Racers. - VARAC

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Page 4 Sports Cars Unlimited, Minis and Bill Brack By Jeremy Sale In the ‘60’s Sports Cars Unlimited really seemed like Mecca for anyone driving a “furrin” car. Th ere seemed to be a dazzling array of desirable sports cars on the lot. It was an oasis of desire in a desert of bland domestic cars. Th ere weren’t that many sports cars around then, in fact they were oft en referred to derisively as “sporty cars” as though that in itself was some kind of insult. Or they might be referred to as “puddle jumpers”. One learned to ignored these petty slights and persist in this lonely auto addiction. In those days if you encountered another sports car it was quite an unusual event, but even so the thing was to act casually-perhaps give a slight wave or fl ash the headlights to acknowledge that you were both cool. Cool but casual. Th e lesser car had to signal fi rst, a Bugeye Sprite before a Triumph TR3, a TR3 before a “big” Healey, etc. Th ere was protocol in these matters, but the key was to act cool. Th e ultimate humiliation was to inadvertently hit the wrong control and perhaps get the windshield wipers going. Assuming they worked. (Few things on British sports cars seemed to work on a consistent basis. In the summer they were fun, in the winter, not so much. Heaters were sometimes optional and rarely eff ective. Girls who were happy to be with you in your sports car at Wasaga Beach in the summertime were more likely seen in the wintertime at the A&W, ensconced in a big, toasty warm Pontiac. Th ey would look at you freezing your driving gloves off in your sports car, your one hand wrapped around a hot chocolate, the other chipping frost off the inside of your windshield. Th ey would look away and smile a distant smile as they snuggled up to some new, seasonally attractive acquaintance. But I digress. With a certain bitterness, I might add.) SCU In Canada sports car dealerships were few and far between and were oft en less than impressive in size. Sports Cars Unlimited was initially located in a small gas station east of Oakville on Lakeshore Road. Aft er a short time it was moved further east, to Clarkson, a sleepy little place in what later became Mississauga. Later still, it was expanded into two buildings, one to sell cars, one for accessories. As it grew and modernized race car graphics were applied to the exterior, it was THE place to go and check out sports cars. Th e dealership initially sold Morris, Jaguar and MG, later Lotus would be added. Th ere was as well as a highly desirable range of used sports cars. I’m not sure how we found it, perhaps an ad in Canada Track & Traffi c, but we would make our pilgrimage down from Brampton to this automotive Mecca and fantasize what we would buy, if only we could aff ord it. One might see new or used Jaguars, Porsches, Sunbeam Alpines, Healeys, TR3’s, even the occasional Ferrari. It was sports car heaven. Plus there were sometimes actual race cars in the showroom. Such as a Mini with the number 850 and the name Bill Brack on the side. Th e word was that Sports Cars Unlimited was owned by a race driver! So the whole deal became even cooler!
Bill Brack-the short version Th e short story version of Bill Brack says he spent the early 60’s racing a Mini, culminating in winning the 1967 Canadian Touring Car Championship. In 1968 he drove a Lotus 41, capturing the Canadian Formula Car Championship. Also in 1968, Bill drove for Lotus F-1 in the Canadian Grand Prix. Further F-1 drives followed with the BRM Formula One Team in the 1970 and 1972 Canadian F-1 Grand Prix. Bill was Canadian Driving Champion in 1973 – 1974 – 1975, the only Canadian driver to win this award three times and he did it in three consecutive years. He was the fi rst Formula Atlantic Champion in 1974, repeating in 1975, becoming the fi rst of only four drivers ever to win back-toback championships in the 30 plus years of Formula Atlantic racing in North America. Bill Brack-the longer version Th e longer version of Bill’s story is well, longer and curiouser. To start with, believe it or not, the guy who drove all these hot cars was once a fi reman. No, I mean a fi reman on a train. Yup. He grew up in Toronto’s Parkdale and when he left school the closest place to get a job was on the trains at Th e Roundhouse, now the home of Steam Whistle Brewing. Ironically he can now see it from the window of his condo on the lake. Th e Roundhouse had functioned as a Canadian Pacifi c Rail steam locomotive repair facility when built in 1929, servicing steam locomotives. Steam locomotives needed guys to shovel coal and the job paid well. Well enough to fi nance a nice Austin-Healey from nearby Ensign Motors. It was a great gig. Unfortunately when diesel came in fi remen were no longer needed but Bill’s new pals at Ensign Motors said, hey, why don’t you work here? And just like that Bill started his career selling sports cars. Bill had made friends with a young guy named Ted Slavens, a student at Western University. Now Ted was a smart chap who made extra money buying cars from Ensign and selling them to fellow students. Eventually Bill and Ted fi gured it might as well be them owning a dealership, so with the help of their respective fathers they found an empty gas station on Lakeshore Road in 1963 and landed a dealership selling Morris and M.G. Bill had seen an ad in Road & Track for a company called Hollywood Sports Cars with photos showing rows and rows of sports cars and somehow the name “Sports Cars Unlimited” came to mind. Working out of the gas station and a trailer Bill and Ted’s great adventure was underway and they were successful enough that they later added Austin-Healey. It wasn’t long before they needed more space and moved to Clarkson and later added a store across the road beside them selling sports car accessories. Further expansion included Jaguar and Lotus plus dealerships British United, Argyle Chrysler Dodge, Honda Sport, Coventry Motors and the Lotus import franchise for parts of North America. Gord Brown-Mini Racing in the ‘60’s Dealerships in those days were oft en no more than corner lots. For example, the “dealership” we used to hang around in Brampton, Glendale Suburban Motors, was really just a small Fina gas station. It was run by Gord Brown, who was a real hot shoe behind the wheel of various Minis, heavily supported through the years by BMC. I remember one of them seemed to weigh about fi ve pounds and would exceed 130 mph. You could push it across the paddock with no eff ort at all. Gord and Grant Clark were the guys to beat in Minis and regularly beat the pants off much bigger cars. Th ese Minis were hot-rodded to the ultimate extent with all the best parts from BMC England. I had the dubious pleasure of driving the tires and tools to the track in the dealership Mini van. I don’t mean a minivan; I mean a real “Mini” van. It was hard not to be noticed in this garish little vehicle as it was painted in blinding red, white and blue stripes, which made it unwise to speed on the way to Harewood or Mosport. Kids loved it and would wave as Page 5
Page 1 and 2: Vol: XXXVIII NO. 2 MAY 2010 On-Line
Page 3: We Are VARAC VARAC, the Vintage Aut
Page 7 and 8: Colin Chapman until the dealer actu
Page 9 and 10: Brack’s Minis were the fans favou
Page 11 and 12: Bar Stool Nationals Photos courtesy
Page 13 and 14: 20,000 drunken spectators….. Dear
Page 15 and 16: Photo courtesy of the Ron Kielbiski
Page 17 and 18: Mosport/Mossport-it was a sterling
Page 19 and 20: NOTE - VARAC and/or Vintage Racer a
Page 21 and 22: MARKETPLACE John Dodd’s British S
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Racers. - VARAC

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