The incurable collector: Jerry Beck has restored 31 vintage cars

The 1959 Cadillac sitting in Jerry Beck's garage is a long, silver, broad-fendered beauty. Vintage Americana with tailfins.

Of his 31-car collection, it's Beck's favorite; as far as cars go, she's the total package. But Beck envisions something more ... a retro minibike, or maybe some antique bowling shoes. The cherry on top.

"I'm a collector," he says. "It's incurable."

He bought Beck's Body Shop in Chaffee, Missouri, from his father in 1980, and since then has done a combination of collision work, mechanics and restoration, just like his father taught him. The business has been in the family since his great-grandfather opened an auto body shop in Troy, Missouri, in 1914, making this year its 100th year in business.

Jerry Beck at his Chaffee, Missouri, body shop. (Laura Simon)

Beck is more proud of his family and its legacy than he is of any car. He remembers working in his dad's restoration shop, painting his first customer's car at age 13.

"Those customers are actually still with us," he says with pride. "I still do work for those two."

Beck was always going to be a collector. He built his first car at age 14, a '64 Chevelle Supersport in blue with white leather interior that he still owns. He's stopped building cars for his collection, focusing instead on accessories such as Coca-Cola signs, antique spring-post playground horses and a '69 Airstream camper.

Now that he's semi-retired, he has more time to indulge his whims as a collector. He's 53, but lays out the process with a boyish effervescence.

"So you've got a silver '59 Cadillac. Then you try and find a camper or something that goes with it," he says enthusiastically. "And then you get a vintage Coca-Cola cooler to sit beside that; it never ends. You're always looking for something to do."

For Beck, it's about authenticity. It's about assembling period icons into coherent tableaux. For Beck, whether it's a vintage brass blade fan or a Corvette, collecting is about the hunt.

"It's never really about the finished product. It's about getting it done," he says.

His friends marvel at his utter disinterest in showing his collection at car shows or contests.

"I know that sounds crazy," he says. "But I just love to restore."

There's a long process between divining what accessory is just right and polishing a finished item. It's a lot of getting the hands dirty dismantling, repairing, finding replacement materials, sandblasting, painting and reassembling until it's just right.

While the hunt is fun and engaging, in the end it's just a hobby. Beck's true devotion is to his family, which is also expanding. Perhaps the same nostalgic disposition is responsible for both.

"The most important thing to me is my family," he says. "I didn't miss out on a whole lot when my children were growing up, but the last 20 years of my life feel like they've just flown by."

A sideline staple for his children's games and cheer events, now Friday afternoons are always reserved for spending time with his grandbabies; three boys and two girls. He says his children and grandchildren are budding collectors as well, true to Beck family style.

The long silver '59 Cadillac isn't his favorite because it's the most aesthetically pleasing or the rarest. It's special to Beck because it belonged to his father. He bought it new back in the day, and ever since Beck inherited it after his father died, it's represented a special connection between the two. A connection like the one he makes every Friday after lunch collecting with his grandbabies; an appreciation for age and an eye for potential.

"I hope each one of my children and grandbabies can enjoy my cars just as much as I do," he says.