Next Eckler’s NE GA Swap Meet is Saturday, October 12th at the Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, GA!
This newsletter is a bit later than I wanted (my truck and car trailer got a lot of work the last week, and it ate into more important things, like this!), but with the holiday and tomorrow, you’ve still got a day and a half to load up your trailer.

Weather.com is calling for 40-percent chance of rain, which historically means we’re not going to see any during the show: I don’t want to say “40-percent is always dry”… so I’ll say “40-percent is almost always dry.”  Just two days ago, their 3-day forecast for this weekend was 60-percent Friday, 50-percent Saturday, 60-percent Sunday. Now it’s 40/40/20. So we’re gonna be fine.

Priority gate opens from 6-7am and is $30 for all the space you want; Vendor General Admission is from 7am and is $20 for all the space you want, spectator admission is just $6.

Vendors get one helper in for free (because lifting engine blocks and transmissions alone sucks). Extra helpers are $6.
There’s no addition charge to park your vintage or enthusiast vehicle in the cruise-in area behind the grandstands, but we ask that you don’t put For Sale signs in the windows—everything for sale is on the aisles and is $30 or $20 to sell. Driving in as a spectator and selling your car isn’t fair to the rest of the vendors.

Drive a vintage or enthusiast Ford/Mercury into the Cruise-In this month, and receive a $10 Eckler’s gift certificate!

Stone Stock To Full-Race At Lamar Walden Automotive
This month, the guys at Lamar Walden Automotive covered the full spectrum of Chevy performance.
They started with a stone-stock restoration build on a 348 W-motor, and followed it with a 409 street engine stroked to 482 cubic inches.

After that, they worked on a small block Gasser engine for one of the cars on the SE Gasser Association circuit, and then a 383 Chevy to be installed with a 5-speed and A/C in a ’55 Chevy.

Rounding it out was an LS7 427 build.

They also did several intake manifold restorations, including a vintage Edelbrock big block Cross Ram. I’ve mentioned their intake restoration here a lot, and it’s still one of the best processes I’ve seen for any kind of restoration. I’ve had them repair and restore several intakes for me over the years, as well as an rare Edmunds finned aluminum head for a Plymouth Flat 6, all coming out concours-quality. I’ve got a pair of Weiand 322 Nailhead intakes I need to have restored, and one of the Corvette finned valve covers I picked up at the swap meet last month needs a little repair done to it as well, so I’ll be making a trip up there one of these days.
It’s 50th year in business, Lamar Walden Automotive is in Doraville, Georgia; (770) 449-0315, lwarob@gmail.comlamarwaldenautomotive.com

STOP LEAVING TIRES!
We’ve been over this countless times, and I still have to deal with it a few times a year—most recently last month. So I’m instituting a new policy:  If I catch you leaving tires, I’m going to follow you home with them, stack them up in your driveway, and set them on fire.
At 3am.
On a Wednesday.
OR, you can save me, you and the fire department a whole bunch of hassle and just take your tires back home with you and stick them out behind your shop to start a mosquito farm like the rest of us.

If you happen to notice any fellow vendors looking like they might have “forgotten” to load all their tires before trying to slide out at the end of the day, I’d appreciate it if you’d point out the error of their ways.
Or throw a cylinder head through their windshield for me. Either/Or, I’m flexible.

Blast Capital USA
NuTech blasted a couple Corvettes this month, and at the other end of the spectrum soda-blasted some vintage Ford Bronco bodies, and media-blasted the frames and suspensions. One of the bodies had a steel hood with a fiberglass scoop bonded to it: these are the square-body Broncos from the ‘60s and ‘70s, with that common era-correct Bronco scoop. Blasting with soda meant the scoop didn’t have to be separated from the hood.
I found a vintage bolt-in roll bar for the ’76 Power Wagon project, along with a good hood and dropped them off, along with a correct rear step bumper. I’d found another hood, but blasting revealed a couple rust holes in it: I found a third hood and did the “Repair versus Solid Original Metal” cost/benefit, and opted for solid original. The cost of stripping the original paint and surface rust off the roll bar versus doing it by hand with sand paper landed the bar at NuTech as well. After hunting for over a year for a good rear step bumper, we found one, had them blast it and prime it, then we did a couple repairs and decided to have them knock the gray primer back off and are having it shot with self-etching black primer, which will hold up better under the black top-coat.
Besides in-shop stuff, they’ve done several remote blasting jobs, including finishing the vintage caboose on display by the town of Auburn.
But the big news is NuTech is now a manufacturer and international dealer for soda blasting machines and equipment! “I liked it so much I bought the company!” the old commercials said. That’s pretty much the deal down at NuTech now. So if you’re a restoration shop and would like to cut out the middle-man on blasting—as well as expand your business—or are a building restoration company or want to get into building restoration, fire damage restoration, mold remediation, etc., NuTech is your source for equipment and blasting soda.
With the growth of their company, NuTech is looking for some employees too. They’re looking for soda blasters for in-house and remote-site, as well as someone to help manufacture and assemble the blasting equipment. If you’re looking for a job (and are the kind of employee YOU’D hire if you owned a business and needed someone!), give them a call.

NuTech Soda Blasting, Jefferson, Georgia; (706) 367-8107, or check out their website at www.nutechsodablasting.com

Dress For Success
In this case, it means wear shorts, sandals, a hat, a light-colored T-shirt, and drink lots and lots of water on Saturday I’ve had guys get into trouble with the heat at my show, and I regularly get sick from the heat by the end of my summer shows, too. It’s miserable, and I’d like to spare everyone the suffering.

Speaking of sparing suffering, the NE GA Swap Meet is a dog-friendly show for friendly dogs, but please, when it’s this hot, leave Fido at home—that blacktop gets scorching hot, and unless you’ve got booties on their paws, they’re gonna go home with burned feet. Would YOU want to walk around on that parking lot with bare feet at 11am? Then don’t make your pooch do it. As much as I love having Remi The Airedale at my shows, I’m leaving her home Saturday.

JP’s Muscle Cars Parts and Restorations
Soooo glad I’m out of room for projects, because Johnny just got a suede-black ’67 Impala station wagon in… big block, overdrive, air, bucket seats and factory console. That’d make such a cool tow rig for the Altered! But, I’m out of space, so one of you needs to buy it.

He also just got an original-paint ’71 Camaro in too: “It was an old street racer from the ‘70s… I’ve never had one this close to how it left the showroom.”
Customer builds this month include a ’71 Blazer with LS3 swap and all the goodies, a ’70 C10 with big block, air, Dakota Digital RDX cluster, retro-sound radio, Concept One pully system, and dropped suspension, and a ’68 Camaro convertible with small block, overdrive, air, Dakota Digital dash, Nu-Relics power windows, and houndstooth Deluxe interior.
If you’re in the market for a new ride, or need to have your current vehicle upgraded, give Johnny a call and book an appointment.

JP’s Muscle Cars is at 113 Hammond Drive in Monroe, GA: Call (770) 207-9570 or visit their website at www.jpmusclecars.com.

Gear Jam Rain Date July 20-21
Outlaw and Heads-up 4-speed gassers—including The Night Stalker ’55 Chevy, Southern Slingshots, Altereds, Muscle Cars and Nostalgia Super Stocks.
Swap Meet, and an all-makes/All Models car show.
For more info, go to www.gearjamvintagedrags.com

Truck Month and Georgia C-10 Club in August
For August, we’re giving away Eckler’s gift certificates to everyone who drives a vintage or enthusiast truck into the Cruise-in.
We’re also hosting the Georgia C-10 club, so if you’ve got truck parts, plan on being there.
We’re also going to put the word out on Facebook for any other truck clubs. If you’re a member of a truck club, give me a call and we’ll work it out so your club gets in free as vendors and spectators.

2019 Dates

Sept 1

Swap/ Gear Jam
Oct 13- 14th  Swap/ Gear Jam
Nov 2nd  Featuring Pedal To The Metal vintage bicycle swap
Dec 7thTruer Words Were Never Spoken
The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers – Dave Barry

Shop and House for Sale in Jefferson.
I’m selling my place in Jefferson: 32×40 shop with 12-foot ceilings, multiple 220v outlets on three walls, 10×10 office and two storage lofts.

Oh, it comes with a nice 3-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house with office, on a full basement that’s stubbed for a full bathroom. New energy-efficient roof on house and shop.

Nice neighborhood within the Jefferson City Schools district;  NO Home Owners’ Association to get all up in your business, and I’ve broken the neighbors in for you. (They’re used to cars, parts and engines firing at 11pm).
On a 1 acre lot with hardwood trees, it also comes with an extra 1 acre wooded lot next to it.
Also comes with a free vendor spot for life at the NE GA Swap Meet!
Give me a call if you’re interested.