History What was your best swap meet score?

Unmolested 32 ford dash for $20. Guy thought it was a dodge pickup of something corny like that.

 

Last year
I went to a local outdoor car and plane show plus a small swapmeet.
The first thing I found was 2 sets of hubcaps for a 1956 and 57 Continental.
The guy had no clue what he had.
I paid him $40 and didn,t even try and dicker him down.
I sold them for $2200.

 

Good pair of '56-'62 CA plates for $4.00, just before YOM plates were made legal.
A little more unusual was seven NOS 1957 Studebaker speedometers at an electronics surplus store in Pasadena; $5 each and tripled my money selling them to a Midwestern Stude parts dealer who happened to be in town.

 

Two years ago at a swap meet. I bought a NOS license plate light for my Henry J for 20.00 thought that was great.

Jim

 

Kinda makes my $5 two barrel to four barrel carb adapter look cheap.

Wish I could find out about a swap meet BEFORE it happens, seems like I only hear about them after the fact.

 

Almost 30 years ago during a Society of Automotive Historians swap meet at Pasadena City College, picked up a large number of 5-cent "Buffalo Nickels" at face value. They remind me of my Kindergarten days and my 5-cent milk money. It was a real buyers market back then at Pasadena. I really miss those days.

 

$35 yblock tri power intake

 

Hershey, about 1995. Saturday around noon, I was looking at stuff on a table and happened to notice under the table, a gas globe peaking out of a cardboard box. I picked it out of the box and it had one broken glass lens and was filthy dirty. Got it for $40.00 took it home, cleaned it up and put it on ebay for $75.00 and got $1100.00 for it. It was a fairly rare Crew-Levick 17" globe (affiliate of Cities Service).

 

Looked for a Bronco 9 in for my 32 for a year or so . I saw one heading into scrap yard . I jumped out of my pipeline truck while working and ask about buying it . Driver says “ hell with this one , I’m cleaning out a garage for this guy , there is one in the garage that looks as new . Is it worth $75.00 bucks ? “ I meet him the next day , handed him $75.00 and loaded into my pipeline truck . When , I get it Hóme it was a 4.11 Trac Lock . I sold that for 300.00 and yes it was as new unused . I installed 3.00 gears in a rebuilt stump . and the rest is history .

 

Not at a swap meet but I scored at a yard sale, she had the door of the garage open and said go look in there and I saw a GM 4 speed transmission under the work bench.
The lady said everything must go she was moving and I got the transmission,shifter and bell housing for 40 dollars. I bet her ex was pissed.

 

got this cool shift knob for a dollar.



Eelco... got 60 bucks for it.

 

I'm the master of buy high, sell low. Nothing I own has value after I buy it.

Devin

 

I gotta quit reading some of these posts, I'm posting too often!!
Turlock swap meet, guy selling Chopper motorcycle frames ,rollers, etc. Had a couple of Japanese bikes alongside his booth. I waited til he got real busy, offered $200 against the $400 price tag and he immediately accepted. Ended up bringing a first-year Yamaha DT-1 250 home!

Changed out carb and had running an hour after we got home!!

All original including tires, lights, trim pieces cables, paint etc.

 

Not swap related, but best ever. Back a few years I had a lawyer call me about a Corvair one of his clients had and wanted to get rid of. Part of some divorce settlement. He knew I liked them, and since he needed some work done to the frame of his super modified, he figured he'd try a little back washing. Typical lawyer ya-da, ya-da schtick . I go look, it's a 63 Spyder, a bit rough around the edges but not a complete piece of shit. Lady wants it gone, something about turning the garage into a studio, but she ain't gonna give it away. We haggle a bit, and the deals made. I'm happy, she's happy and I find out later she even made the lawyer happy. Now comes the 'best score' part. Yanked the seats to replace the carpet and stuffed under the rear seat, wrapped in plastic are three brand new, unfired, with perfect boxes and all the paper work, 2",4", and 6"barreled, early serial numbered, Colt Pythons. The ex-hubby never came looking, so I kept the 2" and moved the other two..

 

Went to a garage sale at our lake. Bought a bunch of household stuff and started to look a little deeper. Saw some Chevy orange under some stuff in the corner. It was a set of 327 valve covers, a Holley style cast iron intake and a Muncie 4speed trans. He wanted $55.00 for all three. I'm not a Chevy guy and have no use for this stuff but... even I know a Muncie 4speed is worth something! Sold the trans for $400, the intake for $75 and the valve covers for $30. Another time I was at a garage sale and my buddy was restoring a Chevy truck. He needed a tailgate. I saw a tailgate up in the rafters at this sale. I asked the lady if it was for sale, She said sure. I found a ladder and got it down. It was a brand new tailgate- all dusty for being up there for 30 years- one of those fancy Silverado or something ones with all the trim- perfect!! Gave her $20.00 for it and gave it to my buddy.

 

Been doing this for years.
At a all makes swap with 4 other Mopar geeks and while walking the aisles spot a sheetmetal 2x4 intake sitting on a table. Guy had nothing but Ford stuff. My Mopar buddies put their noses in the air and kept going. I looked at the carbs and paid the man the $125 asking price. Caught up with the group and after listening to them whine about no Mopar stuff being at the swap pointed to the intake. Carter carbs with tag numbers S4742 and S4745. Matched set of 1970 426 Hemi manual trans carbs. Got $2500 for them at Chryslers at Carlisle.
Any time I see a tunnel ram,homemade or factory I check the carb numbers. I've bought many rare and expensive factory carbs from GM,Ford,Mopar that street and drag racers used back in the day just by stopping to look at some ratty old intake.

 

A few years ago stopped by a yard sale out in the sticks. I noticed a bunch of cars down at the far end of the property and asked if there was anything for sale down there . He told me it's mostly old rusty junk , I told him that's what I like and he said go ahead just check with him first before I do anything . in the end I got a complete set of 53 Buick Side trim and a set of 55 Pontiac star chief side trim . He only asked for $50 but I gave him $200. because he wouldn't let me pay him More. At an estate sale I found Muncie 4 speed under the bench and the guy running the sale thought it was a 3 speed and told be $50 each .there was another one that I didn't see and yeas I bought both

 

The first stand at a swap meet I went to had a complete dash, face down in the dirt. I recognized the back straight away as a complete LHD 46-48 Chevy, with part of the firewall still attached.. My current project at the time (LHD 47 Chevy) was on hold because I was trying to work out what to do with the wipers, as they are needed for registration, and everything , right down to the switch, was missing, and the RHD local Chevy's were different. I couldn't get the 10 bucks the seller wanted out of my wallet quick enough!.

 

I bought an sbc Hilborn injection unit at a flea market for $50. It hung on the wall for years until they invented the internet. I tried to find info about it but never could find one that looked quite like it. I finally sold it it on line for a huge proffit, the buyer said it was made for Traco engineering.

 

Years ago I found a shaft powered capstan at a garage sale. I’d never seen one but fairly easy to figure out what it was. Thought I’d add to my garden tractor. Did some research, discovered WWII jeeps could be converted to amphibious, like a duck. Sold overnight to a Jeep collector in Australia. Gave $25, sold $750, it cost the buyer $800 to ship and he was excited to get it...


Rusty, Greasy, Noisy

 

Was at a small local swap meet at a jr. college. Had already walked it a couple of time and was walking back to the parking lot to leave when I saw a pair of finned valve covers sitting under a vendors table. They were Hildebrandts, polished but really dirty, had the fins and also had the humps for adjustable rockers. I asked the seller what they fit he said I don't know but I know they aren't for a Chevy. He wanted $40 I offered $25 and he accepted. Left and continued to the parking lot. On the way a guy stops me and asks if I want to sell the valve covers, told him no I just bought them and don't even know what they fit. He said they were for an early Cadillac, 331, 365 & 390.
At a weekly swap meet I picked up an original B3 high altitude flight jacket vintage WWII in really good condition for $25. Another time at the same swap I picked up a vintage Navy G1 goat skin flight jacket with the mouton collar for $40.

 

I think a lot of times people don't know or realize they have in a item that is sought after and can bring a premium, reading through the thread there sure have been some major scores. HRP

 

A few more from 20 years ago when I lived in So Cal.
Long beach swap meet- Auburn dash panel with SW 2 5/8 gauges $50
Pomona swap meet -27 roadster turtledeck with lid $50
36 coupe 4 fenders,grille and hood $500
32 5 window body $850 (now channelled and owned by Lee Pratt)
Scot supercharger case $8

Elsewhere - Solid Romeo Palamides wheels $50
-56 Continental Mk 11 $1500
61 Starliner $100




The stuff isn,t as easy to find as it used to be but it is still out there

 

Don, how about a photo of your 40 with the new wheels installed. HRP

 

Several years ago at the April Englishtown swap meet, in the back field a guy who always has nice looking, but miscellaneous parts had a 1932 Ford Pines Winterfront hanging on the anchor fence. I asked what he wanted for it. He told me he got it when he cleaned out someones garage. He wanted $ 50.00 which I gladly paid. I put it on E-pay, and sold it for $ 3252.32. I told some guys that I know in California about it. they told me it was worth $ 6,000. I told them if that was so, why didn't they buy it, and make a good profit. That shut them up. Step up, or step back.

 

.............I bolted one up on the '40, didn't really like it, so I'm keeping the steelies and small caps.

 

One of my better deals was at the Portland Swap meet one year. A group of us took a bunch of stuff to sell and after I sold a few pieces I'd go out and hunt for something to buy. One thing on my list was a cam and lifters for a sbc. Walked up to some guy's booth and he had a takeout set from a Z28 (probably mid 80') that had each lifter numbered as to which lobe it went on for 25.00 That cam went in my son's truck that ended up running like a bandit.
Snagged a Magnesium frame worm drive skill saw from a guy selling tools at the last Portland swap meet I went to. for 40.00 and I use that one all the time.
Picked up a 49 Plymouth ribbed front bumper from a guy selling off left overs for 50.00 at the local swapmeet a couple of years ago. It was one of the very few things on my list that day.

 

With no swap meets for the next while and all these great stories, I am going into swap meet withdrawal.

Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Walked into Canfield swap meet once and bought a steel Model A trunk lid for $20, in great shape. Another time I bought a pair of CalC Panther scoops for $20.

Been a while since I've found a deal.

 

I hear you Don, I bought a set and put them on my sedan, they just didn't look right, I drove it around for about a month and sold them to a friend and broke even on them. HRP