I went to the Pate Swapmeet in Texas at the speedway this weekend.Im from Missouri,but with 99 dollar airfare and a place to stay in Plano thanks to my friends cousin (did I say place,I meant palace,what a house)we went.

Wow,it was a huge swapmeet.Im sure it would have been bigger if it hadnt rained half the time.The people there, vendors and buyers were very nice.Interesting barbque pits too,a 55 chevy front end was a barbque pit,even a blower engine was made into a pit,they were cool.

What I want to know is,where are the old Camaro/Chevy parts?That is definitely the place to find a Model A ford and parts,An old steel coupe body of any make,licence plates,fire plugs,stoplights,slot machines,$8 bratwurst but not old original camaro parts.There were new sheet metal vendors, but I can order them from a catalog.

We walked it Friday and Saturday and I saw 1 69 z/28 intake there,that was the neatest camaro part there.

Where are the good parts?Dont get me wrong it was a great swapmeet and the Dallas area was beautiful,but all the parts cant be on ebay,Where were they?

People can now sell parts on ebay from there own den never having to drive a mile or spend $3 or more on a gallon of gasoline, swapmeets are not what they once were.

Same thing happened to me this weekend at the Englishtown show/swap meet in NJ. There were almost no good hard to find parts at all for Camaros. There was one NOS rear valence for a 67/68 and some aftermarket quarters that someone was trying to pass off as NOS. A few blocks and such but that was about it. Like it was stated before, people have Z-Bay now and that is where much of it goes.

I went to Pate this weekend, also. Wasnt looking for 1st gen parts, but didnt really notice anything good. If there is anything good at swap meets, you have to get there early, because they will be bought quickly.

Picked up a group of parts needed for a Judge we're building, and I bought a set of bare, date matched 186 double hump heads. Dont really need them at all, but got them at a pretty good price, so I figured what the heck.


dave

I go to Pate, Spring (or GM) Carlisle, and Super Chevy Indy every year and notice that each year its getting harder and harder to find decent or rare Camaro parts. Even if you get there really early you can't locate the good stuff before the vendors themselves get them. A couple of guys at Carlisle that I know deal in Camaro/Chevelle stuff told me they get (or sell) interesting pieces during the "setup" day before its open to the public.

I live 30 min from TX Motor Speedway and did not bother to go...I have been several times and it is always the same vendors selling the same junk they had the year before. The only thing interesting that I have seen at Pate was a European spec (Belgium built) 68 Camaro, and that was 3 years ago.

swapmeets are not what they once were.

I couldn't agree more

I went, and the most disturbing part about the entire swap meet, was having to hang out with RamAirDave and his buddy. Ok, well his buddy Chris wasn't a bad guy.... The only things I found worth buying out there was a 67 console and some 67 license plates.

I went Friday and found absolutely nothing, it was a total waste of time. The last few years weren't bad at all, but there was absolutely no 1st generation parts, not even on Friday! The cars in the car corral were nothing but overpriced junk, the whole experience was seriously disappointing!

Is this how it will be at Carlisle? I hope not.

I went, and the most disturbing part about the entire swap meet, was having to hang out with RamAirDave and his buddy. Ok, well his buddy Chris wasn't a bad guy....

Are you kidding? We were trying to lose you all day. Couldnt get rid of you, though :D


dave

Are you kidding? We were trying to lose you all day. Couldnt get rid of you, though :D


dave

LOL, did you two go back on Sunday?

Dave,
You going to Petit Jean next month?

LOL, did you two go back on Sunday?

Yeah we went back Sunday to pick up some stuff we forgot to go back and check Saturday. But the guy with the green doors was gone. Have his card, though.

You going to Petit Jean next month?

Yeah, most likely. Ive been going there since I was a kid, and its still the same old junk, in the same spaces, just a little rustier. Still go, in hopes of maybe stumbling across something interesting.


dave