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Photos by the author

1. Yellow 1970 Boss 302 Mustang fastback is still wearing its original paint. The high-performance Mustang's fast-revving 302 V-8 is also original, with matching numbers to prove it. Completing the drivetrain is a four-speed manual and a 4.30 drag rear end. The 64,000-mile Boss 302 was offered by Dean Pence of Vintage Mustang Musclecars, Winchester,k Ind., at $26,000 ... firm!

2. Tony Stewart, a veteran Ford hobbyist from Port Jefferson, Ohio, searches through boxes of NOS parts searching desperately for a pair of '49 Mercury dashes to upgrade his two '50 Mercs, a coupe and a four-door sedan.

3. White 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 XL convertible is packed with a 390 four-barrel V-8 and automatic. It's also equipped with factory air conditioning, wire caps, power brakes and steering, white-stripe tires, and radio, plus, of course, the bucket seats and console of the XL trim package. Doug Andrews, from Russelville, Ohio, was asking 12,500 for his pretty nice '63.

4. Pair of Ford V-8 engines includes a 351 Cleveland (left) with no carburetor, intake, etc., but fitted with new pistons and bored .030, offered at $945; and a 351 Windsor (right) pretty much all there with Cleveland open-chamber heads and 10.7 compression, priced at $3,750.

by Bob Stevens

Ford owners and admirers - and that includes Lincoln, Mercury, and Edsel people as well - come from several surrounding states to participate in the annual Mid-Ohio Ford Club Columbus Spring Swap held at the Ohio State Fairgrounds (now called the Expo Center) in Columbus, Ohio. The gigantic meet fills four large buildings with 11 acres of indoor space divided into 1,472 vendor spots. There's also a sizeable car corral with 50 or so cars for sale, all of them Ford powered.

Under the supervision of Bob Cochran and his crew from the Mid-Ohio Ford Club, the huge throngs of people ascending on the Expo Center for the two-day weekend show are guided from one building to the next. One of the structures, the one hosting the car corral, is a large, sturdy shelter that is open on all four sides. It is half swap meet and half car corral. It was bitter cold on show weekend this year, yet virtually everybody braved the brisk elements, which included high winds and heavy, fast-falling snow, to enjoy the car corral and that portion of the swap meet found under the shelter. There's so much to see, it takes a full day-plus to adequately cover the entire meet.

Future dates for the Ford Spring Swap are April 6-7, 2002; April 5-6, 2003; April3-4, 2004; and April 2-3, 2005. There's no better way for a Ford enthusiast to launch a new season than to attend this meeting, especailly if one's tastes run toward Ford's pony car as Mustang vendors and parts dominate much of this meet, including the elite Cobra Jet, Boss and Shelby editions. Yet there's plenty of early Ford V-8 stuff, '50's and '60's Ford, high-performance Ford, and even a little Model A and Model T thrown in so Ford guys don't forget their roots.

5. Dark blue 1947 Mercury two-door sedan runs, rides and drives great, according to owner Pete Starnichuk, Ontario, Canada. He had been asking $12,700 for the old Merc, but had softened his price to $11,500 by Sunday.

6. Wayne Anderson hauled this 1955 Ford Customline V-8 four-door sedan to Columbus, Ohio all the way from his home in Tennessee. The car itself originally hailed from Florida. The V-8 engine is married to a three-speed stick transmission. The 63,000-mile sedan was priced at $5,500.

7. When's the last time you saw a new-old-stock flathead V-8? Well, this 1949-53 Ford engine block was just that, a brand new, never used, never installed flathead block. It was priced at $750 ... firm!

8. Mike Hale brought his mellow yellow '65 Mustang convertible to the all-Ford show in Columbus, Ohio. He wanted $13,900 for his rust-free southern example of the first-generation Mustang. The car was equipped with the 289-cid V-8, automatic, power steering, power top, factory air conditioning, etc., and had just been treated to new brakes, shocks and tires.

9. Shoppers look for bargains among hundreds of NOS chrome and stainless pieces hauled in by a Michigan vendor.

10. And there were some low-dollar bargains at the Ford meet, including this white-on-red '6 Mercury Monterey convertible priced at just $1,995. It had the 410 V-8 with automatic. It needed some body work, including a fair amout of rust repair, but was defintely restorable.

11. The asking price for a pair of new 428 Cobra Jet exhaust manifolds was $550 (only one is shown).

12. Absolutely beautiful Texaco gas pump is the real McCoy, not a reproduction. It was restored and offered by Tim Case, of Vinatge Pump Restoration, Hilton, N.Y. It wore a price tage showing $3,800.

13. It took $2,500 or best reasonable offer to haul this 1940 Ford two-door sedan home. It needed everything, but came with an engine that would start, a clear title and lots of extra parts.

14. An NOS Rear quarter for a 1964-1/2 to 1966 Mustang coupe was discovered still in a factory wrapper and priced at $400.

15. Talk about a rare piece, here's an NOS left front fender for a 1960 Ford Sunliner Convertible. Vendors Larry and Austin Witthoeft came all the way from Rochester, Minn. to offer this fender and lots of other neat NOS and used parts.

16. Green and white '55 Ford Club Sedan had the V-8 and automatic drivetrain. Owner Gary Foster was asking $10,000 for his spiffy fifties Ford.

17. It needed work, for sure, but this light blue 1962 Ford Subliner convertible was priced right at $3,500. It had a crumpled left front fender. The drop-top Ford had an in-line six working through a three-speed manual, a bit unusual for a top-of-the-line convertible.

18. Cute little '71 Bronco, finished in a pleasing red and tan paint scheme, came with a 302-cid V-8, three-speed on the floor, 4.11 limited slip rear end, power steering and a lot more, and virtually all of it is new, restored, rebuilt or refinished. It was priced at $9,500.

About the Club

The Mid-Ohio Ford Club, Columbus, Ohio, has its own website: www.springswap.com.
Details on the show can also be obtained by calling 614-475-3585, or faxing 614-475-3589.
The dates for next year's show are April 5-6, 2003.