my first and last time at pamona classic car swap meet

[cbrestorations]

the big pamona classic car swap meet was a total waste of time, it was my first time going there afters years of hype from friends who have gone there in the past, but it has turned into a mexican flea market. it was completely packed from vendors gate to gate and at first i was excited to come home with an empty wallet and a truck load of parts so i didnt even set up my spot for the first 2 hrs as i was selling some camaro stuff, wheels, carbs and that 6.1 hemi engine. i walked the whole place and spent $8 on a burrito is all i came back with...its all left over junk parts that didnt sell the previous events, cheap made in mexico kids toys, t shirts, hello kitty bullshit, nic knacks, decals, stickers, junk 4 door bel air and impalla parts, wheels (but nothing cool, i had the best wheels there with billet specialties), junk tools, and new parts venders had big displays, but i can buy that stuff anytime i want online...the vendor spots were all sold out in the domestic area so i got stuck in the VW area which i hate vw's, never did and i hate how they sound...so i was pissed the whole time having to look at and hear them turds. i sold 3 camaro am radios...thats it. luckily while i was there i got a phone call about the hemi from a guy who lived in the area and he bought it, so it wasnt a total waste...i had stuff really cheap expecting it to sell fast but nope...i had 2 qualifier billet specialty wheels like new ($430ea. new) @ $300 for the pair and people thought i was nuts...thats 65% off lol. needless to say i will never be going back...the only thing mopar i found besides decals and stickers was a challenger steering column.

yes there was alot of cool cars for sale and on display, but no deals i saw...there was a crashed 70 challenger that had flipped and needed a new roof, whole right side and partial left side for $19k 

[Kern Dog]

One thing that I LOVE seeing at swap meets is the "CAR RELATED ITEMS ONLY" signs. Who goes to a swap meet to buy lawnmowers, chainsaws, medical supplies or a bag of marshmellows??? How about wood routers, SoniCare dental cleaning units and electric dog polishers...?
One year at the Van Nuys Spring Fling I saw this UGLY looking family. They had a space and were selling these home made PVC marshmellow launchers the kid made. I guess the operator was supposed to blow in one end to launch marshmellows. Come on, man! What the heck does this have to do with car parts?

Maybe these swap meets are allowing anything and everything just to fill the spaces. We have big swap meets in Nor Cal too. There is one in Turlock that takes an average guy several hours to get through. Yeah, there are rows and rows of Chevy stuff but sometimes there are some Mopar scores to be had.

[VegasCharger]

That sucks Chris as I've also heard positive things about Pomona even though it's all makes. Some could say you could corner the market being one of few vendors only having Mopar parts to sell. But after hearing this I don't think I could handle it similar to the scene below.

[Ghoste]

I'm sure the promoters are desperate to fill the spots.  It isn't cheap to rent a property for an event like that and e-bay (among other things) has made the swap meet a relic.  Sad, because the swap meet is one of the best things you can do when it is car parts.

[fc7_plumcrazy]

I have been once in Pomana.
I enjoyed looking at the cars. The prices were just funny though.
When I went to the swap meet I found some interesting stuff. But not car parts more like old ads and other old items from the 60s&70s.
It was more like a flee market

Carsten

[Rolling_Thunder]

Been to Pomona a few times - It wasnt as bad as you described 10-ish years ago. I did notice almost all chevy and mustang stuff....    I did see some nice cars there - saw a black over red 1969 Charger R/T which was really nice at $18,000 obo and also some really nice chevy cars (Camaros, chevelles, novas....) and a Volvo 1800 with a block small block chevy in it..     

Much like the rest of the state of CA it is turning to what you described - a mexican flea market.