MTFCA Forum

Like the subject says I am thinking about taking some time off this year and heading to Hershey. I have never been to the swap before and do have a few things I am looking for that I have not been able to come up with. Like a top for my 25 Roadster. Any tips from the Hershey pro's as to what days are best, where to stay or how much time to plan on spending there? I still work so I have to plan this out the best I can. I know it's a big event and the more time the better obviously but would rather not take a whole week off if I can avoid it. Thanks for any advice you can offer a Hershey novice!

Don't wait until the weekend to go! Tuesday or Wednesday would be best and get there early so you can park close by. If you're buying be sure to bring some kind of cart to put purchases in. Be advised that you will not be able to thoroughly pick through everything in one day. Wear comfortable shoes!

The dates for Hershey this year are October 4-7, Tuesday through Friday. The car show is on Friday. Hersheypark asked that the event be moved up a day from years past so that the park could be open for normal operations on the weekend.

I always walk around pulling a folding, wheeled grocery cart like the one shown. I put a cardboard box in the bottom so that small parts don't fall out, and I put a couple bottles of water and a folding chair in it so that I can stop and rest wherever and whenever I please. It takes me three full days to see everything, It's a lot of walking!

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Ad ... lsrc=aw.ds

I would think you would need some comfortable shoes also. Never been but if it’s paved the hard surface is tough on feet if your an old guy like me if it’s huge area. The chair is a good idea. And if you see something you definitely want you had better get it and not think it will still be there the next time around ! Been there and regretted it at other swap meets !

Big items the sellers might hold for you if you buy it but the smaller things you better buy it then.

I go by Camry and sleep in the Camry Motel, but not everybody is up for that. Yes, plan to spend three days walking. It's a good idea to get in walking shape before you go, so you won't be sore before it's over. The first couple of times I paid the outrageous parking fees, but eventually I wised up and started using the free public parking south of the park. What? Hike in for a mile and back out for a mile just to save 80 bucks? Dern tootin', Sonny. Every day and twice on Sundays.

One of my best buys ever at Hershey was $10 for a folding shopping cart. I extended the handle so I can pull it behind me without getting a flat tire. When its plastic wheels eventually disintegrated I went online and bought some wire wheels for it. Hershey weather in early October can be schizophrenic, so I line my cart with a tarp and put an umbrella inside, just in case. I agree, if you plan to return for an item later: 1 unless you write down the address you won't find it again, or 2 it will be gone.

This is about ⅕ or ¼ of it.

I would say brought a tripod bench, you could sit anywhere when tired...

My best advice would be if you’re thinking about going, GO!

There is no place on earth like Hershey. Wear comfortable shoes and bring plenty of spending cash. You never know what you will find and that’s what makes is so much fun!

Board friends should band together and use a golf cart if walking or mobility is a medical issue you have a blue placard for. You need a blue handicap placard to register and get the cart on the field. Other passengers are not regulated or controlled.
My elderly dad needed the cart to be mobile. Having the cart let us see 80%+ of Hershey. I was able to get to 2 swap meets with him, and having the cart was awesome.
it sure beat the heck out of walking...
I saw a group of a half dozen guys on converted electric minibikes. Homemade. Very cool.

Thanks for all the info! I am thinking Tue, Wed , Thursday and head home Friday morning. I am about 6.5 hours from Hershey according to Google. Doesn’t sound like one or two days will do it so may have to clear my desk for that week. I am a bit of a flea market-a’holic and accustomed to all-dayers but not three-dayers I am really only looking for one thing but you know how that goes…… I am stricken with hoarding rusty T parts…. like going to the pound and wanting to rescue them all. Suppose I better make arrangements soon I’m sure rooms will be getting scarce.

John- take the time off and go!!! If you frequently visit this forum you will have read many post extolling the greatness of various swap meets across the country- HERSHEY IS 100,000 TIMES BETTER THAN ANY OTHER SWAP MEET OUT THERE! You won't be disappointed

If you are planning on being there Friday morning take a couple hours and see some of the car show before you head home.... There are AMAZING cars there, hundreds and hundreds of them. It takes several hours to see most of them, but a couple hours will give you a taste of the high level of the cars that are there. Everything from turn of the century one cylinder cars to Duesenbergs to muscle cars (Model T's too). There are some pretty nice commercial vehicles there too, Paddy Wagons Popcorn trucks, fire engines, dump trucks, etc. My favorite thing to do is get there early and watch the cars drive in.

If you are planning on being there Friday morning take a couple hours and see some of the car show before you head home....

Yes. The early cars at the show are especially wonderful. I dare say there are some you aren't likely to see anywhere else.

If you are looking for a particular item, advertise the fact. I hung a cardboard sign around my neck at Chickasha in 2010, and had a set of Bennett brakes before the gates opened. People are only too willing to help if they know what you want.

Allan from down under.

I always buy a program.
They have a detailed map of the fields. Also an index of all the vendors and what they sell.
Helps if you are looking for a specific make .
Plan on taking at least a half day looking through the car coral, almost as good as the car show.

How about a rough estimate how many swap spaces we are talking about at Hershey.

Number of swap spaces? Approximately 9,000 spaces. No other "swap meet" comes close.

Holy crap that looks huge.
Professor Fate answered a question I have had about that swap meet for years as it is on my bucket list of places to go.
I have a golf cart with liability insurance and a blue placard I use at a couple other places I go for getting around as i have mobility issues after about a 100 feet or so.kinda along the lines of wobble wobble fall.
I really don't "Need" anything at the moment but a set of fender skirts for my 1947 Pontiac Stream liner would be nice!
Tell us all that have never been more about it please.

Well....
Description -
https://hershey.aaca.com/eastern-division-fall-meet/
Maps -
https://hershey.aaca.com/eastern-divisi ... maps-more/

Few years back( when there were papers) the local paper ran a article that if the swap meet was on BOTH side of a two lane road it would go for 19 miles. I think at that time AACA said over 10,000 spaces.

Had to correct my post. Fat fingers strike again. 19 miles not 29.

That goes along with the distance I have heard. If you walk the whole thing it would be something like 55 miles. I'm assuming that would be up and back on each isle. We make one pass, looking left and right.

David's 55 mile estimate sounds about right if you go up and down each side of an aisle. In years past I heard 23 or 24 miles as an estimate but I figure that to be one direction on each aisle. I'm a zig-zagger so that's how I do it. I saw somewhere last year that the distance was about the same. As a 25 year old it took me 3 days to do it all. Almost 40 years later, I don't know how long it would take to do the whole meet. Since "retiring" I have far less time to do the things I like to do. Go figure...

“Been here before”. Check and make sure they will let you in with a golf cart. They rent mobility scooters.

….. …… ……. …….

Please go the the web site and review the information provided.

https://hershey.aaca.com/eastern-divisi ... meet/faqs/

May I use my personal golf cart to travel around the fields?

You can use your personal electric mobility vehicle--2 occupant maximum--(no gasoline powered vehicles) after it is registered at one of three registration areas. The registration areas are at the North end of the Hersheypark Maintenance building beside the Hersheypark Stadium, or on the West side of the Giant Center, or on the South Chocolate Field next to the Hershey Region Hospitality Tent close to light pole #61.

https://hershey.aaca.com/eastern-divisi ... -schedule/

Please go the the web site and review the information provided.

If you need a place to sit for awhile, then go to the MTFCA spaces C4Q 34 to 37. While there you can meet MTFCA Board of Directors members and club officers. I won't be there this year, but some of the Board members and Officers will be.
By all means buy the Hershey Directory. In it are catagories for T parts and suppliers. See catagory 247 for "Ford Model T". The MTFCA club spaces are in my name as I'm an AACA member as required for the Hershey swap spaces.
This year Monday of the Hershey week is Vendor Set Up Day and it is also a great day to look for parts. You may very likely see people like Don Lang out looking for parts on that day.

Keith Gumbinger, MTFCA Treasurer and past Board of Directors member

What Keith said. We haven't discussed it yet, but I expect forum members will gather at the MTFCA location Tuesday afternoon for a visit and group photo.