Mopar enthusiasts hold 18th annual swap meet and car corral
The terms fender tag, Hemi, VIN and A body may not mean much to the average person, but ask any Mopar enthusiast and his or her face is sure to light up. Such was the case April 17 and 18 at the 18th annual All-Mopar Swap Meet and Car Corral.More than 1,000 Chrysler enthusiasts gathered at the Buckeye Expo Center in Dalton to discuss body types, engines, horsepower, stroke, torque and other such terms. They oohed and aahed over the orange Hemi Xpress, with its powerful engine and the ability to run on two wheels for a quarter of a mile.
They checked out engines, wheels, tires, interior parts, chrome trim, T-shirts, oil cans, old uniforms and other memorabilia. But most of all they checked out old friends.
“It’s like one big reunion,” said Sean Donley, vice president of the local Mopar club, who had a table full of Chrysler parts for sale. “We see other vendors we haven’t seen in a year and swap stories. It should be called a meet and greet.”
Donley spent the two days selling parts and trading greetings, stories and rotors for some side marker lights. “Basically everybody has a collector’s car or truck and everybody is looking to buy or sell something. We’re just Chrysler enthusiasts.”
Roy Franks, also a member of the local Mopar club, agreed that the fun of shows like this “is seeing people again and seeing what parts are available.”
Wayne Warrick, of Carroll County, has been a magazine vendor at the swap meet for years. This year he displayed a sign that read, will work for chicken feed. “Attendance is down this year at a lot of these Mopar events and we like to joke we’re working for nothing,” he said.
In spite of the lower attendance, Warrick said he’d be back next year. “Mark that down,” he said. “This is a great location and I’ll be back.”
Attendee Fred Donley joked that the 20 percent lower attendance this year was due to “rain on Friday, cold on Saturday and the economy on Sunday. Last year we had beautiful weather, the doors were open and we had a great breeze blowing through here all day. Actually the weather does play a big part in attendance numbers and I’m sure the economy isn’t helping,” he said.
“It’s still fun to be with other Chrysler Dodge enthusiasts,” said Donley.