Great Story - Hats off to the UCC and KMS!

[Hexnut72]

This has been posted on another forum but I thought it would be appropriate over here because it shows what makes the Cobra community so great.

The short story is that a local guy, Paul Berg has been pursuing his dream of building an FFR. Along the way life handed him a tough break and he found out he had cancer. While he fought the cancer, he also fought to build his car. Things took a turn for the worse recently and he found out that he might not have time to finish the car.

The Utah Cobra Club found out that some of Paul's friends and neighbors were going to try and finish the car for him. Roy of the UCC sent out an email asking for help. Dave Kirkham caught wind of the situation and found the car had been sent to warehouse space to be worked on. He volunteered his shop and his crew to take charge of the work.

Yesterday the car was delivered to Paul at Kirkham Motorsports. It was delivered under the guise that Paul and all his friends were going to take a shop tour and then head up to work on the car. The car was hidden outside and at the end of the tour Dave called Paul up and told him there was one more car that they hadn't seen yet. The shop guys opened the overhead door and there was Pauls car in all its finished glory. It took Paul a second to realize that the blue beauty sitting before him was not one of Kirkhams cars, it was his! After a pause it sunk in, "Is that my car?", he asked.

Not many dry eyes in the house. What a great moment. Hats off to all those involved.

Here are some local news stories.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=6034840

http://deseretnews.com/article/70529...ped-Cobra.html

[Woodz428]

I've lost several family members and friends in the last couple years to cancer, that's a great story. Everyone needs a pat on the back and the Kirkhams get a tip of my hat( I actually started wearing one in the last week). I hope he has a chance to enjoy it. Sometimes desire is stronger than any illness.

[xlr8or]

Cool story. Looks like you guys did a great job on the car.

[James Stern]

Proving once again that not only is this a great community of people, but that David and his people are great representatives of this community. Well done to all.

[madmaxx]

Kirkhams are a class act just like their cars!!!! Excellent work!!

[Got the Bug]

Great news! Awesome to see Paul's dream fulfilled. The video news clip is excellent...Paul Berg has been "overhauled" by the Kirkham's and the UCC.

[mvanmeter]

David Kirkham,

If you can read this:

You are a great human being for helping out a fellow human being in need. My hat is off to you. We can all learn by your example. Thank you.

[RedBarchetta]

Applause and thumbs up.

[mrmustang]

OUTSTANDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Bill S.

[RON N BKFLD]

very, very good. thank you Kirkhams......Ron & jackie

[Igofastr]

Way to go guys!

From what I recall, this isn't the first time that they've done this.

Ron

[Silverback51]

What an awesome thing to do. In fact, mere words cannot really describe it.


How about we take up a little collection to buy the Kirkham crew a nice lunch?

Is anyone willing to take up the collection? I'm willing to kick in a hundred.

[Lew Ledyard]

Wow. That is one of the coolest, most moving things that I have ever heard of. I joke a lot with (and sometimes at the expense of) David and Thomas, but this almost moved me to tears. Sorry to get sappy, but this was such a thoughtful and kind act. It was also way cool!

Good job guys!

I second the thought on buying the crew lunch(es), or contributing some money to a charity that the guys at KMS support. Count me in for $100. What can we do to execute?

[Larry N Johnson]

Be sure you know that David and Thomas spared no expense.
- Added their Billet FE-style coolant tank
- Special polished hard line to Radiator
- Added their Trigo replacement pins
- CSX style prop rod
- All kinds of parts, sheet metal, bolts, etc.
- At least 4 guys on it most of the time.

Kirkham Motorsprts are top notch craftsmen!
Congrats!!

Another image:
Paul and Tiffany Berg coming back from a short spin!




from Deseret Newspaper Article

:
Riding a revamped Cobra, courtesy of good friends

Man with terminal cancer gets a shiny surprise
By Jacob Hancock
Deseret News

Even beneath the industrial-sized glowing fluorescent shop lights, Paul Berg was completely in the dark.
Then chains clanked and a garage door rolled up in front of him Wednesday afternoon to reveal what 65 of Berg's family and friends had come to see: a newly built, freshly painted 1965 Cobra hot rod.
Whoops and cheers erupted.
After a quick look, the tall, slender Lehi man furrowed his brow in confusion, half-smiled and desperately turned to David Kirkham, owner of the classic car replicating shop Kirkham Motorsports.
"Is that mine?" he shouted over the crowd.
It was a fair question. The 2,200-pound speedster sitting before him didn't look anything like the car he had handed over to a charitable and ambitious team of amateur car enthusiasts to help him finish before he died of terminal cancer.
And it was April Fools' Day, after all.
He wiped tears from his brimming-full eyes to keep them from rolling down his bandaged and scar-ravaged jaw, which had been operated on 24 hours earlier to remove three more cancerous tumors.
Berg climbed in the glimmering two-seater, leaned back in the black leather and thumbed the ignition button that sent a thunderous belch through the monster's chromed, three-inch dual exhaust.
"Feels better than I thought," he yelled.
The Cobra didn't always sound as smooth and deep as a James Earl Jones growl.
The car's 400-horsepower piston power would hardly puff a poof two weeks ago, when a crew of mostly strangers came together and ambitiously committed to finish the partially completed race car in three weeks.
"We were going to give it our best shot," said Shane Turner, who had found out while home-teaching in his Lehi ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that Berg had been given between three and 24 months to live. "We just had to."
Turner made some calls. Mike Williams of Printer Recyclers turned his indoor shop into a warm, Cobra-building den, and the men went to work two weeks ago — about the same time Berg had nine tumors removed from his face.
The Deseret News this month published the story of Berg, who co-organized a nationally recognized Utah charity, Heart 2 Home Foundation, which remodeled homes for needy Utahns.
The Utah Cobra Club felt inspired and contacted world-known Cobra czar Kirkham, who has built more than 700 of the classic pavement eaters in the last 14 years in Provo.
"I didn't give them a choice," he said. "I just told them I'm taking the car."
Kirkham said he felt especially inspired to help because the day before, he had listened to syndicated radio host Glenn Beck at a rally in Utah.
"Beck said to go out there and be an American and serve someone," Kirkham remembered. "And I was already fed up with how the government was bailing everyone out.
"We don't need the government to take care of us," he said. "We need to take care of each other."
And one weekend later, after thousands of dollars in parts and 150 man-hours, Berg was taken care of.
Jeremy Weller, owner of Unique Auto Body in South Jordan, and his brothers painted and striped the four-wheeled American icon to a glittering shine.
Although the economy has slowed business for Weller's shop, he called his company's free paint job — worth $3,500 — "a good opportunity to serve."
Larry Johnson, president of the Utah Cobra Club, stood back and admired the car in the cool afternoon breeze.
"The workmanship is fantastic," he said. "That right there is a $65,000 beauty."
Provo Mayor Lewis K. Billings, who stopped by to show his support, agreed.
"Everybody needs a car like that," he said. "Especially such a great and outstanding guy as Paul."
E-Mail: jhancock@desnews.com

[cdnus]

A truely wonderfull happening, Kudos to all who participated.
Only in AMERICA!!!
Craig

[David Biele]

Truly,

all involved are first class!!!

Great job

[lbperry]

Hats off to all that participated in this wonderful gesture.

[Larry N Johnson]

Kirkham also donated side louvers, the nice ones.
And spent the time to install perfectly!

[brobehr]

The Kirkhams strike again. David, as always, you guys are a class act.

brobehr

[tkb289]

Great story and what a wonderful gesture by the Krikhams, UCC and all that were involved, to pull this off! I wish Paul & Tiffany many happy miles in their Cobra.