What a week we had. Our crew of Jim, Dave, Jason and Perry worked hard on Monday and Wednesday to get ready for Saturday. Two of David’s crew came over, Marty and Dave, helping our team get a majority of work done on the car Saturday. We’re excited that things have gone smoothly so far. It was a huge commitment to strip the car totally and clean, paint or replace the parts that were put back on. It was like putting a model car together. The work we did was beneficial to my crew in understanding more about the car and how it went together. The picures on the wall were taken before disassemble so we would be sure to get the car back together exactly as it was when we stopped racing in 07′. A few changes include a new bolt on front sub clip that holds the nose and front bumper. All new shocks, seat belts and drive shaft. The old shocks and drive shaft will help fill our void spare parts supply. It’s taken quite a while to get some spare parts, hopefully we don’t need to use them. This week we intend to finish all the bolt on parts, mount the body, and take the car to Jim Sweers to have the body painted. Jim will remove the Monte Carlo shell, hang it up and paint it all at once. Then it’s back home to finish. We hope to have it lettered by the first week of February.

    Our crew has worked hard to get us this far. Dave Watson has done much of the welding and fitting the body, we are happy with the car. Jim, Jason and Parry have spent quite a few hours getting the chassis stripped, prepped and ready for paint. This week we drilled the rivet holes for the front and rear windshield and got the trunk lid mounted. We have a few more little things to do before painting and then we start cleaning and organizing our spare parts. This year our focus was completely stripping the car and putting it back together, a move that helped the boys get to know the car better. Another focus was stocking our spare parts supply which has been very low since we first started. We now have good bench strength for 2008 as we take a run a the Flamboro Points Championship. It is a little ironic that we now have many of the spare parts most commonly needed, yet to have a good shot at winning the Championship, we should still have them all, or most of them at the end of the season.

    Judy Barrett air brushed the mountain lion on our hood. This picture in our 83′ history sums up alot about our racing. Chrome everywhere, Quaker State 10th year and “36 For Schurr” on the hood. There are quite a few pictures in 83, with lots more to post.

    On Saturday afternoon, at his home, Harry Bow, Nonies brother, passed away. Though he had been struggling with his health the past few years, he had mellowed considerably and was enjoying life with Joan his beautiful wife. Harry began his racing career in the Hobby class in 1973. It took him less than a season to win his first feature, in fact he won all 3 races that night. Harry moved on to Late Models to battle with Ontario super stars Don Biederman and Junior Hanley. There are many pictures in our CVM history, early years, that include stories about Harry. He certainly was a character throughout his racing years. He was a great help to me, always getting my car ready when I needed him, and that was quite a bit. In 1978 he suggested that I race using two feet instead of one. I thought he was nuts and didn’t want to make the change. To my surprise and shock he took a torch and cut the brake pedal off my car so I had no choice in the matter. Screaming, yelling, cursing and fying beer bottles immediately followed. We made up before the sun went down. Our next race was Delaware and in the warm ups I almost drove my foot through the floor when I tried using my right foot as the brake. The pedal had been moved over to the left and my foot missed it completely. After a few weeks I started to get use to the change, I never went back to one foot racing. He had a great understanding of mechanical things, and the brake pedal move was only one of many he taught me. Harry will be missed. Our prayers are with his immediately family Joan, Nonie and Debbie, his daughter as well as his many friends and competitors. His funeral is Tuesday February 5th at Turner and Porter funeral home in Toronto at 2357 Bloor Street between Jane and Runnymede.

    Yesterdays funeral service for Harry, the husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, brother-in-law and friend, was filled with emotions both sad and happy. Those who spoke gave testimony of a caring, loving, generous man. There were four who chose to come forward and thank Harry for his kindness. His wife Joan was blessed to live with a mellow loving husband the past four years. Debbie, his daughter, was so glad the two were reconciled the past few years giving her a chance to thank him for helping her through some rough times as a kid. Debbies last words to her dad just two days before he died were, I love you. Danny, Harrys step son was thankful for the many things Harry taught him and Molly, Debbies friend saw a compassionate loving side of Harry when he reached out to her while she was a youngster and needed help. The one person Harry would not have expected to speak would have been me. We battled for years. He always tried to out do me. When he beat me he loved to laugh about it. No matter how much I tried to get one up, he always managed to get the last laugh. Though he grew closer to me the last 10 years he still found ways to get at me about racing or religion or both. He did it in fun, but found the exercise futile since I didn’t react the way I did when I was much younger. Though he wouldn’t have had any say in the matter, I’m sure Harry may have rathered someone else conduct his funeral service, but through the blessings of his wife, daughter and sister Nonie, (my dear wife) it was me who would act as clergy, an honour I glady accepted. I would end our relationship one up on him, but in a very positive way. How did Harry get the last laugh? At the grave side we concluded with the placing of roses on the casket. My daughter, Shirley, came over to me while we were still standing by the grave and asked me if I looked at the huge 5 foot marble headstone. I did look at it briefly before the final ceremony and noticed one persons life from 1878 to 1938 and thought, wow this goes back a long way. Getting back to Shirley, I answered her , “no, why”?. She said “take a closer look at the headstone”. My eyes started at the top and slowly fell as I read all those who had passed on. Then at the bottom was the shocker, something I never seen before. There, nicely scribed, on the final row of this giant monument was Nonies name with her birth date, and right beside her name was MINE. I was speechless and started to mumble so much I could hardly talk right. (good thing I had already finished the final words of the service). I felt like Scrooge when he seen his name on the headstone, definitely nothing I felt before. Nonie, very surprised at my reaction said, “I told you we already had our plot, Harry arranged it for us”. I said “yes, I know, but why is my name on it now, it didn’t need to go on it already”. Anyway we laughed as we drove away from the graveyard and I thought, “Harry, you got the last laugh”. We’ll miss him.

    In our CVM History section, 1983, this picture is there. I put out a request of the name of one of these two grumpy men (my favourites) on the Muppett Show. I remembered Waldorf. The other day one of David’s crew members, David Lewis, called me letting me know that Statler was the other member of this funny duo.