L.A. Roadsters Show & Swap Meet

Although the L.A. Roadsters' Father's Day event began as a successful car show at the Hollywood Bowl in 1959, the event really grew in popularity when the swap meet was added in 1967. But there was a snag; according to Jack Stewart and Dick Wells' book, "L.A. Roadsters, A Retrospective," the City of Los Angeles banned automotive swap meets just before the 1968 event, presumably a political knee-jerk reaction to prevent the sales of stolen car parts. As a result, the meet was moved beyond the city's authority to the nearby Great Western Exhibit Center. In 1980, the Roadsters came home to L.A. to take over the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona each Father's Day.

Along with the venue, there have certainly been other changes in the yearly swap meet-it has definitely become bigger, but it has also become the place to find those rare and unusual parts, as well as a variety of desirable cars, from projects to drivers. Like most swap meets, there are bargains to be found and prices that are laughable, but then value is best perceived by those who are looking for treasures and have to reach into their own pocket to obtain them. As might be expected, the prices of '32 Ford sheetmetal hit an all-time high this year; some examples of bodies were so far gone that they could only be identified by the price tag explaining what the remains once were. On the other hand, there were some reasonably good buys on complete cars-go figure.

Another obvious trend this year is the growing popularity of '50s and '60s cars. More and more parts for these cars are showing up in swap spaces, and since many of these pieces are relatively new in swap meet terms, the condition of much of it was quite good. While postwar cars were evident in chunks both large and small, there was also an interesting variety of solid, drivable examples from those years on hand that could have been driven home without breaking the bank. And when compared to the price of a used import commuter car with zero personality, there were quite a few fun, funky cars from the area that would make commuting more interesting.

If parts and complete cars are at the ends of the swap meet continuum, somewhere in the middle are those abandoned project cars. It often takes some scrutiny, but there are bargains to be had in those forgotten dreams. One Model A in particular was a couple months of weekends away from being on the road, and the asking price was roughly half the sum of the parts included.

While there are all the obvious reasons for going to the L.A. Roadsters' swap meet, one of the best is simply to look at stuff. All sorts of stuff-new and old, shiny or rusty, cheap to expensive; it's all there and it's all cool. And even if you don't go home with that prized possession you've been looking for, just wandering the aisles is great for inspiration. Try it yourself next Father's Day, and who knows-maybe you will find both.