I've had a thing for Kleig lights since God knows when. Just the
thing to bedevil the neighbors. |
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| Couldn't buy this because I'd have to have a derby and a bow tie
to ride it and I'm not a derby kind of guy. |
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| I'm fascinated by teardrop trailers and would love to build one.
I wonder what the weight on the hitch is. |
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| The newest movement in rat rods and rig rods is that the crudeness
is disappearing and craftsmanship is showing through. |
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Damn kids never learn to bring their toys in at night. |
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| This looks as if it start out as a mid-30's Chevy and someone put
a huge amount of work into it years ago. |
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Somehow, the lines don't work for me, but I admire the effort. |
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| My dad gave me a prestine, $35, '37 Ford Coupe for my 16th birthday
and in those days, you didn't want to be caught dead in a '37. Today,
I'd kill to have one. |
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| Okay, motor heads, what's this? I know, but don't know what it's
doing in this swap meet. It's an early '30's Elto boat motor converted
to fit in a midget race car. The lever at the right is for the in/out
box. On the other side each bank of two cylinders exhaust into a
large, vertical exhaust port. In the race cars, those then dump into
a six inch exhaust pipe. You wouldn't believe how loud they are!! |
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| An industrial sewing machine. Good for upholstery and could probably
be bought for a hundred bucks. But, I'm going to let a pro do the
rags on the roadster. |
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| A complete 9", gear change Atlas lathe. Price was right, but again,
I have no floor space. |
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| Whoa!! A '53 Cushman Eagle!! I go WAAAAY back with Eagles. When
I was 16 I talked my dad into letting me get an Eagle dealership
and run it out of the Quonset hut that was my workshop next to his
store (Cushmans were built in Lincoln, 20 miles away). In less than
a year I was selling 35 a year and was the second biggest Cushman
dealer in Nebraska behind a guy in Omaha. Man, I'd really love to
restore one, but he was starting at $2,500 for this one. Way too
much. |
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A swap meet photo story wouldn't be complete without at least one
rat rod. |
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| Remember two numbers, when you look at the next two photos: '32
and $5,000 |
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| '32 Ford stuff is crazy expensive, but this is junk, so it's really
crazy, but someone will buy it. |
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| The quarter panels are more like 1/8th panels, they are so rusted
and beat up. |
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| A pretty little nautical light. They were asking $35 but I took
it home for $20. |
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This light sneaked in twice. Don't know how. |
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| There is a customer for everything. I walked by these twice, an
hour apart and they were gone the second time. |
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A collapsible tool bucket for working on poles, trees and stuff. |
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A heater!! Gas comes in the botom and heats the coil. |
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| Every time I passed this, I kept expecting it to look better to
me, but I guess I don't have enough pimp in me. |
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Cool old hotrod jacket. Lots of character, but too much money. |
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A grand a wheel. Nothing is that cool to me. Not even real mag
wheels. |
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Every shop needs at least one. Except mine. No room. |
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Now THIS is something I'd love to have. I'd get it running and
not remove a single bit of rust. |
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| Can't you see cruising town in this looking just exactly the way
it does now. Talk about character? The car's not mine because I forced
myself to walk away without asking how much. |
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Crude, just like every stock car I ever watched race as a kid. |
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| Unless I'm mistaken '27 Chevies were "jigglers." Overhead valves
with no rocker arm cover. |
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Some sort of funky lathe. The big electric motor is in the bed
with it. |