Portland Swap Meet

[rovohn]

Firstly,I love the new look of the forum,it was worth the agonizing wait.
I attended the Portland Swap meet last weekend.
I was extremely disappointed with the lack of '57 Ford stuff for sale,in fact there was more Packard stuff for sale,go figure.
It seems either Ford guys are hoarders or there are simply no more parts for sale,I don't get it.
On the bright side though,I did score a complete disc brake conversion with spindles for $75 so it wasn't a total loss.
Does anyone else have the same experience at swap meets?
The usual group of friends I hang around with are Tri 5 guys and they never fail to find what they are looking for,it's frustrating
Cheers,John

[57chero]

I went to it; I was also disappointed seemed like there was about 75% chevy stuff. As far as 57 parts I saw a couple of taillight lenses a nose piece and a complete front clip. When I was selling 57 parts there, I would have the same group of Canadians come down and buy just about everything I had and had a lot of fun doing it. I also saw a lot of empty spaces and didn't see a lot of the big-time vendors that are usually set up inside the main buildings. I think Covid and the Canadian border high gas prices and old timers dying off have a lot to do with it. When I was a vendor selling parts there compared to being a spectator, I didn't realize what a pain in the ass it was just to get there, I live about 20 miles from the Expo where the swap meet is and it took 3 hrs. from my house to actually walk through the entrance gate and then if you were to buy anything big you would have to wait for a bus to go back to the parking area get you truck fight the traffic to get back to the Expo to pick it up, I guess I just realized why I quit going.

[59meteor]

I was one of those Canadians that took the 5 hour drive South every year to attend the Portland Swap Meet. Started going in the late 70s/early 80s, and for about about 25 years or so, a group of us went every year, usually staying overnight, as it was virtually impossible to see everything in a single day. There was so many cool cars, and cool parts, at mostly reasonable prices, but about 10-15 years ago, between online sites such as EBay, craigslist, and internet groups, many sellers seemed to find it easier to sell stuff online, and often for higher prices. Plus with the internet, most people with stuff to sell can check part numbers for application, and often value, so the days of finding Ford parts that a GM or MoPar guys was trying to liquidate, just to get rid of it, virtually disappeared. (no more Boss 302 or 428 Cobra Jet carbs, or heads for cheap). Then factor in TV coverage of Barrett Jackson and similar auctions, everybody with a 6 cylinder Mustang parts car, thought it was worth $20,000. In the past 15 years, I think I only went once, just for one day a couple of years ago, and mainly because Auto City Classic offered free delivery to some major swap meets, so I was able to pick up the new windshield for my 59 at the Auto City display .Shipping such a bulky,  fragile item from Minnesota to the Canadian border, would have been pretty expensive, and possible that the glass would arrive cracked. I did walk around the swap meet, again, not much Ford stuff, and what was there was generally overpriced. I would still go to other swap meets in the seattle WA area, 2 or 3 per year, but again, deals were getting few and far between. And like car shows, it seems there were less people selling every year, and I guess the fact that most of us gearheads are getting older, and dying off or unable to attend just adds to the problem. Now that I live on the East Coast, I hope to get to some of the big swap meets like Hershey PA, in the near future. But with the number of guys I see at this type of events, pushing a walker, riding a scooter, or wheeling an oxygen tank, I best hurry.

[CobraJoe]

It seems swap meets everywhere are turning into a place for people to sell their junk. My neighbor went to Stafford Springs last week and he couldn't find anything worthwhile; he could have a bought a few washers and dryers if he needed them though!
Sadly, it appears the internet has ruined swap meets and made everything online worth a million dollars.

[Wirenut]

The swap meets I've attended here in Texas, have very minimal, if any 57 Ford stuff, way more tri5 parts here in the south/ south central area.I do agree a lot of stuff gets brought in that is junk and they are asking outrageous prices for it, never gets sold and brought back every year. I still keep going back and enjoy seeing every bit of it though. I don't know who's worse, the ones that keep hauling crap around or the ones like me that keep paying to walk through and look at it(lol).
There will be a swap meet in New Braunfels April 22-24th if anyone wants me to look for something for them just let me know. Sometimes one gets lucky and find a part and a deal.
I went to a salvage yard in Seguin a couple weeks ago that has nothing but 40ish to early to mid 80's cars looking for a rear sway bar.I had not been there in a couple of years, it was so nice to walk through and reminisce, each car has a story behind it. I dread the day they're all hauled off for a subdivision to go in.