Buy What You Love, Pay What You Should
Blogs
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Jim’s Blog: Three New Year Resolutions
There are only a few days left in 2016, and that has me thinking about all the car things I did — and didn’t do — this year. Here’s what I’m going to do differently in 2017. About six months ago, I jacked up my Caprice to change the oil and filter. I hadn’t done…
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Help Pick My Next Car
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…
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Jim’s Blog: SEMA in Photos
SEMA is where the automotive aftermarket comes to show off its skill — this is where the newest trends, the biggest builds, and the coolest new products all converge in one week of car-crazy overkill. ACC was on-site in Vegas this November, and while we ran a feature of the event in the just-printed Jan/Feb…
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Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale Car Symposiums
Barrett-Jackson is fielding an ambitious, compelling lineup of car-collecting workshops from January 16-20, 2017 at their huge Scottsdale Auction. SCM Publisher Keith Martin will be a part of the “Getting Started in Car Collecting” panel on January 16. SCM’s sister magazine, American Car Collector, will present “The Top Ten Collector Cars: What to Buy and…
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The Spider Veloce is Finished!
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…
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Alex Conquers Hog’s Back
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…
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Jim’s Blog: When it Just Clicks
So you’re all done at the car show. You hop in your classic, hit the key, and instead of that V8 cranking over, you get nothing but a tinny click. Hit it again and it clicks again. Third time’s a charm and off you go. Sound familiar? I’ve had my 1966 Caprice since October 1998.…
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The Right Car for the Right Trip
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.…
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Old Skills for Old Cars
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…
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Jim’s Blog: ACC Question of the Month — Best Classic Road Tripper
This month’s ACC Reader’s Forum question comes from our own John L. Stein: “I’m looking to set up a 1,000-mile road trip with some high school friends. To do it right, we need a classic car. What’s the better option of the sub-$20k cars below? Or is there a better choice out there that I…
