Deals Abound at Fall Carlisle

Shrouded in a sea of fog, thousands of classic cars, parts, and sleepy vendors emerged from the Pennsylvania mist Friday morning as third day of the 34th annual Fall Carlisle Collector Car Swap Meet and Corral slowly got underway.

Parked directly across from the bustling food court (spaces D97-98), Old Cars Price Guide editor Ron Kowalke opened up the magazine’s trailer just before 7 a.m. in preparation for another day of book sales and enthusiastic folks looking to “show him their parts.”

“People are definitely having fun with it,” Ron said referring to the Old Cars Weekly contest that is currently underway and challenges readers to stop by the book trailer and show off some of the interesting discoveries they have made at the Carlisle and the upcoming Hershey swap meets. Following the shows, everyone that took the time to “show off their parts” will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a selection of prizes.

With temperatures registering in the mid 70s on local thermometers, large crowds were again expected for this, the 10th and final show at the fairgrounds for the 2007 season.

“It's often said, ‘If you can't find it at Carlisle, you probably won't find it,'” says Brad Adcock, spokesman for Carlisle Events. Organizers are predicting a banner year, due in part to the mild temperatures and the fact that the show’s 82 acres site is packed to capacity with thousand’s of vendors and more than 1,800 cars lining this year’s car corral.

The word around the show is that business is brisk for the vendors, except for those who had anticipated a booming business selling sweatshirts and jackets.

“Who knew that it would be this warm at Fall Carlisle,” said Richie Allen who was hawking automotive-related clothing items from the back of his van. “Next year I’ll have to bring less of the warm stuff and more t-shirts.”

As you might expect, the aisles at Carlisle are again packed with a wide selection of new and old body parts, engines, automobilia, and automotive products.

Tonight, the focus will shift up the street to the Carlisle Expo Center where up to 250 collector cars from all eras and genres will be roll across the auction block from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and again on Saturday when the auction will continue from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Be sure to keep an eye on the OldCarsWeekly.com Web site for show updates, photos and video. Also, be sure to check out all the great Old Cars Weekly advertisers who have set up booths at the show.

Fall Carlise runs through Sunday when may vendors and ateendees alike will pack up their cars and parts and head on to Hershey.