THREE RIVERS — An Elkhart, Ind. man who thought he would never again see the car he and his father built got an amazing surprise nearly 60 years later, thanks to the power of the Internet and the curiosity of a car enthusiast in Three Rivers.
Alton Love and his father Devon turned their 1955 Chevy into a race car in 1963 and 1964, with Alton racing the bright orange “Love & Love”-emblazoned vehicle in Osceola, Ind. and Martin, Mich. His success led to an invitation to race on the national circuit, but in order to do so, he needed a smaller car. He sold his Chevy to purchase a 1951 Ford Anglia.
Before he began building the Anglia from the ground up, his 57-year-old father suffered a stroke, paralyzing him on his left side. Alton became his caregiver until Devon’s passing at age 88 – all while running an independent bakery called Strauss Bakery, driving 240 miles each day six days a week and making 50 delivery stops.
“I’m still moving at 81,” Alton quipped.
He eventually completed the Anglia and raced it locally, but after its engine blew up, he decided he’d had enough. He later got a rear engine dragster that set a national eight-mile record that stood for two years at Grissom Air Force Base.
Over the years, Alton wondered what had happened to his original car. He finally made contact with its purchaser, who recounted a terrible tale: it had been demolished in an accident, with his life spared only due to the roll bar.
The story both warmed Alton’s heart and devastated him – the former because his foresight to install a roll bar had saved the man’s life; the latter because he would never see his precious Chevy again.
What Alton didn’t know: it was all a lie.
Meanwhile, Tom Miller Jr. was growing up in Three Rivers. His parents, Tom Sr. and Tracy, gave him a 1963 Chevy 409 for his 15th birthday. It needed an engine; he worked on it for a year and when he turned 16, he had a car to drive.
When Tom Sr. and Tracy bought their house 25 years ago, the first thing he wanted was his own garage.
“It was a central thing in our family’s life,” Tracy said. “Our family and friends created beautiful cars in this garage.”
Tom Jr., a plastic injection mold maker and later a tool and die maker/tool room supervisor at Armstrong International, did a lot of drag racing – pure stock muscle car. He and Tom Sr. built and raced several cars together before the elder Miller succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease. Now, Tom Jr. works on cars with his own son Camron. He has bought, restored, and sold quite a few cars; currently he is concentrating on building something for himself.
In 2018, Tom Jr.’s high school classmate Bryan Rifenberg brought to his attention a car that was part of a collection willed by Bryan’s neighbor, Ed Marsh, to Bryan and his brother Charlie. The orange Chevy had sat in Marsh’s barn in Jones, about 10 miles west of Three Rivers, since 1971.
After Tom Jr. recently acquired it and cleaned it up, he turned to the Internet – specifically the “Old Gassers” Facebook group – to seek out its history. Within three days, his photos and questions garnered more than 800 likes, 28 shares, and numerous comments.
Most importantly, they were seen by Alton’s friend Steve Miller, who put the pair in touch.
On July 2, 2025, Alton and his wife Joan came to the Miller family garage, where for the first time in six decades he laid eyes on the car he’d believed was gone forever.
He touched the car, sat in its front seat, showed Tom Jr. and his brother Tim photos of it in its glory days … and even did a little work on it.
“It’s been 60 years since I’ve seen the car – I’m lucky I’m still alive,” he said. “God works in mysterious ways. These are good people and I feel God’s blessed this. This is happening for a reason; the Lord is here right now.”
