'Shakey' Harris lost his tremor when he worked on race cars

By TIM STANLEY World Staff Writer - 11/4/2009


SAND SPRINGS — When the tailpipes of his 1967 blue Chevrolet Camaro roar to life again soon, it will stir up some unshakeable memories for those who knew Vernon "Shakey" Harris.

The late owner of Shakey's Machine Shop downtown ran his own drag-racing team for decades, and the car was a favorite for fans and Harris.

"He bought it, and we dismantled it and turned it into a race car," said Greg Harris, who raced his father's cars under the Shakey's team banner.

The car has been silenced for now, but its lightning-fast legacy will continue; a complete restoration — new paint, new engine, new everything — is under way, and it soon will be ready to return to the track, Greg Harris said.

The Camaro was out of the family for a while, but they bought it back a few years ago for Greg Harris' son, Brandon, who is carrying on the Harris racing tradition. He won his first race in it in Arizona.

"It'll be here from now on. We're proud to have it back," said Greg Harris, adding that he feels a real bond with the vehicle because of his father, a Navy veteran and self-taught mechanic.

Shakey Harris, whose influence left deep tread marks in the lives of those who knew him, died Oct. 21. He was 84.

Harris and his sons raced at the Tulsa Raceway and drag races around the country for years. He continued to be active in racing into his 70s, helping many young racers get their starts.

Although Harris drove his own cars when he was younger, a hereditary tremor that caused his hands to shake forced the ace mechanic to leave the racing to his sons.

"When he took his tools and began to work on a car, the shaking would smooth out and go away," Greg Harris said. "He was kind of like a painter with his paint and canvas."

The tremors could complicate his daily life, but Harris kept a sense of humor about it. After a friend started calling him "Shakey," Harris made it his full-time moniker.

LaDonie Ingram, one of Harris' daughters, said: "When he'd drink his coffee, his hands would shake so bad the cup would hit against his teeth — clack-clack-clack. He would laugh about it, and we would laugh, too. Of course, now I have the tremor. He told me it was because I laughed at him."

Harris and his late wife, June Harris, started their own floor-tiling business in the late 1950s, before Harris' interest in cars led him to expand it into a machine shop.

"It's what he lived his life to do, and it's all he ever thought about," Greg Harris said of his father's passion for cars and racing. "He was a very smart man with autos, and he passed the love on to his sons."

Harris, a native of Mountain Home, Ark., is survived by two sons, three daughters, nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Mobley-Dodson Funeral Service of Sand Springs handled his service last week. He was buried in Woodland Memorial Park Cemetery in Sand Springs.



Tim Stanley 581-8385
tim.stanley@tulsaworld.com


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Tulsa World Reader Comments
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nucleardad, Tulsa (11/4/2009 8:47:53 AM)
I remember seeing Shakey's Camaro at Tulsa Int'l Raceway back in the late 60's - great story. Thanks!

anglers quest, (11/4/2009 12:34:43 PM)
I raced against Shakey's Camaro in the 70's and Shakey was a Great man! God Bless his soul....Mr Bill Long



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