MTFCA Forum

I am trying to find a swap meet nearby northeast TN. Any suggestions?

For T parts best bet will be Luray in OCT.

Is the majority of parts in luray t parts?

Pre war swap meet mostly T &A

That is around 4 to 5 hours away from me. Do you know of any others?

Do you watch the news ?

COVID-19 has cancelled car shows and swap meets
across the lower (48) states since the Spring.

You are to be able to have the opportunity
to attend Luray.


FJ

Don’t chew him up. He is new to the hobby, he’s keen and he’s hopeful. Probably has no idea that nothing has happened all summer.
Jonah, a four hour drive to a swap meet will soon seem normal to you. You fall out of bed at 4am to get there as the flea market opens. But you are done by lunch, in time to get home to admire the pile of rusty, oily metal it seemed necessary to buy.
Good luck!

You will not find many T parts at regular swap meets. Only at big ones like Hershey or at Pre War meets. There are very few pre war meets and most are only 1/2 day to 1 day meets.
Luray is one of few that is more than one day.

Where is the Hershey swap meet and when is it?

I bought a 26 touring a couple months ago and have just started looking for a swap meet.

Hershey not happening this year. First time since it started in the 50’s.
Luray is replacing it this year.
Google it. Hershey biggest car show/swap meet in world.
Look for stuff for sale on our classified page.

Ok, thanks!

Would you suggest that I go to luray?

The Hershey swap meet, or flea market as they call it in the East, is always the second week in October (but cancelled this year) in Hershey, Pennsylvania. As Dan says, it's the world's biggest event of its kind. It runs Wednesday through Friday with a car how on Saturday. It's so big I need all three days to cover the whole thing, and if I don't get in shape with weeks of walking before I go I'm pretty sore afterward. If the covid thing is under control next year and the meet resumes, maybe you can get some time off from school to attend. For me it's worth driving halfway across the country.

This is about ¼ of the whole layout.

Would you suggest that I go to luray?

If we weren't in the midst of you-know-what I would encourage you to go. I would probably go myself, but being in the target demographic I'm not traveling anywhere until there's a safe and effective vaccine. I wonder what advice a doc would give.

So, is Luray taking over Hershey this year?

Hi Jonah,
The Mid Atlantic Pre War Swap Meet here in Luray is normally held in the middle of May each year. Do to the fact that Hershey has been cancelled this year we believe we can safely hold a meet during the same week. This is a one time fall event. We will resume the spring meet next May and hopefully Hershey will resume also next Oct. We are all outdoor meet and will be safely spread out. We currently have 54 vendors lined up to attend the meet and I would say that 75 % of them will have T parts at their spot. I would suggest if you need anything T related you would be hard pressed to find a better representation of parts than Luray!
www.mapwsm.com

Can you bring parts to swap if you're not a vendor?

As stated earlier, Hershey isn't happening this year, BUT for a future outing it's one of those "must see" things all car nuts need to see. There are 9,000 vendors selling car stuff, 1,000 cars in the car coral for sale and 1,200 cars at the car show on Saturday. It's one of the places you get to see all of those million dollar cars! Ya never know who is going to show up there, we saw George Foreman (the fighter that sold the George Foreman grill) there one year, the guys from "Pickers", Jay Leno stopped by our spot two years ago..... you probably don't know who they are, all the old guys on here know them! I went to just check it out in 1984 and have been back every year since, and there are lots of guys on here that have been going for a lot more years than that. As they say, if you can't find your parts at Hershey, you're not going to find them. The down side is it's 7 hours away from you (8 hours for me), but well worth the trip.

Hershey : Takes me two days to get there. Only missed a handful since 1980. Camped at the Duckpond, sold in Bluefield, Whitefield, Orangefield, now Chocolatefield, meet people from all over world. Priceless!!!

The down side is it's 7 hours away from you (8 hours for me)...

It's two days for me, and I consider it worth the trip.

Jay Leno went to the Hershey swap meet!!?

At the Hershey car show, 10-13-2018

Wow! So cool!

Years ago, way before the break up of USSR I meet a guy from Moscow that was restoring a 31 Model A. He flew to NY, hired an interpreter and was buying A parts with Rubles at Hershey. Met people from Germany, Sweden, England. You would not believe where people come from.
Hope this cancelled Hershey will help Luray. It should be a great show.
Nice place, nice people. Lots of parts come out that are not picked over like Chickasha.

That's amazing!

No, it is Hershey!

You need to look up a guy named Brent Terry close to Kingsport. He does mostly A’s, but do not hold that against him. He can probably hook you up with so T guys close to you. Tell Him I told you to contact him and he will run you off! Dan

I have heard of Brent before, but have not met him yet. Have you heard of Dick Conger?

Are you connected at all with other T oldsters ? In my experience, this is far
more valuable than doing swap meets. From the advice and guidance, to the
network of people with parts piles, I just have little use for swap meets.

As in Father of Scott? Know Scott, but have not had honor of meeting the Father.
I only use Scott’s float valves when I rebuild a NH. Dan

Dick Conger lives close to me and I have met him. The 26 touring I have was his 40 years ago. The man that bought the car from said he bought it from the man that owns an Old Town Hall so that's how I found him.

Red Boiling Springs has a good flea coming up, It is a
AACA meet. Look up Red Boiling Springs events. Its down towards Cookeville. Opps, http://www.midtennaaca.org/shows.php

canceled this year. What T parts are you looking for? There are several of us in ET, MT and WT that tour together.

The small list of things I am locking for is thus:

1. Canopy frame for a 26 or 27 touring
2. ruxtle axle
3. headlight glass for a 26 or 27
4. upholstery plans or kit
5. seats or seat springs
6. Rocky Mountain brakes
7. Headlight wires

Hello Jonah D Avella: I have a few wire sets . Engines Let Me Know
I sent you a PM/email--reply--
Thank You
POPS in WNC

what does everyone think about using a crome collored radiator casing?

Go with with what came with your car. If it’s a 26-27 it would be nickel plated. Nickel has a different look than chrome although folks have chromed a high radiator shell which would fit a 24-27 T but it wouldn’t be ‘correct’ for a 24-25.

I have a 24 Coupe but it wouldn’t look quite right for it even though folks have done it to make their car look better. To each his own.

I did not think that it was actualy crome but that was the only name that came to mind. my t has a black painted radiator shell, was it originally Nickle?

ebay is the best place to look for used parts but you must know what they are worth to begin with. You would be better off buying a new Ruckstel or a rebuilt one from Stan Howe. RMB's show up from time to time when someone converts to disc brakes. Used top bows are going to generally be in really poor shape.

Open cars were still black radiator shells for a while. Closed cars got nickel shells first. Get the “Model T, Car that Changed the World”. That along with a Ford Service Manual are the best books for starting out. Dan

Of course, you can paint the chrome radiator shell black.

Too, by 1923 Ford Motor Company was offering "New Type Model T Bodies," to owners and dealers. Included were all parts to up grade the styling including Sedans, Coupes, Touring, and Roadster, and the radiators stuff. Ford Service Bulletin, Sept 1923.

Jonah, swap meet is a misnomer as hardly any one will swap, they are trying to sell stuff, you can always ask if they will swap.

Rick