About Us

 

I have had 1, or more, Model A Fords most of my life.  When I was 13 years old, I worked for my father during the summer, who was a landscape gardener, doing gardening work. We were a very poor family but I saved money all summer and accumulated $75 dollars.  With that $75 dollars I wanted to buy a go-cart.  My dad said “Why don’t you buy an old car instead”?  My eyes probably got really big as owning a car at 13 was the furthest from my mind.  

With that $75 I bought a 1929 Model A Ford Pickup, and learned to drive it on our farm.  The body was in poor shape but I didn’t let that keep me from driving it.  When I was old enough to get a driver’s license, I drove it to high school, and to summer jobs.

 

At some point I took it all apart to restore it but could not justify spending money on the restoration.  For many years I moved the pieces from place to place.  In 2000 I retired and moved to Mexico.  Our kids were grown, and out of college so I decided that it was time to restore that pickup.

 

In 2010 I wondered how much my restored pickup might be worth and looked on eBay to find out.  (This is not something I would recommend!)  While searching eBay I saw a 1928 Model A Ford with a 1928 Martin-Parry Station Wagon (Depot Hack) body.  I had never heard of a Martin-Parry vehicle, but I thought that this vehicle would be PERFECT for the climate that we have in Mexico, (warm and dry). 

 

One of my hobbies is woodworking so I bought the vehicle and started the restoration.  It was finished in about 2 years and has since won many awards.  Here in Mexico a Model A Ford is quite a novel vehicle.  Many Mexicans think that people really don’t own such a vehicle, and that they are something only seen in movies.

 

Since that purchase I have had an interest in gaining knowledge about the Martin-Parry Corporation and the vehicles they produced.  When I looked on the internet for information about the Martin-Parry Corporation and/or their vehicles, I discovered that there was not much available and what was available was scattered all over.  Over a period of time I have been contacted by others that also had Martin-Parry vehicles, or had an interest in those vehicles.   I decided that a website was needed where this information could be stored and shared with others.  My desire is that this website will be that collection point where all the known Martin-Parry information can be collected and shared.

 

Ben Purkey