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Restoration specialist, Make-a-Wish team up
Bruce Matlock photo
Dave Chamberlain stands with a 1969 Dodge Charger he is restoring for a girl with cancer. The project has already met obstacles that will make it a challenge to complete on time, but Chamberlain believes it can be done.
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Published: June 23, 2009
When Dave Chamberlain read about a wish from a seriously ill teenage girl in New York, he wanted to do more than toss a few dollars into a donation jar.
Chamberlain, a car restoration specialist who lives in Statesville, decided to offer his talents to make a dream come true for 15-year-old Ronni Steves of Williamson, N.Y.
Chamberlain is doing the bulk of the work to restore a 1969 Dodge Charger and present it to Steves later this summer.
At the age of 14, Steves was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a bone cancer that occurs primarily in children and young people between the ages of 10 and 20, said Bill Bolling of the Wayne County Children's Cancer Fund in New York.
The Wayne County Children's Cancer Fund is a non-profit that assists families in upstate New York in a variety of ways, Bolling said. It is currently assisting eight families.
Make-A-Wish, a foundation that fulfills wishes for critically ill children, became involved with Ronni and her family and sought to grant her an important wish.
Ronni didn't want a trip to Disney World (the most frequent wish) or even a meeting with some pop star. Instead, Ronni wanted a 1969 Dodge Charger she and her father could work on together.
Chamberlain, who read about Ronni's wish in an article in a Mopar Collector's Guide, was intrigued.
"A young person, a young girl, wanted a classic car," he said. "There aren't a lot of girls that get involved in classic cars."
He decided to offer his services through his restoration company, All Classics Restoration.
Make-A-Wish located a Dodge Charger that seemed to fit the bill, but in reality the car was far from in restorable condition.
Chamberlain took a good look at the shell of the Dodge Charger and knew it would be a major project.
"The structure was in terrible shape," he said. "It would have been a year-long process to restore it."
After purchasing the car, Make-A-Wish's involvement ceased and the Wayne County Children's Cancer Fund members sought to continue the effort to make Ronni's dream come true.
Chamberlain then began looking around on Internet auction sites to locate another Charger, one that could be restored.
He drove to St. Paul, Minn. to look at one, but it was in worse shape than the first, he said.
On his way back to North Carolina he stopped in Evansville, Ind. to pick up some donated parts, and found a Charger that was in decent shape.
Chamberlain paid for the car, and brought it back to North Carolina to begin the restoration process.
He's put himself and a couple of friends who have offered their expertise on a tight schedule to finish the Charger.
"The goal is to have it finished by Aug. 7," he said. He plans to take it to a car show in Ohio, and hopefully, present the mostly finished car to Ronni.
Chamberlain said he does want to leave some of the minor restoration undone so Ronni and her dad can complete it together.
While Chamberlain is doing most of the work, he is getting help from many others in terms of donations of parts or supplies to make Ronni's dream come true.
He cited a list of local businesses that have given something to the project, Auto Body Parts and Supply, Diversified Finishers, Piedmont Auto Electric, Steele Rubber Products, Brake Tech Solutions, Just Suspension and U.S. Car Tool, to name a few.
Best Buy chipped in a complete stereo system for the car.
Bolling said many people throughout the country are pitching in to help Ronni.
"We've had help from California to Missouri to Massachusetts," he said.
Chamberlain, who has been restoring cars for more than 20 years, said he's been similarly impressed with people willing to help.
Bolling said Ronni recently underwent a bone marrow transplant with her younger sister, Jullian, as the donor. She is doing well, but her long-term prognosis is unknown.
Chamberlain said he hopes Ronni can enjoy the car, which will be painted a color called viper blue.
"You can't help but want to try to grant her wish," he said.
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