jeff
I didn't even look at the car corral. By 1:00 I was burned out and tired of brushing elbows with people looking at unrecognizable junk and dirt bike parts. I didn't see that many big time vendors. There used to be companies with tents all over.
I have to agree that there was a bunch of junk that nobody would ever want. There were some bins of parts that look to have been dragged around to swap meets for years with the same stuff in them that I saw before.
I was there early Friday and did score a few good pieces though.
I was there early Friday and did score a few good pieces though.
i usually go to Carlisle on Thursday, but with the weather i went Friday, got there at 7, place was packed, hard to find parking
def was a PITA walking around everybody, same old rusted junk, or they have been watching American Pickers and wanted the moon for stuff
and car prices, i think now people just bring junk and want Barrit Jackson prices, lol
i guess if you need it, rusted up or not, ya gotta buy it, it will still fit better than china junk
def was a PITA walking around everybody, same old rusted junk, or they have been watching American Pickers and wanted the moon for stuff
and car prices, i think now people just bring junk and want Barrit Jackson prices, lol
i guess if you need it, rusted up or not, ya gotta buy it, it will still fit better than china junk
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Is it just me, or is there more junk than ever at swap meets? You may see a pile of old radios, hidden amongst some pool table lamp or broken beer sign. Every weekend there is a couple of regular swap meets in the area, why the heck do people bring all this crap to a car show/swap meet? QUOTE]
It's all of the stuff that they didn't get a bid for on eBay.
LK
one man's trash....
I love it when people like you guys walk around big junk piles in disgust.
I'll dig through those piles all day long because that's where the good stuff is.
You don't want to buy your parts from the guy who has them all shined up with fancy tags on them, all evenly spaced on a table. No, you want to buy your parts from the bottom of a huge pile of junk.
I got my $200 set of 1/2" drive S-K sockets by being patient and digging through a big pile of junk. Took 30 minutes to find them all but I got them for a quarter apiece. Same thing with my Chicago Pneumatic impact (that was I think $5).
I love it when people like you guys walk around big junk piles in disgust.
I'll dig through those piles all day long because that's where the good stuff is.
You don't want to buy your parts from the guy who has them all shined up with fancy tags on them, all evenly spaced on a table. No, you want to buy your parts from the bottom of a huge pile of junk.
I got my $200 set of 1/2" drive S-K sockets by being patient and digging through a big pile of junk. Took 30 minutes to find them all but I got them for a quarter apiece. Same thing with my Chicago Pneumatic impact (that was I think $5).
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Alot of junk here in our area also. But I seem to find the good stuff under the tables still in boxes. I found a NOS 4 speed plate under the table stuff in a box a few years ago and found other treasures that way. Alot of people want to do a quick run through and look whats on the tables and like Andy said are not willing to dig through the piles. But swap meets have become like flea markets with some not even selling car parts anymore.
Yeah, we get alot of junk out here at our car swap meets also but I still like going. One swap meet I found a old Chevrolet hood emblem from a late 40's truck, got it for $10.....cleaned it up, painted it and now sitting proudly on the front of my HHR grille. 
Another swapmeet I saw a cardboard box sitting underneath a table...curiousity got the best of me so I opened it up and there were some odds and end stuff in there.....and also I think there was 4 or 5 Chevy metal center caps for the stock rally wheels. I asked the guy what he wanted for the caps, he said he didn't know what they came off of or where they came from...I think I gave him $10 for all of em.....
Another swapmeet I saw a cardboard box sitting underneath a table...curiousity got the best of me so I opened it up and there were some odds and end stuff in there.....and also I think there was 4 or 5 Chevy metal center caps for the stock rally wheels. I asked the guy what he wanted for the caps, he said he didn't know what they came off of or where they came from...I think I gave him $10 for all of em.....
I agree. I have no problem filling my truck with good parts for my various projects. I stopped spending money half way thru because I got a great lead on a convertible.
I was on my second trip to haul parts to my truck Friday and see guys just getting there. Half a day at Jefferson ain't going to do it.
I can name 10 swap meets in the midwest that used to be awesome...the Hoosier meet is one, used to be the best...the Shriners in KC Mo was incredible...when it was at the dog track....i can go on....they all suck, but i go for the event, to get out of the house and do something beside work in the shop...i enjoy getting out, and i still think im gonna get something good, and i usually score 1 really good thing a meet and thats about it...
truck parts.... s10 parts...5.0 mustang stuff....sick of it..
ebay and craigslist kiiled the swap meets....
truck parts.... s10 parts...5.0 mustang stuff....sick of it..
ebay and craigslist kiiled the swap meets....
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Some sellers that I know have given up and wont sell at swap meets anymore.They have stored all there parts in barns and there they set until the day they die.Its to bad that they have walked away from the swap meets because one guy I know has over 200 4 speed shifters from the 60's and 70's,consoles and bucket seats for almost everything.Another guy that I know died about 2 years ago.His barn had about 12 426 Hemi's with transmissions and it was all sold at scrap price.67 68 69 Camaro's were also scraped.
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Took my son to carlisle friday and said the same thing,Junk!!Guys having boxes of crap not even laid out to see!!!couple guys did have things laid out,prices on the items and what they fit,they spent the time and will reap the rewards. And What the Hell is with the Giant Statues of Horses,Dad took me as a kid,But look past it all,I had a blast spending the day with my son:yes:.It Was very Crowded, is this a good sign our Hobby is still strong??I did not buy any used parts,just some new from Roger agian.Oh this reminds me,i will did a little test that i showed my son about Customer service there. check my thread on that one.
Dad took me as a kid,But look past it all,I had a blast spending the day with my son:yes:.It Was very Crowded, is this a good sign our Hobby is still strong??I did not buy any used parts,just some new from Roger agian.Oh this reminds me,i will did a little test that i showed my son about Customer service there. check my thread on that one.If you'd ever tried a good ingersol impact, you would see that a Chicago Pneumatic is junk.
Boxes of tools is one thing, but boxes full of golfballs, crates of bicycle parts and old snomobile tracks is crap that belongs at the flea market.We hit Moultri Ga. meet twice a year and always go home tired and happy. You can't be in a hurry,just walk past the flea market stuff and find Chevy parts. I don't care how it used to be, it is what it is now. In the last 2 visits I've bought a '72 camaro, bumpers,trim, emblems, 2 optima battery's,2 windshield's, mini starters,flywheel, E-tec heads,gaskets, American mags. And we always have great BAR-B-Q, see friends and meet new ones.
Yeah but for a while there you could get CP stuff for dirty cheap because everyone thought it was Central Pneumatic. My coworker was ribbing me about all the made in China crappy air tools I bought until I showed him the "Made in USA" tagIf you'd ever tried a good ingersol impact, you would see that a Chicago Pneumatic is junk.
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