Do you experience the same joy that swap meets give me?

I just love swap meets.

But searching for parts on Facebook Marketplace while sitting in our booth at Carlisle made me realize that things have changed.

The Carlisle Import & Performance Nationals–I still call it Import Carlisle–has been on my schedule for decades. Traditionally it’s been the biggest swap meet for import parts in the country. We go every year to both buy and sell parts–it’s been the perfect place to score that rare find while also clearing space in the shop.

With the advent of the internet, eBay and now Facebook Marketplace, however, this event has moved mostly from swap meet to car show. And while it’s one heck of an import show, I miss the huge swap meet days of old. I still go to them, though, recently attending the Turkey Run meet here in Daytona Beach as well as the Charlotte AutoFair. Another memorable one would have to be the Pomona meet in SoCal.

My current favorite place to shop? Probably Facebook Marketplace. I’m genuinely surprised by how much you can find there–assuming you’re patient, as the experience is just not the same.

Without that face-to-face interaction, communication ranges from pretty darn good to absolutely abysmal. The process of set­ting up a meeting place is fraught with some degree of peril and can be called a major pain.

An example of how things can go: I recently went around and around with the seller of some Corvette parts, as he and I were both out of town the week he posted the parts. Not wanting to lose out, I pushed for a meeting.

He finally admitted he was going to be at his lake house an hour away from me. Turns out I was heading to the same lake for the Amphicar meetup featured in this issue. We were 5 minutes apart, and once the trust had been established, it was a snap to communicate and pick up the parts.

I used to enjoy eBay more. In the early days, it seemed sellers were more honest, and when they weren’t, eBay did a better job of handling disputes. PayPal was directly linked to the auction site, so if I sold something, the funds went right into my account; it essentially provided mad money to buy something else.

PayPal has since been separated, so if you sell some­thing on eBay, they want to put the money in your checking account. To me, that takes the fun out of it and also makes bookkeeping a bit messier.

Swap meets, while I love them dearly, do have their drawbacks as well. You can’t really know the condition of the part you’re looking at or if it really even fits. Then, if you buy it, you have to figure out how to lug it around the field and then back to your car. And if something’s not right, you don’t really have any recourse.

Still, there are fewer things that bring more joy than stumbling on an amazing find, especially when the seller has it underpriced–when they don’t know what it is or what it’s worth.

A swap meet is also a terrific place for finding something you didn’t know you wanted. Case in point: I recently found a working scale model of an air-cooled 911 Porsche engine for just $40. This Visible V8-style engine was fan­tastic, and I just had to have it. I never would have looked for it online because I’d never seen one before.

The ultimate swap meet, at least in our world, is Beaulieu. It’s said to be the largest in Europe. I’m soon going for the second time and taking along some friends from the States.

Last time I went, I found parts for my Bugeye, Elan, Tornado, TR3 race car and several other projects. To get them home, I bought a decrepit suitcase at the meet for $10 and stuffed my newfound treasures inside. Delta charged me $50 to get it all home. I’d call that a deal.

While digital sites serve their purpose, I couldn’t imag­ine the next generation participating in the car hobby without the joy of swap meets. This visceral experience still beats any virtual experience. Have a favorite swap meet story? As always, I’d love to hear it.

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