Keith Martin

We’ve talked a lot about ways to get and keep young people involved with classic cars. I believe you have to get them used to old cars while they are children, and one good way to do this is to include them in your old-car activities. Both my children, Alexandra (now 24) and Bradley (8),…

It’s driving time again. My rotator-cuff surgery is healing well, and the surgeon has given me the okay to drive stick-shift cars. So I’ve been driving the Giulia Super for the past couple of weeks and thinking about how much I appreciate vintage cars, the mastery they require and how intuitive they are to service.…

SCM Legal Files author John Draneas and his wife Carlyn hosted a Super Bowl party on Sunday at their home, about 20 miles away in Wilsonville, OR. The weather was glorious, and it was the perfect opportunity to exercise SCM’s 1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super. I pulled the Super out of long-term storage and went through my routine. I checked the…

One-hundred eighty-seven miles north of the Arizona Biltmore is Meteor Crater, one mile wide and 570 feet deep. When the meteorite hit the earth, some 50,000 years ago, it impacted with an estimated force equivalent to 2½ million tons of TNT. At 3 p.m. last Sunday, another meteor was observed — but this one’s impact was visual, not physical.…

SCM’s 1967 Volvo 122S has finally returned home after relaxing for a couple of months in the care of Swedish Relics, Volvo expert Cameron Lovre’s new shop. I had Lovre do a few things that, strictly speaking, weren’t necessary for the car to be driven, but that were necessary for me to be able to enjoy the car. I’ve spent more…

Driving old cars turns trips into adventures. That’s exactly what happened over the New Year’s weekend when I took the SCM 1984 Land Rover Defender 90 across Mount Hood to a friend’s house near Sunriver, Oregon. It’s about 180 miles, and in a modern car not a particularly challenging trip. However, combine sub-freezing weather conditions, snow…

Last week I shared what the 1958 Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce, 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider Veloce, 1984 Land Rover D90, 1967 Volvo Amazon, 2000 Dodge Viper GTS ACR and 2001 Porsche 911 Turbo had on their wish lists. Here’s what the rest of the gang asked for: From your 1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale: I’m your sexiest car, and…

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been finding little notes folded up on my desk. Some are written in cursive, others in block letters. They all have one thing in common – they are being composed by the cars in the SCM collection. Of course, all the cars asked for some seat time. My…

This saga illustrates how much time and energy an old car can cost you — even when it’s solid when you buy it. My 1967 Volvo 122S came from Volvo P1800 racer and retired academic Jim Perry. He had combined the rebuilt drive train of one car with the very nice body and interior of another. I purchased it…