Keith Martin

I made two round trips to Jefferson, Oregon last week. That’s where “Hooligan Racing,” Bill Gillham’s restoration shop, is located — 63 miles south of Portland. I’ve been taking Alfas to Gillham for over 30 years, my first being the ex-Ivan Zaremba 1967 Duetto owned by my college friend Arthur Levy. When Arthur was deciding on a car to drive from…

I’ve bought and sold a lot of cars over the years. They tended to come in bunches. There was an MG period, then a Porsche period, then a Rover period and so on. Some more-disciplined collectors have a linear approach. For example, having one car of each year of Corvette production. That’s never appealed to…

If location, location, location is the mantra for real estate, it’s the location, the cars and the people for car shows. Seven years ago, when I was emcee at my first La Jolla concours, the show was called the La Jolla Motorcar Classic. It was a good event at that time, but it wasn’t quite…

On April 3, 1958 my Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce rolled off the assembly line. Six days later it was sold to a dealer in Switzerland. Its history is lost from then until about 30 years ago when it was found sitting, not running and with the nose punched in, at the side of the…

Take a moment right now and nominate people you know who are enthusiastic about old cars — and under 40 years of age. Nominations close April 15, and we will feature the results in SCM’s October issue. Nominees can be involved in any aspect of the old car world — from buying, selling, detailing, repairing,…

SCM is inviting you on our latest madcap adventure. As we announced in the April issue of SCM, we’ve purchased a most inconsequential old car — a Bradley GT. This mostly forgotten VW-based kit car was most notable for its gullwing doors. However, it is unlikely to be confused with a Mercedes 300SL. The car…

I was flying to Amelia Island, FL from Naples with SCM raconteur Donald Osborne when both our cell phones started firing. It was 9 a.m. on Thursday morning, March 9. The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance was scheduled to be held the following Sunday. Weather reports indicated that Saturday would be sunny and clear, but that…

The mantra of the car collector could well be “Buy, Spend, Learn, Spend, Repent, Spend, Move On.” It’s been over a year since we bought our 1960 Austin-Healey Bugeye Sprite. I was looking for something that my 9-year-old son Bradley could call his first car. After nearly a year, it’s nearly ready for us to…

If you like driving on the beach, Oregon’s the state for you. The Oregon Beach Bill, passed in 1967, established public ownership of land along the Oregon coast. This was to ensure that everyone has access to the beaches and ocean, which is not always the case in other states. While you can’t drive on…

For the past 18 months, I’ve blathered on about how I’d drive my 1965 Giulia Spider Veloce once the restoration was finished. It wasn’t going to be a garage queen. After all, it’s just a used car that’s been with my family for many years. The restoration simply marks a new chapter in its life.…