Charlotte Autofair, The B Team Update and Alex Goes Off-Road

Where’s My Sunscreen? The La Jolla Motoring Classic and Other Adventures

I’m just back from a weekend in La Jolla, where I was the emcee of the 7th Annual La Jolla Motor Car Classic. The weather was fantastic, and the setting, on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, couldn’t have been better.

On the Saturday tour, Wendie and I got to drive Paul Emple’s 1930 Isotta Fraschini Type 8A Flying Star. Powered by a 400 cubic inch V8, it’s a beast of a car. (Who needs first gear?)

Wendie went to the event with me, and SCM contributor and etceterini specialist Donald Osborne, along with Frank Garofolo, helped take care of the booth. Wendie brought Patricia Hai from her company, Enthusiast Media Group and had some nifty metallic-red SCM water bottles as subscriber giveaways.

From broken axles to sheared rear ends to rebuilding vintage Becker radios, it’s been a busy week in the SCM stable.

We took our 1973 Land Rover SIII 88 to Tillamook State Forest, and headed into the snow from Roger’s Camp. This was my first run since I installed an ARB compressed air rear locker, and I had been warned to be gentle. Well, a few miles up the trail I momentarily forgot the advice of my mentors, and managed to shear off the ends of both rear axles while trying to rock myself out of a deep snow hole. Our leader, Doug Shipman of Ship’s Mechanicals, got me turned around, and once on level ground he pulled out the rear axles, dropped the rear driveshaft and I drove home with power to just the front wheels. I view it as a very expensive driving school; hardened axles on the way.

“This year’s Readers’ Choice Awards program had a record number of nominations submitted across more than a dozen categories and featured hundreds of finalists,” said Margot Weiss, managing editor, About.com. “We are thankful to all our readers for their participation and congratulate SCM on their success.” To view the Sports […]

After two weeks on the road, I’m headed home.

First stop last week was Auctions America by RM in Ft. Lauderdale, FL where we shot 3 episodes of What’s My Car Worth.  A new feature this year has me actually road-testing the cars that are going to cross the block; cars I got to drive included the barn-find 289 Cobra that sold for $467,500, a 1969 Land Rover SIIA 109 and more. There was an Alfa GT Jr. that I felt the red mist for, but luckily it sold when I was busy doing something else.