Jim’s Blog

The car of your dreams is for sale and you’ve got the cash in hand. Only one problem. You can’t see it in person first. That’s the challenge in front of a lot of buyers right now, and auctions are working to make that challenge less of a concern by being as forthcoming and helpful…

Big projects are great, but sometimes it’s the small stuff that makes the biggest difference. Most of us can appreciate a complete restoration job on a car that really needed it — but sometimes just finding a fixing a squeak or rattle on you weekend classic is all it takes to boost your peace of…

When I was a kid, there were rumors of a ’69 Hurst/Olds hiding in a little old lady’s garage up the street from my house. It had belonged to her late husband, so the story went, and she never drove it. It was said to just sit behind that forever-closed garage door. The young car…

If there’s ever a time for a car project to snowball out of control, it’s right now. We’ve all been there. Sometimes it’s as simple as a carb adjustment turned rebuild. Other times it’s a tune-up that turns into a top-end rebuild. Or maybe it’s that one little section of rust repair that becomes a…

If there’s one takeaway from all these weeks of stay-at-home recommendations and/or orders, it’s this: Projects are a lot more important than they once were. We all need stuff to do to recharge, and if you’re the kind of car person that likes to work with your hands, an old car is a great focus.…

Last week, I talked about things to look for in your next buy — specifically things relating to cosmetically and mechanically restored cars coming out of the Coronavirus era. But as reader Jeff pointed out, there are some larger questions looming out there as well, so let’s take a minute to look at them. “With…

Old cars are a great place to spend your time, especially when you have a lot of time. A project car can suck up a year or more of your life, which if we’re being honest is not such a bad thing right now. The guy everyone loves to hate — you know him, he’s…

I like to think there are three factors that make an old car desirable: Style, performance, and nostalgia. To some degree, each old car sale is driven by those factors, even if they’re not always the same for every model. A classic Corvette has all three in more or less equal measure. A Model A…

Since our usual car events are on hold right now, what are car people up to?  Right now I’d normally be getting ready for the Portland Swap Meet, and a few local shows that take place in April. Instead, I’m working in my garage and spending a lot of time with my kids. My ’66…

Stuck at home? Most of us are. Now’s a great time to turn off the news and get out in your garage. While a lot of things are closed, many parts suppliers aren’t — Summit Racing, Larry’s Thunderbird and Mustang Parts, Paragon Corvette, Original Parts Group, ZIP Corvettes, National Parts Depot, Camaro Central, Firebird Central,…