SWAP MEET A SWEET EVENT
West coast gathering great for networking, finding parts or that future fix-up project
If you have a vintage Honda motorcycle for sale, take it to the Coastal Swap Meet that runs today and Saturday at Abbotsford’s Tradex Centre. There is a good chance Gary Hawthorn will snap it up.
He’s been on the hunt ever since buying a 50-year-old Honda motorcycle at the 2016 swap meet. The fact that it needed a complete restoration didn’t bother him. He already had half a dozen vintage Honda motorcycles. Hawthorn is the coordinator for the 150 volunteers from the four local car clubs that put the swap meet on.
The retired mining engineer had walked by the unrestored 1967 Honda CD125 without seeing it. When he sat down later to chat with swap meet chairman Gary Catherwood he pointed at the motorcycle that was behind him. “Did you see that?” he inquired. Hawthorn bought it for $400 to commit it to a total restoration.
He had experience restoring the 1937 Packard convertible coupe he has owned for more than 40 years. It is one of only two Canadian-built Packard convertibles of that year believed to have survived and Hawthorn paid $2,000 for the worn-out classic he found in Kamloops in 1975. He also has a 1970s Mercedes-Benz convertible and an Opel GT sports car from the early 1970s
With no more garage space, he thought he would follow his teenage dream of getting a motorcycle. One turned into two and then there were more.
It seems everything people love about motor vehicles stems from their early years. By the age of 16, Hawthorn had saved $25 from his 45-cent-an-hour usher job at the local theatre in St. Catharines, Ont., to buy a cheap James motorcycle. But his mother said no. That ended that. But the dream of owning and riding a motorcycle never left him over nearly 60 years — through marriage, the birth of his three children and mining jobs that took him to many parts of the world.
Finally settling in North Vancouver and becoming a member of the Vancouver Chapter of the Vintage Car Club of Canada, he sought to support the annual swap meet by becoming a member of the committee. The swap meet is prime territory for finding parts for his car and his growing number of motorcycles.
Now after 18 months’ work and an outlay of $2,500, the 1967 Honda is a showpiece. He used that bike to pass his “skills test” at the ProRide Motorcycle School at Capilano University and can now ride unescorted with a few limitations. The 77-year-old is hoping to pass the road test necessary to get his unlimited motorcycle driver’s licence this spring. He can then ride the pair of restored 1972 Honda CB350F motorcycles he has finished and eventually some of his remaining projects including a 1956 NSU motor scooter.
At the age of 34, Kyle Hawkins is the youngest member of the Coastal Swap Meet committee, where volunteers collectively put in 1,000 hours of planning and work to put the event on.
Hawkins, the owner of a 1950 Chevrolet pickup, says he likes the swap meet for its social aspect: “It’s a great networking opportunity. I run into a lot old car people and, if you’re looking for parts, you can find many specialty things.”
He shares the hobby with his father, who will also be at the swap meet.
“I grew up helping my dad work on his Ford Model A street rod that he has owned since 1971. He is now building a 1967 Chevrolet Nova SS,” he says.
Hawkins is sentimental about his pickup truck because it’s powered by the 261-cubic-inch six-cylinder engine that he removed from the rusty hulk of the 1959 Pontiac his grandfather bought new. His swap meet prize was finding a rare dual carburetor manifold for that engine. He also found the correct tailgate for his pickup truck, hood hinges and some interior parts.
The Langley refrigeration mechanic has now purchased a 1950 Ford coupe and will be shopping for the parts he needs to build the car into an early custom.
“Apart from a stock overdrive transmission, I’ll be looking for exhaust headers for the flathead engine, triple carburetors and high compression heads.”
The swap meet is the best place to find classic vehicles for sale or the most elusive part. Last year, 436 vendors occupied 762 stalls. Approximately 4,500 people will attend the event that runs today from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday hours are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information go to coastalswapmeet.com