Cars I Could've, Should've, Kept

Talks about a small-business entrepreneur whose interest in cars as a hobby was responsible for saving many multi-million dollar cars from the scrap-heap. This title tells the story of how these rare cars were found, what he paid for them, how they were restored, and what he sold them for. It includes over 125 pictures of the cars.

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A small business owner and lifelong lover of classic sports cars, Jackson Brooks began in the early 1960s to purchase, restore and enjoy a long succession of rare automotive beauties, many of which are million-dollar commodities in today's market. Not so much a collector as an enthusiast and entrepreneur, he recounts in this well-illustrated memoir how he found and selected the cars, some of which were on the verge of the scrap-heap, the process of restoring them, the challenges he confronted along the way, the ones that got away, and always the hunt for the next vehicle to spark his imagination.

The cars, primarily sporting machines, include 8C-2.3 Alfa Romeos, a Jaguar SS100, three 1953 Ferrari 250MM Barchetta racers (of 13 built), a 1922 Mercedes Targa Florio racer, a Type 57 Bugatti, a 1929 Mercedes SSK (one of 33 built), four Talbot Lagos, and a 1937 Cord 812 Phaeton among many others, with particular concentrations on Ferrari and Alfa Romeo. Often the sale of one, after restoration and use, financed the purchase of the next, and the text includes the purchase and sale prices as well as approximate present-day market values of the cars. Few people have enjoyed so much hands-on experience with so many of the world's most desirable automobiles.