47-59 Moving to Dallas.....could use some advice and be nice to meet some tuck folks...

[CousinTone]

Hey all, I’m moving from SoCal to Dallas for work and would like to get plugged into the truck clubs/meetups. I won’t have my project with me for a bit, but it will be great to meet some new friends and get advice on the area etc. let me know...PM me if you are open to providing some info.

Without my project, I’ll be an extra set of very experienced hands for your project and enjoy helping others more than doing my own stuff. So free work!

My estimated move is first week of March. Talk to you soon.....

[mr48chev]

First thing is don't tell anyone you just came from California and dang well don't say "that's how we do it in California". The only thing real Texans hate more than Yankees is know it all's from California. I married a Texas gal and lived there several years and learned real quick that I had to tell Texans that I grew up a ways out of Seattle rather than that I grew up in Washington.

Other than that hit the cruise nights weekend rod trots and swap meets. The Pate swapmeet at Texas motor speedway is April 22/24 this year. That is a go to deal for all real car and truck guys in Texas. Wear your best Advance design Chevy Truck T shirt and some real comfortable walking shoes as you will end up walking miles and miles up and down the aisles. If you can't find that part that you are looking for there it probably doesn't exist or is hiding in someone's collection waiting for their estate auction.

There are a lot of car activities around the DFW area but expect to drive to get to a lot of them. Miles don't mean anything to car guys from Texas or Oklahoma. 2 or 3 hundred miles one way to a one day event that they like isn't out of the norm were 50 miles away is too far in some parts of the country. My wife grew up in McGregor 15 miles west of Waco and we hit a number of rod trots in the DFW area when we lived in Texas.

This may help a bit as it has some interesting events listed http://www.motortexas.com/events/dfw

Have fun, as soon as my 48 is done and ready for a road trip we will probably spend a month or so in Texas visiting family and old friends and hitting a few events.

[Divine 59]

When the COVID stuff settles down there is a huge swap meet at Texas Motor Speedway. It's called the Pate Swap Meet. It is interesting to go there. I started going when it was at a field SW of Fort Worth. Still much fun on the asphalt around the track. Of course with any swap meet people think their stuff is solid gold.
I live near Austin. Its good advice given about California. There are a large number of people moving to Texas. My son works in the DFW area. He is currently working on a 59 GMC 250 Panel with factory dual wheels. Never seen another one, but never claimed to see it all.
Currently his truck is in AR next to mine. Hoping to get them back in Texas soon. Welcome and Howdy!

[mr48chev]

I first went to the Pate Museum swap meet when it was on the Pate Museum grounds in the early 70's. you had to be prepared for anything from slogging in the mud during a rain storm to unseasonably hot weather. In those days I would load my 57 Chevy panel full of parts, haul the parts to Pate with just enough cash to pay for the space and buy gas and hope I sold enough parts to be able to buy a few and buy something for lunch.

I'd say that it won't be an issue of finding somethign to go to, it will be an issue of deciding which event to go to. The decision there may come down to which route has the best barbecue place on it to stop at on the way home.

[Divine 59]

Mr.48Chev, Yes they had an uncanny ability to pick the wettest stormiest weekend to have the swap meet. The field quickly turned to mud.

Still was fun to slog around to the vendors. It literally took all weekend to look at all the vendor spaces.

Now its on asphalt, the event is more regulated, the camping is not as enjoyable. Overall the people are pretty decent. I am hoping to go this spring. We shall see.

[mr48chev]

I'd love to be able to make a trip down there and go to that swap meet.

When it was at the Museum I'd sell enough stuff to get the money for what I needed or thought I needed and my buddy would watch our stuff while I was out looking and buying. He was all about selling so that was fine with him.

My wife grew up in McGregor and we lived there the first 8 years of our marriage.

[8man]

Yeah, Pate is a good one, huge. There is a retired shop teacher from West who does old truck beds has a booth there.

Dallas is one of the cities in the area, we refer to it as DFW and it covers Ft Worth to east of Dallas. Our daughter lives in Carrolton, so we go up a bit.

Joe is right about the "where you are from" stuff.

Fredericksburg has a great swap meet, partly because it is a hub for the wine industry in Texas. After the swap meet, go to main street, eat some German, Mexican or authentic Texas food and sip some wine. Nice event.

Karem Car Show in Waco at the Shrine Camp for Children is a great event in August. It is under some big shade trees, so the temps are tolerable.

Hope you the move to Texas.

[mr48chev]

Remembering back when I lived in Texas in the 70's I had a club member named Johnny who drove a blue 40 Ford Sedan and went to rod runs just about every weekend and never spent a night away from home. He drove from Waco to Brownsville for a show once and returned home the same day. Drove from Waco to Tulsa for the 73 Street Rod nationals, spent one day and returned home that night. I think they did spend the weekend in San Antonio once when the whole club went down for an event.

Back in the 70's when a lot of Texas counties were "dry" it wasn't uncommon to drive over 100 miles one way to the first place you could buy beer out in West Texas.

When the blue bonnets bloom in the spring it is just fun to get in the car with your camera and drive with your only agenda being to take photos and find a good place to stop and eat.