Thread: Tucson Swap Meet….Good Day

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Yesterday started early for Cade and me. He stayed over Friday night so we could get an early start for the swap meet. I woke him up at about 4:30 AM so we could get on the road by 4:45.

This was Cades first swap meet and in spite of being a bit sleepy he was pretty excited about it. We got to the speedway about 6 and got set up. I took a lot of cast iron to this trip (intake manifolds and bell housings) so Cade and I got a bit of a workout.

During the morning Cade made a couple of rounds thru the swap meet, he was impressed with all the different parts people were selling but didn’t find anything he wanted/needed for his Mustang.

I also did a couple of walk thru too, mostly hunting for carbs I could use for dual quads on the 57. Most people who had AFBs were as bad or worse than the current E Bay prices. I did find some that I figured were worth what they were asking though. The one in the back is a parts carb, basically the top and bottom with no screws and a lot of missing parts but I figured it was worth the $2 asking price (and I might actually have enough pieces from another parts carb to make 1 good one out of the 2).

The other 2 carbs in the front are a 9625 and a 9635. There both 625 CFM and although there are a couple of minor external differences, internally there identical. The 9635 looks to be a good builder I paid $60 for it …… more than I normally would but after looking at the asking prices for AFBs on E bay I bit the bullet. The 9625 was just a lucky deal. A guy set up across the road from me with mostly a bunch of non-car stuff but I wandered over anyway. He had just set the carb out on the table with a $5 price on it so I snatched it up.

sm3 by M Patterson, on Flickr

I’ll probably take the two AFBs apart this afternoon and verify whether they’re buildable. They are not my first choice, but if they are rebuildable I could use them for the Plymouth.


As far selling at the swap meet, I moved a few small items. By the time it all was all added up and gas, swap meet space, and the carbs I bought were subtracted I made a profit of about $3.

Being able to spend a few hours with my Grandson with no real distractions like a computer or a car to work on and just talk made it a really really good day.



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What is Cade's Mustang, I must have missed this earlier?
Great deal on the the carbs!

We're putting a little 74 Mustang II (with the kid friendly 2.3) back on the road.

1974 Mustang II Build

So far I'm pretty happy with the carbs. I just finished taking the two 9000 series carbs apart and there both good builders. I dug out the parts carb I had on the shelf and between that and the $2 parts carb I bought I have enough pieces to build 1 good 600 Eldebrock performer.



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If I could do a 3 buck profit at the end of a swap meet day I'd be thrilled. Either I don't end up selling or I have to basically give the stuff away 'cause I don't want to haul it back. The past couple of years there aren't enough "car guys' any more, it seems like our biggest swap meet now has more "flea market" folks than car stuff vendors.

Last year it cost me 75 bucks and then I had to buy lunch on the way home. 8-(

Originally Posted by Mike P

Being able to spend a few hours with my Grandson with no real distractions like a computer or a car to work on and just talk made it a really really good day.



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...and that, sir, is priceless...

All the money in the world can't buy that.

So is the stang in better shape than I thought, or was the meet a little slack in pony pieces?

Johnboy you are absolutely right.

"....So is the stang in better shape than I thought, or was the meet a little slack in pony pieces? ......."

A bit of both. The Mustang was complete running car when it was parked, so the majority of work that needs to be done is maintenance stuff.

"........The past couple of years there aren't enough "car guys' any more, it seems like our biggest swap meet now has more "flea market" folks than car stuff vendors......"

I usually only do the Tucson Swap Meet once a year so I don't know how the other ones currently are. So far this one is mostly car and some motorcycle stuff. The guy I bought the $5 carb from mentioned he and his wife mostly did the flea markets (they had mostly cloths and some kids toys).


Swap meets aren't what they were 20 years ago. When I first moved out here there were usually 4 swap meets in Tucson a year, now I think they are down to 1 or 2. The meets were a lot bigger with a lot more vendors and bigger crowds. The internet has had a big impact on them. I've sold a bunch more of my high dollar parts thru E Bay and Craigs List than I did at the Swap meet...... plus I don't have to go thru the load and unload/setup stuff. I like doing it once a year, mostly because of the new people I meet and old acquaintances I get to see again.



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Your grandson will remember that day for sure. Some of my best memories of my uncle were from him taking me to swap meets. Back before I had torn the 40 apart, I started taking it to some of the shows he frequented yearly. Each year I'd meet an old fellow that asked about Jerry's car. Mainly if it was his because they couldn't tell, and if I was the little lad with Jerry at the swap meets. Yep that was me. That's when I knew I had to do something to the 40 to bring it back. Anyhow, those memories will be set with Cade his entire life I'm sure.

Nice scores on the carbs too. It gets harder every year to find good deals at swap meets. Ours around here used to be filled with a lot of rust free sheet metal. Not so much any more. I don't believe the supply is drying up either. My thoughts are the old guys who were doing it aren't doing it anymore and no one picked up where they left off. That's just my thoughts on that though.