Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Cars, parts, and... Spinning wheel?

Dad and I go to a car swap meet, and it's for "classic and older" vehicles, as a rule.  Even if the stuff I grew up with and drove is now 'classic', a-HEM...  !

Anywho, it's a swap meet in name and in reality. I have seen someone come up to another vendor and talk about X vehicle they have, and they noticed that said vendor has parts for it, would they trade for a Y part? 

And it's not just car parts, it's whole cars, in one section.  And frames, and bodies of cars.  I have wanted to build an electric car with a 30's vintage coupe body.  I haven't decided how that's going to happen yet, but I have seen some nice looking ones from time to time.  Oddly, it's easier at the moment to find the body that I am looking for, than the electric motor... Meh.  Not a hurry...

There is a whole section that is reproduction parts, hot rod parts, tools, and... One person that sells dolls, patches, china, and glass wear.  They had some nice milk glass, but I didn't really have a place for it.  Another sells metal signs, from reproduction antique signs, (Red Crown gasoline signs, as well as Studebaker Garage signs were popular), to more modern ones, (Man Cave, for Men doing Manly things, in a Manly way!)  

Another area is where all bets are off.  You can find, well, darn near any garage sale type item, if you look hard enough in this section.  My Uncle and a friend of his had a booth, and were selling kid cars, like the kind you pedal.  All the way from a 20's-30's vintage pedal car, to a Weinermobile! 

A friend of mine was there, looking for specific car parts.  And everyone knows this, as he has a wagon, that he put a Conestoga type cover on, and made a matching apron/tunic, that says WANTED
X CAR PARTS with his phone number at the bottom.  He gets more trading going in that place than sold stuff, on occasion! 

Another of my friends was selling stuff outside, you bring a table and chair and go for it... He had not a great many parts on his table, but we saw him at the end of the day, and I think perhaps, (hope, anyway), that he'd sold most of it.  He is restoring a vehicle, it has been quite a bit for him to get it roadable... 

So, we were in the area with all the miscellaneous 'stuff' and I realized there was a spinning wheel.  Hmm.  I looked, and it was more or less all in one piece.  I think it might have been a usable wheel, but it was pretty iffy looking, and it was one that struck me as being "barn fresh"... Let's just say a lot of items smell of dust, mouse, and, um, less desirable odors.  I didn't bite, having more than one wheel, and I need to repair one, and get the other working, so I really didn't need to take a chance on yet another one, even to repair and sell... Just guess I am getting picky.   They had table lamps, and chairs, and probably enough other items to fill a nice (dated about 1970's) apartment, if you were in a pinch.

Another guy had made skeleton hands from bolts and nuts, and painted them white, and hung them on a Model T steering wheel.  Unfortunately,  if someone started to pick up either the hands, or the wheel, they would dump over onto the table.  It lead to some jokes about, oh my, you broke it, 1000 bucks, please.  Most of them laughed, and put things aright, quickly.  I really think they would be great for door knockers at Halloween! 

I really saw a lot of things, but didn't buy much... 5 magazines is all.  Not even car mags, but the lady was selling crafting 'stuff'. 

But, I did help Dad with a purchase he made.  He bought some tires for his 1930's truck, and I didn't really feel like having a tire roll, all the way back to the car, especially when some of the folks a driving don't seem to register that a parking lot isn't a speedway!!!  So, since I had my walking stick, I set the tires upright, and stuck the stick through, Dad grabbed an end, I grabbed an end, and we carried it between us to the car. 

It was quick, easy, and amused the heck out of the locals!



2 comments:

messymimi said...

That's using your noodle!

Cat said...

Or my walking stick. Either one! Hee hee!
Cat