St. Louis dad restores car in memory of son

ST. LOUIS -- It was the only thing that came in the mail that day, the day after his son died. Wonel Brown was standing in the back of his repair shop, mourning with friends, when the postal worker walked in.

One glance at the envelope, and he knew immediately. It was the title to his son's dream car. Brown tossed the letter onto a hood next to him. He couldn't look at it.

Even as a young boy, Jamel Brown had talked about restoring an old Chevy Nova, painting it green with white racing stripes and topping it with white vinyl. It would join his dad's race car at all the car shows.

At Jamel's 15th birthday party, his dad slipped a note into his card about the shell of the 1969 Nova sitting in the corner of the shop. It wasn't a customer's car, as Jamel had been told. It was his.

He and his dad were going to bring it back to life together.

A month later, in November, Jamel collapsed during wrestling practice. He died that night. An autopsy revealed a heart defect that had gone undetected.

For Wonel Brown, the car title was, at first, a cruel reminder of his son's dream.

Days later, at a candlelight vigil in front of Jamel's house, where street rods filled the cul-de-sac, Wonel realized not all was lost. His friends made a promise: They were going to finish the Nova.

Businesses donated needed parts. Checks arrived in the mail $25 here, $30 there.

This past week, Wonel got the Nova running.

"This is what he wanted," he said. "I'm not going to stop."

A shared love

Wonel's Auto Service Center, in the Baden neighborhood of north St. Louis, was Jamel's second home growing up. Working on cars with his dad, Jamel learned all the parts. As a kindergartner, he changed the oil. By high school, he designed engines.

He and his father shared a love for cars.

Wonel worked several jobs at restaurants and as a mail carrier before he saved enough money to open his own auto service shop 18 years ago.

Wonel, 46, of Florissant, started drag racing 13 years ago with a souped-up 1972 Chevy Chevelle, traveling all over the Midwest. When Jamel turned 2, his father started taking him to the tracks. Jamel got to know all the drivers and soaked in as much he could about motors.

By the time Jamel was 10, he started to talk about getting a Nova. Wonel isn't sure why his son settled on the compact car produced from 1962 to 1979.

"He was old-spirited. He listened to old music. He was versatile that way," his dad said. "He was different."

Jamel pulled a picture off the Internet that captured his vision of the Nova except for one thing. His car would be green, his favorite color.

"He had plans," Wonel said, "all the way down to the exhaust tips coming out the side."

Anyone who came in knew about Jamel's dreams for a Nova. He loved hanging around the shop, talking cars with the customers.

On Oct. 12, the day before Jamel's birthday, a car show at the Blues Alley Sports Bar and Grill also served as his party. Wonel had purchased a Nova from a customer a few months earlier.

He will never forget his son's face when Jamel opened the birthday card.

Inside was the title, with a blank space for Jamel to fill out his name. He put his fist to his mouth, leaned back with wide eyes and squealed, "Ooooh!"

Jamel went to his mom's house in Hazelwood that night, showing off the title. He filled it out with his name right away and mailed it.

On Nov. 17, Wonel got the call that Jamel had collapsed in practice. He drove to the school, then to the hospital, where a priest took him and Jamel's mom into a room. Jamel was dead.

His son had been his source of pride -- a choir member and dedicated athlete with plans to attend Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla and study mechanical engineering.

"I felt like I lost my world," Wonel said.

Ready to ride

The title sat on Wonel's desk for a month before he opened it. He needed the title to get personalized plates for the Nova: JAMEL B. He needed insurance. He was ready to follow through on his friends' promises.

But first, Wonel copied the title. He had it framed along with a smiling picture of him and his son, dressed in the navy suit with lavender pin stripes that he's buried in. In the bottom corner, he put Jamel's picture of the finished Nova. He hung the frame by the shop's entrance.

The Nova has come to life mostly in the last two weeks, during late nights at the shop or when business was slow.

It has wheels, an engine, a hood and trunk cover, as well as bumpers and lights. It's gotten fuel lines, brakes, a gas pedal, radio, mirrors and the black leather bucket seats Jamel picked out. The new dash is covered in black vinyl, with "J.D.B.'s Nova" embroidered in bright turquoise.

Bobby Shanklin, 55, of Fairview Heights, Ill., has given money to the cause, and his Bad Boyz Street Rodz club plans to donate more. Wonel's best friend, Tom Savage, 63, who spends his days at the shop, has helped with all the work. "This is a way to show him how I appreciated him and his life," he said of Jamel.

Recently, Wonel decided to take the car for a test drive. Some close friends came to the shop. He drove the Nova on the streets of North County for hours, his friends following in their cars. They stopped at Dairy Queen for dinner.

It felt like Jamel was along for the ride, Wonel said. "All I could see in my mind was him smiling."

The steering needed to be fixed, and the car leaned a bit to the right, but other than that, "the car ran real good," Wonel said.

"This keeps me close to him, because this is him," Wonel said. "I'm living his dream."

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Story from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com