Early Bird Swap Meet at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup this weekend get your ass down there and buy all my cool shit, I know you want it.
I knew it was coming when the rain started pounding last night! Always been a good meet for me as a buyer. Where's your stall, Paul?
J.V. Polish Metal - Chroming is there from So Cal area. they have some of my parts now to finish. have used them in the past and seem to be reliable with good work & prices. travel up and down the West Coast to most shows/swaps.
Can I get some details on this swap meet. I am in Bremerton/port orchard. Can't go today but maybe tomorrow.
I am skipping Puyallup this year, with the dollar so low, it just doesn't make sense. Will probably make Munroe.
Likewise for me too. I'll be skipping all the spring swap meets this year unfortunately. Wanted to go to Portland but can't justify it with the dollar. Maybe next year the Canadian peso will be better.
Good time, moved a lot of stuff, saw a lot of friends, met some new ones. Trapped at my booth all day so 'didn't get to see much but looked like a good turn out, venders and buyers.
Puyallup and Portland are both far enough that you really need to get a room if you are going to be there when the gates open, so you figure on at least $150, x the 50% exchange rate you get on most credit cards right now, and breakfast, you are at $250 before you even get in the swap meet. I have to find a LOT of good deals to make that worthwhile. At least with Munroe, its close enough that you don't need to lay out the bucks for a room.
Work schedule didn't allow for going yesterday and going over to Puyallup calls for a 170 mile road trip over the pass. I may not make any swap meets this year except the little local one that I can take few hours off in the middle of the day to go to.
Yes. I to was thinking of going but as guys have said, it just doesn't make sense by the time you pay all the extra cash for a room and so forth. Maple Ridge coming up. Wish my wallet was fatter.
We don't usually get a room. Instead we go down in the motorhome. Which at the end of the day costs the same or more in fuel. 7 mpg even at low diesel prices still is pricey. Lol
I'm not sure I'd call maple ridge swap meet a true swap meet. Doesn't take long to walk around there. Lol. Anyone been up to the Vernon or maybe is it kamloops swap meet? Are they big?
George I've beat the NW swap meet trail for close to 40 years. I have some fond memories of Puyallup and Monroe swap meets (others too). Had quite a lucrative trip to Monroe in the early 80's (non vendor), slept in van overnite inside the swap grounds, don't even remember the circumstances, I think my wife and I just snuck in on setup night with vendors. Went for a piss at 2:00 a.m. and chatted with the security guard. Woke up about 6:00, barely light out, did a quick walk-thru looking at any uncovered stuff, found a table with a 65 Chevelle floor shift column and the nicest factory wood two spoke steering wheel I've ever seen, they appeared factory married together. They were marked $50/all, needless to say I camped on the spot until vendor showed up. Offered the guy $40 and he accepted, sold the column at Portland swap meet shortly after for $50 and had the wood wheel for twenty five years and had it on three different cars. Finally sold the wheel a few years ago for $350 on C/list. Went to Puyallup about 1984, looking for shifter for my 67 Nova, friend of mine found a complete oem Muncie 4 speed shifter for 66-67 bench seat Nova, very hard to find even back then, 75 bucks, still have it. Met a vendor who had a pair of NOS GM axles for 66-67 Nova 12 bolt rearend, said he left them at home in Spokane because he didn't think he'd get his price, shipped them to me a week later, $175/pair. Met a guy there (from Portland), got his phone number and a week later, he sells me a truck load of parts. All NOS Chevy engine stuff, all in boxes. Never installed parts. Forged/nitrided small journal 327 crankshaft. Set/327 connecting rods. 8 inch harmonic balancer. "151" L79 camshaft. Factory 66-67 "Winters" aluminum 327/350 hp intake manifold. Ever hear of a 3245 Holley, oem carb for 66 Nova L79/327/350 hp, stamped with the Chevy part number, a "holy grail" part. Went to the Corvallis swap meet looking for one, found one in a bucket of misc Holleys, guy thought it was for a "Vette", 75 bucks. Also found an NOS Delco/Remy 327 distributor, new in GM box. More gold a year later, Albany swap meet, guy had a pair of NOS "291" heads, factory 2.02's, dated 1967, last year of true camelhump heads. Came with new GM valves, "O" stamped rocker arms with pivot balls and lock nuts, also full set of "offroad" Chevy valve springs, retainers and keepers. Thing about swap meets is, for every one you strike gold at, you will probably attend five more and come home empty handed. The key to being successful at finding your needed parts is to go prepared, having done your research (with numbers), oh yea, bring lots of CASH.
Maple Ridge is small, but because of that, sometimes you can score some really good deals there. I was just talking off-forum to Dumprat about Penticton a couple days ago, he says its a good one.
Years ago, I was at Maple Ridge, spot this double pumper in the back of a guys stall, say to him "how much for the double pumper?" he says its not a double pumper, its a 780" "Fine, what do you want for the 780?" he says "I had it on my Vega, didn't work worth a shit, I'll take $75" So he hands it to me, its a fully race prepped circle track 830 dp by Bob Reed, slabbed throttle shafts the whole shiterree, $800+ carb. I swapped out the white pump cams for 330's and small circle track shooters, thing worked GREAT.
The swap meet here in Victoria (Saanich Fairgrounds) at the end of June is always good. I go every year, always lots of stuff to check out. Seems to be a good size to me, but I have never been to any other swap meet.
When I lived in the Tri-Cities the place to go was Portland Swap Meet, just incredible what you could find there.
I have been to one in Penticton but it was decades ago. I have heard Portland is humungous, and LOTS of cool stuff, but I have also heard it tends to have higher prices than some of the others. There are always a lot of bargains at Munroe, I have always done well there.
Puyallup was a good meet, didn't find much in car parts that i needed. If I find parts that is great, otherwise I go for the entertainment value, just like taking your kids to Disney World.
Bought a really nice book on Woodies, since I've decided to put a stop on selling it for now and enjoy it.
Portland IS big...and expensive. But for the northwest, you probably will see stuff there that you won't see anywhere else. Last year I spotted an NOS deuce sedan rear fender for $1250 in mint shape. I offered $1200 and the guy took it. Went back to my motorhome to get the money and when I returned, there was another guy looking at it. I said ok I'm here for it. The guy said he wanted it though too. The seller was a real stand up guy and said sorry, I already offered it to this fellow. Guy said he'd pay full price...seller looked at me and I said ok, $1250. I walked away with it. Most expensive part I've ever purchased and don't regret it....
I sold a bunch of stuff took a truck and trailer full Friday and another truck full Saturday. Only came back with a light truck load today. Good times
Regardless of what swap meets I've found my parts at; EVERY part that I've EVER bought that I thought I'd payed too much for came into perspective pretty shortly, desirable parts rarely go down in price. It's kind of like the people that say how this or that part is hard to find, more often than not they just don't want to pay the going price when they are available.
I have some shit that is hard to find, and I probably paid too much for some of it!! But I always ask myself "how much is this over the odds, and how long am I going to hunt before I find another one..."Then I think 'screw it" and pull the trigger. If the price is fair, I don't even barter. If its WAAY out of line, I don't even bother.
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