Where in the world is Mark McLean?

And what does it mean for Brit Bits?

by Sam Smith

Dec. 15th, 2005

It's been a year of change and growth for Brit Bits. We're shortened our name, are under new management, have new staff and a renewed commitment to becoming the best little British car shop in the country.

Arden McLean founded our business in the mid-1950s in Kittery, Maine, as Kittery Auto Sales, a British new car dealer selling many of the cars that have become today’s classics.

In 1970, Arden moved the business to our current location in Rye, N.H., and over the years sold and serviced a variety of automotive lines as the interest in British sports cars faded throughout the 1980s. Arden’s son, Mark, had been involved in his dad’s business on and off for years and became firmly entrenched in the mid-1980s. Together with his dad, they decided to drop all the other products and go back to specializing in British sports cars. Mark took over from Arden completely in 1989, laying the groundwork for the future.

Mark and I have been friends and acquaintances for years. In 1992 I bought a 1963 MGB from him. Fairly cheap, a great driver and quite rusty, I really enjoyed driving that car and it got me tinkering. I needed a place to work on it, so I started trading my skills as a mechanic for space in Mark's shop. One thing led to another and before I knew it I was working at McLean's in the shop during the summers. For a couple of years, each fall Mark would come to me and say that work in the shop is slowing and he can’t really afford me in the shop over the winter.

After a few years of coming and going, I decided I really liked being at McLean’s, messing about with British cars and I schemed to find a way to provide myself with an income during the wintertime. Ah ha! British car parts! Just the ticket.

Mark hadn’t explored parts sales and it looked like that might be a way for me to stay busy and productive in the wintertime. I did some research, wrote a business plan and after much convincing of Mark and a local bank that my plan would work, Brit Bits came into being in 1997. In the eight years since, I’ve always had in the back of my mind the desire to buy McLean Enterprises one day when the time was right. During the past two years I have been able to realize that goal by taking over the service department in 2004, purchasing the property this past spring and assuming the management of McLean Enterprises Car Sales this fall.

Mark McLean is also pursuing his dream, to live and work in an island paradise. He and his wife, Lynn, have bought a home in the Turks and Caicos Islands, where they will enter semi-retirement and pursue new endeavors. The great thing about this whole process is that Mark and I have had a fantastic partnership for the past eight years and our current relationship keeps Mark involved from his island command post and allows both of us to follow our hearts.

I wish Mark and Lynn all the best, always.