Hot Rods Good Guys Dallas and other swap meets

I really need some decent swap meets to get my 30 A build going.

Any feedback on the swap meet coming up at Good Guys Dallas? (The Good guys swap in Washington was horrible every year). I don want to drive four hours each way to look at 5 busted up 1980s Camaro bumpers and junk pulled outta dumpsters.

Are there any other swap meets in TX I should be hitting?

 

Pâté in April Decauter I don't remember the date. Ford barn. Model A web site. Then four a year at the horse race track in Grand Pr. Then Chickasaw Ok twice a year.

 

http://www.earhartproductions.com/
http://www.hotrodwires.com/upcoming-events.html

 

The Fall Decatur meet is September 16 & 17. The spring meet is normally the 4th weekend in February.

 

Good , lots coming up, but if I had to only choose the 2 best in September / October, which ones?

 

I'd pick Decatur. The fall meet is not as large as the spring meet but it's getting there.

 

The swap meet at Goodguys Fort Worth is not worth the drive.

 

Go to Decatur on Friday or Saturday. Sunday has been bad lately.

 

I'm doing Decatur on Friday.... if I can't find what I need day one, day two and three won't be any better. Thanks all!
I'll be driving up from Austin Thursday if anyone wants to do a quick trip (coming back Friday night.

 

Both Decaturs are good. Just google Decatur swap meet for info.....Pate in April is a not-to-miss. The Chickasha swap meet in OK is good in the fall, at least it was the last time I was there, but not as good as Decatur has been, and a lot closer for you. TheChickasha spring meet isn't worth the trip- from OK City IMHO. I agree on the swap at the Goodguys...it's nice that it's there as long as your going to the show, but very small for a swap.

 

Totally agree and the few folks that are there are looking for big bucks for everything. The Pate Meet is just crazy, a must attend.

 

Decatur and Pate it is..... can't wait!

 

just booked my hotel for The Southwest Swapmeet in Decatur. Here's hoping Friday is a good day! Going out Thursday, coming back Friday late (or maybe Saturday if Friday isnt enough time.

 

Well, not many vendors showed up yesterday compared to years past. I assume it was because of the rainy forecast. It turned out to be a really nice day. Hopefully people will show up today.

 

I just got back...My guess is about 1/2 the sellers (and buyers) or less than previous years. Real bummer. I was looking for a road trip, just something to get me out for a while, so wasn't a real big deal for me, but I have a feeling the OP is gonna be pissed.

 

I agree. This year was a HUGE shocker in vendor/buyer attendance.

 

Guys I hate to rant but it would be great if someone was appointed to monitor the gate at these swap meets and if you were bringing house hold garage sale items or Chinese tools send them home or at least impose a 50% car part rule ! well the same people that are selling spaces don't realize after going to a swap meet to buy car parts I don't return to the swap meets that sell kitchen trinkets and Chinese knock off junk or 87 oldsmobile hub caps ! Well its not like the old days at Pate , its a free market bring your garage sale left overs . Then we have the vendors with the few good parts that are priced so high they must just bring them to display them ! Ebay is the killer of good swap meets !

 

Hi. On the Pate swap meet I am an alternate Director for our AACA club which is one of the 16 AACA clubs that owns this swap meet. I work this meet every year and our clubs job is manning most of the Vendor gates so I am very familiar with problems at these gates. As Pate has been selling more than 9,000 vendor spaces each year and with the vendors coming in mostly on Wensday's & Thursdays for set up can you imagine the HUGE roadblock it would cause if those of us working the 4 vendor gates had to look at what they actually had loaded in their trailers. This past spring we were forced to implement some safety policies concerning issues of driving in after a given time each morning and this caused the 4 gates to backup around a half mile down the street next to the Speedway. That was a huge mess and any delay at the Vendor gates will cause this. The only solution for that problem is for the Vendors to arrive EARLY each morning & get in place before the public is allowed in. There is no way to effectively police what is coming in for sale. BUT anyone viewing the stuff for sale in the spaces can report to headquarters if what is being sold is out of line to headquarters or registration. But even those that sell trinkets & junk have to only have a few real items in inline with what the swap meet is really about to get around problems selling non related trinkets & junk. If for no other reason this junk appeal to wives & kids who are dragged along who just are not car people so in that respect is serves some purpose for the junk to be there.

Just realize there is no way to restrict to just authentic U.S. made parts as that would eliminate it down to where there would be nothing but fights between vendors & registration and cause backlogs that would never catch up & kill the meet. I hear what you say on the old days at Pate but there is no way we can go back to that now. That will not happen. It is just grown too big & each of the 16 clubs only has just 1 vote in anything. The 16 votes run Pate. Even the Huge national vendors purchasing BIG lot spaces at pate is growing. Coker tire is coming this year for the first time I recall. The Huge Texas vintage tire dealer that always worked pate went out of business and Coker jumped in and took their spaces.

But you are correct that Ebay is killing the swap meets or at least driving the prices out of sight on stuff. So are the reality (LOL) TV shows on building & flipping cars. I list & sell on Ebay ( not auto related) so I am very aware of what is happening there and how Ebay greatly controls what items sell for elsewhere.

Jimmie

 

Jimmie....thanks for what you do. As a N. Texan, it is much appreciated. With that said, and knowing you can never please everyone, I gotta say it takes alot of balls imho to come on here and tell people who you are. My hat is off to you, sir.
The Pate is Great!

 

There are actually two Decatur Swap Meets, one in February and one in September. They are put on by two different groups. The February meet has been around 30+ years and is typically much larger vendor wise and attendance wise. The September meet has been around 4-5 years and is slowly getting bigger each year. There was a large car show going on in downtown Ft. Worth this weekend that may have taken away some of the crowd.

 

Theres a couple swapmeets in Belton every year , that's close to you.

 

The September meet in Decatur is put on by the Dallas Model A Ford Club and is trying to take the place of the old Ballpark in Arlington September Swap meet.

 

This Friday - Sunday is the GOOD swap meet in Decatur. It's always packed! Weather is supposed to be around 85 degrees Friday.

 

I'll be there bright and early on Friday morning.

 

I'll be there fri an sat spaces j 18 19

 

I'll stop by. I'm always at R12-13, R112-113.


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Ill be there Saturday at daylight.

 

There is one in Giddings this July and the Conroe swap meets are decent and about as close as Dallas from Austin. You can find their schedule at www.hotrodsoftexas.com There is a summer one in Fredricksburg too, but I don't know the dates.

 

hope you guys are knocking out the wallets with money....Feb Decatur was one of the few swap meets I walked with my dad back in the day.....and then later in the day a couple of years ago that monkey guy and film crew stopped right in front of one of my old Stude friends....hell my friend picked up a rock and was going to through it at RR.....glad RR moved on....my buddies are going this year - I have family stuff.....have fun - good weather for a change !

 

The wind was really kicking yesterday. It was pretty chilly. I'm hoping it'll warm up quicker than the weather channel is showing for today. Should be pretty outside for the swap meet.


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