26 April 2017

Portland international raceway auto swap 2017

Longtime readers have heard me ramble on and on
about the Big-3 swap meet in San Diego,
sadly at risk with the future of Jack Murphy stadium.
Well guess what,
there's a similar event held here in the Pacific Northwest,
and it happens to be where I work!
Supposedly 1500+- vendors,
on 5+- miles of maze like heaven.
It's like a dream come true.
Other than the fact that having an event at work,
probably follows with working the event.
And in this case the job description takes a bit of a hiatus.
With a skeleton crew,
ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
And if that means getting paid to get there early,
and drive through stalls and stalls of hot rod castoffs,
you'll not hear me complain!
I rarely go to these swaps early,
as my funds are severely limited.
It's tough to see deals and not legitimize
a way to spend next months rent.
Or add another 40 project to the quiver.
Yea just what we need!
The first day was overwhelming.
Some things were so cheap,
or so rare,
and then they were gone.
I made a list/map of certain items to go back too,
and kicked myself for not at least taking pics.
So now you guys are stuck
seeing a bunch of big things.
Looks like I'm swaying towards a 4x4 in the future.
So the first day was uncharacteristically dry.
Shoppers were everywhere.
Drinking and swapping go hand in hand,
it's like the grease that lets money slip away,
or justifies letting precious hot rod parts
go for peanuts.
But Friday and Saturday were a different story.
Swappers up here are a different breed.
They don't run away from the storm,
they wear plastic bag ponchos,
lotsa camo
or matching foul weather gear.
These pics must be later in the day.
There really were people walkin around.
This picture should have been a video.
The wind was blowing ez-ups across the fields.
Rain was sideways.
There was a group of guys wearing shorts that had just passed.
Fortunately it was an intermittent rain,
the clouds wring themselves dry,
and normal people would emerge
from wherever they were hiding.
I met a handful of online people I've known for years,
and also talked to dozens of people that hovered around the old hot rod.
These guys in the pic above were from the Ventura area.
I've known Ojai Rick for over 20 years,
and him and his daughter Vanessa
know how to shop a swap meet like the best.
Good to see you guys!
A dry Saturday evening was the perfect wrap,
can't have too much of a good thing.
TP

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