Automotive Event or Sociological Experiment?

A Bud Light and a rusty old hood. In my opinion this image captures the very essence of the Pomona Swap Meet.

A few months ago my friend Vaughn and I decided to check out this haven for VW and Hot Rod enthusiasts for the first time. We figured it would be a great place for Vaughn to find reasonably priced parts for his '74 SuperBeetle restoration project- What we found was a unique subculture of Gear-Heads and VW Gypsies.

Maybe it was the fact that we arrived in the dark at 5am, or perhaps it was the combination of heaping piles of dismantled auto appendages and misty rain sailing down though the towering spotlights that lit the fairgrounds catering to the event- but what we witnessed was a scene so surreal that we were sure we had driven through some rift in time and space to arrive in automotive purgatory.

Droves of hooded figures plodded through the early morning rain and muddy gravel parking lot towards the entrance gates dragging hot-rodded wagons (some of them featuring flames, independent suspensions and racing slicks...). What they had come for was clear- simply put "car parts."

Soon after setting foot into "the pen" which housed the various booths of the bone-yard automotive peddlers, we realized that this was more than an auto event- it was a way of life for many in attendance. It was clear that while some were obviously businessmen with polished booths and near new parts, others were only there looking for a place to park their micro-bus for a while, drink a beer, cook some sausage and see if they could scrape together some gas money by selling whatever parts they had recently replaced on the journey into town. This unique brew of motor oil and dismembered iron-oxide riddled vintage autoparts- culminated in what can only be described as the definitive Gear-Head event- complete with Beer, a few missing teeth, and ribs on the grill.

So that scene was a few months ago- last November I believe- and needless to say we had not quickly forgotten the experience. Vaughn and I decided last weekend that it was time to give it another whirl and see if this magical land truly existed after all.

When we arrived this time- the scene was slightly less dramatic. I think it had a lot to do with the weather- this time it wasn't raining- in fact it was gorgeous out.
The tone of this most recent visit: the rising sun glinting off a sea of rust and chrome was actually quite inspiring. The warm weather also brought out many more show cars- including this cool vintage Cooper S (which was selling for the reasonable price of $19,000!)



Dramatics aside, it was a valuable visit- Vaughn picked up some new head-gaskets and a replacement for his hood latch and e-brake boot. All in all I think he spent about $15 (I wish parts for the MINI were that cheap).

I would recommend the Pomona Swap Meet to anyone who loves cars or makes folk art- Truth is that you can find just about anything auto related in this place. Though the largest section is devoted to VW, there are also many Porsche booths- not to mention a TON of American Muscle car booths. I was surprised not to see more MINI stuff there but was told by one of the parking lot attendants as we were driving out that they sometimes hold MINI events and shows there- so I will have to keep a lookout for the next one of those.

Here are some other "sort of artsy" pics I took while there:



So that was last Sunday.

Today- I had the interesting and pleasant surprise of running into a fellow MINI enthusiast on my way into the office. I was waved down by Mr. Brad Herman -Membership Director for SCMM- and we pulled over and chatted for a bit. I had seen Brad around the message boards- he recognized my car by the license plate (which also happens to be my screen name on most boards). Turns out that there are some interesting events coming up in the near future – some track days, and meet ups. I also found out that Brad got a pretty up-close look at a new MINI S Convertible. This is significant because that car is not supposed to be out until next year. He did a great write up and posted some cool pics. You can check them out HERE if you'd like.

So nice work Brad.

Oh- you may have noticed that the front door of the site has changed. This is part of an ongoing effort to make MINI Mechanic more intuitive and useful to its users.

In keeping with that effort- if anyone has any suggestions, questions- or ideas for the site please feel free to email them to me at minimechanic@minimechanic.com

That's all for now-

Coming up next... an in depth look at 12k miles with the MOSS Intake