New series 'The Journey, a Labor of Automotive Love' features the JBS Collection

ELKHART, IN — Jack Boyd Smith Jr., owner of The JBS Collection, in building his award-winning assemblage of automobiles in less than 15 years, moved a needle in the classic car world. On something of a whim, Smith Jr. purchased two classic vehicles at a 2012 estate sale, and—in an arena where significant collections often require 30, 40, or 50 years of curation—has since built The JBS Collection into one of the The Key’s Top 100 collections in the world. Also atypical, Smith Jr. takes pride in sharing deeper insight into the history of his vehicles. To that end, The JBS Collection proudly presents the new, in-depth series, The Journey.

In The Journey—which premiered online on Oct. 9—Smith Jr. and restoration partner Travis LaVine reveal illuminating details and share the back stories of some of their most historic and fascinating restorations. LaVine, of Nappanee, Indiana’s LaVine Restorations, Inc., is an expert restorer and the son of owners Vivian and Eric LaVine, who founded their family business 50 years ago. Smith Jr. and Travis LaVine—automotive authorities, and good friends—share exhilarating restoration notes in The Journey, and offer unique insight into the relationship between a classic car owner and a restoration partner. At its core, The Journey highlights the importance of preserving automotive works of art for future generations to appreciate and enjoy.

“Folks who are passionate about classic cars want more than just being able to go to a show and catch a glimpse of an amazing automobile,” said Smith Jr. “Sure they can snap a few pictures and tell their friends about it, and that’s great. But what real fans want, I believe, is information and insight. They want content that allows them to connect. One of my goals with The JBS Collection is to share our vehicles with the world. We’re glad to do that at concours events and award shows, but I want to do more than just show the vehicles. I want to share them. I want to share our stories and our experiences, and The Journey accomplishes this in a very unique and engaging way.”

The inaugural episode of The Journey revisits the remarkable history and transformation of The JBS Collection’s 12-cylinder 1934 Packard 1108 Custom Convertible Dietrich Sedan. The vehicle was originally commissioned and owned by the infamous California heiress-turned-explorer, Louise Arner Boyd—who gained early renown as one of the world’s first female arctic explorers. Boyd, whose thrilling arctic exploits included hunting polar bears, was later awarded the Cullum Medal by the American Geographical Society for her scientific expeditions to Greenland, and in 1934 was elected as a delegate to the International Geographical Congress in Warsaw, Poland.

Boyd had the 1934 Packard 1108 custom-built for her 3-month journey across the Polish countryside, during which she photographed and recorded the customs and cultures of the many ethnic groups in the area. Boyd’s journal from the trip, supplemented with over 500 of her photographs, was published by the American Geographical Society in 1937 as Polish Countrysides, and includes myriad photographs of this very Packard.

As detailed in The Journey‘s premiere episode, it was only through Boyd’s published photographs that Smith Jr. and LaVine were able to recognize and replicate—to exact detail—an immaculate, one-of-a-kind polar bear hood ornament that was featured on the famous explorer’s original vehicle 

“Being able to share stories like that—how we were able to recreate the hood ornament on Boyd’s Packard—is one of the reasons I’m so excited about The Journey,” said LaVine, who served as a Packard discussion panelist at the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. “I love Jack. I love his passion for history, I love working with him, I love talking about automobiles with him, and we’ve worked on some truly memorable and historic restorations. It’s important to educate, and share insight into some of the history we’ve been able to preserve together. It’s also important for me to shine some light on what my family does. I’ve been blessed to be a part of the restoration world my whole life, and this is an important time in our industry. Restoration has been something of a specialty industry, and a lot of the stalwarts have retired—it’s so important to bring in new talent. I want to elevate the industry; I want people to know that automotive restoration is viable, important, and rewarding work. It’s exciting, and I think that aspect also shines through in The Journey.”

Episode Two of the series—directed by James Korn and produced by Robert Mahoney, both with Goshen, Indiana’s Eyedart Creative Studio—details the restoration of the The JBS Collection’s historic 1937 Cord 812 Phaeton Convertible. The multiple award-winning vehicle, originally owned by famed American aviator Amelia Earhart, went through several owners after Earhart’s mysterious and shocking 1937 disappearance, and was ultimately disassembled and parted throughout the country. In the episode, Smith Jr. and LaVine discuss the unlikely story of how the vehicle was ultimately procured by Smith Jr. and brought back to life to be shared with the world.

Since the duo teamed up in 2018 to restore Earhart’s Cord back to its original condition, the iconic vehicle has earned numerous awards, honors, and distinctions—including being inducted in 2023 into the National Historic Vehicle Register. In honor of its induction, the Cord was put on public display, under glass, at the National Mall in Washington D.C. as part of the 2023 Cars at the Capital event.

I’m pleased with what we’ve accomplished with the collection, overall, in a relatively short period of time, and I couldn’t be happier to share The Journey with fans all over the world,” said Smith Jr. “It only takes one glance at the Boyd Packard or Earhart Cord for anyone to understand that, ‘Hey, this is a really special automobile.’ But there’s so much you won’t see and you won’t know about what went into bringing vehicles like these back to their former glory. There is so much passion, thought, research, planning, teamwork, and communication required to succeed with a major restoration project, and I feel so blessed to be able to work with Travis, Eric, and Vivian LaVine. It’s an unbelievable thrill to be involved in this, and I want our fans and followers to know that feeling. It would be fair to say that, for me, The Journey is very much a labor of automotive love.”

Watch The Journey on The JBS Collection website. 

If you like stories like these and other classic car features, check out Old Cars magazine. CLICK HERE to subscribe.

Want a taste of Old Cars magazine first? Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter and get a FREE complimentary digital issue download of our print magazine.