Columns
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1971 Alpine A110 1600S Coupe
One of the great names in post-war French motorsport, Alpine was the brainchild of Jean Rédélé, who began in the early 1950s by developing a competition version of the popular little Renault 4CV, which won its class in the Mille Miglia three years running. By 1958, Rédélé was using a sophisticated tubular steel chassis, and…
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1949 Ford F-1 Pickup
Flathead V8 engine with modern upgrades Floor-shift manual transmission Mild custom with bucket seats Dash and gauges period-correct Ford step plates Chromed bumpers Beautiful finish Radio The brilliant blue paint immediately draws your attention to this restored and mildly customized 1949 Ford pickup. The interior features complementary blue cloth bucket seats in an otherwise seemingly…
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1952 Bentley R-type Saloon
The name “Bentley Boys” was given to the group of wealthy young sportsmen who single-handedly kept W.O. Bentley’s company alive in its early years by buying, promoting and racing its products. Mike Couper, a new-car distributor and gentleman sportsman of some renown, was one of these, partnering with “Tim” Birkin to build the famous supercharged…
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Horsepower 101
This month’s Race profile takes a look at a basic Nova drag car — the kind of understated monster that stands out to car crazies like us, bright as a neon sign, even from 100 paces. And at the same time, it’s the kind of car everyday people tend to ignore. It just goes to…
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Pay Less, Get More?
All of us are guilty of it. We buy an old car or truck but secretly wish it didn’t perform like one. It is like adopting a stray pit bull and hoping it won’t bite your toddler, or drinking a case of beer and thinking you won’t have a hangover. But the truth is that…
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Old Money
Our beautiful minds are badly illogical sometimes. We buy three cases of Cactus Cooler we don’t need because it’s on sale. We remit tax dollars instead of redlining our IRAs. And we miss owning the classic Corvette of our dreams because it “costs too much.” Say what? There’s really no such thing as paying too…
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Economy-Class Super Sport
By 1970, closing time was fast approaching the muscle car era, and it was just as apparent at the time as it is now in retrospect. The Clean Air Act of 1970 and safety concerns — along with subsequently high insurance rates — gave enough hints to anyone paying attention, and the auto industry certainly…
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Saying Goodbye to the Amazon
It was two years ago that we watched our 1967 Volvo 122S arrive on a car hauler from Madison, WI. And now we’re going to watch it leave. Owning the Amazon has been a delightful and enlightening experience. It was a good car when it arrived (unlike so many of the cars that I acquire),…
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You Can Go Home Again
As you read this, the 2006 Lotus Elise that we sold in May of 2013 is in a car transporter and headed from Connecticut back to SCM World Headquarters in Portland, OR. We first drove an Elise in 2009; Legal Files contributor John Draneas has one. We were entranced. Weighing just 1,984 pounds, and propelled…
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The Reincarnated Enzo
There have been several stories too big to fit into one “Legal Files” column, but the biggest of them all is the 2004 Ferrari Enzo that Stefan Eriksson crashed into a power pole at 199 miles per hour on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, CA. That story was in “Legal Files” in September 2006…