Treasure Hunt: The Jcca Swap Meet

When I posted about the 2013 JCCA New Year Meeting last week, my primary goal was to show just how overwhelming the event is. The show itself is fantastic, the parking lot is even better, and then there’s the swap meet and vendor area. As I was sorting through my photos from the show I realized I grabbed quite a few photos in the swap meet area and thought you guys might want to see them.

As I mentioned earlier, if I had the time I could have spent the entire day just looking at the swap meet. Each “store” was filled with so many cool things to uncover, but with so much going on, all I could really do is take a quick look and then move on to the next one.

But then again, it may have actually been better that I didn’t have time to see everything. There’s no telling what sort of damage I’d have done to my bank account if I could have spent the whole day hunting for parts and collectables like many people do every year.

It doesn’t really matter what it is. If it’s related to vintage Japanese cars, you can probably find it here.

The wheel selection alone is enough to put any kyusha fan into a full-on fit of joy…

Virtually every type of vintage wheel could be found fore sale, from your more common Watanabes and SSRs…

…to rarities like these 13×8 Toscos that looked like they were brand new.

Needless to say, many of the wheels being offered here have long been out of production. I’m not sure if there’s another place on earth where as many sets of old Japanese wheels can be found in one place.

In addition to the expected brands, there were also many sellers with factory steel wheels that had been widened into some properly wicked sizes.

Even if I didn’t have I car to put them on, I’d be happy with to have any of these wheels just to decorate my garage, or perhaps the living room if the wife approved…

I’m sure you are wondering what the prices on these things were like. As I said in my first post, it might be better not to say for fear of inducing extreme jealously towards our friends that live in Japan.

The truly rare wheels and aggressive sizes bring big money, but the more common stuff can be had for significantly cheaper than you’d find overseas.

And what would a rare set of wheels be without some equally awesome tires? These old Bridgestone slicks were especially badass.

But of course old wheels and tires are really just the beginning of the JCCA swap meet…

To put it simply, if it could somehow be fitted to a vintage Japanese vehicle, you’d find someone selling it.

Do I own a car these overfenders fit? No. That didn’t stop me from wanting to bring them home though.

On the other hand, I think I could easily find a way to put these Nissan L-series Webers to good use…

Marchal lamps are long time favorites among the kyusha crowd. There were plenty of them for sale – both new and used.

Some sellers, like Revive Jalopy brought out piles of restoration parts. Here we see a set of S30 tail lamps with an S20 cam cover peeking out from the corner.

The especially cool thing is that most of the sellers had a huge variety of stuff in one booth. It wasn’t uncommon to see a set of over-fenders leaning against boxes of old model kits for example.

And speaking of models, the selection of vintage kits was just as impressive as the aforementioned wheels. Many of these have been out of production for decades, so scale builders and collectors come out to the New Year meeting in big numbers.

In most cases, the awesome box art on these kits is worth the price alone.

1:24 scale zokusha with 1:24 punch perms to match…

Most of the items being offered for sale are rare even by Japanese standards, so you can imagine what it feels like to someone from outside the country. This table was filled almost exclusively with S30Zs of various scales and types.

One of the coolest S30 items I found was this metal patrol car toy from the ’70s. I can’t imagine this thing is easy to find.

This Kujira Crown patrol car was equally cool. Even though I’min my late 20s and grew up on the other side of the world, it’s easy to imagine the sense of nostalgia felt by those who grew up playing with toys like this as children.

Do any of you collectors know the story behind these gold models? There were tons of them for sale, but I couldn’t figure out what exactly they were. Promotional models of some sort maybe?

I browsed through a few of the diecast booths before I realized I’d kill the whole day if I kept digging through these things. In typical Japanese fashion, everything was neatly organized and labeled.

Custom Tomica diecasts. Cool!

Got a thing for magazines? You could find issues and special edition “mooks” from the 1960s on through to today.

Equally popular were the vintage owner’s manuals and advertising material that many sellers were offering.

Paul Newman for the Skyline – one of the most memorable car endorsements in Japanese history. Better yet is that unlike most celebrity spokespeople, Paul could actually be found driving Nissans on the race track.

How I managed to only come back with a small bag of goodies from this swap meet is beyond explanation.

Hopefully this has given you just a hint of the wallet-busting fun of the JCCA New Year Meeting swap meet.

-Mike

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1

Those gold models could be cigarette holders. My friend has one similar of a TA-12 Carina

2

Those gold models could be cigarette holders. My friend has one similar of a TA-12 Carina

3

Those gold models could be cigarette holders. My friend has one similar of a TA-12 Carina

4

Great post! So go on Mike, how much were the Toscos up for?

5

Great post! So go on Mike, how much were the Toscos up for?

6

Great post! So go on Mike, how much were the Toscos up for?

7

Like i said in the first post, you need to start saving now, and they need to add a "day two". lol

8

Like i said in the first post, you need to start saving now, and they need to add a "day two". lol

9

Like i said in the first post, you need to start saving now, and they need to add a "day two". lol

10

indeed they are.  They amount of different models they have is insane!  I was thinking they were rare when I saw some at a flea market here in Osaka but I guess not.  I wonder if anyone outside the country would like one to match their car....

11

indeed they are.  They amount of different models they have is insane!  I was thinking they were rare when I saw some at a flea market here in Osaka but I guess not.  I wonder if anyone outside the country would like one to match their car....

12

indeed they are.  They amount of different models they have is insane!  I was thinking they were rare when I saw some at a flea market here in Osaka but I guess not.  I wonder if anyone outside the country would like one to match their car....

Author13

@majik16106 Yes! Exactly.

Author14

@majik16106 Yes! Exactly.

Author15

@majik16106 Yes! Exactly.

Author16

@roryfjohnston Interesting. There were hundreds of them for sale.

Author17

@roryfjohnston Interesting. There were hundreds of them for sale.

Author18

@roryfjohnston Interesting. There were hundreds of them for sale.

Author19

@Ben Chandler You know the saying. "If you have to ask..." :)

Author20

@Ben Chandler You know the saying. "If you have to ask..." :)

Author21

@Ben Chandler You know the saying. "If you have to ask..." :)

22

I can just feel my wallet burning. It's probably a good thing that there aren't any swap meets in my area.

23

I can just feel my wallet burning. It's probably a good thing that there aren't any swap meets in my area.

24

I can just feel my wallet burning. It's probably a good thing that there aren't any swap meets in my area.

25

@Mike Garrett  @Ben Chandler Then they aren't worth paying that much? Hehe...

26

we need more posts like this, i love these and the toy posts as much as the regular car ones

27

@roryfjohnston Yah, there is a hobby shop (cars/trains/planes/etc) at Nakano Broadway mall. They have had a ton every time I've been by.

28
inspector_exacto

I did a quick price conversion for one of those wheels that was 22,000yen. That comes to about $237 US!

29

Additional info for Gold model cars: Yes they are "Tabaco Case". (Could be some models shown were not)
If I remember correctly, they were handle to customer who ordered/purchased brand new car, so one of popular novelty item at car dealer in "Showa period".
The cabin part is detachable. You can store some cigarettes (maybe and lighter too) in there or just display on book shelf in the living room. 
The wrapped box under the KP47(far left) is could be original wrapping by Nissan, I'm wondering what's in there.
I love S/H and keep great post Mike!

Author30

@C439 Very cool! With so many different cars available, I was assuming they were some sort of promotional product. Thanks for the info!

Author31

@inspector_exacto Hopefully the dollar-yen exchange rate keeps improving!

Author32

@mark You're in luck! I've been gathering quite a bit of this sort of material while I've been in Japan. :)

Author33

@guReMcO Yeah sometimes the only way to resist is to literally leave your money at home. Haha.

34

Those rims are sooo cheap even if its per wheel! I can only imagine how cheap the other stuff was

35

This is why I want to go to Japan

36

I think people will agree for those of us that were not there would have been bankrupt lol
 
perpetualroad.wordpress.com

37

I see a lot model kit's that I could spend a lot of money on. (Like a Crown 280ZT or  Tokyo Marui Hako. Skyline).
(It would more than likely take more than fifty years to build what I have now).

38

I knew I shouldn't have clicked on this story.  I want to buy all the parts!!!!!

39

I knew I shouldn't have clicked on this story.  I want to buy all the parts!!!!!

40

I knew I shouldn't have clicked on this story.  I want to buy all the parts!!!!!

Author41

@E Sutton Haha. Read at your own risk!

Author42

@jzx81 Yeah, they are worth it even to just stack the boxes!

Author43

@izzy_ortiz Indeed!

Author44

@Jdmcolliemane Yeah, most were sold as pairs or full sets, but either way the prices were swell :)

45

Ohhh man, I wonder if any obscure old AW11 parts could be had there. My Yahoo Japan perusing hasn't turned up anything good lately...

46

Lucky they probably don't take card

47

Such a small treasure... Do want all of this, both cheap and desirable... FFFUUU-

48

That is simply mouth watering. Thanks for sharing.

49

If I have tons of cash.....

50

If I have tons of cash.....

51

@FunctionFirst  @Mike Garrett  @Ben Chandler ".....you probably can't afford it." :(

52

@FunctionFirst  @Mike Garrett  @Ben Chandler ".....you probably can't afford it." :(

53

@Mike Garrett  @E Sutton You've said it. It's not helping the addiction, at all.

54

@Mike Garrett  @E Sutton You've said it. It's not helping the addiction, at all.

55

@Mike Garrett  @E Sutton You've said it. It's not helping the addiction, at all.

56

Hey Mike GarrettDo you know of any other regular swap meets anywhere in Japan beside this one? Thanks

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