This month’s creation was built for Martin Garcia (62) of Frank Garcia & Sons in Holtville, CA. Martin’s father Frank passed away many years ago, but before he did, he passed Martin his love of trucks, which he is very thankful for. Married to his wife Patty for 37 years, the couple have raised a family and built a great trucking operation over that time. Their latest ride, the cool little 2-axle seen here, is their first long hood Pete, but sadly one of the last made.
With two kids of their own, a daughter named Baudelia (37) and a son named Martin Jr. (34), both are married and have kids of their own. They also have an older “son” (technically a nephew) named JP Aragon (47) who they have raised since he was eight years old. JP has kids of his own, as well, and Martin and Patty consider them to be their grandkids, too. Martin (Sr.) is one of five children of Frank and Aurora Garcia. His father passed away in 1992 and his mom, who just celebrated her 95th birthday, still lives on the family ranch.
Growing up, Martin’s dad had bobtail trucks and hauled produce. His dad bought his first truck in 1953 and his first new truck – a Chevy Viking – in 1960. There was a group of people that followed the produce seasons throughout California. Back then they were known as “Fruit Tramps” because of their wandering nature. Martin’s dad bought gas straight trucks until 1982, and then they bought their first diesel truck. Martin said that all the trucks were always nice, and their family even ran chrome wheels on some of their work trucks out in the fields.
Thinking back, Martin said that his love for trucks came from his dad. But, as he put it, “It’s his fault!” As early as he can remember he was helping with the trucks, even driving as early as age 14, which was common back then. His dad helped purchase a truck for Martin in 1985 shortly after he got married. His dad explained to him, “You are my Socio De Negocios,” which means business partner. Even though his dad bought it in his name, it was Martin’s truck, and it was a 1975 International 4070 cabover.
Hauling tomatoes and sugar beets, Martin had a neighbor that was a hay broker, so he began hauling hay for them to the dairies, as well. They were selling hay, too. His older brothers joined in as things progressed. Later, Martin’s IHC was stolen, so he replaced it in 1987 with a 1980 Peterbilt COE. Sadly, his father Frank retired on July 27, 1992, and then passed away from a heart attack on August 25, 1992, just a few weeks later, before he was even able to cash his first Social Security check.
Still driving the 579, when Martin had heard that the 389 was getting discontinued, he wanted to get on the list for one of the last ones – and he did. Being his first long hood, we ordered the 2024 Peterbilt 389 as a 2-axle with a 44” sleeper in his company’s color. Powered by a 565-hp X15 Cummins and a 13-speed, with Reyco air ride, (4) factory horns, dual spotlights, and all the good stuff, this is one nice unit. Once it arrived, Tyler and the guys in service hid the DEF tank, and then did everything else. Lilly was assigned to help get it all dialed in.
After his dad died, the older brothers moved north, where they still operate their own hay business. Martin continued to run the 1980 Peterbilt COE until he purchased a new 2001 Peterbilt 362 cabover, which he still has (see photo). He ran that COE until a friend suggested that he call me to order a new truck in 2014. He ended up ordering a 2-axle 579 Peterbilt hay hauler in 2015, which we did some customizing to, including adding four horns on the roof, cab lights, quarter-fenders, and even had the mirror arms polished (see photo).
Once the truck was finished, Martin and Patty waited for nice weather to pick it up so they wouldn’t have to deal with ice and snow on the way home. When they flew in, I was so happy to see them, and we had lots of fun and laughs with our lunch group. After they got home, they took the truck to Lefty’s Pinstriping where it got a stripe, door logos, and all the lettering to finish the look. I really love 2-axle Peterbilts, so I am super excited to share this one with our readers. Martin wanted to include “In remembrance of my Jefe Cañadas de Islas Jal” here at the end, so I hope we got that Spanish right!
