This story about the late Don Francks was written by Gary Challice. Gary was the founding Show Car Coordinator for the Toronto Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo. He’s also been a ‘car guy’ for his entire life. You can read more of Gary’s stories on his website HERE. If you have any feedback or story suggestions for Gary Challice, you can email him at sled1949@rogers.com.
In the fall of 2007, I got a call from James McBurney inquiring about entering a car in Performance World. His business, Cardude, was building a car for Don Francks—Canadian actor, singer, and activist. The car was called Quicksilver hg and was based on a 1952 Mercury Speedster body. The goal was to unveil the car at the Detroit Autorama at the end of February and bring it to Performance World the following weekend.
This story is about Don Francks. In the 1970s, he lived on the Red Pheasant Reservation in Saskatchewan, where he was adopted by the Cree and given the name Iron Buffalo. Don’s accomplishments are numerous, including appearances in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Mission: Impossible TV series, recording three albums, and being a guest on The Johnny Carson Show seven times. He was also a collector of vintage Model T speedsters.
First, a little about James and Quicksilver hg. James is from Niagara Falls, and we are all familiar with his tribute to the full custom car era: a 1952 Dodge Convertible called Jade. He was also the promoter of the indoor car show Wheel World Car Exhibitions in Niagara Falls. Quicksilver hg started with a 1952 Mercury Speedster body that Don had in his collection. Jim added a modified Speedway Motors T frame, a Ford rear end, coil-over shocks, and a four-bar system out back with a dropped axle up front. He dropped in a 355 cubic inch small block. The highly polished aluminum body and attention to detail make this an outstanding car.
I first met Don at the Detroit Autorama in 2008 and had the privilege of working with Iron Buffalo on several projects over the following six years. At Performance World in 2008, I was having some issues with a car owner, and as the weekend progressed, it became a major problem. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Don was very aware of what was going on. Quicksilver hg’s display was located directly across from this individual’s display. On the Sunday morning of the show, Don came to me and offered to get involved if I felt I needed some support. Fortunately, the car owner and I came to an agreement. For Don to step up and offer his assistance to basically a stranger (me) says a lot about his character. Later that evening, after the show had closed and the building was empty, the disgruntled car owner called me and said he was completely out of line and apologized.
I am a member of the Motor City Car Club, and in 2009 we celebrated our 50th anniversary. It is a tradition within the club to hold a gala for each milestone anniversary. We invite past members and a few guests and host a weekend party. At the Saturday night gala, we typically bring in a guest speaker. Past speakers have included Bob Larivee Sr., Bruce Robertson, Chuck Miller, and several others. A club member, Louis Balogh, suggested Don Francks. Don was contacted, happened to be available, and a deal was done! That turned out to be a fantastic decision. Don was a one-man show—he told stories, did impersonations of famous people, and sang a few tunes. The members and guests were absolutely in awe, and we had to allow him to go over his allotted time.
In 2014, at the Canadian Motorsports Expo at the International Centre, the organizers added a new feature: the Autoglym Hot Rod and Custom Car Display. In a meeting close to showtime, the organizers from Inside Track mentioned that the race car section was missing vintage race cars and asked if I knew of any. Immediately, I thought of Don Francks and said I would contact him.
Don said that he had two Ford Model T speedsters in Toronto, in a garage off a lane near Bathurst and St. Clair. Because of the snow and the location, there might be a problem getting them out of the garage—and he had no way to get them to the International Centre.
Working with the show promoters and a transport company, we managed to get the cars on display at the 8th Annual Canadian Motorsports Expo. During the show, I was approached by John Rosenthal of the Canadian International AutoShow, which was being held the following weekend at the Convention Centre in downtown Toronto. John inquired if the speedsters would be available for the AutoShow. Again, working with both sets of show promoters, the transport company, and Don, we arranged to have the cars transported directly to the AutoShow on Sunday night instead of back to Don’s garage. Another example of Don’s willingness to help.
On the Saturday night of the Motorsports Expo, there was an on-stage panel presentation with prominent car builders, which I had the honour of hosting. Don was on the panel, and after five minutes, he had complete control of the audience.
One of my fondest memories of Don was being at his CD release party. As a guest of Bob McJannett (Performance Improvements), I was in the audience on the evening of February 27, 2014, at the Lula Lounge on Dundas Street West in Toronto—the day before Don’s 82nd birthday.
Iron Buffalo passed away in 2016.
