A window of time

Kent Johnson has been collecting automobile memorabilia since he was a kid hanging around his dad’s salvage yard in Independence, Mo. He loved to scavenge the yard for emblems and other bits of paraphernalia from old cars.

Today, that interest is manifest in a replica gas station, a collection of old pumps and a few cars.

 Johnson, who lives near south of Belton near Dead Man’s Curve on Y highway, got the bug to build a replica of an old gas station in his side yard. His wife, Annette, couldn’t quite picture it, he said, but she liked it once it was finished. Johnson designed the station himself to achieve just the right look. He populated it with old signs, pumps and a rusty truck sitting under a tree.

 His side yard is a tableau of an earlier time, when gasoline was only a few cents per gallon and people took time to enjoy the simpler things in life. It’s an era that holds a special fascination for him.

 Johnson’s interest in cars led him to be a body man for a large car dealer for many years, but he’s had his own shop for the last few years.

 One of his hobbies is searching for old cars and parts, and he often travels far and wide to do so. Johnson said he started prowling through swap meets years ago with his son, Tyler. Today it has become a family affair as his wife, daughter Amber, son, daughter-in-law Danielle and grandchildren Raven and Riley often go to car shows together.

 One of Johnson’s favorite pieces of historic memorabilia is the 1949 Chevy pickup truck that he found in South Dakota. The body is in good condition, and the weathered paint has the kind of perfect patina that one rarely finds. South Dakota is dry so the truck is free of rust.

 Johnson slipped in a modern driveline, threw on some big wheels and lowered it like a hot rod. Externally, it remains just as he found it, and he intends for it to always stay this way. 

 Johnson said he likes driving his old truck because he doesn’t have to worry about door dings or spend hours cleaning it after a trip in the rain.

 Johnson’s weathered Chevy may be practical, but in many ways he sees it as a piece of rolling artwork. In many ways, his old truck is the automotive equivalent of an antique watch that still keeps time in spite of some scratches from years of wear. A vehicle can only be original once.