Blogs
1973 Acoma Mini Comtesse: Smaller Than Small
Can You Just Leave It Alone?
I’m about to take our 1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super over to Guy’s Interior Restorations. The challenge is, how little can I have Guy do to the car?
I just got the Super back from Dan Sommers’ Veloce Motors, with a fresh 2-liter engine installed, new tires, balanced driveshaft and more. The car runs very well.
The interior is good overall, but the tops of the seatbacks have faded from exposure to the sun.
I’m going to have Guy re-dye Read More
Car Ads Need More Helicopter Gunships and Snow Halfpipes
When It’s Time To Drive a Boring Car
I was driving home from a holiday dinner last week on Sauvie’s Island, about 15 miles from downtown Portland. The country road I was on was unlit, two-lane and winding. It was raining, but not heavily.
The road presented no challenges to the modern car I was driving. Cocooned by the touch-screen nav system, the heated seats, automatic climate control and powerful high beams, I motored along above the 45 mph speed limit and didn’t think much about the actual Read More
Awakening the Biggest Car Engine Ever: 28 Liters!
Artcurial Unveils Huge Barn-Find Collection for Rétromobile 2015 Auction
Includes Long-Lost Ferrari California Spyder
A huge automotive archeological treasure trove — including a Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder — will star at Artcurial’s Rétromobile auction on February 6, 2015.
Likened by some to the famed “reserve collection” of the brothers Schlumpf, this barn-find hoard includes cars ranging from humble Amilcars, Citroëns and an Innocenti to grand routiers such as a Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux, a number of Delahaye 135s, a Talbot Lago T26 Saoutchik cabriolet delivered to King Read More
Car Club Survival Tips: Part 2
I was at the Oregon Region Porsche Club holiday dinner recently, and several members came up to talk about my November 11 column, Tips for Car Club Survival, concerning things that car clubs might consider to help them survive and grow as we move deeper into the 21st century.
Our new world is not particularly automobile-friendly, as we have so many options now for entertainment and socialization. How then do we keep old car clubs relevant?
In my column, Read More
Stop-Motion Engine Rebuild
1,000 Miles of Patagonia in a Jaguar E-type — The 2014 Argentine Millas
I’ve just completed the 1,000-mile Monte Carlo-style rally held every year in Argentina. The Argentine Millas brings together old-car enthusiasts for three long days of challenging roads and timed legs that are measured to 1/100 of a second.
My co-pilot was Round-Fender Volvo Club leader Dean Koehler, recently retired from Alaska Airlines and who is also an ex-Navy carrier pilot.
The flight path is not a direct one. We left Portland around noon on Monday, went through Houston Read More