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The Collector: Jack Boyd Smith
A PASSION FOR PACKARDS IS EVIDENT IN THIS AMERICAN’S COLLECTION
FOR THE FIRST TIME, this year’s Concours of Elegance has a feature focused on an individual collector, in this case Jack Boyd Smith, who has shipped over six Packards from his JBS Collection in Elkhart, Indiana, USA.
Until 2012, Jack Boyd Smith didn’t own a single classic car. He now has more than 50, housed in two large buildings of 24,000 and 48,000 square feet in size respectively. Phaeton, so I went to see him and I bought the Cadillac and seven more cars in one day.” These included two other Cadillacs (1905 and 1906), a 1923 Studebaker and a 1932 Ford.
Then, in 2013, Jack visited the Pebble Beach Concours for the first time, and the bug bit deeper. At the auctions he bought a 1933 Packard Twelve Coupe – one of five made, and one of two known still to exist – and commissioned LaVine Restorations to prepare it for the 2014 Pebble Beach concours, where it came second in class.
In 2015 he was back, with a rare 1934 Packard Twelve Convertible Victoria with custom trim by Dietrich, again freshly restored by LaVine Restorations. This time he won Best in Class, and since then there have been many more accolades at Pebble Beach and other concours d’elegance.
Why Packards? “I like quality,” says Jack. “They’re a big car, they’re extremely well built, and in the early ’30s Fords sold for $350 and Packards sold for $5000 to $10,000, depending on the model and the year. It was really only somebody in Hollywood or royalty who could afford a Packard.”
Of Jack’s nine Packards, the six due to appear at the Concours of Elegance are (from top to bottom in the pictures): 1933 Twelve 1005 Coupe; 1934 Twelve 1107 Coupe Roadster; 1934 Twelve 1107 Formal Sedan; 1936 Twelve 1007 Convertible Victoria; 1936 Twelve 1407 All-Weather Cabriolet; and 1938 1607 Twelve Convertible Coupe.
More details on Jack’s cars can be found at www.thejbscollection.com.
Jack was already a collector of art and antiques, so the move into cars came naturally. The prompt was the chance to buy a Rolls-Royce Corniche and a Bentley Continental from the estate of a deceased friend and that got him thinking about more.
“I was bitten by the bug – or maybe I bit the bug!” says Jack. “I found a dealer online with a stunning 1931 Cadillac Dual-Cowl
High quality repairs, servicing and restorations on vintage and veteran cars
CARS FOR SALE
1902 Clément Panhard Vis a Vis 4½ hp £65,000
A highly original and wonderfully preserved veteran car coming from long-term ownership. Among the peculiarities of the Clément-Panhard were centre-pivot steering, a totally exposed gear transmission and a rear-mounted, not-quite-vertical, single-cylinder engine. A fascinating car!
1937 Bentley 4¼ litre Sedanca Coupe by Gurney Nutting £295,000
Having been subject to a recent and extensive coachwork restoration, the car presents beautifully, offering the thrills of ‘open’ motoring and the practicality of an enclosed car with wind up windows. Sportsmanship and elegance combined in one stunning motor car.
1954 Aston Martin DB2/4: Ex-works Monte Carlo Rally Car £425,000
One of three factory prepared team cars to contest in international rallies during 1955. Driven by Gatsonides/Becquart, 55 DMF finished overall, won the over 2000cc Grand Touring Class, and Aston Martin was also awarded the overall team prize. Completed several recent Mille Miglia.
