Keith Martin

The pieces are coming together. I maintain that the only way to get kids involved with our old cars is to engage them from a very early age. Old cars should just be one of the many hobbies and sports they enjoy. In his after-school classes, my 9-year-old Bradley is taking computer coding — and…

Our old cars continue to make the transition from daily use appliances to coveted artifacts. This change raises an entirely different set of questions when it comes to deciding the quality and condition of a car you might buy. Just buying something that runs and drives is not what we’re looking for these days. As…

For most of us, December is not the best month to drive our classic cars. Aside from the cold, there often is snow on the ground — and many roads have been salted. I would guess that somewhere more than 80% of our classic cars are sitting under covers in heated garages and attached to…

I’ve got that classic-car itch, and only you can help me scratch it. In my column in the February issue of SCM, I wrote about the three cars that are calling to me right now. I invited subscribers to vote and comment on your choice. As a blog reader, I’d like to hear your opinion as…

Two weeks ago, Bill Gillham sent me a brief email: “Your car is ready for you to come and pick it up.” After more than a year — and a six-figure resto bill, our 1965 Giulia Spider Veloce is ready to come home. The notes from Bill had been getting shorter and shorter. “Tracked down…

Eight years ago, my daughter Alex (then 17) and I were trying to get up the Hog’s Back Hillclimb in our 1973 Land Rover SIII 88. My off-roading skills were rudimentary. I attacked the hill with too much speed and tried to muscle my way up. I got hung up on some rocks near the…

I’m just back from a visit to the High Desert Museum. Located in Bend, Oregon, about 150 miles from Portland, it’s a jewel. It’s true to its location, the desert, and to its mission, which is to help us understand the ecosystem of Central Oregon’s high desert — and the colorful history of the area.…

Last week I took the SCM Giulia Super out for an afternoon drive. There was light rain and the roads were wet — but not slick. I drove out Oregon Highway 30 towards Scappoose, and then took the turn off to Sauvie Island, a bucolic island in the Columbia River. The highway is a gently…

Should we really take our kids in our old cars? I got word last week that Chip Star’s Race Car Resurrections, the shop that has Bradley’s 1960 Bugeye, located a 3.7 rear end and was rebuilding it. Stock ratio was 4.22, and 3.9s are common. So scoring a 3.7 was a find. However, the installation…

“I fussed around, tried to get clever and missed my chance to buy the Cobra Daytona Coupe at $4m. And I’ll never get another chance at it. ” Miles Collier was telling the attendees of the SCM Insider’s Seminar at Hilton Head about “The One That Got Away.” This was my third time attending the…