Story by Mark Wing. Photos by Mark Wing and Kirk Peterson
The Chickasha Pre-War Swap Meet has been an antique car enthusiast’s Mecca since 1969 and is focused on pre-1945 cars and parts. Joe Ersland founded this swap meet and it’s now run by his descendants. It takes place at the Grady County Fairgrounds in Chickasha, OK, around 40 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
It’s been a tradition for Tin Lizzie Members to attend the two-day event and this year Kirk Peterson, Larry Azevedo, Jim Glover, John Gibbs, Dave Ferro, and Mark Wing made the trek. In addition to finding parts for our Model T projects, it’s a good venue to sell items, see old friends, or to make new ones. Both Mark and Larry had seller spaces reserved in the eastern side of the north building. Good thing too because the morning temperatures and winds made the outdoor spaces chilly and uncomfortable. Jim Glover was tracking down items for his 1918 Model T project to replace the parts lost with the recent theft of his enclosed trailer. Dave was looking for parts for his 1927 speedster. Kirk had a great time catching up with old friends. John Gibbs and one of his fellow Pocos Quatros Club members found some great Model A bargains. Larry sold quite a few items and was also taking orders for his needle bearing universal joints. Mark found several early T parts, like a set of 1911/12 running board brackets, picked up an early frame, and sold a lot of stuff too.
Not too long ago, it was almost impossible to find a hotel room or a vendor space at Chickasha. Today, this swap meet is a shadow of its former self with an estimated only 1/3 of the spaces occupied. The reasons for this include the recent COVID epidemic, high fuel prices, general aging of the antique car population, and the rise of Internet sales. It was among the top places in the country to see mountains of everything from new old stock to very rough and rusty parts. You could also visit with the major vendors selling tires, rebuilt speedometers, field coils, rebuilding services, etc. Many of these vendors are noticeably absent now, but you can still talk to the folks from Birdhaven (formerly Texas T Parts), Dave Nolting of ductile transmission drum fame, and Russ Potter who’s a well-known carburetor restorer.
Chickasha as a town has great restaurants with memorable and generously portioned “stick to your ribs” mid-western dining at reasonable prices. Most of the Tin Lizzie members who went this year plan to return in 2023. I strongly encourage other club members to join us and experience Chickasha before it fades into history. Who knows, perhaps we can help reverse the current attendance trend and have a lot of fun too!
Below are links to Chickasha comments and photos on the MTFCA forum:
https://mtfca.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=27808
https://mtfca.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=27858
