Keith Martin
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Keith’s Blog: Who Am I Bidding Against?
Imagine you are fishing. You hook a nice-sized, juicy-looking trout. You are reeling it in, and just as you are about to net it someone else reaches in, grabs it and scampers away with it. That’s the way it’s been for me with three Austin-Healey 3000s in the past two weeks. With over 73,000 Big…
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Keith’s Blog: A Triumphant Event
Madras, Oregon (pop. 7,456), is 121 miles from SCM headquarters in Portland. The route there on Highway 26 is delightful, taking you from the lush green of the Willamette Valley up and over Mt. Hood to the Oregon High Desert. The Triumph Register of America National Meet took place there from June 15–19. This marked…
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Keith’s Blog: Two Swings, No Hits
So far, our search for an Austin-Healey 3000 to drive to the 75th annual convention next year in Lake Tahoe has involved a lot of excitement but no car. Last week we mentioned two cars that had caught our eye. One was a 1960 BT7 Mk 1 with plastic side curtains in Monterey, CA, and…
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Keith’s Blog: A Healey on the Horizon?
The ’57 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint “outlaw” I waxed enthusiastic about last week has been sold, but not to me. The car was in Limoux, FRA, and nicely represented by the European seller, RCEurope. It was difficult enough for me to pull the trigger on our 2005 Porsche on a Bring a Trailer auction located…
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Bad News Bearings
Well, the pin’s still in it for now … The grenade is already in the garage. But I don’t know how far the pin has been pulled. Our 2005 Porsche 911 C4S is not my first rodeo with a 911. But the kerfuffle around its IMS bearing outweighs all the controversies surrounding my previous ones…
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Keith’s Blog: My Alfa Fantastico
I got my first Alfa Romeo when I was 17 — and have had probably close to 50 since then. When I had my stroke, I had just completed my dream collection of affordable classic Alfas. In chronological order, they included: All of the Alfas had suspensions sourced from Dave Rugh, including thicker sway bars…
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Keith’s Blog: GPS vs. Route Book
The organizational wheels for a potential SCM 40th Anniversary Tour are slowly turning. One of the more pressing questions is what navigation aids to offer. I’ve had the opportunity to participate in a variety of tours all over the world and observe the navigation tools they provide. These have included the Mille Miglia, California Mille,…
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Keith’s Blog: Thinning the Herd, Continued
“I know lots of 75-year-olds who have cars. But I don’t know any others that have seven cars.” Those were SCM Editor-in-Chief Jeff Sabatini’s words to me as we wrapped up another discussion about “how many cars is enough” and “what should those cars be?” Our collections are limited by a variety of factors. The…
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Keith’s Blog: Double-clutching as a Rite of Passage
Last Saturday was a glorious day for many reasons. First, once a year, Alfa Romeo master-restorer Bill Gillham hosts The Old Super Tour. Giulia Supers were the first mass-produced Alfa four-door sedans. They were built on the same chassis, and with similar drivetrain options, as the sporty GTV coupes and convertible Spiders. Ads proclaimed them…