For the first time in four years, I’ll be in Monterey. I’m going to keep an abbreviated schedule this year, arriving on Wednesday in time for our annual SCM contributor’s meet-up, and departing Saturday morning. I’ll be bringing my son Bradley with me, and he is all agog about seeing […]
Author: Keith Martin
The Kumbaya Corvette
You could hear the screech of the A/C compressor belt up and down Main Street. Forty classic cars were lined up for the start of the concours wine tour. Now in its 49th year, the Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance is the oldest concours in the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1973, […]
Keith’s Blog: Belts and Suspension
My son Bradley and I have just finished another classic car tour weekend. We were participating in the Northwest Classic Car Challenge, hosted by the Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon. Restoration shop Vintage Underground were the primary sponsors. There were a nice mix of classic and modern cars in this […]
Keith’s Blog: The As-Delivered Corvette Bootie
My son Bradley is now in his second month of ownership of his 1982 Collector’s Edition Chevrolet Corvette. His immersion into the world of Sharks continues. For 1980-82 third-generation Corvettes, the National Corvette Restorer’s Society has a judging and restoration manual that has well over 300 pages. With SCMer and […]
Keith’s Blog: Strutting With the Sporto
The 911 Sportomatic project is moving along nicely. We purchased it last October from the “for sale” corral at the Hershey swap meet. The path to bringing it back into service has been a convoluted one. SCM Editor-In-Chief Jeff Sabatini took the car on a 400-mile round trip to Sisters, […]
Keith’s Blog: The Joy of Concours Weekends
The 49th annual Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance went off without a hitch. It was an immersive weekend for me and Bradley. He drove his 1982 Corvette on the tour through the rolling hills of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, and I didn’t get us hopelessly lost. We were only on the wrong […]
Why We Do the Things We Do
The fifth annual SCM 1000 is in the books. I have many memories to savor. To start, I’ve never seen anything like 45 classic cars dwarfed by the majestic presence of the Grand Coulee Dam. It was certainly a tribute to engineering prowess. Speaking of which, I watched Grand Marshal […]
Keith’s Blog: Two Reasons the Alfa Won’t Start
New-driver Bradley has nearly 1,000 miles under his belt now. The last 250 came behind the wheel of his mother’s manual Boxster S. He prefers the manual but appreciates the time he has had just “driving” with automatics. He has spent a little time driving friend Chris Bright’s 1300-cc Alfa […]
Keith’s Blog: The Drive to Monterey
As our launch date of August 14 draws closer, some of the puzzle pieces of our trip are coming together. Please join us for some or all of it. At the moment, it appears the SCM contingent will include our 1972 Mercedes 250C, along with my son Bradley’s recently acquired […]
Keith’s Blog: The Malaise Car Show
This was all my fault. I was scrolling through Facebook and came across a listing for “The Malaise Car Show.” It was for cars from 1972 to 1995. As Bradley’s C3 Corvette is a 1982, it fit squarely within the parameters. He signed up, entered my credit card, and $25 […]