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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday August 2, 2008 - 3 Oakville man revved up for Mustang show Man has love affair with muscle car By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF While some car enthusiasts will be coming from as far away as British Columbia and Florida to show off their great metal toys at the No Borders InterNationals Mustang Show this weekend, one participant will only have to drive his prize a matter of blocks. Oakville resident Graham Kitching, 20, will be bringing his 1987 Mustang LX 5.0 Coupe to the muscle car show and tell, located at the Ford of Canada headquarters in Oakville, to see how it compares to some of the most stylish cars in North America. The sleek, jet-black vehicle has already been tested in battle netting Kitching the Wasaga Beach Cruisers Young Gun Award earlier this summer, however, as great a chance as Kitching may have in this weekend's competition he noted that it's not about winning. "It's about being part of the culture," he said. "Some guys go there for the competition, but most go just because they want to, it's all for fun. There's guys coming from California, a friend of mine said he saw a convoy of Mustangs, about 10 of them, coming down from Quebec. They're coming from all over, not just Ontario, so it's going to be really neat to see the different styles people bring in." Kitching, who is currently taking mechanical engineering at Georgian College in Barrie, has had an interest in cars since he was very young. How young? His father Roy answered that question by bringing out a photo of Kitching, then little more than a toddler, sitting in a plastic Flintstones car. Eventually micro machines gave way to real cars with Kitching spending a considerable amount of time in his high MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER MUSTANG SALLY: Graham Kitching poses for the picture with his rebuilt Ford Mustang, which he plans to enter in a Mustang show, which will take place Aug. 1-3 in the parking lot of Ford's administration building. Kitching spent four years restoring the car to its present condition. school's mechanic shop. "I spent hours and hours on end there even when I wasn't in class," he said. "I'd go in on my lunch break just to work on cars." Further training in the mechanics of cars came from Kitching's father, while still more came from a high school teacher, who recognized Kitching's interest in the subject and nurtured it. A degree of what Kitching learned about cars was also selftaught. "A lot of it is just figuring out what to do on your own," he said. "You take something apart, look at it, and then see, `Okay, here's how you put it back together.'" Kitching received the ultimate opportunity to put his skills to the test about four years ago when he purchased Sally, his Mustang. Kitching had been looking for a Mustang since he was 15 years old, before he even had a driver's licence. He would eventually find one in 2003 that was being sold by a resident on Rebecca Street, but the asking price was a little rich for Kitching's blood and he had to pass the car by. through countless hours of cutting lawns, shovelling snow and refereeing hockey. Kitching said he eventually spent another $8,000-$10,000 shaping the car into what he wanted. The work was time consuming, but Kitching's father was there to assist him. "My dad and I worked pretty hard on this car," said Kitching. "We basically started out doing the simple things, wheels, tires, polishing it to make it look new again. Then we tore the interior right down to bare bones and redid the interior. We did a lot of engine work to make it like a new car." For a finishing touch Kitching was able to get his idol the legendary American car designer Chip Foose to autograph a piece of the Mustang's interior during a convention in Toronto. "It ended up he started talking to me about the car and what I was doing with it," said Kitching. "It's about being part of the culture." Mustang owner Graham Kitching Then in 2004 the same car came up for sale again and Kitching decided to approach the owner. "I saw a whole bunch of potential with the car," he said. "It didn't need much work, but it needed its own personal touch." After 36 phone calls in quick succession Kitching was able to speak to the owner who agreed to sell the Mustang for $4,000. Kitching's mother Cindy said he had earned that money "He gave me a few ideas about what to do for the interior, but the one thing he said was to keep the car clean. He said, `A car like this doesn't need a whole lot to make it flashy.'" Kitching said that despite the car being 21 years old, it continues to run like a dream. "It's the most reliable car you could ever own," he said. "Every time I get in it, it fires up." Today, Kitching considers Sally a member of the family noting that there was enough blood, sweat and tears put into restoring the car to make it an actual relation. The experience of making the car ready for the showroom has been fun experience for Kitching, but it has also been a great experience for his father who noted that fixing up the car allowed him to live out a boyhood dream. "This was something that I did as a kid on a model scale. I always dreamed about doing the real thing," said Roy. "So I've kind of been living the dream. I'm just kind of riding his coat tails, but I'm having a ball. All the things that I've always loved about cars got lost over the years, but he brought them back out of me. He brought my childhood back." Kitching also enjoyed working with his father, noting that aside from a few yelling matches the two worked well together, which is evident from the grand vehicle that now sits in front of the family home. Win, lose or draw this weekend, Kitching said this will not be the last car show Sally attends with plans already underway for her to make an appearance at Detroit's Woodward Dream Cruise in August. "I'm looking forward to that," said Kitching. Car enthusiasts can view Kitching's Mustang Sally and hundreds of other classic Mustangs at the Ford of Canada office building parking lot on Saturday and Sunday. UPCOMING SUMMER COURSES FILLING UP FAST! Snow in August? We guarantee you will experience it at DriveWise! For Course Information: 905-845-7200 www.drivewiseoakville.com August 18, 19, 20, 21 (4 days course) Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday · 9:30am - 4:15pm August 25, 26, 27, 28 (4 days course) Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday · 9:30am to 4:15pm September 9, 16, 23, 30, October 7, 14, 21, 28 Tuesday evenings (8 weeks) · 6:00pm to 9:15pm