Ski Roundtop Swap Meet 08

I originally wrote this for the Early S Registry magazine, but they never got around to publishing it, so I thought I would get it on the blog. Since it was written for them it has a 911 slant, but you get the idea of what a great swap this is.

Ski Roundtop Swap Meet September 20th, 2008 Lewisberry, PA
If you listen to the Porsche Peanut Gallery you will hear them lamenting of the death of the swap meet. They will tell you that gone are the days that you can wake up at the crack of down, stuff cash in your pockets, and start haggling for that Porsche part that you have been looking for. But they, yes, the collective they, are wrong, at least in the Northeast. Of course you are probably thinking I mean the PCA Hershey Swap Meet still being alive and well, and it is, but if you have been to Hershey in the last few years you know every year that goes by means less early Porsche parts. I buy and sell at Hershey every year, mostly 356 and early 911 stuff. Every year I get people complaining that I am one of the few guys left with the early parts.

Well some of those same people must have complained to Mike Moody. Because for the last six years he has been putting on The Vintage German Swap Meet with the mottos “Strictly Vintage” and “Strictly Air Cooled”, which means that you will not have to dig through boxes of 924 and 944 stuff to find the good parts. Mike has a pretty simple explanation of why he started the swap.
“I started the swap meet out of some frustration. When the swap meet was held at Ski RoundTop many years ago, by the PCA, the older parts and cars dominated. As the swap meet grew, it grew because there were more water cooled vendors coming in to the event”, explains Mike.
So unlike all the guys grumping about the changes that were happening, Mike decided to do something. He was picking up on the vibe of the early car crowd.
“I started to sense that many of the 356 group were not happy with the direction that the PCA swap meet was going. I had several conversations with some of the long time 356 vendors, along with other non vendors that were also with the 356 community”, says Mike.
So what started out as an idea born from frustration has now grown to a very respectable swap meet. There were good deals to be had and plenty pf parts for early 911s. Also, the relaxed atmosphere that many missed is all prevalent at Roundtop, as the swap is known to the regular crowd. The focus of the swap leans heavily toward 356s, but if you are an early 911 guy there was plenty of parts to drool over. The event only gets bigger every year.
Mike Moody explains how things are going,
“As for the attendance, this year there were a few more vendors than last. Last year was the single most increase since the start of the swap meet.”
This is good news for Mike and better news for the early car crowd.
In the future the organizers hope to build on the show your car element of the event. He had this to say about what to expect at future Roundtops,
“Plans for the future, are to continue with the car display. I strongly feel that there are some very interesting early Porsches and Volkswagens out there that people would love to have the chance to walk up to, and be able to talk with the owners.”
Imagine that, getting to talk face to face with people about their cars. Not only that, you might get a great deal on that part you thought you would never find at a good price. So the next time some grump tells you the swap meet is dead, tell him to meet me in Pennsylvania next September. —Adam Wright

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