Gates opened for the Orange Spring Super Swap Meet at 5am and organiser George Georgiou said about 200 stallholders turned up.

“I’m blown away,” he said. 

“We’ve had nothing but good comments, I got a few bits for my Monaro – I’ve seen stuff here from a 1903 car, right up to modern cars.”

For anything Volkswagen, Vic Brkovec was the man to see.

Hooked on VWs since he bought a 1966 Beetle as his first car, the Greystanes resident said he had been collecting for 47 years. 

“I wanted to put a bigger motor in it but it was too expensive so I went and got an apprenticeship and went from $175 [as a fitter] to $28 a week,” he said.

“It gets into your blood.”

John Houldin came from Queensland to sell his wares, which included metal headlight covers, rims mirrors, reflectors, badges and original radios. 

“People want the old radios and you can’t go to the shops to buy this,” he said.

Meanwhile Jason James helped restorers with newly-manufactured supplies like rubber seals, locks and handles.

“They can get a better deal at a swap meet and they can actually feel it – you can’t touch it if you buy online, but here, you can,” he said.

Orange car enthusiast Greg Murphy’s stall sang loudly of his passion for petrol and oil paraphernalia, with old oil company-branded tins, packing crates and signs dating back to the 60s.

“This is my private stash – I did have a hell of a lot more, but at the Bathurst swap meet, I sold about $25000-worth of stuff,” he said.

He also had two hi boy oil pumps.

“I got those from some old farms,” he said.

“I just like the nostalgia of it and the people who buy from me collect as well.”

But it was not all car parts and memorabilia for sale, Garry Norton from Cowra was one of several stallholders selling vintage knick-knacks, toys and kitchen items.

His wares included a clothing press, wood planing tools and batteries for an old telephone.

“People with the old phones like to get them so they’ve got the full set,” he said. 

“I’ve been collecting for probably the last 30 years, I suppose, I like finding old things that are unusual.”