Buy What You Love, Pay What You Should
Blogs
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Jim’s Blog: Check Your Fuel Lines
I’m sure you didn’t wake up this morning thinking about the fuel lines on your classic car. Maybe you should have. Most American cars utilize sections of rubber fuel line in several locations to allow engine and chassis movement — typically between the fuel tank and the carburetor supply line, from the hard line on…
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Keith’s Blog: A Cat Peed in My Sleeping Bag – More Tales of Rubber Chicken Racing
It was the fall of 1969. After spending a year after high school working part-time as a mechanic with Rubber Chicken Racing, I headed to Portland, OR, from San Francisco to attend Reed College. During my first couple of weeks at Reed, there were SCCA regional races at Portland International Raceway. Team Rubber Chicken decided…
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Jim’s Blog: The Newest Classic?
I used to think that all interesting cars stopped in 1972. The gas crunch and impact bumpers really did a number on American cars by the mid-1970s, and with the introduction of the 1973 Chevelle and the 1974 Mustang II, the death of interesting cars seemed, well, permanent. It’s funny how perceptions can change, though.…
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Keith’s Blog: More Thoughts on the SCM 1000 — From a First Timer
I’ve been driving sports cars and going on road trips since 1966. I sometimes forget what it’s like for someone to go on a road trip in an old car. It’s sensory overload in so many ways. In an old car, you are not passing through the landscape, you’re part of it. You smell the…
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Jim’s Blog: What Makes a Corvette?
This month’s reader’s question is all about Corvettes. Specifically, what’s going to happen to late-model Corvette values now that the mid-engine C8 has arrived on the scene. There’s still time to submit your answers, too — is it time to buy, sell, or hold C6 and C7 Corvettes with their traditional front/rear powertrain setup? Will…
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Keith’s Blog: The Second SCM 1000 is History!
One thousand miles and two thousand great conversations. The second annual SCM 1000 is now a part of the magazine’s history. Last week, 82 enthusiasts in 42 cars drove 1,000 miles in four days. They explored nooks and crannies of Oregon that are well off the beaten path. However, as spectacular as the cars and…
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Jim’s Blog: The Best $1,500 Upgrade
Buying and selling is the core of American Car Collector magazine — but we’re also very much interested in things people can do to their own cars to make them more usable. Modern traffic isn’t always friendly to classic cars, and why own a classic if you don’t drive it? There is a time and…
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Keith’s Blog: The SCM 1000 is Underway!
The SCM 1000 kicked off on Sunday after with a Cars in the Park Event at the Portland Art Museum. Tour participants showed off their cars to Portland’s many vintage car enthusiasts. Portlanders are used to SCM parking flights of amazing cars outside of the Portland Art Museum. We started the first-ever SCM Tour…
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Jim’s Blog: Is Patina Just a Fad?
When “barn finds” took off in popularity back around 2010, so too did cars wearing worn, thin paint. Evidence of wear all of a sudden became cool, at least among a certain segment of buyers in the market. To those buyers — the “it’s only original once” crowd, there’s nothing cooler than original paint that…
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Keith’s Blog: Alex, the Spitfire and the BMW 2002
Alex, my daughter, and I had a pleasant Saturday planned in July of 2007. At that time, Rob Sass was head of Business Development for SCM. As you probably know, Rob buys cars like the rest of us buy socks. Given my proclivity for accidental purchases, we were a dangerous pair. There is a small…