I recently attended the 56th Annual Portland Auto Swap Meet, a huge event that’s held at the Portland Expo Center and it’s equally huge parking lot. The three day swap meet had been canceled for the last two years because of the pandemic. Now it had triumphantly returned, and I got the feeling that many car enthusiasts were happy to return to some kind of normal.
I’ve lived here for over twenty years and had never gotten around to attending the event. I need to stop being such a couch potato. This was such fun, that I’ll be returning every year. If you are an old fart like me, that kind of likes interesting old cars and trucks and all the junk that goes along with them, you were suddenly a kid in a candy store. It could have been a “Curbside Classic Convention”.
There was so much to see, and I took so many pictures, I’ve separated the story into two parts. In this post, we will look at some of the cool cars I found for sale on my visit. My next post will take a look at some amazing old trucks, along with some motorcycles and other neat vehicles I saw at the swap meet.
Here is why I like this swap meet better than the “New Car Auto Show” I attended in February. That show was full of brand new transportation appliances. They are wonderful modern cars with all the safety, performance and infotainment systems available. But many of them are bland, front wheel drive, ipads with 4 wheels and a CVT. To top it all off, new cars are now so expensive I couldn’t afford any car at that show.
Now the swap meet is a different story. This is the land of the hooptie. There are beat up old cars here that actually put a smile on your face. They are affordable. If you have the skills, tools, space and a little money, there is the possibility of turning somebody’s old jalopy into the car of your dreams without breaking the bank.
I’ll be honest here. I am unlikely to be able to afford a nice new car anytime soon, and turning a project car into my dream car is equally as unlikely. But as long as I’m going to daydream, I’ll be thinking about these cool old beaters not dreaming about car payments.
Let me start off with this sharp looking 1953 Mercury. The owner was asking $16,000 for this one. There are cars I’ll show here that I failed to get the make, model, year or price of. I’ll list what I know.
A $7,500 1961 Studebaker Hawk that looks to have a lot of potential. I recently saw a nicer one of these on BaT go for quite a bit more than that.
I liked this old Plymouth. Nice patina with a clear coat, and very cool headlight covers. The simple flathead straight six engine looks like a cast iron suitcase. The owner was asking $3000. I love it, but I’m not sure what I’d do with a car like this.
This beautifully restored 1963 Porsche 356 looked almost out of place among the well worn cars and trucks I saw that day. I was there on Sunday morning and many people had reduced their asking price to get their cars sold. Not this Porsche. It got marked up to $90K.
I love the “Gangster Look” of this ’38 Oldsmobile Straight 8. If money wasn’t an issue, I would fully restore it on new skateboard style EV chassis. It would make a fantastic electro-restomod. The owner wanted $5500 for it.
I found this ’57 Chevy refreshing. So many of these are restored to beyond perfect condition that they become nothing but rolling art that can’t be driven or enjoyed. This is one you could park at the local Walmart and not worry too much about. Under the hood, things look much fresher. The owner wanted $17,500.
Has there ever been a happier little car than the Nash Metropolitan? This 1957 has less than 20 thousand miles and has had only 3 owners. It could have put a smile on your face for $15,000.
Here is a beautiful 1967 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible. This nicely restored car was in near perfect condition. The owner wanted $60,000 for you to take it home.
Mopar fans will enjoy these next cars. I’ll begin with this 1964 Plymouth Belvedere. I’m not sure of the price on this one.
This poor 1965 Barracuda is probably too far gone to save. If you see this much rust on the outside, just imagine what’s hiding underneath. It would likely make a good parts car, I didn’t notice the price.
This 1915 Dodge Touring car isn’t exactly stock, but it’s 106 years old, so I’ll cut it some slack. Its engine is an early 80’s Chevy V-8. It has Mustang II front suspension and a Pinto rear end and brakes. What a particle little commuter for only $9,500.
I’m a Finn who loves fins. This 1956 Plymouth Belvedere 2 door hardtop was a real beauty. With only 16K original miles, this one has a 3 speed manual with overdrive and it looks like it’s ready to cruise. You could have driven this one home for $38,995.
You don’t see many of these around, even in Portland. This 1960 Morris Minor convertible was going for $15,500.
If you fancy Fords, there were plenty of interesting ones to look at. This 1960 Square Bird is a beautiful two owner California car with 98K miles. The owner wanted $17,500 for this one.
This 1967 Mustang looks pretty clapped out, but maybe that’s actually a good thing. I’ve heard you can get just about any parts you would could possibly need to restore one of these. So with proper time, talent and money, this old pony is a blank canvass to make the classic Mustang of your dreams.
Can you say patina? This solid looking 1961 Ford Galaxie Starliner was near top of the line back in its day. It had a sold sign on the windshield. I hope the new owner can bring it back to its original glory.
Since you missed out on the Galaxie above, this 1961 Mercury Meteor 800 had its price slashed in half. For only $2000 it looks like it would be a cool project car for the right person.
I bet you haven’t seen one of these for a while. But I have questions? Did someone fill in the round window in the rear that these wagons had, or did Ford actually make a plain panel version? Still it’s super rare and in beautiful shape. Try and find another 1980 Pinto like this for the $8795 asking price.
I was so taken by this minty 70’s Econoline Van and Cougar that I didn’t get any info about them. They were an identical shade of green that many Fords of the time wore.
Let’s finish up this tour with a look at some interesting old wagons. This 1950 Pontiac was a work in progress. It has a late 70’s six cylinder Nova engine. They wanted $16,500 for it.
Here is a beautiful 1962 Buick Invicta wagon. This was the last year most GMs’ had curved a-pillars and I think they looked a little old fashioned by that time.
I like this Chevy wagon. The tires and wheels tell me it just might make a little more power than it originally did. Do you think the patina is real? And would you keep it this way or would you give it a proper paint job? I didn’t see the price.
This 1949 Plymouth Suburban would likely be a hit at your local Cars and Coffee. Imagine how much fun this would be for weekend camping trips? Lots of character here for $11,500.
Well, that’s it for this post. I only showed you the cars here. There was so many interesting things to look at, it was difficult to see everything. In my next post I’ll be looking at a bunch of cool old trucks as well motorcycles and much more. There was so much more to see. You can check out even more of these photos in my Flickr album.
The Portland Auto Swap Meet is an annual event and if you live anywhere near the area, you owe it to yourself to attend the next one. I’ll be going every year from now on. It was great fun.
Oh boy, $3k for a straight 39 Plymouth sedan – I’m glad I wasn’t there in person, or I would have had to drive it home.
The 61 is one of my favorite Hawks, and that price/condition combination looks fairly reasonable.
I know it would be impractical as can be, but the idea of a really nice, serviceable car for maybe $10-15k sounds pretty reasonable in this day and age. But I must remember that it is not 1980 any more and all of these cars have another 40 years under their belts than they do in my imagination.
I know, that 39 Plymouth seems like quite the bargain if it runs and drives. And that 63 Mercury for $2000 looked really good.
I can’t imagine finding a classic car for $2k that’s not hopelessly rusty and/or incomplete around here.
And as we discussed the other day, Porsche pricing is just bonkers. Nice cars, but I could buy 3 or 4 enjoyable cars for $90k so I’ll leave that to the rich people.
Went to a local car show last fall. Chock full of exotics (a rare focus in NE Ohio). But there was a like new orange Pinto that got every bit as much attention as the Italian exotics or classic muscle cars. It was owned by a guy who bought it from the little old lady retired school teacher. Brought back lots of memories. I think it did that for a wider cross section than a Viper or Ferrari can.
It is so great to see cars one doesn’t always see at car shows. I’ve been around since the early 1960s and I don’t believe I have ever seen a Buick station wagon from 1959-1965 except maybe a Buick Special. I understand at some point during that period Buick didn’t have a full-size wagon but I may be mis-remembering.
No full size Buick wagon in 1965 – 1969. The Sportwagon, which was an extended-wheelbase intermediate was the biggest Buick wagon those years.
Good prices on some of those not the Porsche though, old cars here keep getting dreamer money asked for whats really not worth anything, I do like that old Plymouth but I already have one spare old car thats giving me storage problems so I’ll just stick with that.
Thanks for the tour! That Plymouth does seem to be a solid deal, and the Pinto would be a nostalgic temptation. For several of the other cars, I fool myself that I could do much of the work they need/deserve, so I’d just be writing checks to others to spruce them up.
There’s some nicely shot video here, which includes brief views of a few of today’s CC cars, though it mostly focuses on the vendors…gives me an idea what a huge undertaking it all is:
The square Plymouth headlights are the original design. They were just before sealed beam became the norm. The headlights now installed are replacements, although they are nicely integrated and maintain the correct shape.
Oldsmobile 442 for me. Don’t know why, or what 442 stands for, but I had an Observer’s Book of Automobiles that featured it, many years ago. Can’t find the book, so I’ll have the car instead?
4 barrel carb 4 speed gear box 2 exhaust pipes
I may be wrong but I’m thinking that barracuda is a formula s model and that rarity might give it a better chance for survival.
Ahh, the Portland Swa(m)p Meet! I remember my trip to, ummm, lessee here. If this was the 56th in 2022, and I went in 1995, I guess I went to the 29th.
I can’t get onside. Those appear to be 7-inch sealed beams behind the optically-facetted lenses of this 1939 (pre-1940) car’s original composite headlamps. You can’t do that and expect to be able to see at night; it’s like putting someone else’s eyeglasses in front of your own.
…made me immediately go dive into my folder of CC fodder photos I’ve taken over the years. It took some careful back-and-forth scrutiny of your photos and mine, but yep, I saw that car—with some front-end damage and without the lodge livery—in Portland in 2016.
I wonder if reflectors are available for a ’39 Plymouth to put modern composite headlight bulbs behind those original lenses. It’s nice that they’re still with the car in that case.
The straight panels on the Pinto wagon were an option, along with rear-seat delete to create a commercial “van” as opposed to the lifestyle “Cruisin’ Van”.
Just speculation, but there’s a chance they were first proposed for the USPS fleet contract but the post office went with the Runabout hatchback body instead despite far lower cargo volume, and the portholed “Cruisin'” model an offshoot of the panels being available for that.
No. The bulb (filament configuration and placement), reflector, and lens work together as a system. There aren’t any modern bulbs with filaments in a compatible shape-size-position-orientation to work with the ’39 Plymouth lens, in front of any reflector.
Younger car fans are always surprised to see ’64-’72 Chevelle sedans and wagons, thinking “weren’t they all muscle coupes?”.
’56 Plymouth please. Lookit those wind deflectors on the windshield wipers. Excellent option. Floor mat, maybe two, an AM radio, and three on the tree with overdrive! Nice seats, in excellent condition for a car my age.
That radio speaker grille was my little steering wheel in my my Dad’s ’55 Dodge, as I have mentioned countless times. Kids didn’t wear no durn seat belts back then. Or sit in back seats facing backwards in an encasement called a child seat.
A ’56 in the 56th show. How appropriate. And it’s my favourite colour too, your Excellency. (With apologies to IJ).