I can remember when it was the ONLY swap meet in the west, but that was 60 years ago.

Larry, if you can remember 60 years ago you must still have your Original Memory!!

Susan, Thanks for the Plug..

I remember when it was a 2 day swap meet and I think it was at the city college parking lot back then too (then is 1978-80). I got married after than and everything went to hell...including me. But July 22? I think I can do that.

Nice to see it has returned to Vet's Stadium. It was there for many years after it moved from Cal State Long Beach. Vet's is a perfect location for a swap meet. See you there!

bump

Back in the early and mid 1970's before Cal State Long Beach I remember it being at another stadium, down in a hole, I think it was called Hamilton Bowl or something like that, and it ran into the night. I bought some of my first Model T parts there and at Reno, two of the big west coast meets. Didn't the swap meet move to Cal State LB because of a heavy rain tropical storm flooding the Bowl ?

Susan.
How much Model T stuff ends up here?

Matthew

I can remember going to Woodruff Park ,,Lots of T's parked in the shade ..parts,,, picnic...I think it was 1960 or 61....
I was hooked...

In the last 63 years the Long Beach Model T Club Swap Meet has been held in nine different locations. Houghton Park in Long Beach 1954-1958. Heartwell Park in Long Beach 1959-1963, Hamilton Bowl ("The Dust Bowl") 1964-1976, Long Beach State College (now California State University, Long Beach) 1977-1985, Veterans Memorial Stadium (now Long Beach City College Veterans Stadium) 1986-1997, Cerritos College 1998-2005, Veterans Stadium 2006-2008, Los Alamitos Race Course 2009-2016, and now we are back at Veterans Stadium for the third time where we will be for at least the next five years. Believe me it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a venue large enough to hold this type of event that is affordable for a little club like ours, and is also willing to allow such an event.

Of the nine locations, Heartwell Park, and "The Dust Bowl" seem to be the most fondly remembered. I hear many, many stories of the "old days" in the "Dust Bowl" when it was a three-day non-stop party! Sadly, those times are well in the past and such an event would not even be possible for any number of reasons today.

Kevin is correct, we did get flooded out of the Hamilton Bowl in 1977. The bowl is actually a collection site for several storm drains and does become a pond during heavy rainfall before the water is pumped away. During the summer months, there are baseball and soccer fields in "the bowl" and at one time our swap meet too. It doesn't rain in Southern California in the summer, but it did that one summer and LBMTC Staff arrived to find the "dust bowl" now a mud bowl. Luckily Humble Howard Genrich was able to make some contacts and pull some strings and secure the Cal State Long Beach parking lot at the very last minute and signs were posted and staff positioned to direct swappers to the new location where we remained for many years until the University system decided that swap meets were no longer allowed.

Most cities will not allow swap meets in city parks (including Hamilton Bowl), The California University system does not allow swap meets on their campuses, most Community Colleges, at least those in Southern California, already have regular weekly swap meets, Companies and corporations with large parking lots or other open areas are too afraid of liability issues, and any sites where large events or festivals are allowed cost between 10K and 15K per day plus mandatory Security Officers, mandatory Medical Staff, mandatory Custodial Staff, special event permits, licenses, taxes, $15-$20 per car parking, etc. etc. etc.

We are very fortunate to be able to return to Veterans Stadium at a cost that we can afford so that we can continue our now 63 year tradition.

"Head Light Guy" wants to know how much T stuff ends up here. Come on guys, let him know! While this type of swap meet is becoming more and more rare, and e-bay and other sites are making parts available on your desk-top, there are still a lot of guys who want to hold and inspect a part before buying. That is why we are here, and there will be plenty of, T, A, and other old-Ford parts on display at the 63rd Annual Long Beach Model T Club Vintage and Classic Parts Exchange!

For those of you who would like a visual sample of what the Long Beach Swap Meet looks like. Here is a short video that I shot a few years ago:
Enjoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRXpOd60IcI

I stand corrected.....I imagine it was Hartwell Park ..I lived 60 miles away in San Bernardino..

Yes Carl, it would have been Hartwell Park, but the park runs for several blocks along Carson St. and the swap meet was at the corner of Carson and Woodruff Ave. so your memory is pretty good!

Just one week from today!

This is a great swap, you never know what will turn up. Easy way for guys to clear out their garages or estates, looking forward to it.

Gene
Just saw your post of May 28.
That is funny.

Larry I am so glad you are in the hobby.
Your 25 pick up comes to mind as well as the 17 Couplet.

Thanks

Only two days away!

Sneak Preview: There will be a nice 1913 Depot Hack for sale that we have known for years. It's a real 1913 & has been on many MTFCA and HCCA tours. Cindy & I will have the rest of the estate liquidation parts that we had at Bakersfield & some other goodies that my Dad Fast Frank is clearing out. See you folks tomorrow

My truck is loaded with all my spare stuff, early and late hogs heads, Chevy head, fenders, splash pans, cast bits and coil boxes. It's all got to go.
The first LBMTC swap meet I attended was at the Hamilton Bowl in 1976 when we first met Bruce and Howard forming a friendship that endured until Bruce's passing and I hope to see Howard, maybe in Lucky Seven.

Evening Bump


Freighter Jim

Just got to my hotel. I'll be waiting to get in when the gates open!

12 hours.....

It was a lousy meet. Oh yeh there was some T stuff there, but not much worthwhile. Most people were packing up and leaving at noon.

My buddy and I made some great buys and Tim almost sold out. I liked the meet and will be back next year. Hope to have a trailer load to sell. Thanks to the Long Beach Motel T club for there effort and a great and fun Swap met, Scott

If you find the parts that you are looking for and they follow you home.....it was a great swap meet.
For my self and a friend, we came home with a small drum ruckstell, set of 27 wire wheels with front hubs and a brass radiator for a speedster project.

Found more than I expected and was back home in time for lunch.

Great swap meet! Lot of good people. Will be returning next year. Thanks Long Beach Model T Club.

I was there selling and it was busy enough that I was only able to sneak away from my space twice to look around. Thanks to all who showed up!!

As usual, it was another great LBMTC swap meet. Bought some good stuff including a rare Pierce carburetor and a few neat parts for speedsters. Thanks to the MTFCA for keeping this tradition alive.

Larry- If you thought it was a lousy swap meet, maybe you should create and promote your own swap meet. You seem to be an expert so it should be fabulous. Let us know when it is.

The Long Beach Swap meet is history. We had a great time with amazing weather. Lots of vendors and buyers along with many lookers. It seemed there were more cars for sale than I remember in past meets. I think the Vets turned out again to be a great place for the meet and looks like it will be there now for several years.

Of course one can always complain about anything and nothing is ever perfect to everyone. Larry certainly lives close enough and is cordially invited to attend and join our Long Beach club and even give suggestions or come help with making this swap meet even much better next time.

I found it to be a great swap meet, indeed I sold more than I did in Chickasha 2016.
A few pictures of interesting items, there would be more except resizing in the iPhone is rather slow.

I'd like to thank everyone, buyers and sellers, who attended our "lousy" little swap meet. With over 145 vendors occupying over 200 spaces, and not a single thing worth buying, I'm surprised we have been able to pull this off for 63 years!

Of course it's not the same as it was 50 years ago! It never will be! Model T's and Model A's and their parts are 86 to 109 years old, and people interested in them are nearly as old too! Many of my vendors are well into their 80's, while at least two are 93, and 98! How many more years will they be able to come out and sell? Without new (young) interest in these cars and our hobby, swap meets and car clubs are dwindling.

Perhaps if a few of the guys that have attended every swap meet for the last fifty years only to buy, and never to sell, would cull some of the duplicate and triplicate parts from their stashes, and become a vendor once in a while, the swap meets wouldn't be so lousy and there would be something worth buying!

I think our swap meet was a great success. We had more vendors and more spaces sold than we have had for several years. I saw a lot of money change hands, and a lot of parts being carried out. We were concerned that in having to move our location this year that we might lose some vendors and buyers. People just get used to going to the same place every year and when the location changes you lose some for a few years. We may have lost some buyers, but we gained a lot of vendors. Next year will be even better. SAVE THE DATE, JULY 21, 2018.

It was great to be back at Veterans Stadium, in Long Beach where we belong, and most (almost all) people were very pleased with the meet. It is a HELL of a lot of work and expense to put one of these events on. Anyone who thinks they can do it better is welcome to join our club and volunteer to do it themselves. I will even pay their dues!

Well said Jeff. It is real easy to sit back and criticize. You have to have a lot of hard working members to help pull it off. Your club does a hell of a good job.I thought it was a good showing. A lot of vendors and foot traffic. Hope to be around for it next year. Don Kirtley Pres. and chair for the Riverside/Corona Model T Ford club.

Well said Jeff. It is real easy to sit back and criticize. You have to have a lot of hard working members to help pull it off. Your club does a hell of a good job.I thought it was a good showing. A lot of vendors and foot traffic. Hope to be around for it next year. Don Kirtley Pres. and swap meet chair for the Riverside/Corona Model T Ford club.

Thanks Jeff and all of the Long Beach T Club members for putting in the long hours to make this meet happen. You folks are Aces in my book!

I had a good time. I sold some things for a friend. I had fun buying some neat things for a buck. I got to see some old friends and make some really nice new friends. I got to drive from Paso Robles to Bellflower on a Friday afternoon and sit in LA traffic on the 5 parking lot, which allowed quiet time for reflection on the meaning of life. I got to stay with friends and see their neat car collection. I was able to run an errand for a friend that lives in Oregon on the way home.

I just don't see how it gets any better than this!

Thanks Jeff and all the club members for putting on the meet. It's always fun to see old friends and I always find a few good parts. Don't mine Larry he just gets cranky!

Got there before the gates opened and the clouds burned off and it got hot. Not a large meet and certainly not too much brass on display but nice nonetheless. There were a few more cars for sale on the periphery as we were leaving but I got no pics of those. And they weren't T's anyway.

Thanks Jerry for sharing all the pictures. Looks like a great meet. Do you know the sale price of the black 15' Runabout with the wire wheels?Also curious as the the history and the maker of the OHV set up on the black touring.

Not bad, I was only there for an hour or so but managed to weasel myself into the background of 2 of these photos :D

Wow Jerry: I was there all day & missed Professor Fate's Hannibal 8

Warwick, sorry I didn't see the price and I looked over all my pictures to see if I captured it. I didn't. Eric, I was told to keep an eye on you by the folks at the front gate. You're clean. And Bill, I just threw that in to see who's paying attention.