{"id":63218,"date":"2022-07-23T08:00:23","date_gmt":"2022-07-23T12:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=63218"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:20:21","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:20:21","slug":"searching-for-gold-and-curiosities-at-the-carlisle-chrysler-nationals-swap-meet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/events\/2022\/07\/searching-for-gold-and-curiosities-at-the-carlisle-chrysler-nationals-swap-meet.html","title":{"rendered":"Searching for Gold and Curiosities At the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals Swap Meet!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

They say one man\u2019s junk is another man\u2019s treasure or, as the Grateful Dead once sang, \u201cOne man gathers what another man spills.\u201d If you\u2019re looking for that elusive Mopar\u00ae<\/sub> part or piece of Chrysler memorabilia, the massive swap meet area at the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals<\/a> is the place to be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, you can seek out and hunt down those rare treasures and oddities many folks simply discarded “back in the day.” Muscle cars generally led a hard life in the hands of their first, second or third owners. Everything from the wheel covers to exhaust manifolds got pitched in the trashcan and taken out to the curb – only to be replaced with headers, mag wheels and other go-fast non-production components. As these rare machines increased in value, the restoration business was born over three decades ago to provide items to get these cars back to showroom condition. Despite the best efforts of many companies specializing in reproduction vintage parts, many enthusiasts or shops who\u2019ve taken on the task of doing a complete “ground-up” restoration still prefer NOS (New Old Stock) or good used parts for their projects. The reason is simple, using the right parts increases the vehicle\u2019s value exponentially. After seeing the recent prices of Dodge and Plymouth muscle cars at Barrett-Jackson<\/a> and Mecum<\/a>, this trend will only continue and drive the price of original parts still wrapped in their brown paper and in genuine boxes through the roof. For those needing sheet metal, clean “southwest” take-offs that are rust free are still commanding premium prices but, in some cases, you need to go the reproduction route. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Walking through the endless aisles of the Carlisle Fairgrounds swap meet area takes determination and stamina, especially when the temps are hovering in the high 80-degree range and the humidity is that of a swamp. Thousands of hardcore Mopar enthusiast stop and check out the hundreds of vendors that bring everything from parts, models and T-shirts to even old cars in need of a new owner and some TLC. It\u2019s like a massive garage sale but with vintage (and some current) automotive items. The smart participants have a list of parts they need and use the Carlisle App<\/a> to find specific vendor locations to save time and heat exhaustion. \u201cThis is our third trip through the Carlisle Swap Meet this weekend,\u201d said Kevin Mairabito, who came from Long Island, New York. \u201cWe found some sheet metal for my 1970 Challenger T\/A project and many other items we\u2019ll need for the car.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accompanying Kevin at Carlisle was his young nephew, Ryan Becker, who\u2019s also helping his uncle resto the rare Challenger T\/A. \u201cI\u2019ve been into cars my whole life. So was my grandfather and uncle. That\u2019s where I probably got it from,\u201d noted Ryan, who\u2019s only 33 years old. \u201cIn my neighborhood, there\u2019s a lot of guys restoring muscle cars, and many are not that old. The younger generation is stepping up.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some of the items we saw folks buying in the swap meet were not always automotive related. As a matter of fact, some objects were never bolted on car. One such oddity was an early 1980s Chrysler outboard engine for a boat. It harkened back to the days when the Chrysler Marine Division ruled the waves, or at least the lakes. Yes, the mighty HEMI\u00ae<\/sup> engine, along with small and big-block wedge engines, could be found in many sport boats and pleasure crafts. But what would possess someone to buy this relic of an engine? Apparently, Jonathon McCandless from Burlington, North Carolina, who\u2019s only 27, has a use for it and he\u2019s not trolling for catfish. \u201cI saw this thing in the swap meet and had to have it. Me and my brother are going to clean it up, get it running and bolt it to the back of our goofy 1980s Plymouth Arrow conversion truck,\u201d laughed Jonathon. \u201cSince the color of the outboard matches the truck, we\u2019re going for shock value and seeing people\u2019s facial expressions at car shows and cruise nights when we go rolling in with the outboard engine running while attached to the back of the truck.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Other quirky items found in the swap meet included a pair of Sno Runners. These things were built by Chrysler Marine and Industrial back in the late 1970s for the growing winter recreation market and supposedly for the military. Picture a snowmobile for one that you ride like a motorcycle or a moped. Its single-piston, 34cc two-stroke engine made only 7 horsepower and sent all that modest power to a single track. Jason McCandless, who also shares his brother Jonathon\u2019s love for odd Mopar items, found two Sno Runners at Carlisle. \u201cMy girlfriend and I saw the Sno Runners in the swap meet and we just had to have them. It doesn\u2019t really snow where we\u2019re from in North Carolina, but they\u2019re just so cool,\u201d smiled Jason. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From a vendor standpoint, selling parts and other auto-related \u201cstuff\u201d at Carlisle takes patience and knowledge of what you have and the current market value. There is, of course, the art of haggling, but that\u2019s part of swap meet etiquette. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty cool having people coming in and out of my booth and talking about their cars. It\u2019s 50-percent selling parts, 50-percent socializing, but I enjoy meeting new people in the hobby,\u201d smiled Bill Atwood, who trailered a bunch of cool and even rare parts from his garage in Connecticut. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of foot traffic in the swap meet this year and people are buying, just not as much as in prior years. Not sure if it\u2019s the economy or other factors. I will tell you this, you always come to a swap meet pricing your parts a little higher as you know the guy\u2019s not leaving paying retail.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A few aisles over, Jim Rhinehart was selling his\ncollection of Mopar big-block Dart parts along with other items and doing quite\nwell. \u201cIt\u2019s been awesome as I\u2019ve sold a lot of my heavy stuff. I have seen a\nlot of traffic this year and it\u2019s been great,\u201d said Jim. \u201cThe weather has been\nawesome and among the 15 or so swap meets I do a year, the Chryslers at\nCarlisle is still the best!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Check out the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals Swap Meet photo gallery and see if there are any parts you need for your vintage Mopar restoration project or maybe some cool memorabilia items for the Man Cave!<\/p>\n\n\n\n