There’s no denying that when you see a clean, classic vehicle grace the road you’re traveling on, you can’t help but look twice and smile, appreciating the rare beauty you just witnessed.
You can’t help but wonder how much tender love and care went into restoring the old vehicle, how many hands have turned the ignition and fired it up, and how many miles of highway the rolling time capsule has traveled.
There’s always a story that comes with any vintage or antique automobile, but this one is truly special.
This is the tale of Leo, a 1950 Dodge Pickup, told by the owner herself, Martha Porter.
“My father, JD Paris from Miami, TX, owned Paris Motor Company, and in 1950, JD’s father, Leo Paris, my grandfather, bought a green 1950 Dodge Pickup from him.”
“I was born in 1948, so through the years, I rode in that pickup with my granddad and my father. I’ve gone to the farm in that pickup, I’ve hauled corn in that pickup, I’ve hauled animals in that pickup. When my granddad passed away, my father, JD, inherited it. Around 1990, my father said, ‘I’m giving this pickup to you.’ So it has been sitting in a barn in Miami, covered up, ever since.”
“We met Lonnie Shelton many years ago, and he said he restores old cars. My husband, Steve Porter, taught all three of Lonnie’s daughters in school, and Lonnie suggested to him that he come and pick up the truck and he would pin-stripe it, put new tires on it, and get it running. So he took it and restored the outside and told me, ‘we have a problem, the motor is no good.’ So he brought in a motor from Dallas, a 1996 Dodge motor, and put it in that pickup. So I now have a new motor and it’s ready to roll.”
But not only did Lonnie, with the help of Steve Beckham, help restore the truck, he also personalized it just for the Porter family.
“I wanted him to feminize it. That truck was a Harvester green, and he took yellow pinstriping like the Pampa Harvesters, because my husband Steve was a Pampa coach for 38 years. The pickup’s name is Leo, and I just love it. That pickup is 75 years old and it’s been in the family since my granddad bought it.”
Lonnie and Steve worked on restoring the truck for about a year and a half, replacing the rusted out gas tank and converting the once standard transmission into an automatic, keeping the original gear shift and even personalizing it to suit Martha’s style.
The pickup was seen last year at Burnin’ the Bricks car show, but because it was in its early restorative stage, it was brought from Miami by a trailer, but Martha plans to drive it down for the show this year and proudly showcase her beautiful heirloom.
The Porter family expressed their gratitude to Lonnie for not only having a passion for old cars and helping revive Leo, but for having a passion when it comes to people as well.
When asked what this journey has meant to her, Martha’s response was heartfelt and absolutely moving.
“My dad would be so happy that it’s still in the family, and I’m going to leave it to my son. He’s a mechanic, so if anything ever goes wrong with the pickup, he would be able to fix it.”
“I told Lonnie I was going to drive it to the cemetery where my father is buried to let him know that we still have it.”
We at the Pampa News thank Martha and Lonnie for sharing this beautiful story with us, and we can’t wait to see Leo at the show!
