Buy What You Love, Pay What You Should
Blogs
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Twelve Days in Florida — The Revs Symposium and Amelia
Over the past 12 days, I’ve traveled thousands of miles, seen hundreds of classic cars and shared the joy with countless gearhead enthusiasts. My trip started with the 8th Biennial Symposium on Connoisseurship and the Collectible Car presented by the Revs Institute. It took place at the Revs Institute for Automotive Research in Naples, FL.…
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Jim’s Blog: How do you make old cars safer?
A few weeks ago, I blogged about my ’72 K10 pickup as a daily driver, and since gas has been cheap, I’ve been using it more. It’s a decent regular commuter save for one important thing: safety. Some of your comments on that blog post focused on suspension and brake upgrades, both of which…
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Why Road Trips Matter
I was looking at my motoring schedule for the next few months, and I got to thinking about why I go through all the effort to prepare my cars for these events. I was reminded once again that it’s not really the cars that make these excursions so satisfying and enjoyable – it’s the great people…
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Upgrade Your Classic With a 5-Speed?
Should you upgrade the transmission on your vintage car? That’s one of the debates in today’s collector car world. The discussions revolve around “as built” correctness versus upgrades for driveability. Most of the small-displacement, under-2,000-cc vintage cars from the ’50s and ’60s handle, stop and start reasonably well. You simply adjust your driving style to…
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Jim’s Blog: Five Modern Muscle Drivers
Driving old cars is one of my favorite things, but let’s be honest — sometimes you just need a car with modern air conditioning, decent brakes, and a no-nonsense cooling system. You’re probably not going to drive your ’70 Hemi Cuda to the doctor’s office when you’re sick, or use that ’69 Z/28 to take…
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Jim’s Blog: Five Modern Muscle Drivers
Driving old cars is one of my favorite things, but let’s be honest — sometimes you just need a car with modern air conditioning, decent brakes, and a no-nonsense cooling system. You’re probably not going to drive your ’70 Hemi Cuda to the doctor’s office when you’re sick, or use that ’69 Z/28 to take…
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The Alfa, Viper, Volvo, Méhari and Me
A Gearhead’s Trip Through A Vintage-Car Theme Park You can tell the weather is getting better because I’m spending more time in the SCM/ACC garage. It all started last week when seven-year-old Bradley asked if I would take him to school in the Viper. I asked why that car, and he replied that he had…
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Old Cars: More Reliable Now Than Ever
I was giving a talk at the local MG club meeting last Friday evening. We were discussing road trips, and the SCM “Road to Reno” adventure came up. In 2011, we bought three 1972-73 MGBs (two convertibles and a GT), refurbished them and drove to Reno for the All-MG Register gathering and then back to…
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Jim’s Blog: How Old is Too Old for a Daily Driver?
ACC is all about getting out and driving our cars. I drive my ’72 Chevy truck quite a bit. Last week my SRT Charger was down for a few days because of a fuel tank recall, and whenever something like that happens, I press the truck into duty and don’t think twice about it. …
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A Badass Volvo 1800S Joins the SCM Fleet
“It’s black, and it’s slammed.” That was my first thought when I set eyes on the ’64 Volvo 1800S. My daughter Alex and I had just arrived at iRoll Motors in San Martin, CA. I purchased the car in July, but it took this long for the shop to address a variety of mechanical issues and…