by Willy Vinton
©
Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum
Spring is in the air, which means the opening of the swap meet season for us. First up was Chickasha, Oklahoma, where the winds blow free and often. I arrived there last Tuesday night, because even though the meet doesn't open until Thursday a huge portion of the purchases are made during Wednesday's vendor line up.
I spent all day Wednesday working this huge lot full of trailers, pickups, motor homes and cars full of "treasures." Even small cars like the red one at right were packed with things to sell, leaving only room for a driver. I wonder if the guy with the Model T and trailer sold everything and had to walk home????
Now, I hate to say that some folks are lazy, but when you bring a full size air mattress to the swap meet--complete with fitted sheets and pillow cases--and set it up in a large fair building used for showing animals (odors included), one has to wonder. This vendor was rather entertaining, as he would lay down for a nap, and when someone came up to ask about an item, he would tell them to bring it over so he could see it and collect the money while staying in bed. Maybe he did have a good idea after all, as not everyone can make money while lying in bed!
On Thursday night we headed into Oklahoma City to view a couple of great car collections. I spent some time looking at this 1903 Gray Wolf race car built by a private collector. It is a thing of beauty, with the copper tube radiator running down the sides of the car. Probably not very effective, but great to look at none the less.
Parked next to the 1903 race car was this fun, ELECTRIC car built to race on the salt flats. It has a very tight space for the driver, and if you are a little claustrophobic like Beth Schmidt is, when Ted closes the hatch the hands come up real fast! But, give her credit for crawling inside. At least she is small enough to fit--I don't think I could have. This electric car goes from 0 to 200 mph in 55 seconds. I'm not sure what its top speed is, but what a rush it would be to drive on the salt flats. In my next post I will share pictures of the Miller race car.
