MTFCA Forum

Anyone here been to the Pate meet lately? I went years ago when it moved and was disappointed. Has it gotten better for T parts? Thanks Dan

We went two or three years ago. Total waste of time and money

But I hear they’ve established a ‘pre war’ field. But I’ve never gone.

I was there 3-4 years ago and didn't see model t stuff at all. saw a '28 chevy, lots of '30-'40s stuff, and classic/street rods stuff. Since i was looking for Model T ear and earlier, i won't go back.

Steve Jelf wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 20, 2022 9:53 pm

The old Pate at the museum was glorious. After they moved it to the TMS I went a few times, but the magic was gone. I think the last time I went was 18 years ago. I do miss going to dinner at Red Peppers and Pancho's in Denton.

Yes, Steve, the old pate at the museum was Texas' "Hershey meet", or "Chickasha". If you were there looking for anything, especially before 1948, and you didn't find it; you weren't looking in the right place, or looking hard enough. I bought and sold many T parts there and during the 1970's I ventured into the world of early Ford V8's and had three 1934 cars. There were very few parts that I needed that I didn't find at the old Pate, but time marches on, and the "good old days" are gone. The old Pate was the only old car swap meet in Texas. All others, before and since, were 'hot rod club swap meets. I have heard that the Wise County Swap meet in Decatur, northwest of Ft. Worth is probably the best bet these days.

I have heard that the Wise County Swap meet in Decatur, northwest of Ft. Worth is probably the best bet these days.

I had to have a tow by a tractor to get out of the mud at that meet. Decatur is home of the petrified wood filling station.

With Qwik-Poly no longer available, and even partially used cans of the stuff getting snapped up, what material is currently available for filling petrified wood??

It’s been a long while ago but I think I went to the 1st or 2nd Pate meet in the late 60’s or early seventies. Two of the Model T and old car enthusiasts in the area were instrumental in getting it going. One was Marion Finley and the other was Carl Binner.
Mr Binner had a Model K Ford and Mr Finley had a 1912 Model T.
The first years of Pate were really good but after several years there were others in the DFW area that started drawing lots of people and old cars. One was the Southwest meet in Dallas I think.
I’m in central Texas and finally went to Chickasha and it was super great. And Decatur wasn’t to far from there was a little earlier and an alternative if you couldn’t make Chickasha.

The pre war meets are maybe getting less but you have to look close at the meets nowadays to see if it’s worth your time if your looking for T’s and parts.

The time may have come when the thinking of what’s a pre-war meet and people will wonder which one, The old guys these days are the Boomers and in reality pre-war might get to mean one of the later wars after WW2. To the the folks in their 40’s and 50’s their pre war might be Vietnam or a later one. And those cars are the 40’s thru 70’s!

Sorry to get off track but it’s getting later than we think.

...it’s getting later than we think.

It's later than it's ever been in the whole history of the world.

I went last year. Found a few T related items I could use, including a 1917 Texas plate, and saw a T for sale. Was only able to walk thru half of it, left for work an hour early so I could stop and check it out. Decatur I didn't see much T stuff this past year, which is too bad because that one is just 20 minutes up the road from me.

Steve Jelf wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 21, 2022 1:25 am

I have heard that the Wise County Swap meet in Decatur, northwest of Ft. Worth is probably the best bet these days.

I had to have a tow by a tractor to get out of the mud at that meet. Decatur is home of the petrified wood filling station.

Steve, I have never been to Decatur, but there was at least one year, maybe more, at the old Pate meet, north of Cresson, that it was so muddy that local farmers were bring their tractors and charging vendors to get pulled to the highway, so they could leave.

I go to pate every year because I am a member of one of the clubs putting it on. There isn't much T stuff and the Prewar section has not caught on yet. I remember the old Pate fondly. Sometimes muddy, sometimes dusty but always an adventure.

Sometimes muddy, sometimes dusty but always an adventure.

Sometimes muddy and dusty the same day. One morning I watched a guy in a 4WD jeep trying to get to his space on a hill. The mud was slicker than snot, and the Jeep kept sliding down sideways. That afternoon the roads were dusty. One year there was guy from Colorado with an old yellow school bus full of Model T parts. His space was east of the hill on low ground surrounded by lower ground that was flooded. He bought bales of hay and built a causeway so people could get to his little island. Some years, after the folks on solid ground packed up and left on Sunday, some of those on low ground at the east end couldn't get out until Tuesday or Wednesday.

My first trip to Pate swap meet it was one row of parts next to the museum. Last time I went you could walk thru as fast as possible, never stopping and couldn’t have seen it all. Great event. Sad when it departed.