Another Mopar Off My Bucket List - Barracuda Fastback
I got back from the swap meet a few hours ago. It really looked like slim pickings. We got there early enough that most of the vendors hadn't set up yet. Most swap meets around here let the guys selling stuff set their parts up in the wee hours beforehand. We were there for almost an hour before there was much to see. They allowed the vendors to set up wherever they chose so they were scattered over the large fairgrounds. It meant a lot of walking back and forth through sparsely occupied areas until it eventually filled up.
I hadn't bought anything the first 2 times through the swap meet. In desperation I decided to give it another try. My main goals are to search for the type of things I couldn't afford otherwise, buy things that I really do need, and to never come home empty handed.
I did buy a puller to replace the harmonic balancer that I had lost. - That I needed. It was two bucks.
I was in dire need of a spare tire for the Ford truck. - At $10 it was cheaper than what I'd have had to pay elsewhere.
I came across some linkage for a two four setup. The bell cranks are there and I know how expensive the parts can be. It wasn't complete but I felt it was well worth the $20 I gave.
One of the vendors had a tall stack of JOHN DEERE decals. After my buddy finagled him down to $3 for a pair of them, I decided it was cheap enough that I could possibly use the first half of them to put my name on the racecar. - If nothing else, - my toolbox.
For another two bucks I bought myself a cap. - Not a necessity but the price was right.
We were ready to leave and I hadn't made any big scores. I may not have had my hopes up too high beforehand but I thought I would have fared better.
That's when we noticed that a couple more late comer vendors had shown up. They were a long distance away and I figured we might as well look at what they had.
From a distance I could see a pair of fenders. The closer we got I started to make out what was written on the piece of tape that was affixed to them.
'CHARGER FENDERS $225'
They were fiberglass fenders for '68-'69 Chargers. Just last week my son had told me that he was considering replacing his new AMD fenders with fiberglass ones. I tried talking him out of the idea and he hadn't made up his mind. I struggled with what to do.
They were new but had already been edged with green paint and bolted to the guy's car. He decided not to use them when he found a pair of repairable steel fenders and pulled them back off. The price was great if we were going to use them but I didn't want to buy them and have to resell if my son stayed with his AMDs. I explained my dilemma to the seller and told him that if we didn't use them we'd probably be selling them at the big Mopar show in Omaha later this year. He said that was fine with him and he came down to $175 for the pair.
When I got home I checked online for the price on them. They were made by VFN Fiberglass and listed for $675 plus truck freight. Then I called my son. Without revealing that I'd bought them I asked him if he'd decided anything about front fenders. He said that he made up his mind to make the switch. - So he was pretty happy when I told him I'd bought him the pair. It's about time we saved some bucks on a purchase for his car. I know we'll probably take a bath on the AMDs when we sell them but at least it won't sting so much after the deal on these 'glass ones.
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I got back from the swap meet a few hours ago. It really looked like slim pickings. We got there early enough that most of the vendors hadn't set up yet. Most swap meets around here let the guys selling stuff set their parts up in the wee hours beforehand. We were there for almost an hour before there was much to see. They allowed the vendors to set up wherever they chose so they were scattered over the large fairgrounds. It meant a lot of walking back and forth through sparsely occupied areas until it eventually filled up.
I hadn't bought anything the first 2 times through the swap meet. In desperation I decided to give it another try. My main goals are to search for the type of things I couldn't afford otherwise, buy things that I really do need, and to never come home empty handed.
I did buy a puller to replace the harmonic balancer that I had lost. - That I needed. It was two bucks.
I was in dire need of a spare tire for the Ford truck. - At $10 it was cheaper than what I'd have had to pay elsewhere.
I came across some linkage for a two four setup. The bell cranks are there and I know how expensive the parts can be. It wasn't complete but I felt it was well worth the $20 I gave.
One of the vendors had a tall stack of JOHN DEERE decals. After my buddy finagled him down to $3 for a pair of them, I decided it was cheap enough that I could possibly use the first half of them to put my name on the racecar. - If nothing else, - my toolbox.
For another two bucks I bought myself a cap. - Not a necessity but the price was right.
We were ready to leave and I hadn't made any big scores. I may not have had my hopes up too high beforehand but I thought I would have fared better.
That's when we noticed that a couple more late comer vendors had shown up. They were a long distance away and I figured we might as well look at what they had.
From a distance I could see a pair of fenders. The closer we got I started to make out what was written on the piece of tape that was affixed to them.
'CHARGER FENDERS $225'
They were fiberglass fenders for '68-'69 Chargers. Just last week my son had told me that he was considering replacing his new AMD fenders with fiberglass ones. I tried talking him out of the idea and he hadn't made up his mind. I struggled with what to do.
They were new but had already been edged with green paint and bolted to the guy's car. He decided not to use them when he found a pair of repairable steel fenders and pulled them back off. The price was great if we were going to use them but I didn't want to buy them and have to resell if my son stayed with his AMDs. I explained my dilemma to the seller and told him that if we didn't use them we'd probably be selling them at the big Mopar show in Omaha later this year. He said that was fine with him and he came down to $175 for the pair.
When I got home I checked online for the price on them. They were made by VFN Fiberglass and listed for $675 plus truck freight. Then I called my son. Without revealing that I'd bought them I asked him if he'd decided anything about front fenders. He said that he made up his mind to make the switch. - So he was pretty happy when I told him I'd bought him the pair. It's about time we saved some bucks on a purchase for his car. I know we'll probably take a bath on the AMDs when we sell them but at least it won't sting so much after the deal on these 'glass ones.
View attachment IMG_5012.jpg
View attachment IMG_5011.jpg
View attachment IMG_5013.jpg
View attachment IMG_5014.jpg
View attachment IMG_5010.jpg