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Spring Carlisle 2017


cutlasguy

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Thanks!

I spent all day Thursday and Friday shopping in the swap meet fields; and actually never made it to the car corral!

Now I feel like I did.

If you see any one that was there Friday, ask them about the crowd- it was huge!

I managed to buy quite a few nice things- the highlights were a great pair of 1934-36 Chevy truck running boards; and a great 1946 Chevy pickup rear fender.

The vendor sold me the 2 short boards and one long board. Before I could exit his tent, another guy asked about the single long board and he became its new owner on the spot!

The seller was very gracious, remarking: "Hey, its OK with me, I made my money already!"

On Saturday, my 19-year old son and I switched gears and attended the Porsche swap meet at Hersheypark.

While we were there, we heard people remarking about the traffic around Carlisle the last few days.

 

 

 

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I normally resist the urge to comment on Carlisle, but it does bring back some great memories of the good old days where you could find a lot of great early stuff and good old automobilia.  I may get back again some day to try a little shopping but I'm sure the traffic issues have only gotten worse in the years I've been away.  Anyone got photos of the swap meet stuff?  I'd love to see the piles of stuff for sale, and goodies laying out on the tables. 

Terry

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I was there on thrusday  ,Great weather  . I think the traffic has gotten better over the years . I can remember when it took hours to get even in to town ,we came in from the south and had no back ups but at lights in town .  Yes isn't much early stuff   there now . I did get a good buy on a foot warmer for the back seat of my Oakland  . Kings32

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, Terry Bond said:

 I may get back again some day to try a little shopping but I'm sure the traffic issues have only gotten worse in the years I've been away. 

 

Approaching Carlisle, it seems as if all the visitors

take the main numbered highways, such as 

Route 11 and Interstate 83.  You can avoid

almost ANY waiting if you take back roads to

Carlisle, and then take the less obvious streets

in town.  You can get to within a couple of blocks, even!

You still have to find parking, though if you don't mind

paying $5 or more, there are plenty of residents' lawns.

 

I'd rather be walking around a flea market than

sitting in traffic in a modern car. 

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When I was a regular I had a lot of short-cuts across city streets.  Never really had a problem but I was a vendor, so once there I seldom ventured out, especially during the regular operating hours.  My spaces were right against the fence in the back row by the school, think it was row P (spring-time) and in the fall I was over a couple of rows.  My neighbor for many years there in the fall was Pinky Randall, Mr. Chevrolet.  We had a great time.

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I have to chuckle when people talk about Carlisle in the past tense. Yes, the choice slug of NOS parts moved thru the hobby; and much of it sold for huge prices on Ebay. That's over. The truth is, the people that run Carlisle do a great job. They have eliminated almost all of the "sock vendors"; so what you see in most spaces would be welcome at Hershey. There are some spaces devoted to the cars that younger people are working on- but that is the future of our hobby. The traffic is much better, and many of us regulars have discovered the back roads to each of the gates. I'd like to know where you can go to see that much old car "stuff" for the $10 admission and the $5-$10 parking. If you've paid the daily parking fee at Hershey lately, you're there. The Ford, Mopar, and Corvette shows now fill the fairgrounds to the bulging point and are fantastic shows. There is no better reason the skip work on a Friday than Carlisle.

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If anyone doesn't have a large flea market near him,

then Spring Carlisle and Fall Carlisle are worth traveling to,

in my opinion.  However, they do not compare at all to Hershey;

so if you choose one big event a year to attend, Hershey is it!

 

Spring Carlisle has recovered somewhat from the effects of

the 2007-up economic depression.  However, the car corral,

which is fairly strong in 1970's and 1980's cars, is little more than 

half full.  The choice of cars of the 1950's and earlier is very sparse.

There were plenty of modern pickup trucks occupying

car corral spaces, and the top of the hill was very sparse.

The diversity and quality are far, far better at Hershey.

 

If you love Mustangs, you'll find the Ford "Nationals" at Carlisle

much to your liking:  Mustangs, from the beginning to the present,

are 90% of the cars.  Similarly, at the Chrysler show

you will see very few finned models or Airflows,

but if you like Mopar muscle cars, then you'll be very pleased.

 

Spring Carlisle is the first big car event in these parts, starting the season.

Since many people come from afar, I wanted to give, not a

"rose-colored glasses" view, but what I think is a fair representation.   

Edited by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)
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