Pate Swap Meet

JED

JED

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 5
It has probably been 10 years or so since I went to a major swap meet (I mean those that are advertised in the magazines, etc), although I attend the local swap meets every year. I went to the Pate Swap Meet at the Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth last Friday. Leaving at 5AM, it was a 5.5 hr drive up, 5.5 hrs there and 5.5 hrs driving home. I walked as much of the swap meet as I could and covered 8.5 miles before I left to come home. I came home empty-handed; however, I did get to meet Wayne "W Head" briefly.

What struck me as amusing was how much things have changed since I last attended a major swap meet. There were gazillions of the handicapped scooters zipping around with very little attention to pedestrians. There were so many running around that they had lots of traffic jams in the aisles, including clusters of stopped scooters with drivers just talking to each other. I even saw one accident at an aisle intersection. I think most of the scooters were rented by people who were not necessarily handicapped but didn't want to walk the long aisles.

The other amusing thing was some of the prices people were asking. The price on this "see-thru" Cadillac was $7500. The photo doesn't do it justice - there wasn't enough left of the body or the frame to even make a salvage vehicle and I don't believe they make aftermarket body panels for this model.
Pate-2019.jpg

Maybe I'm just an old fart! ("get off my lawn!")
John
 
D

Don Jacks

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 3
I agree with you,John.At the prices that some of them have the nerve to ask,you have to wonder if anyone is even remotely stupid enough to even consider such a "pile".
 
409newby

409newby

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 11
At the Portland swap meet in early april their are two meets at the same time one at the PIR track and one at the EXPO center about a 1/4 mile apart parking is pretty much nonexistent so the public is bused in from the horse track a few miles away. at PIR you can use golf carts because of the expansive area with no real problems, the EXPO is to tightly packed so its personal mobility scooters or walking when I used to walk these it took about 9 hrs each day only stopping to look at things I was interested in and beer stops, which accounted for its share of time :D
 
W Head

W Head

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 12
JED said:
It has probably been 10 years or so since I went to a major swap meet (I mean those that are advertised in the magazines, etc), although I attend the local swap meets every year. I went to the Pate Swap Meet at the Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth last Friday. Leaving at 5AM, it was a 5.5 hr drive up, 5.5 hrs there and 5.5 hrs driving home. I walked as much of the swap meet as I could and covered 8.5 miles before I left to come home. I came home empty-handed; however, I did get to meet Wayne "W Head" briefly.

What struck me as amusing was how much things have changed since I last attended a major swap meet. There were gazillions of the handicapped scooters zipping around with very little attention to pedestrians. There were so many running around that they had lots of traffic jams in the aisles, including clusters of stopped scooters with drivers just talking to each other. I even saw one accident at an aisle intersection. I think most of the scooters were rented by people who were not necessarily handicapped but didn't want to walk the long aisles.

The other amusing thing was some of the prices people were asking. The price on this "see-thru" Cadillac was $7500. The photo doesn't do it justice - there wasn't enough left of the body or the frame to even make a salvage vehicle and I don't believe they make aftermarket body panels for this model.
View attachment 70217

Maybe I'm just an old fart! ("get off my lawn!")
John
Click to expand...

JED, So sorry we did not get to spend more time talking. But I had just met a old drag boat racer friend that I had not seen in 4 years, just before you walked up. Pate only allows the electric scooters to ride, other wise there would be lots of golf carts, riding lawn mowers, motor bikes, bikes and other modes of transportation to really clutter up the lanes.

W Head
 
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