Collecting Thoughts

If there is one overriding issue that seems to dog pre-war cars, it is the question, “What do I do with it?” Driving such machines in modern traffic can be less than enjoyable. Even in the cozier confines of tours created for such cars, they present many more challenges than, say, 1950s or 1960s sports…

In early May, Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 s/n 11429, a non-running project, was sold on Bring a Trailer for $78,750, including buyer’s premium. A bargain price! At least until one digests that it was fitted with a 4.6-liter Cadillac Northstar V8 backed up with a 4-speed automatic GM 700R4 trans, a non-original aluminum radiator and…

After languishing for years in California’s high desert, the 1948 Norman Timbs Special — a Motor Trend cover car in October 1949 — was restored to a fare-thee-well and won its class at several major concours. Timbs was an acclaimed race-car engineer who’d designed the Indy 500-winning Blue Crown Specials of 1946, 1947 and 1948.…

Even among collectors, it is perhaps unusual to own the exact same car twice, with 40 long years separating the two experiences. I first bought this Pontiac GTO in 1981, after discovering it with a scattered clutch in a Sierra Nevada meadow. After torturing it for a summer, I sold it on, only to rediscover…

In 2005, I bought a Ford GT in what I consider the heritage colors — Midnight Blue with white stripes. These echo the Guardsman Blue with Wimbledon White stripes livery of the 1964 GT40 that won the Daytona 2000 km Continental. Even after more than 18 years and 20,776 miles, my car is a thrill…

Resto-mods have become prevalent, particularly at sales conducted by Barrett-Jackson and Mecum Auctions. At the annual giant Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas last November, every crate-engine variant or upgraded component possible for resto-mod conversions was on display, even drop-in electric powerplants. There are many websites and car-oriented TV shows that feature…

I love movies about cars, racing, real events, real people and lots of drama. I’m also old enough to remember Dad taking me and my brothers to see “On Any Sunday” at the theater when we were children living in Southern California. That movie, directed and produced by Bruce Brown, was an instant classic, with…

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been in love with the automobile. I find the sights, sounds, smells and sensations intoxicating. Long before I had the financial wherewithal to begin collecting cars, I was an enthusiast. I was born in 1960, and my earliest automotive “education” came from television, movies and the pages…

SCM’s editorial staff has plenty of opportunity to get out of the office over the course of the year. You’ll find us following the action in Scottsdale, on the concours lawn at Amelia Island, and dashing from event to event during Monterey Car Week. But our favorite annual outing is the SCM 1000.  We get…

It was bound to happen someday. I have been interested in Japanese cars since I was 7 years old, but up until now, I have only owned models that were sold here in the U.S. I have driven right-hand-drive JDM cars, and friends have imported cars from Japan. I even had the opportunity to visit…