What has been your best Swap Meet Purchase?

About 5 years ago we were driving back from the NSRA Nats in Louisville, and stopped for gas at a lonely station in KY. Next to it was a flea market. From a junk filled milk crate I pulled what I knew to be a Stromberg aircraft carb, and paid $5 for it. Research turned up it was for a 1918 Wright Model 'E' aircraft V8 engine (license build Hispano Suiza), like used in the French Spad fighter. Sold it on Ebay for $345. Looked nice on the shelf while I had it.

Steve

 

I bought a miniature electric Johnson Outboard model boat motor for $10...

Sold it on ebay for $325 the the second highest bidder for another one just like it... (no fees!!!)

 

this past july at a local car show - swap meet i picked up a y block fenton tri-power intake with 3 large logo 97's for $110.00 and a pair of lake pipes with caps and brackets for $40.00. kids were getting rid of their deceased dads parts at ridiculous prices. don't have anything to put them on but i just couldn't let someone else get them for that price.

 

Several years ago, I picked up an NOS Edelbrock STR-10 crossram, complete with linkage and the removeable top polished for $100. Not long after that, at a flea market in Tulsa, I picked up a used Smokey SY-1 crossram with cobbled up homemade nitrous spraybars for $65.00. Got foolish a short while later and sold them both to a guy with '55 Chevy up north. Wish I had kept one or the other now. Live and learn.

 

A few years ago I spotted an old 6 carb intake (with mismatched strombergs) as soon as my buddies and I got to the Red Deer spring swap. I didn't ask (or care) what it fit, peeled off the $150 Canadian as quick as possible. Turned out to be a Weiand Desoto Hemi 6 carb intake - sold it within the month for $750 without even cleaning it up!

Steve

 

Dirt Track Swap Meet. Chevrolet Cirello Magneto (Frankenstein) in Cherry Condition $50.00.

Guy said it was UGLY!

 

I had a couple of good ones. At the Chickashaw swap meet in 1991, there was a '54 Chrysler New Yorker that ran quite well, but had no brakes. The guys who had it had towed it down a couple of hundred miles on the most rickety trailer you ever saw. They wanted $1200. I kept talking to them, but they were firm on price. This was the year of the Halloween ice storm across the Midwest. On Friday afternoon, they came looking for me because they didn't want to drag it back in the storm. They asked me what I had in my pocket, so I pulled out my wallet and showed them the $28 I had in it. Sold. Borrowed another $100 from my buddy and had some local tow the car to his shop and remove the engine. We dumped it in the back of my buddies ramp back, strapped it down, and headed for Minnesota. It took us 3 days to get back (usually a 18 hour trip). Good running hemi with a 4-barrel for $128.

Fast forward about 10 years. The engine was subsequently put in my vintage dirt car (my avatar). We ran it stock for a couple of years, and then spun a bearing. Went through it the whole 9 yards (12 1/2 pistons, Engle roller tappet cam, 4 97's on a Weiand manifold, etc.) after running this for a couple of more years, we broke an exhaust rocker (stock). The very next weekend at "Mopars in the Park" swap meet, I was looking through some junk in buckets and came across 7 Donovan forged exhaust rockers. IIRC, I paid $5 apiece for them. I put one of them in and ran for the rest of the year. In the meantime I kept looking for the eighth one. I finally found one for $40 and put all eight in over the winter. A set of Donovan forged rockers for $75. Still a smoking deal.

 

Just picked these up from the Sports Arena swap meet in San Diego....$12 for the pile.....not bad for hardly used vixen files.











and they also have a good selection of wooden mallet parts (had to cut them to fit in the suitcase)

 

Scored pretty nicely yesterday, as a matter of fact. Picked up a complete grille from a 54 Kaiser Manhattan. The right side surround was damaged, but I actually already had a right side with a good surround. Besides, I used the damage to get the price down to 40 bucks from 75. And on the way out, there was a table I'd stopped to look at something at, and he had a set of 51-52 Chevy skirts. I was looking at them with the wife, and the seller came up and volunteered to lower the price from 40 to 20. I'm not sure if I want skirts on my car, but I wasn't going to walk away from a price like that. If I decide I don't want them, I'll pass the deal along to a HAMBer.

 

Toss up amongst three.

Spotted a set of alingnment turntables at Amherst NH and snapped them up, 'nuther guy at the table says "think you might be able to use these with them" and dug out a castor/camber set up that attaches to the wheel and some big crow's feet for just a few bucks more so snapped them up as well. Cleaned up well, investment paid off already, future use will be all gravey.

Had been looking for a Beverly shear for over 40 years, never had the jing when one had been available, spotted a B-3 at Thompson CT and snapped it up. Cleaned up well also, investment more than paid off and keep finding new uses for it.

Walked by an old Erie Toolworks made in USA vice at Amherst a couple of times, good condition, big sucker over 75#. Couldn't take it any longer so latched on to it, effort to get it back to my transportation be D. Sure to work out well when I get my dedicated welding bench set up, if I never get there will be worth more than purchase price to somebody as scrap.

All appeared to be result of shop/estate clean outs, get stuff gone for any amount type deals. Prices? All low enough for me so I couldn't get my money out quick enough without questions before somebody else beat me to it. Figured the sellers were more than happy getting their asking prices so who was I to upset their happiness and possibly lose deals of a lifetime just to save a last buck?

 

Eelco hand fuel pump 4.00. The guy thought it was some kind of pump to pump out a boat.

 

At the Good Guys in Pleasanton in about 1997.
Cross Boss Intake, new in box for $150 - guy was broke, knew what it was and had kept it in a dresser drawer. We pooled our $ and bought it for our friend's birthday present for his 70 Boss. Thing smelled like cedar a bit - he was bummed and happy. Bummed that Mrs. Guy Selling was now using that spot in the dresser for his nut sack but happy; happy it was going on a car he would never own.

 

Just this last weekend I purchased a near perfect 27 Ford Coupe door for $50 at the Chickasha Swap Meet. Have been looking at them $500 pieces of poop for a couple of years. It pays to wait!!

 

A few years back when no one new what they were for. I purchased a complete 56' T-bird air cleaner for $3.00. At the time I was building a 56' big window 1/2 ton peek-up

 

This should go well with the Diamond T dash and gages, steering column drop, emergency brake handle assembly, and floor shifter that I'm using in my Model A build.

 

I saw some 235 chevy parts on a stack of stuff. The stack of stuff turned out to be a complete F-1 brake set in excellent just taken off condition. There was masking tape stuck across the pile with a price of $10. The brakes are on my roadster and I sold the Chevy stuff for $3.

 

40 Merc dash with stock guages to replace the digital ones in my Merc coupe. 25.00 last Sunday...HOO HAA.

 

years ago I was at the Portland swap meet and on Friday morning found a pair of 40 ford bumpers complete with brackets and guards for $80-, I only wanted the rear so I offered him $40- and he said its the pair or nothing. Saturday afternoon I passed his spot and he still had them tried to again buy just the rear and again no deal. Offered $60- for the pair, again no deal.Then on Sunday afternoon probably half hour before closing swung by again and for the third time he refused to sell just one. So I walked away to pick up a Fairlane GT hood bought earlier. Got maybe 50 feet away from the guy and he shouted to me and asked me what I would give for the pair reached into my pocket and I had $24- left to my name, he hem-hawed for a few seconds then said they're yours.

 

Well the meg style headers for my T were bought at the Dallas swap meet in the bank parking garage in the early 70's for 5.00 so that has to be one of the best. They were obsolete then but sure are popular now.
Probably the best single purchase was the mid 70's Z28 cam and lifters (lifters were numbered as to where they went) for 25.00 at the Portland swapmeet 20 something years ago. I put those in a 307 that went in first born's 70 Chev C-10 and he gave a lot of so called hot cars a run for their money stop light to stop light on the Ave in Yakima Wa in the late 80's.

 

1982 Turlock, Ca. swap meet. 1941 Willys coupe complete w/ Cal Auto glass front end, fenders, deck lid and steel doors. Frame w/ complete front suspension and steering box. Everything cherry as hell primed no rust anywhere. Paid $250.00 on the spot and he delivered it to my shop for another $35.00.

 

No0t a swap meet but got a 223 I6 and the 3 speed, all together for a grand total price of FREE. It will be going into my 23t. Yesterday scored 4 1947 dodge steelies with caps and tires ( the tirees are POS but my t will roll. $50.00 Craigslist can be pretty good, found both deals on them.

 

Not an auto swap meet, but I found a pair of steel milk cans that I slightly modified to use as seat stands in my Divco milk truck. $40

 

Two 14x6 American Torq Trusts= $90.00
51' 331 Chrysler, minus crank= free

 

Not a swap meet item but I bought a 66 426 hemi motor in pieces at an auction. Had to win 5 different pallets of various parts to get the hemi motor.Had to bid against a junk dealer for the 426 block.Nobody had a clue what the parts were.Total cost $625.

 

Completely 425 2x4 set-up, with air cleaner and excellent carbs: $650.
Solid, American-made hydraulic shop press: $40
Horizontal band saw in new condition: $50

There's lots more... running a swap meet, I probably come across more deals than most!
(and people wonder why I do it!)

-Brad

 

Edelbrock TRX1 tunnel ram for a sbc 60 bucks best deal yet for me.

 

Bought out of a dude's storage unit I met at a swap meet:

Paid $20 each for two NOS Marvel Mystery Oilers and $20 for the Mopar B block Grant Spalding Flamethrower distributor.





http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=187966

 

One of the funniest was at the Pate meet in Tx back in the 80's. A friend of mine comes by with a factory woodgrain radio block off plate for a 69 Camaro. He tells me it will cost me $21. When I ask why twenty ONE dollars, he says come over here and look. We walk over a couple of aisles, and this guy has a pile of stuff for a buck each. On his table he has a sign that says RARE ZL1 CAMARO FACTORY RADIO DELETE PLATE---$100. He has the sign attached to a radio delete plate out of a GMC van. My buddy found the real deal in his dollar pile. He wanted to make $20, and I gladly obliged.

 

well it would have been the best purchase of my life but it wasnt , it was a ford t bucket body i was 17 and i walked past this vendor with a rusty pile of sheet metal i recognized the body and asked her, she said give me $100, with my hand reaching for my wallet i said "im going to get it " then my brother replied , if you get it im not going to help you carry it ,so i said ok then lets look around and well be back , not 2 minutes down the isle then i said im going to get it and ill carry it , as i had my money in hand and said ill take it she said i just sold it. lets just say i wasnt very happy the rest of the day.

 

$$$$ Dude, You got the boxes too?? >>>>.