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It seems that most newer folks to the hobby rely on the national Packard vendors and eBay for parts sourcing and generally don't do flea markets, though I know that a few of us do, Bigkev, Randy and myself, and Packards1 is often a flea market vendor.

The contrasts are interesting and perhaps some of you have interesting stories which you'd like to share. The big advantage of eBay is that the available parts get very wide coverage, are easy to search, and you don't have to leave your house. The disadvantages are that, except for BIN items, the wide visibility and ease of finding put you in a competitive position with other potential buyers to the seller's advantage. Another downside is you can't pick it up and examine it closely, and a large number of items on eBay are misidentified as to application and sometimes to condition.

The disadvantage to better flea markets is also a disadvantage to the seller. You've got to get there and walk around and bargain but the seller has to rent a space, pack his wares and when he gets to the site, unpack, spend the day at his own booth, and display them. He doesn't want to take them home again and rarely is it more than one buyer and one seller negotiating over price.

I'm stocked to the gills on parts for my Packards so in recent years I mostly just shop for tools. The pictures of micrometers are those I've picked up at flea markets, I don't think any cost over $10.00 and all are in excellent condition. Starrett, MT, Mitoyoto, Lufkin are all good stuff, but nothing beats Brown & Sharpe for quality. The inside micrometer is 3 to 4 inches, the last on the right in the group picture is metric. The one with the large faces is for measuring paper like gaskets, etc. The cased B&S is 1-2 inch and reads to a 10,000th.

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Do you have any tips for finding flea markets in one's local area? I also like looking at parts in hand, but tend towards ebay and Kanter, etc. because it's the easy option.

Ken, when i spoke of flea markets I didn't mean the general ones but those specializing in old car parts. Though quite a few folks on this site have expressed distain about going to car shows, the larger shows most all have decent flea markets and are among the best places to start. Just up in CT the Southbury show in the Fall has a decent one, and the old Richfield Meet, also in the Fall, now held at Lone Star Farm in Redding, has a small but good one with a surprising number of Packard parts. My local club's annual show is this Sunday in northern NJ and we usually have 100 or so vendors restricted to auto-related. And the big Packard flea market just past down in MD always gets high marks. Also, just this past weekend in Rhinebeck NY, one of the largest around our area other than Hershey.

Owen_Dyneto Quote:

Dave,

Are you referring to restoration and mechanical tools in general (like the mics you pictured) or Packard parts specifically?

WRT Packard parts, another viable source are guys who have a LOT of "parts cars", a few of which are sort of "commercial vendors", but most are not. Even though I have several Packard parts cars, other parts car owners have been a good source for me in the past if my parts cars did not have the required piece either because of prior removal or wrong model. Also, me removing and selling parts off them works too. This process never sees EBay or a swap meet.

Craig

Craig - no, not just for tools but as I said in my opening post I'm pretty well stocked (some would say overstocked) on parts for my 2 Packards. Still, I wouldn't pass up a bargain even if it was a duplicate or triplicate to what I already have. As to folks with parts cars like Mike Dulinski, I've bought from him and others and that's always a source to consider.

A do a bit of light machining so I'm always on the lookout for measuring and cutting tools, lathe accessories and parts, etc. And especially on the lookout for those specialized Packard tools though I rarely find them.

Not sure I answered your question.

Owen_Dyneto Quote:

Yes, you did. But, "newbies" may not be aware of the many Packard parts cars out there as an alternate source.

Craig

I have pretty much given up on swap meets in my area. Most of the shows I had gone to, did not have one Packard on display or any parts for that matter. Plenty of Chevy and Ford stuff. Tools can be a good find though, as well as book specialists. So far, this site, ebay, and the major vendors have been my best sources for parts.

Flea markets and swap meets mite have a lot of regional variations of vendor wares. Beginning in the early 90's i began to notice 'local' swap meets and even just general flea markets offering less and less vintage items and offering more modern so-called import items and novelty type items, reproduction items, badged clothing, tattoe artists, etc, etc . This has even occured at swap meets directed specifically at motorcycles and/or cars.

During the 60's and 70's that auto and m/c swap meets were much more layed back. Most were held in an open field, fair grounds or other similar open-aire arrangements allowing vendors to sell directly from the back of their truck.

Over the last 20 years there has been a trend toward INdoor swapmeets/fleas and high priced shopper admission fees.

I still go to fleas and swaps but quite frankly i do much better with eBay. However, eBay is showing more evidence of less and less vintage items and more 'professional' sellers trying to sell just alot of plastic junk.

I will have to say that lately I have given up on ebay. I have been burned too many times with poor packaging and cheap sellers. However, eBay never ceases to amaze me, I have managed to find at least a couple of very difficult parts, but doing so has requires daily searching.

I had a headlight shipped in a box that "was wrapped tightly with bubble wrap and will get there great" The box was a box that had been used 10 times and had a piece of bubble wrap in it.

Flea markets have pretty much burned me out as well. I searched Iola last year and saw three Packard parts. I could have bought a bunch of McDonalds toys or engines from the 80s, or built a Model A from scratch; however, the Packard parts, especially the Pre-war, are definitely drying up.

Local flea markets are, at least around here, a joke for Packard parts. When I mention Packard, a very common response is to show me GM parts.

There are the few people out there that have a few treasure troves of parts that you just have to know to be able to source parts, or hope that the major vendors will find them.

Sure, I agree. What you're likely to find at flea markets associated with car meets depends on what kinds of years of cars attend the meet. For example, a show limited to pre-war cars tends to have mostly vendors with prewar stuff.