<VV> Fall Autofair

[henry kaczmarek]

Folks
After temps in the low 80's and low humidity all week, yesterday the weather mavens combined to make the big day of the Charlotte Fall Autofair a beautiful day....For July. 90% Humidity and temps over 90, in the bowl of the Speedway, all that sticky asphalt around, spelled one brutal day to be at a car show. 

Crowds were surprisingly down. In the 15 years I have  been going to this event, I always leave home around the same time, and always sit in traffic for about 1/2 hour before getting on to the infield. I got to the track promptly @ 0800, and was in my parking place on pit road by 0810. Certainly a first. 

The EUM was undoubtedly the ugliest Corvair in the display, but OTOH, it ran flawlessly and folks were impressed with the work completed. I noticed there were several "pretty" cars there that didn't sound or run as good as mine.  Then on the track we found a LM Conv. No roof, just the frame. No Paint. Seats looked like they had been soaked in oil and left in the sun. Material looked shrunk and melted. No price of course.  

Speaking of prices, some of these folks have lost their minds. 89and 92 thousand dollars for Survivor quality Dodges with Hemi's.   60K original Miles 62 Biscayne--Real Plain Jane....Worn but not shot. 29K?? 

Only 2 Model T's, only 1 Packard--where at previous shows there were 30 and 25 respectively.  People are pricing themselves out of continuation of the hobby. 

I asked a Chroming guy there from PA --Near Pittsburgh. a price for 2 Vair Bumpers and Bumper guards. His quote??
1100.00, And never batted an eye doing it.  Carolina Bumper in Charlotte quoted me 300.
I'm gonna call the guy, and ask him who he buys his dope from. Got to be killer stuff. Didn't at the time because it took me 15 minutes to recover from the shock. 

Went to buy tools, and nobody had any worth buying. Went into a tent where they were selling die cast. My partner wanted a 67GTO. we saw 4 on the shelves, and weren't looking hard. Vendor said ---35.00 (most were 25.00)---"THAT'S THE ONLY ONE I HAVE LEFT"---
Kind of made me want to just gather up the other 3 and walk out. If that was the only one he had left, then I guess the other 3 weren't his. 

Made an obligatory stop to the Steele Trailer where my colleagues were working. Not very hard. They hadn't sold much of anything that far, & I saw them after 12 Noon. 

Too much to see all in one blistering hot morning and afternoon, but the prices people want to charge out there, It's really distressing.  I saw about a dozen cars out of several hundred on the track for sale that I could say---If that was the kind of car I was looking for, I'd buy it for that price.  Rest of them were completely out of line. 

Perhaps next spring I'll just drive in, then work in the trailer all day and get overtime. 

HANK