Well, just got back from the Import/Kit-Car show at Carlisle, PA and
WOW! It is HUGE.
Here is a list of "bargains" (we'll see):
Top for MGB: $159 ($20 off the catalog price)
Twin HIF4s with heat shield and intake manifold - $50 (clean)
Top for Spitfire - $75
Chrome front bumper for B MGB - $50 new (you could get a usable but
ugly one for $5!)
Panel Rheostat w/knob plus reverse light lens, misc fastneners $10
Turn signal switch (ours doesn't go bloclick back after turn) - $15.
Real Owner's Manuals ( $12 each car)
Lindsey Porter books under $30 each (DIY Resto, Improving and Modifying)
Pair '73 front bumper overriders - $28
'73 grill slightly dented $10 - $10
Extremely misc. handful of top hardware - $5
and so on.
The drawback of the show (besides spending hundreds of $$) is that now
I know what I REALLY want (MGA, MGTD, A-H 3000, Jags, etc.)And I am
sunburnt and sore... <g>
Some tips which helped us immensely:
1) Make a list! I put together a list of parts we needed, and the Seven
Enterprises and Roadster Factory prices on each item. This helped prioritize
the purchases, so we didn't spend all our money on other stuff first.
2) Intercoms... FM headsets allowed the two of us to split up and regroup,
without having to wait in a given spot.These do suffer from interference...
a neighborhood baby monitor kept breaking squelch. Not a problem when
actually communicating, though.
3) Notepad. The booths are numbered. Do a quick sweep and write down
items of interest. You may find better deals farther up the hill, but if
you do NOT, you will absolutely NOT find your way back without notes.
This is especially true if you sweep Friday and buy Saturday. We started
with $100 for a good pair of HS4s, with a mainifold, etc, and breathers. By
the end of the day we had $50 for the carbs/manifold, and $10 for 3 breathers.
And they were HIF4s, which is what I wanted anyway.
4) Flash camera. A one-shot automatic camera with flash demand... you don't
want to spend a lot of time focusing, and the flash fills in dark engine
compartments, etc. Very educational to have pictures of concours vehicles.
Things we learned:
1) If it is too good to be true, it probably isn't. This is especially
true of complex stuff like carbs. We saw a $35 pair of HS6s which had
breathers, etc. but were totally locked up.
2) A portable chair would be great.
3) Paying $7.50 for a hamburger, drink, and fries doesn't mean it will
be edible.
4) If you see something ONCE in the sweep, and you need it, buy it right
away. It won't be there long if it is any good.The price might go down
the next day, but the vendor may have disappeared completely, too.We
had this problem with a vendor who had all the Trunions and other tiny
parts anyone would want. He wasn't there Sunday at all.
5) A portable chair would be super.
6) Ask! Many of the vendors (and more of the customers) have been
working with these cars and parts a long time. Many are enthusiasts as
well, and have fun helping. Of course, if they can sell you a two
way articulated grubnut at the same time, even better. We took pictures
of cars in the customer parking lots as well as the show lots, and
learned there too.
7) Sunscreen is essential.
8) A good third of the vendors leave early. Depends on whether they make
their money quick... they all have junk to take back with them. Sunday
is therefore NOT the time to show up, unless you are spending fun money.
9) A wheelchair would be even better...
I can't wait to get back to the car... <g>.
John Trindle
73 MGB jtrindle@ftf03.larc.nasa.gov or
88 RX-7 GXL C/Stock 70303.3506@compuserve.com
69 Spitfire IFT-PRO/ISS for FS5/FSPLAN
"2nd Law of Errordynamics: Errors flow from bug-ridden to bug-free areas.
Disorder of the system as a whole tends toward a maximum. This means that
at some point your car or program will become unfixable and have to be
either rebuilt from the ground up or abandoned. - JMT"
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