Fairfield-Echo

It's cold and crisp outside, but the sun's shining, and yes, there's winter work to be done on cars. So the car guys of the Miami Valley made their fall trip to the 33rd annual

Dayton Buckeye Model A Ford Club swap meet.

For the second year in a row, the good people of Boose Chevrolet in Brookville donated their showroom, shop and parking lot for the event, which drew nearly 60 vendors from the tri-state area.

"We can't thank the folks at Boose Chevrolet enough," club president Ken Smith said during a lull in the action. "We were packed early in the morning, but things quiet down a bit after noon. We had a huge crowd of shoppers, but we always draw a solid crowd. This isn't just about parts for Model As; there are parts for everything here, plus we have a car corral of vehicles for sale and a few cars on display."

Tipp City vendor Dave Imes was at the swap meet, with mostly Chevy muscle cars parts, but also some unique items, including cans of Chevron motor oil.

"This is probably my 25th time to come to this swap meet. I've got engine parts, tools and yeah, that oil. It's gotta be 25 years old, but hey, oil doesn't go bad," he said.

Jim Hansel of Franklin was strolling the outdoor vendors, just looking for anything he might need for his 1930s-era cars, a Ford and two Marquettes, a car built by Buick for only a couple of years.

"I always come home with something — sometimes parts, sometimes tools or shop supplies. It's just fun to get one last chance to stock up for winter," Hansel added.

Former Dayton resident Conrad Gerdes, who now lives in southern Indiana, brought his latest find to the meet, a 1930 Model A popcorn vendor wagon. Less than 10 of the vehicles were built in 1930 to be used by circus and carnivals.

"I found it in a barn in Kalamazoo about four months ago. It's all original, and I've cleaned it up a bit. I'm going to go over it real good during the winter, just clean and detail it, and then take it to some shows next year. I won't restore it; it's too neat just the way it is," he said.

The Dayton Buckeye Model A Ford Club has about 120 members from southern Ohio, Indiana and northern Kentucky.

Club president Smith noted that at last count, the club members owned 154 Model As. For more information about the club, visit its Web site at www.buckeye-model-a.org.