At 9 am on Monday, August 14 we’re leaving Portland and heading towards Monterey. There may be two cars or 10, we don’t know. Our plan is to take it easy and smell the flowers. We will take I5 South, then cut over to the coast near Eugene and have […]
It was time-travel time for the SCM gang this weekend. There was a collector car auction at the Oregon State Fair and Expo Center in Salem. That’s about 45 miles from Portland. It was being conducted by MAG Auctions. New to the area, it is filling the spot once held […]
Car Season in Portland has officially launched. For the past 28 years, the Portland Transmission Spring Classic has been held the Saturday before Mother’s Day. In some ways it is the antithesis of a high-end concours. It is loosely organized. It is held on the city streets of inner Southeast […]
When I first started hunting cars in the ’70s, my routine was simple: I would scan the daily classifieds in my hometown paper, the San Francisco Chronicle. That’s where I found my 1959 ID 19 for $400. It was listed under the “Citroën” heading. Yes, such a category in the […]
Bradley and I just completed the Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon 45th Annual Old Spider Tour. For me, it was a two-day, 400-mile tour. While it celebrates Giulietta and Giulia Spiders specifically, all Alfas are welcome. It was hosted this year by Alfa restoration guru Bill Gillham and his wife […]
By the time you read this, I should have test-driven my 1975 Porsche 911 S for the first time. It’s been seven months since I bought it. Bringing old cars back to life takes time. The cars determine the rhythm of restoration, not you. I first learned about this car, […]
Like bears waking from their hibernation, our sports cars are poking their snouts out of their caves. In the Pacific Northwest, we have actually seen the golden orb several times in the past few weeks. We expect to see much more. The only reason to own our cranky, expensive and […]
It was a regular day in SCM Old Car Land. It started with a call to Chip Starr, who is bringing our 1972 Mercedes 250C back to life. He has installed the Weber DGVs and the Pertronix ignition. He swapped out the rear end for one from a 300D, along […]
It was a humid spring day in 1992. I was standing at a rent-a-car kiosk in Fort-de-France, Martinique. We had decided to take a family vacation to the Caribbean. My daughter Alexandra was less than a year old. We expected terrific French food in addition to the delights of the […]
Bradley and I had two road trips in a week. First, we drove to Astoria, on the Oregon Coast. We took the 1991 Alfa Spider and he drove about 100 miles. This being springtime in Oregon, we drove through a hailstorm. The combination of the scenic, winding Highway 26 and […]
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