THE $400 MILLION FORD ECONOLINE; Camper van plays key role in Canadian cancer charity.

Byline: ALEX LAW

When the two-toned, shag-carpeted Ford Econoline camper van first rolled onto the national stage in Canada in April 1980, virtually no one noticed

But when news broke that the battered old box had been found and was being restored by Ford's Canadian wing, a tidal wave of media coverage and intense public support swept the country. The reason: This van played a key role in an effort by Terry Fox, a 21-year-old one-legged man, to raise money for cancer research. His effort succeeded beyond all expectations.

Fox started the Marathon of Hope with a dream of raising $1 million by running 5300 miles across 10 Canadian provinces. By the time he had to give up on Sept. 1, 1980, when the cancer that took his leg showed up in his lungs, his new goal of $1 for every Canadian (there were 24 million at the time) seemed reachable. Twenty-seven years after Fox's death in 1982, various programs around the world using the Marathon of Hope banner have raised nearly $400 million.

Strong feeling for this van would not surprise anyone who witnessed Fox's effect on Canada's psyche. His reserved, straightforward decency and ironclad resolve mirrored what many Canadians believe, or hope, is the national personality. He was the kind of guy who'd win the Victoria Cross or the Congressional Medal of Honor and never mention it.

In 2004, Fox finished second in a national public vote to pick the Greatest Canadian. He lost to Tommy Douglas, the man who gave the country Medicare, but beat telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell and even hockey great Wayne Gretzky.

The 1980 Econoline served all functions for Fox and his small support group as he ...