Keith Martin

I had the proud-father satisfaction of watching my daughter, Alexandra Dorel Martin-Banzer, graduate from Oregon State University this past Saturday. She received a B.S. in Business Administration with a focus on Entrepreneurship and a minor in writing. Two years ago, following a year studying in France, she earned a diploma in International Business from L’École…

“I’m thinking of getting into collector cars. What’s the best car to start with?” It’s a question we are asked all the time. There is no correct answer, just as there is no “right” choice for which pinot noir to pair with salmon, or which running shoes to wear for a marathon. There is a…

As I shepherd the SCM fleet through its never-ending process of repair, restore and improve, I am constantly making judgment calls about when to upgrade and when to leave things alone. For instance, I just delivered the 122S to Guy Recordon at Guy’s Interior Restorations to have the front seats restuffed and rebuilt. While it’s…

I’ve spent the morning checking with the shops caring for the various mechanically and cosmetically infirm members of the SCM fleet. The shop that has the Amazon put the rear sport springs in the front perches, and that didn’t work out so well. Tom Black reports that he was able to remove the Duetto‘s incredibly ugly…

The SCM 122S “Amazon” rolled off the carrier last week and was immediately pressed into service. I’ve been surprised at what a good car it is, given some of my previous “sight unseen” purchases. The seller, Jim Perry of Wisconsin, races an 1800S, and this was his street car. Before taking delivery, I had him…

It’s time for an update on the SCM fleet. We’ll leave the Alfas for last. The D90 is at Ship’s Mechanical having a few little things attended to and getting a rear step installed to make it easier for Bradley to clamber into the back. The power steering pump has started leaking, but since it could…

There’s something about the highly polished hull of a vintage wooden boat set against blue water that is alluring and exotic. Part of what makes Keels & Wheels so attractive to me is the combination of restored wooden boats and the tantalizing array of collector cars, all sharing the grounds of the Lakewood Yacht Club in…

Every spring the Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon hold the “Old Spider Tour” to celebrate and commemorate the occasion of club founder Bob McGill buying his 1958 Alfa Spider from Rambo Motors. This year there were six old spiders (three Giuliettas and three Giulias) plus another 16 or so cars, ranging from GTVs and Duettos…

A couple of weeks ago, restorer Bill Gillham finished up fettling our Alfa Giulia Super and sent it over to Dan Sommers at Veloce Motors for a mechanical checkover. Here’s the note I just got from Dan: Keith, In my earlier note I talked about the list getting longer as I spent more time around…

Every car event has its own flavor, from the industrial magic of Pebble, where the world’s greatest cars emerge to be ogled by some of the world’s most influential collectors, to Concorso Italiano, where the smiling-face chaos begins when the first Fiat arrives and ends as the last Ferrari exits the field. The most successful…