Terry Fox's restored van unveiled in St. John's

The restored van that served as Terry Fox's base during his 1980 Marathon of Hope began another cross-country tour in St. John's on Sunday.

The 1980 Econoline Ford van that crept along the roadways of eastern and central Canada behind Fox for 143 days was found in Vancouver in 2006and acquired by the Terry Fox Foundation toraise funds to fight cancerwith another cross-Canada trip.

Darryl Kelly, who recalled inviting the B.C.-born Fox to his home in 1980 for a meal in Howley, N.L., was atthevan unveiling andsendoff Sunday.

"This very van was parked outside my house and I can tell you from my memory,they've done an outstanding job in the restoration of this project. So this is a very touching moment for me today."

Atthe van'sunveiling Thursday at Ford's Canadian headquarters inOakville, Ont.,Terry's brother Darrell Fox said the van brought back a lot of memories.

Pointing to the bedding inside the van, he reminisced about how Terry had prepared himself every day for another gruelling run.

"It's quite emotional, to know that this is where Terry slept ... this is where he prepared every day for the Marathon of Hope. And I'm just coming to grips with what we experienced this morning," he told CBC News.

Terry's mom Betty Fox, who wasin St. John's for the sendoff,said her son would be thrilled to know his old van had been restored and was on another marathon.

"That was his sanctuary. That's where he was able to do his thinking and get in it and drive away some place and just be on his own. It was his home."

Heavy-metal band used van for touring

The spot in northern Ontario where Fox was forced to end his Marathon of Hope in September 1980 is marked by a statue of the runner on the Trans-Canada Highway, but the support van was soon forgotten.

The van's whereabouts remained unknown to the family until Vancouver author Douglas Coupland was approached at a party in North Vancouver by somebody who had read his 25th anniversary book about the Marathon of Hope. The guest told Coupland the van was in Vancouver.

"So Doug gave me a phone call later that day, and the next day we were out on a mission to find the Marathon of Hope van," said Darryl Fox, the foundation's national director.

Originally the van had been lentto Terry Fox by the Ford Motor Co., and after his death it was sold to a family.

The van waseventually driven to British Columbia where a heavy-metal rock band from East Vancouver used it for years to tour across North America.

It will end its latest trip inB.C.