One Bad GMC

A tribute to a true friend...

Let me start off by saying I've never done this before, so I really don't know where or how to start.  Bare with me.  This will be long...

In ~1996 the GMC had just came back from Rich Gebhardt's Pro Cars with a brand spanking new chassis.  I had hired a private individual to paint the truck.  He royally screwed up the paint job...but that's another Jerry Springer show. After dragging the truck all over town, to about eight different body shops, Mark Vanover, then owner of Reflections Unlimited was the only individual willing to take on the project.

Mark did a fantastic job fixing this other guy's mistakes, and made me one heck of a deal on the work in the process.  The truck was sprayed with Orange, and topped off with a purple pearl. Twelve years later, and the paint job still looks as good as it did the day we bolted it all back together.

Mark is a car enthusiast, and immediately took to the GMC as it was definitely something out of the norm.  We have become very good friends over the years even though he's ten years my elder.  On a side note, I have some crazy stories for his 15 year old son when he gets a little older.

In 2005, due to an error on my part with the fuel system, we blew up the then 505 CID BBC engine.  Mark was at the track and taped the accident as it occurred.  I had just bought a house in 2004 and didn't have funds to spend on repairing the damage (I'm not part of the mortgage crisis!), so the GMC was parked.

In late 2006, Mark started feeling ill on a regular basis, but never would go in to get anything checked out.  It wasn't until Mother's Day of 2007 that he finally was taken to the hospital via ambulance, near death.  Within a day, after a lower GI, it was determined that Mark had contracted colon cancer.  Within two days, he was undergoing surgery, removing a softball sized tumor, approximately 4 feet of colon, and a multitude of lymph nodes.  His agony was just beginning...

During the next several weeks, he had a staph infection at the surgery point, which was then followed by severe pneumonia, requiring him to be moved to the intensive care wing of the hospital.  There were days when I didn't think he'd be checking out.

After three or so weeks in the hospital, he was finally well enough to leave.  About six weeks later, the doctors finally decided to start chemo.  About the only good thing that didnt happen was hair loss.  The cancer decided to come back, and attach itself to his liver.  He now has a growth across his abdomen that he calls his "little buddy".  The chemo did absolutely nothing but make his life miserable.  Late in 2007, another round of pneumonia set in, which took almost a month to get over.  We don't think the first round of pneumonia ever left.

Somewhere around September of 2007, after being told his cancer was terminal/inoperable, Mark and I were sitting in his house (he couldn't hardly go anywhere due to incontinence brought on by less colon) talking.  He made the mistake of saying something to the affect of "I wish you could get the GMC going again.".  I woke up the next morning, knowing in my mind what I had to do. The GMC had to live again before Mark passed on.

The 505 was pretty much scrapped.  The only things that remain in the new motor are the crank, gear drive, and rocker arms.  Everything else has been changed.  A used Bowtie block was purchased, along with some fully ported Dart 360 Aluminum heads.  A used SSI 14-71 blower (originally purchased by Top Fuel racer Chuck Etchells), along with a whole host of other items that would take up a full page in themselves...but that's getting off topic.

After a long winter, on May 17th, 2008, we finally fired the new motor. I still get goose bumps every time I watch the video.  Even though the GMC was technically living, to me, this wasn't enough.  I had made my mind up as someone who always wants to exceed expectations that we were going to race it before the inevitable came.  Here lied the problem...I threw away my outdated helmet a year ago and sold my low end fire suit.  I couldn't race it if I had to and still be safe.

Fortunately, a friend up state Illinois, Matt "Vanilla" Madsen stepped up to the plate.  On June 14th, 2008, we were able to fulfill what I considered to be a dying man's dream.  Test Pass 1 and Test Pass 2 were completed in the early evening hours at I-57 Raceway in Benton, IL with Matt behind the wheel and Mark taping the whole event.  Mark's son Cody was there to wheel him around where ever he needed to go.

For those who have never experienced a friend or relative dying of cancer, let the below photos be testament.  The first is from the Belleville News Democrat in late summer of 2005 when Mark made the front page of the business section.  Mark was approximately 6'2" and 275 pounds.  The second was taken at the track on June 14th, 2008.  As a reference, I'm 6'5", and 240 pounds.  Mark is barely 130 pounds in the second photo.

Mark, I've always considered you a brother.  Unlike some people we know, I don't abandon those I consider true friends for anything.  We'll go racing again soon.  I'm thrilled that you had as much fun as I did last weekend.

Matt, thanks once again for driving and not trashing my baby.  You did a great job considering it was your first time in a blown alky ride.

-Bill Birmingham

On June 28th, 2008, Mark Vanover succumbed to his cancer.  He is survived by his wife and son.  Mark was 47. His death occurred two weeks after we went racing.