Alright, at 71 years of age we know Victor Duran isn't the oldest regular at the Pomona Swap Meet. But, he's been coming to Pomona…{"id":6475,"date":"2015-02-16T12:52:28","date_gmt":"2015-02-16T20:52:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/?p=6475"},"modified":"2015-04-05T20:37:40","modified_gmt":"2015-04-06T03:37:40","slug":"the-old-man-of-pomona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/2015\/02\/16\/the-old-man-of-pomona\/","title":{"rendered":"The Old Man of Pomona: Victor Duran"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alright, at 71 years of age we know Victor Duran isn’t the oldest regular at the Pomona Swap Meet. But, he’s been coming to Pomona for 25 years. You can find him on<\/span> Road 17, Spaces 5 and 7<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0at every single show. And with over 40 years of experience in the parts industry, Victor knows a thing or two about a thing or two. We recently had the chance to catch up with him…<\/span><\/p>\n

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF<\/span><\/p>\n

PSM:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0When and how did you get started in this industry?<\/span>
VD:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0I opened a store to sell tires and wheels forty years ago. But I had a lot of car clubs and truck clubs as customers… and they really needed parts and accessories.<\/span><\/p>\n

PSM:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0What’s the best part of your job?<\/span>
VD:<\/span>\u00a0 Talking to customers. Trying to figure out their problems, what they need for their cars.<\/span><\/p>\n

PSM:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0Have you always been interested in classic cars? Do you currently own a classic?<\/span>
VD:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0Yes. At one point I had 12 cars. But, I have 13 grandchildren! They started arguing about who was going to get which car so I sold all of them… except for my 1937 Chevy lowrider!<\/span><\/p>\n

PSM:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0Speaking of the grandkids, do they help you out at the show?\u00a0<\/span>
VD:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0Well, two of my kids and my grandkids have started selling for themselves now. I taught them the business. I taught them how to sell and how to set up a space in Pomona to be successful. Now my grandkids call to ask where my spaces are because they don’t want to be too close to me out there!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

PSM:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0If you won the lottery, what’s the first classic car you would buy?<\/span>
VD:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0A T-Bucket. I’ve never owned one, but I’ve always liked them. I’ve always wanted one.<\/span><\/p>\n

PSM:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0Ford or Chevy, or?<\/span>
VD:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0I’m more of a Chevy guy, but I’ve owned Fords too.<\/span><\/p>\n

NOW TELL US ABOUT YOUR COMPANY<\/span><\/p>\n

PSM:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0How can customers contact you?<\/span>
VD:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0My shop, for appointments only, is at 4630 East 3rd Street in Los Angeles<\/a><\/strong>. You can call me at 323-266-1747. I also sell through ebay, under the name ClassicParts4Less<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n

PSM:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0What exactly do you sell?<\/span>
VD:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0Accessories for cars and trucks from the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. I sell mostly Ford and Chevy, some VW, and I have Mopar connections. If I don’t have what you need in stock, I can get it!<\/span><\/p>\n

PSM:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0What do you sell the most of? What’s your most popular item?<\/span>
VD:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0I sell a lot of outside door mirrors, curb feelers, and even license plate frames! But I’ve been doing this for so long, I sell a little of everything. And I sell both reproduction and NOS items. I used to sell a lot more NOS than\u00a0repro, but a lot of customers couldn’t afford the NOS, or just didn’t want to spend the extra money. And the repro stuff is so good now that most people can’t tell the difference. Some car club guys still only want NOS… and some will ask if people will be able to tell if a part is repro or not.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t