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Keith’s Blog: Ogden or Bust

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Keith Martin

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At 8 a.m. on Monday, September 21, we will be at the Lewis and Clark rest stop just outside of Portland.

There, we will join up with a group of Alfas coming from Seattle, lead by SCMer and road trip guru Fred Russell.

Ahead of us is an eight-day back roads adventure. We will cover at least 1,500 miles. Our destination will be the Alfa Romeo National Convention in Ogden, UT.

My co-driver will be European journalist Axel Catton. We’ve known each other through social media, but this will be our first in-person meet up.

We will be driving our red 1991 Alfa Romeo S4 Spider. Our technician said it is ready to go. He noted a slight leak from the head gasket but said it should be fine for the trip. The A/C is blowing cold since we replaced the compressor), the new top fits well, and the Bluetooth stereo is ready for Pandora.

I’ll be giving a talk there on Thursday, September 24. The last time I spoke at an Alfa convention was in 2006 — 20 years ago!

Here’s a sneak preview of my convention presentation, assembled with a little help from AI.

What do you think the biggest change in the collector car world has been in the last two decades? I look forward to your comments below.

The Alfa I drove to the convention 20 years ago
Giulia Spider Veloce, reputed to be on of six in Grigio Mare (Sea Grey)
29,488 original miles on 91 Spider we are caravanning to Ogden, Utah in
The S4 is no stranger to adventures. Yes that’s a lava field in central Oregon.
At the Dee Wright Observatory outside of Sisters, Oregon on a family road trip last summer.

Read my previous blog posts here.

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10 responses to “Keith’s Blog: Ogden or Bust”

  1. Thomas D Clarke Avatar
    Thomas D Clarke

    Biggest changes in the collector car world in 20 years? Easy. $$$$$$$$$$$. I say this as a previous owner of nine Porsches, from a 1956 356A, two 1959 Roadsters (Drauz), a1964 356C coupe, a 1965 356SC Cabriolet, a 1969 912 Targa, a 1970 911T Targa, and a couple of other Targas after that. Four of them I restored as a hobbyist (with the fortunate circumstance of living in the same community as the amazing Harry Pellow) to a very high degree, others I was the caretaker. I moved around a bit and restored a 1957 MGA, a 64 MGB, a 1950 Ford convertible, and a 1956 Austin Healey They all have their unique stories). I then moved on to Enjoying BMW’s, after my friend sold his 328 GTS Ferrari and bought an M3 that he let me drive to the Pebble concours one year. I bought an M3 sight unseen from a dealer in LA area the day after the concours, and drove it until I missed having a convertible. I bought an M Roadster sight unseen from Beverly Hills Porsche. I flew down from San Jose and picked the car up, 4500 miles before the owner turned it in on a new Porsche. It now has 169000 miles and Is a joy to drive.
    So why the long history? Because I used to be able to swim in the collector car world at a time when acquiring something was still within reach of someone who loved exciting cars and had a reasonably good income to indulge the arena. No longer the case. The 1965 356 SC Cabriolet I had was sold to a friend in Brentwood, who did some restoration and then drove it for six years, and ended up selling it because his wife wanted to remodel the kitchen. Selling price? $325,000. I paid $10,000 for it, sold it to my friend for $20,000, and he sold it ten years later for 325K. I have been priced out of the market I loved. I’m looking for my next fun acquisition, but when I was at the Gooding preview at Pebble last month, seeing the Cobra and then watching the auction sadly reminded me that it’s no longer a rich man’s game, as ABBA sang. It’s a super rich man’s game. Marie Antoinette rephrased—“Let them eat rust.”

    Reply
  2. Thomas D Clarke Avatar
    Thomas D Clarke

    Sorry, ABBA sang “It’ a Rich Man’s World.” Same Idea.

    Reply
  3. Glenn Krasner Avatar
    Glenn Krasner

    Keith,

    “Ahead of us is an eight-day back roads adventure. We will cover at least 1,500 miles.”

    Keith, why don’t you have your mechanic change that leaking head gasket before your eight-day back roads adventure, just to avoid any unforseen negative adventures.

    Glenn in Brooklyn, NY.

    Reply
    1. Bob FitzSimons Avatar
      Bob FitzSimons

      What could possibly go wrong?

      Reply
      1. JB Ellis Avatar
        JB Ellis

        Was thinking the same thing ?

        Reply
    2. Jim Barrett Avatar
      Jim Barrett

      And if you leave on the 21st for 8 days, you will arrive on the 29th, a day after the convention is over…? Some of these are not gonna be.

      Reply
  4. Bob Banks Avatar
    Bob Banks

    I’m with Glenn. “… He noted a slight leak from the head gasket but said it should be fine for the trip.” As my mother used to say, “Famous last words”. But whether or not you get it repaired in advance, good luck with the trip. It sounds like a fun one. –Bob

    Reply
  5. Brad B Avatar
    Brad B

    “A slight leak from the head gasket / it should be fine for the trip.”
    Keith’s silent dog whistle to old Alfa drivers🤣.
    The Spider will do the trip and back; I’ve done similar miles, but it wasn’t pleasant watching the water temp and compensating to keep the gage from pegging. In my case I’d driven a few hundred miles across low flat country, before a wake-up climbing foot hills.
    I’ll bet Kieth had a plan to fix it before departure and just want to wind us up!

    Reply
  6. Frank Barrett Avatar
    Frank Barrett

    No, Keith, leave the head gasket alone. If it makes the 1,500 miles, that’s good. If it doesn’t, you’ll have an interesting adventure to write about.

    Reply
  7. Daniel Romero Avatar
    Daniel Romero

    Just to clarify, Keith meant to say an eight day, 1,500 mile round trip (Portland to Ogden, back to Portland). Enjoy the drive!

    Reply

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