Carlisle 2023

[Tom L.]

Hi all, got back from Carlise yesterday and and the wife and I had a great time. We usually take our '72 but the forcast was crappy so we took the easy way out. Our '13. Anyway, we've been staying at the same place right in Carlisle for many years. This year seemed differnt, even the guests at the place we stay was less corvette focused. The Fun Field seeemed filled with cars on both of the days we were there but most were C4 and later cars. Don't get me wrong, they're all good.

What I found REAL different was the "foot traffic". Local "pay to park" lots and residential front yards were far from full as I've experienced in that past. The swap meet and Car corral was bare compared to 10 years ago. Not a stalker but I did overhear at least 3 conversations between enthusisats, older than me, (I'm 57) and the common theme was that the early corvette hobby is "aging out".

Thoughts? I hope they're good ones! Have fun!

[Bill M.]

Re: Carlisle 2023

Tom I usually go on Saturdays 2 mid year friends who were vendors on Thursday and Friday advised me to stay home. They bothe left the field on Friday after noon. I wish I knew what was going on

[Mark E.]

Re: Carlisle 2023

Maybe after restoring C1s, C2s and C3s over the past 40 years, there aren't as many left that need parts... Theory B: the guys who grew up coveting these cars are getting older and spend less time on cardboard.
.

[Mark F.]

Re: Carlisle 2023

Tom I usually go on Saturdays 2 mid year friends who were vendors on Thursday and Friday advised me to stay home. They both left the field on Friday after noon. I wish I knew what was going on

Yeah, Bill...how things change...my heavy years of attendance at C@C were 1998 to 2006.

Up thru 2001 or so, I was primarily a buyer...drove over 0-dark-30 Saturday morning; parked in the upper grass field outside the gate and carried everything back and forth in my Boy Scout backpack. went home same day (night) - exhausting !

1st time I was a vendor, I went down late Thursday for setup and then was ready for Friday's big sale day. Got rid of a ton of stuff...even some vintage '30s Ford stuff ! Got good prices, too.

Then someone told me many vendors looking for those hard-to-find original parts are on the hunt even Wednesday night and then Thursday, too. So, 2nd & 3rd times I was a seller, I got there Wednesday afternoon IIRC - setup and sold Thur and Fri. - went home late Saturday afternoon. Never stayed 'til Sunday - yeah I know, I was always missing out on winning that free Corvette raffled off

[Michael J.]

Re: Carlisle 2023

I have never been, just father than I want to drive for a car show, but in looking at the pictures it seemed almost all the cars were C6 and newer, so it looked more like an NCCC bash than anything catering to vintage Corvettes.

[Gary R.]

Re: Carlisle 2023

I stopped going after 2016, for several reasons.
1- bad beds for me, so no sleep and sore back
2- As a vendor, it was get there no later than Thursday afternoon to setup. Friday, Saturday,Sunday were all busy until PA sent in tax collectors and more started to sell online.
3- Get in at 6am, bake all day and leave by 4pm. Sometimes get soaked in rain.
4- The costs have gone up for everything, no surprise there but spending $1000+ for sitting in a hothouse without knowing if you have any return isn't a good thing.
5- The last 4-5 years vendors packed up and were gone by noon on Saturday. Sunday was a ghost town in the vendor area.
6- I was behind Al Knock and would notice the walk by traffic would be busy about 8am to 10am and die. Then again pick up about noon to 1:30 or so and that was it, done. Back before 2012 or so it was like DisneyWorld- shoulder to shoulder all day long, even Sunday.
7-I do miss the seminars I put on, I enjoyed meeting people and showing them how to do custom work you won't find elsewhere. However, the overall cost of the trip overruled doing this anymore.

Those are the reasons I stopped going, how it matches up with others I can't say. I hope the event continues though. If I could find a good hotel I might consider going back if management still wants me to hold seminars but from what I was told by several it is becoming a car show over a swap meet and car shows are everywhere, a lot closer than 5-6 hours.

[John M.]

Re: Carlisle 2023

Sign of the times, attended a small local Corvette Club show last Saturday, about 100 cars in attendance. Counted 40+ C8s, majority of remaining cars were C6 and newer. Only 3 C2s and 2 C1s, believe it or not, no 1967s! Guess if I wanted to see a C8 I'd go to the dealership, but evidently all you need to do these days is drop 90K at a Chevy dealership, get a personalized license plate, run it through the drive-thru carwash, buy a lawn chair and park at a "show"...!

[Kevin B.]

[Bill M.]

Re: Carlisle 2023

Yes leave it to the tax man to kill the golden goose. He drove a way many of the large tents and killed the little guy getting rid of parts from the last restoration I have been going since 81 or 82 up until 2010 it was shoulder to shoulder until the giveaway at 3 pm on Sunday. I suppose I will be back next year. Combine it with a trip toGettysburg. Bill 🏎️

[Garry B.]

Re: Carlisle 2023

Having been in this hobby for over 35 years and 14 cars, I had never been able to go to Carlisle until this year. A good friend heard me say that going to Carlisle was on my bucket list and now that I am retired I planned to got "some day". He has gone for many years and volunteered to do a road trip from NC so I finally got to go. As a Carlisle Newbie I thought it was fantastic. It reminded me of going to many of the BG's back in the early 90's where there many vendors and crowds. We got there Wednesday around 1:00 and were able to work our way through many vendors already set up. We spent all day Thursday and Friday trying to see it all and still didn't get it all done. So from a Newbie perspective I can't imagine what it must have been back in the day, but I went home with many coveted parts and absolutely exhausted.

[Anthony C.]

[Bill B.]

Re: Carlisle 2023

I started attending Corvettes at Carlisle back circa 1996. I drove my '70 Coupe there from CT and took place in the Car Parade, which I believe was held on a Fri eve at that time? Thrill of a lifetime! One has to remember at that time, only 44 yrs of Corvetts were produced, so the C1 thru C4 were the only models fielded and parts available from the many flea market vendors. Fast forward to 2023 and we now have over 70 yrs of production, spanning C1 thru C8. We C1 thru early C3 aficionados have been diluted in the big picture. I don't attend Carlisle any longer now that I have my project completed, as my last visit was 2018, and I noticed that I was in the very minority, with vendors selling much more C4 thru C7 items than C1, C2, C3. Don't be surprised if in the near future you overhear a conversation there asking each other "what is a carburetor"? or "what's a distributor"? It's just the way it is.

[Bill B.]

Re: Carlisle 2023

I just had to add a pic from my 2003 visit to Carlisle where I obtained my "403" bellhousing and the rebuilt "M-22" transmission. The look on my wife's and kids faces when they saw me arriving to the parking lot as a front seat passenger on a golf cart as I'm holding the transmission assy on my lap was priceless. "Look what I found!!"

115-1587_IMG.jpg

That assembly took residence on my family room fireplace hearthstone for 5 years until my wife ordered it removed.

[Tom L.]

Re: Carlisle 2023

Well it seems We're all on the same page as far as the progression of the event as it moves forward. This wasn't a complaint, just an observation. In my humble opinion, in the past C1 and 2's were the focust of the swap meet area but this year that demographic didn't dominate. On the pther hand it "seemed" that there was more C3 stuff. Maybe not. But I'm biased : )

But either way perhaps that the older car owners are not comming and that's just fine. We all slow down. What I thing might be driving the lack of vendors might just be newer technology. Seriously, what can most of us do with a highly digitally dependant C5 and up cars in terms of troubleshooting nevermind upgrades. My wife and I still enjoy it and have alredy made our reservation for next year in the same place right in town that we've been at for some time. As always, Have fun!

[Chris L.]