What has been your best Swap Meet Purchase?

not at a swap meet , but a yard sale pair of mint E&J type 20 head lights for $20, the ones on my avatar.
another yard sale really nice 34 ford truck grill $100

 

I LOVE SWAP MEETS!!

Over the years:

Halibrand V8 Alum QC = $75 (it's under my rdstr)
Halibrand V8 Mag QC = $175
Two Wico mags for A/B = $40
33 grille shell (nice) = $80
Beverly shear = $80
Restored 40 steering wheel = $35
8BA Mallory dual point = $40
Early hemi "" "" = $40
Two 45 fin Buick drums = $75
40 Ford coupe seat, leather upholstery = $250 (off the HAMB)
Vintage sprint car full race B motor w/external oil pump, side drive, full oil press
AR tranny with multi disc clutch= $400

 

A crankhole cover from a 1930 Hudson and one for a 1931 Hudson. Bought them both for $5.00 each (perfect condition) and sold each one for over $300.00 on ebay.

 

Set of Pontiac 62' SD heads for $20 (they did need $1600 worth of work). Pontiac Tri-Power air cleaner assembly and NOS Cal Custom finned valve covers all for $40 because they wouldn't fit the guy's Caddy. There's been plenty of good buys, can't remember them all. Of course, I've been screwed a few times as well, just taught me to do my homework better.

 

how much did you have to pay this awesome set of wood? Get this at Hershey???

 

back in the late 90,s i.m driveing my 58 ford and a old guy jumps off his front step and ask if i had a y-block i said yes he saids pull over he open his garage and has a 57 4 barrel set up abd a tri power set up i ask what he wanted grive me 200.00 and i.ll trow in the 58 impale wheel great score

 

Went to an antique flea market last month a guy with real high dollar antiques ,art deco furniture,bronze sculptures,Tiffany lamps scarey priced stuff . I found my favorite find in junk box under his table he said 2 dollars I thought for sure he would hit me with scarey price and stick it in a glass show case in front of his booth. What was it Cobra powered by Ford World Champion factory pinback button !! He asked where it was I said junk box under table he said Ford dealer gave it to him when his rich buddy bought a 427 SC Cobra new after graduating high school he said cool junk box find give me 2 dollars ? ? ? I STILL GRIN EVERYTIME I LOOK AT IT IN MY DISPLAY CASE !

 

I bought this Flathead tach drive at Long Beach last January for $125. Then I got that SW tach cable at another swap for $10.

 

I hate you


I haven't been quite as lucky, but I did pick up a pair of 30 Chev doors for $20. They were labeled early Ford and folks just new enough to know they weren't Ford. Anyway, sold them for $200 a few days later. Definitively not the norm for me though...I spend far more then I ever make on parts.

 

a 750 holly double pumper for $20

 

A couple of Long Beach swapmeets ago, I picked up a McCleod Street Twin complete setup all fresh for $125.00. Retails in the $900.00 range. Also, years ago a Pomona I picked up a complete Strange 9" center section for $100.00. I worked for my brother-in-law at the time, and when I came back from the Sema show I was gonna take it apart and clean it up, only I couldn't find it. I asked my brother-in-law if he'd seen it and he say's, Oh ya, I sold it for you, $200.00! I told him thanks so much, "ONLY YOUR ONE ZERO SHORT YOU JACKASS"!

 

Couple years ago at a local swap, guy had a 56 Chevy wagon on a trailer, someone had tried to homemake (poorly) a 4x4 out of. Trailer next to it had all kinds of parts off the wagon. Bought the wagon rear bumper for 100. Took it home, liked the ends on my 210 bumper better, so I swapped them out.
Took the left over stuff (made a complete sedan bumper out of it) and sold it at Goodguys Scottsdale for 175. Found a 56 one piece front bumper at Goodguys, missing a bumper guard. Guy was asking 100, offered 50 because of the missing guard, bought it.
Pomona last October, guy has lots of m isc chrome stuff out, and there was a pair of 56 Chevy front bumper guards, wanted 40, took 20.
So, I got a wagon rear and a one piece front, complete, for 170, and sold the cast off rear for 175.00.

 

On Sundays in Connecticut you cannot buy beer. At a swap meet a guy was sitting in his stall with his parts but had several coolers of 16oz beers. Next to it was a fish bowl filled with marbles. The sign on the bowl said "Marbles, $2.00 each. Free beer with each marble". Yay! I visited his booth 5 times that day.

 

indy good guys meet tunnel ram 660 carbs air cleaners like new 250.00

 

Turkey leg.

 

y block tri power intake...$35

 

Walker '32 ford radiator set up for SBC-$40

 

1973 two port riley 50.00 NOS KINMONTS full set 125.00 came from curtis sale

 

Usually a cheeseburger and a coke

 

About 30 years ago at the Atlantic Iowa Swap meet I picked up a Hurst Competition plus four speed shifter in very good condition for $5. I am still using it. Since it didn't have the rods I had to buy those and had more money in the used arms than I did in the shifter. Last weekend my wife and I picked up a big Columbia vise (made in Cleveland Ohio) for $30 from an old Ford dealership. The wife was happier than I was

 

Yeah right! That is what I dread having to pay so ridiculous price for lol

 

A NOS Elelbrock Q-jet for $15. Two complete 401 Nailheads, condition unknown, one with a dynaflow and one with a SP400. $150 for both.

 

This weekend at Kalamazoo a fixable not bad deck lid for a 36 ford coupe for 100 bucks

 

'48 Ford lower rear shock mounts for a banjo rear end - $5.00/pair

 

At The Roundup in 2010 I found a dash cover for Pete's 35 Ford panel. It's not too common of a piece. It was mislabeled, but thanks to FatKoop's knowledge, I returned one of the many favors that I owed.

 

20 years ago I use to buy Pontiac Tri-Power setups for no more than $85.00 ea.

 

I went to the Springfield OH swap meet last Saturday with a bad sinus cold and not much energy. While checking out some cars for sale, I spotted an old Atlas (Hunter) Tune-In Balancer on trailer full of junk the vendor hadn't bothered to unload. When I asked him what he wanted for it he said "five". I've seen them on ebay for $500,00, but this one wasn't that nice. Before I could reply, he added "I don't know what it is, it came from my Dad's old gas station. If it doesn't sell, I'll leave it. I'm not taking it home". I thought fast (I was half out of it after walking all afternoon) and offered him a $5.00 bill. He said sold, and even helped me load it in my wife's Yaris. The 220V motor says 4HP. One of my better recent purchases.

 

on my way to a swap meet we passed a garage sale and i saw some rims stacked so i stopped behind the stack of late model mustang rims was a set of n o s ansen sprints 15x10 and a small moon gas tank 30 bucks for the rims and 20 for the tank didnt even try to barter just grabbed them up and paid the lady

 

Guy had some Ford 3-bolt carbs out on a table last week, mostly Holley 94s but I noticed one is a Stromberg 81. I ask the lady how much. "He's been asking $40 on these" ... I didn't even argue, brought it home and chucked it on eBay and it's over $120 with some time left on it. Not my best ever, but for this year it's not bad.

Edit: closed for $159 and change. I'll take that to the bank.

 

Bought an AMT '62 Impala SS convertible model kit new for only 8 bucks...