As one of the oldest existing speed shops in North A merica, Karbelt has strong ties to the racing community. The company wa s founded by George Foote in 1952, selling seat belts and other automotive accessories before expanding to performance and aftermarket styling accessories brought up from the United States.
As a racing enthusiast himself, Foote campaigned a dragster with driver Fred Farndon in the mid – 1960s before subleasing Cayuga Dragway, (now Toronto Motorsports Park) in the late 1 960s. He did that to provide racers with a place to compete, and Karbelt with a place to inform potential customers and sell products.
” He actually would go, in his own personal Cadillac, and make orders for people at the track and say ‘oh, you can pay me later, I know you, you’re always at the track” said Karbelt Pickering manager Troy Buchanen. ” He’d do a ‘bonsai’ run from Cayuga, all the way to Toronto to pick up parts, to bring back to the racetrack, so the competitors could keep racing the next day.”
Starting with a shop in downtown Toronto, Karbelt has had various locations in different cities over the decades, serving generations of loyal customers along the way.
Buchanan says that young people will come in and share stories about their father or grandfather being customers. He a lso says that these long time customers themselves – people in their 70s and 80s – will share stories about the history of Karbelt and their past connections with the company.
