Last week it was a 1975 Citroën DS23 that I backed off on. It sold for $37,800.

This week’s temptation was a 2003 Ferrari 456M GTA.

Matt Crandall at the Avant-Garde Collection is constantly getting in the way of my attempts be a thoughtful, patient collector.

I asked him to handle some of the title work on my SL 55 that arrived from California. He mentioned he has just listed a 456 on BaT and  “you might want to come Read More

When SCMer Greg Long listed a 1975 DS23 Pallas on Bring a Trailer, it caught my attention. In addition to being a very-late model with a 2.3-liter engine, it had a Citromatic 4-speed automatic that you shifted manually.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Citroëns.

Whenever I see one, my collector car heart starts to race just a little bit.

I owned a 1959 ID19 when I lived in San Francisco during the ‘70s.

I chased a Mehari for Read More

Three strikes and you’re out. That’s been my philosophy with old cars for some time.

Recognizing that a car that comes into the SCM Collection may not have been used regularly, I anticipate a period of unreliability as they are put into service.

However, our 1965 Volvo is testing my patience.

When it first arrived, I had specialist Cameron Lovre at Swedish Relics check out the car. He remedied many issues with the worn-out front suspension, dried-out window gaskets Read More

I celebrated Father’s Day in car-guy style.

In one day, my 13-year-old son Bradley and I drove special cars from three different eras.

We started by taking the 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider Veloce out of storage. My good friend Neil D’Autremont has been managing the SCM cars. The car was on the button.

I’ve owned this car for more than 30 years, and I have pictures of my daughter Alex (now 28) and Bradley in the same car when Read More

When my daughter Alexandra and I go to Paris, our dinner the first night is always at Le Relais de l’Entrecôte. It’s a European chain that is known for its steak and fries (frites) — and its savory green-tinged steak sauce.

Your only choices are how you want your meat prepared, and which wine you wish to accompany your dinner. You know exactly what you are getting and how it will taste. The restaurant never lets you down.

It’s always Read More

As we shuffle the SCM car collection, one thing has become evident.

With an old car, the most important thing you can do is make sure its suspension is in top shape.

By their nature, sports cars that are now a half-century old have not had easy lives. In addition to being driven hard, nearly every one of them has gone through owners with modest budgets and even more modest mechanical skills. So they have suffered minimalist repairs — often Read More

I watched a solitary jogger run down S.W. Clay Street this morning. He was wearing a mask. The streets were empty.

On this past Friday night, Portland, Oregon was filled with a cacophony of sirens and popping sounds.

Unaware of the civil unrest, I had just driven the SCM 1971 Jaguar E-type back from a dinner with John and Carlyn Draneas at their home in Wilsonville, about 20 miles south of Portland. John is SCM’s Legal Files contributor.

It was Read More

Summer is fast approaching. It’s our time of travel.

I asked Bradley what places he would like to visit during the next decade. His list was short — but exotic. The Serengeti in Africa, Ayers Rock (Uluru) in Australia, The Pyramids in Egypt and the City of Petra in Jordan.

I wasn’t surprised. We’ve already been to the Galapagos, the Mayan ruins in Chichen Itza, Mexico, Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica — and we’ve ridden the White Pass Railway out Read More

Last week, I told the tale of taking the 1965 Volvo 122S and the 1971 Jaguar E-type S3 V12 to the Oregon coast. My daughter, Alex, drove one of the cars, and my son, Bradley was a co-pilot.

Both cars failed at the end of the trip.

The pair got carted off to Consolidated Auto Works, where Ed Grayson performed a forensic analysis — along with a mechanical resuscitation.

Here’s what Ed discovered.

In Astoria, Alex had noted that the Read More

“Scraping! Your tailpipe is scraping!” That’s what my daughter Alex was shouting at me as we pulled into a parking lot in Astoria, Oregon.

The adventure we had planned seemed simple enough. My daughter, Alex, and her partner, Ross, would take our 1965 Volvo 122S. Bradley would join me in our 1971 Jaguar S3 coupe. The goal was a one-day, 200-mile round trip with both cars.

I haven’t had Alex and Bradley with me on a car trip in years. Read More