Keith Martin
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Keith’s Blog: How to Get to Healey 75?
I attended the Healey 50th anniversary at Lake Tahoe, CA, in 2002. It was memorable. At the time I owned an Austin Healey BJ7, red with white coves, in nice fettle. Once Bob Macherione replaced the overdrive switch on the first night in his shop in Eugene, OR, we were ready to roll. There were…
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Keith’s Blog: The SCM Sporto is on BaT
If you’ve been following this blog, you’re aware of the saga with my 1975 Porsche 911 S Sportomatic. It was discovered by an SCMer at the Hershey Swap Meet car corral in 2022. I bought it sight-unseen, and it wasn’t until seven months later that I got to drive it for the first time. Over…
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Keith’s Blog: Long and Slick
Two new words have entered my automotive vocabulary since my son Bradley started to drive. When he bought his 1998 Volvo V70 wagon, he wasn’t as excited by the factory mags as by the fact that it was a “long roof.” I found out that’s what we used to call a “station wagon,” in ancient…
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Trading Air for Water
It was July 16, 1975. Ronald Andrews arrived at Holbert Porsche Audi in Warrington, PA, to take delivery of his new 911 S. He knew exactly what he wanted. The 1975 S, with its 2.7-L magnesium-case engine, weighed in at 2,370 pounds, about the same as the fabled Carrera RS 2.7. It was an unusual…
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Keith’s Blog: Oh Lord, Won’t You Buy Me a Mercedes-Benz
My good friend and stalwart SCM 1000 supporter, Allen Stephens, has owned his 1972 Mercedes-Benz 250C since 2013. He has been a fastidious and thoughtful caretaker of the car, and it is now listed on Bring a Trailer here. I’ve had my own experience with a 250C and managed to learn slowly and painfully just…
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Keith’s Blog: Have I Been Scammed?
This story is a little complicated, so buckle your seatbelt and get ready for a ride. It’s now easier than ever to look up the history of your car. While the wealth of knowledge makes your life simpler, there are still fraudsters out there. Before I bought my 1991 Alfa S4 Spider, I never did…
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Keith’s Blog: Let’s Get Engaged
As the days begin to lengthen, our thoughts of how to use our classic cars become more inviting. As SCM Contributor Miles Collier as puts it so succinctly, “It’s all about engagement.” We all have cars of varying ages and degrees of performance. What endears them to us is the degree of competence each requires…
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Keith’s Blog: Brother, Can You Spare a Wheel?
It’s now been a month since we purchased our 2005 Porsche 911 C4S. This blog should be a summing up of a month’s worth of Oregon Club Porsche tours, with praise pointed at how easy the car is to use, how much I appreciate the climate controls, and even an explanation of why I decided…
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The Dance of Perfection
I was just settling into my favorite of the 3,000 seats in Portland’s Keller Auditorium. I prefer row N, seat 8, as I am close enough to see the facial expressions of the performers yet far enough back to take in overall staging of the ballet. It was Oregon Ballet Theatre’s production of “The Sleeping Beauty”…
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Keith’s Blog: Down to Three
I have been struggling with how to downsize my collection. There are a couple of factors involved. Parking spaces at my condo are limited. At one point I had seven, but not anymore. Further, the Morlocks who run our HOA have decided that trickle chargers are not “safe” (compared to the exploding lithium-ion battery-powered electric…