Hello
This is Wil Sakowski.
I am in The Rod Riders SCTA. When I am not at the shop, Sakowski Motors, I am either with the family at the beach surfing or trying to get some sleep. I have 2 daughters, one is not a month old yet.
I have been getting back together a lakester with a blown staight 8 Buick. BGL / XO
I recently moved the family from Los Angeles to Wilmington, NC for quality of life issues. We love it here. 1.5 hours from Maxton, 3.5 to VIR roadracing, 3.5 to Charlotte, 15 minutes to our local surf break.
I still have a small shop in Los Angeles, mostly for warehousing cars for sale that I buy in LA. I am back and forth between LA and Wilmington. Also, I do picture cars for tv shows etc.. In Wilmington, Sakowski Motors is housed in my 6300 foot warehouse. I buy and sell cars all over the world, and build cars for people all over. I really love it.
I have been working on cars for myself for 18 years now. I pretty much have done many jobs in the auto world and at the shop over the years: restoration, bodyman, new and classic car mechanic, frame work on collision repair jobs and race cars, drags cars, road race cars, land speed cars, 4x4s, show cars, motorcycles mechanical and paint on old and new bikes. sold newer and classic cars and bikes, wholesales cars, broom sweeper, worked at a speed shop parts counter / Supershops years and years ago, tire changer, custom paint on cars and bikes as well as collision repair. welding, sheet metal, and on and on... Not trying to sound like I think I am all that, just trying to give my back ground.
Racing: When I was a kid we souped up our go carts and motorcycles and built some great tracks. I grew up in Virginia, and we were lucky enough to have space to do this. We raced around these tracks and trails non stop. I was at the track for years every weekend drag racing. I love drag racing, but always felt like the race was just starting at the end of the quarter mile. I road raced a GSXR 750 for a while also. When I was young and irresponsible, I loved to hit a deserted part of the interstate and go wide open on the GSXR for many miles at a time in the middle of the night when the interstates were empty except for me and some deer. There is nothing like holding it wide open for a 20 mile stretch. Not advocating this. It was an addiction. I am very slow and careful now most of the time.
One of the other things I have been doing for years is Harley Davidson tours called
www.ridefree.com. I get to meet some interesting great people from all over the world. I am in the process of becoming sole owner of that business right now, and growing it.
On the tours we go through Death Valley and Utah. This is really what got me interested in Land Speed Racing. When no one is around, Holding it wide open with dry lake / desert on either side of you. On a deserted road, no one around, wide open, for a couple of miles at a time. Just too good.
I met Jim Latin at Mr. Hilborn's 90th birthday party ( I still don't know why they invited me. It was all the old great's and me, a night I will always appreciate. It was also the unveiling of the new Hilborn Lakester) and he told me about an old tanker behind his garage behind his house, but I probably woudn't like it b/c it has an old Buck in it. He didn't know I have been driving a 54 Buick as my daily since the 90's.
I went to his house the next day to pick up the tanker. I didn't realize the garage behind his house was the largest collection of land speed cars in the world. Incredible.
So the Rod Riders SCTA were kind enough to have me. I started getting the tanker together b/c it was in pieces. Pretty much got it together and decided I need to reweld the entire car for safety ( a family now, I am slow and cautious) and go through it completely before I run it. Moved to Wilmington, NC. Went to Maxton for the October meet to check it out.
Now I have pulled the skin off the car and am ready to bring it to the next level.
So here I am.
I am looking forward to running the car at Maxton all next year, and getting ready for Speedweek 2009.
My lakester had two records from the previous owner at Bonneville at 174ish as BGL and BFL/XO. It was the one that kept blowing head gaskets. The goal is 210mph when I have it all worked out, a record. That easy right? If not I am going to have a lot of fun trying.
I hope I didn't wear your eyes out. There are pics of the lakester on my website.
Take Care
Wil Sakowski
www.sakowskimotors.comWilmington build shop 910 399 5939
Los Angeles 310 978 9558
p.s. The front 1937 Ford axle on my lakester was off the car's builder dad's car. He said it was one of the first axles on a lakester to ever run at Bonneville. There are pics on my website under the classics section. I really dig having this piece of history at the front of the car.
