SELECTION OF LOW-MILEAGE CORVETTES, EXOTICS AND MORE HEADED TO KISSIMMEE Story by Kellen Olshefski • Photos by Josh Sweeney While it’s nearly impossible to know what the future might hold, vintage and antique automobile collectors are of ten gambling with their own predictions of what a vehicle might be worth 10, 25, 50 or even more years down the road. It’s not always about the investment potential, though it’s certainly a thought that crosses a collector’s mind during their stewardship of a specific car or selection of collectible cars. For the late Jerry “JGB” Brewis, it was largely his love of all things automotive that inspired his collecting hobby, though he also had the foresight to understand what would make a car even more collectible in the future, something that not only served his passion but as an investment in his future as well. With his passing in April, Brewis’ 45 remaining cars are now set to join Mecum’s lineup this January at the world’s largest collector car auction in Kissimmee, and all are stunning examples of the care and thought he put into his collection over his lifetime. Born in February 1940, Jerry Brewis came from humble beginnings. He was a driven man, even in his youth, and he bought his first boat by the age of 12. It was something in which he took pride, just as he would with everything else he owned in his long life to follow. Brewis attended Calvert Hall College High School—a private boys Catholic college preparatory high school in Towson, Maryland— under an arrangement he had proposed, working a job at the nearby United States Naval Academy to pay his school tuition. However, it wasn’t just his schooling that the job paid for; it also allowed Brewis to purchase his very first collector car, through payments made to a local dealer for a new 50 // MECUM.COM 1957 Chevrolet Corvette Fuelie. Even then, Brewis understood the importance of the investment he had made, knowing that one day it would be worth a pretty penny, and because of that foresight, it shows a mere 72 miles today. While he had originally aspired to be a dentist, Brewis went on to the University of Baltimore following his time at Calvert Hall. During that time, he worked for a Baltimore finance company, and over the years, he rose through the ranks until he was eventually managing a chain of more than 400 consumer finance offices across the United States. Throughout this period of his life, Brewis’ collection began to grow little by little with the addition of a 1978 Corvet te Pace Car, as well as Corvettes from 1986 and 1988. However, it was a visit to the John Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida, that ultimately served as the fuel to the fire for Brewis’ collecting habits. So inspired was he by the impressive collection of automobiles, Brewis decided to grow his own collection to more than 170 cars over the ensuing two decades, with his collection ranging from original, stock cars to customs and contemporary exotics. And throughout all of it, Brewis had a keen eye for what would make cars collectible down the road.
