GEARHEADS ASSEMBLE FOR SWAP MEET
Dianne Townsend knows a lot about old cars. She has driven her 1929 Ford Model A hot rod across Canada three times. She and her late husband Bill drove the Model A pulling a travel trailer both ways across the country participating in the 2010 Coasters Cross Canada Tour.
After Bill died, Townsend drove the car in the 2017 and 2022 tours. She estimates she has driven the 94-year-old Ford more than 60,000 kilometres criss-crossing the country.
Townsend is spending today working out of a kiosk at the Tradex Centre in Abbotsford, booking in 700 vendors for the 52nd annual Coastal Swap Meet.
“Dianne and her crew have the move-in down to a science,” fellow volunteer and swap meet co-ordinator Bill Trant says. “Dianne has a hand-picked group of people who really know what they are doing and last year's move-in was the best it's ever been.”
An estimated 5,000 collector vehicle enthusiasts will attend the swap meet. which begins today and runs through to 4 p.m. Saturday. On sale will be car parts, accessories, memorabilia, art, clothing and tools, along with collector vehicles in the car corral.
“I think the swap meet is important because of the socialization and the coming together of the hobby,” says Bill Trant's brother Peter, longtime swap meet committee member and vendor. “The swap meet has brought us as old car people into a much closer relationship with the hot rodders and also brought us in contact with the motorcycle enthusiasts and collectors.”
The allure for Peter Trant is looking for the elusive part or rare thing that the seller may not even be able to identify.
“They can't really advertise it on eBay because they don't know what to call it. That may be the part that you need. There is always the chance of finding that needle in the haystack.”
Townsend's life was changed after she attended her first swap meet at the Portland Expo Centre 22 years ago. “I couldn't believe how big it was. People were lined up at the gate first thing in the morning to get in. The volume of parts and collector vehicles for sale amazed me,” she says.
Her husband Bill became chairman of the Coastal Swap Meet committee and, after his death, she joined the committee and took over the move-in responsibilities. Volunteers from four car clubs organize the Coastal Swap meet. which began more than 50 years ago in the parking lot of an aquatic centre in Coquitlam.
It was a Friday-Saturday event because the aquatic centre's parking lot wasn't available on Sunday. The swap meet soon outgrew the venue and was moved to the Cloverdale Fairgrounds and then to the much larger buildings and grounds of the Tradex Centre adjacent to the Abbotsford Airport.
For the clubs that operate the swap meet — the Totem Ford Model A&T Club, The Pacific International Street Rod Association, the British Columbia Hot Rod Association and the Vancouver Chapter of the Vintage Car Club of Canada — the cost of putting the swap meet on has gone up considerably. The City of Abbotsford owns the facility and, for the past 18 years, it was operated by Tourism Abbotsford. But it is now operated by contractor Fraser Valley Exhibition Centre. For the first time, a portion of the $12 admission charge to the swap meet must be paid to the city.
The swap meet is completely run by volunteers from the club and the proceeds from the swap meet help the clubs keep operating. Some of money earned is donated to Canuck Place.
This is a make it or break it year for the clubs that put the swap meet on.
“The clubs have to put up the seed money in advance for this event,” committee member Peter Trant says. “If we lose money, the clubs will have to decide whether they can do this again.”
Peter Trant will be at the swap meet all weekend selling old car parts and memorabilia and looking for rare items for his car restorations.
“I'm really into dealer scripts and have between 250 and 300 of them. I'll be looking to add to the collection,” he says.
Townsend will be too busy making sure the vendors get into the right stalls to look for parts for her 1929 Ford Model A hot rod. She just had a new engine installed in the car she has driven coast to coast across Canada three times. “I told the mechanic to make it good for the next 20 years,” she says.