Spring in Portland marks the date of the larger of the two Swap meets held at the Expo Center. I got an email from Kelly about mid-week asking if I would be able to join him and Don for a walkabout. The last time I went to this event it was with Bob McFadden and we hooked up with the other two guys once we were down at the Expo Center. But this year it was not to be. I had a previous commitment to help get three of our four pets to the vet. Steph also wanted to visit a couple of landscape places in the afternoon. This is a three-day event and, being Oregon, it is usually wet. The weatherman had promised exactly that for this weekend. While the rain would have helped me to avoid the landscape store and the subsequent digging in the garden, the weatherman co-operated with her this time by giving us an overcast but dry day. So, here with a new low in e-reporting, you will now get a written summary from someone who wasn't even there accompanied by photos from someone who was.
Don and Kelly went down to the Expo Center on Saturday morning, and I have attached some of Don's photos that clearly show the wide range in the quality of the items typically featured. Don, being a Porsche owner, could not help but needle me with the photo of the much-modified 914 (right). Oh, my! What a wonderful project. Gag. He, on the other hand, thought the black 356 (left) was the best that they saw out there on Saturday. There is a paper hanging in the window describes the car as a one owner, un-restored car with only 25,000 miles. Maybe. In any case it was certainly better than the "upgraded" lipstick red 914.
The photo of the Ford pick-up on the flatbed trailer (lower left) is more typical of the type of vehicles for sale. While the event usually has stuff ranging from beautiful to not even good enough for the junkman, this is the place to go to get the one or two items that you may be missing in your quest to complete a restoration project. As mentioned in a previous story about the event, it is not uncommon to see people cruising up and down the rows with signs attached to their backs saying things like, "Wanted: Headlight bezels for 1949 Buick". Kids with wagons, sturdy wagons, hire themselves out to haul your collection of rusty crap, er...restorable trim, back to your car. Did I mention that parking is a premium? Most attendees park about a mile from the event and ride the shuttle over. Back to the Ford, it is hard to make out the price chalked on the door, but Don tells me it was $1000, OBO. One THOUSAND dollars! You have got to be kidding. It isn't even all there. No rear fenders, no running boards, and if you look closely, no drive shaft. The bed is held onto the frame with a strap. On the plus side the rims are wire and almost perfectly round. And, after all, it does clearly state right there on the door that it has a Washington title. That's reassuring. I can tell you that my OBO would have been considerably less. But then what do I know about old Ford pick-ups? Most appropriately Don titled this photo "Only In America."
Another truck of note is the 3/4 ton Army truck (right). It has natural camouflage as a result, no doubt, of just being winched up out of the swamp. The license plate from Oregon is confidence inspiring. Probably no rust. Yeah, you bet. At least in this case, unlike the Ford, it does have tires and they appear to hold air. Just in case your previous experiences with Sam's trucks make you fearful of overheating and becoming stranded under enemy fire, it looks like there are a couple of spare radiators that I'm sure you could get for a song. I think the hot set up for this guy would have been to: a) hang a sign in the window quoting how many miles and previous owners, or b) chalk an outrageous offer on the door along with the letters OBO, or c) put a fresh coat of paint on it and drop in a horribly mismatched engine, say maybe a Rolls-Royce Merlin or a Bristol-Siddeley Proteus (look THAT one up).
My apologies to Don and Kelly for missing this year's event. What a wonderful feast for the eyes it is. So much to see and so very entertaining. Homer and Jethro are there with a collection of rusty bits and pieces. The wives sometimes come along to see if they can get a bite on the cabbage patch doll collection. Someone is always selling Matchbox cars. Inside the halls there are products aplenty; tools, magazines, decals, and other items that you will wonder how you ever got along without. Next year I am going down there for sure. I can promise you this though, I'll take someone along so that I can have help avoiding an impulse purchase on a rusty old truck. Call it intervention.