YORK, PA SWAP MEET
March 4-6, 2005
The York swap meet is held the first weekend in March each year at
the York County Fair Grounds in York, Pennsylvania. Two
large halls are used to house parts vendors and anyone else who wants to rent a table to
sell parts, literature, collectibles, tools, and a wide range of other things – all
Studebaker related in one way or another. This
is the largest all-Studebaker swap meet in the world!
You can buy everything from a cotter pin to a street rod here. There are parts for cars and trucks. In the corral outside, are cars for sale. In addition, there are many people who bring parts
and set up outside. This year it was cool (30s
to 40s) but sunny and dry.
 Lots of
sheet metal and bumpers outside. |
 A Larkette original with small gasoline engine. Only $1800! |
There were a number of trucks for sale this year as well as some trucks that were just
driven to the show.
 A rusty but
complete and restorable M5, perhaps a 1941 truck. |
 A nice looking Champ truck with a wide bed. |
 An
M5 street rod with small block Chevy engine. For
sale. |
 A
Packard sedan in progress to become a pickup truck. An
interesting project! Not for sale. |
One rare item that surfaced was a grille for a 1941 M16 truck with the stainless grille
bars. This may be the only NOS set in the
world. On sale for $2000.
While I have shown a few expensive items here, don’t be put off by
the prices. There are lots of parts at very
affordable prices, and many boxes of parts labeled $1 or $5.
In addition, there are engines, transmissions, radios, upholstery, and any thing
else you can think of. You may have to bargain to get the price that you are willing
to pay, but that’s part of the fun of coming.
Many people come from long distances to attend. I saw many of the people who regularly post at the
Stude Truck Talk web site. Above are Michael
Webb from Berkeley, CA, Frank Drumheller from Virginia, and me
(from Dartmouth, Mass.). There were also many
people from the alt.autos.studebaker news group including John
Poulos, Nate Nagel, Jeff Rice,
George Rohrbach, Steve Grant, Lee DeLaBarre, Ray Fichthorn,
Vern Ediger, Dusty Wagner, and so many others I can’t remember them all. My
apologies if I didn't mention your name here. There were also many people from the
Ocean Bay Chapter of SDC (Mass. and Rhode Island). A few pictures below:
 Bob Munter, Dennis Luukko, and Paul
Derosier from central Massachusetts
Paul and Bob restore Studebakers at WCD Garage in Northboro, Mass. |
 Gary Hallgren from western Mass. polishes his
GT Hawk that was for sale for $7500. |
| There are many other things to do in York besides go to the swap
meet. My wife Jane likes to see the many old
historical sites that date back to the Revolutionary War period and even before. We always go to the Public Market House on Saturday
morning to get some Pennsylvania Dutch scrapple, smoked ham and bacon, special breads, and
other treats.
There are also some excellent restaurants downtown such as Left Bank
(eclectic American), Fisher’s, Harp and Fiddle (Irish pub), and Sam & Tony’s
(casual Italian). |
 Some
of the best pork products come from central Pennsylvania. Scrapple is made from
cornmeal with ground pork and some spices. |
 Utz
makes the BEST potato chips and pretzels ever! |
We like to stay at the Yorktowne Hotel in the
very center of town (see www.yorktowne.com). This year, Jane
went into the Agricultural and Industrial Museum while I was at the swap meet. She is a well-trained Studebaker spotter and
reported to me that she found an 1895 Studebaker buckboard in the museum. No one in the Keystone Chapter of SDC has ever made
any publicity out of that fact - but now we know! Incidentally,
that museum also contains a number of old cars that were made in York, like the Pullman,
Sphinx, and Bell. You can also take a tour of the Harley Davidson factory or visit
York Bar Bells while you are there for the swap meet. On our way home, we stopped at
Cabela's in Hamburg, PA, just off I-78. I'm not an "outdoors" kind of guy,
but I was really impressed with the range and quality of the merchandise, as well as the
displays of mounted game such as deer, bear, game birds, waterfowl, etc.
 An
old steam engine in the Agricultural and Industrial Museum in York. |
 Some
of the animal exhibits at Cabela's. |
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