B and S Garage Lakester
The B&S Garage Lakester is a bellytank lakester owned, built and raced by Bungholers of Hollywood member August "Gus" Sommerfeld and Robert "Baldy" Baldwin. Gus and Baldy ran Baldwin & Sommerfeld Automotive Service. The tank was built in 1952, and it featured a tubular frame chassis within the body. The body was made from a P-38 Belly Tank, and it had a Cook Machine swing-axle convserion rear suspension. It ran 18-inch Kelsey Hayes accessory wheels.[1]
Contents
1952 Bonneville Nationals
The tank ran from 1952 - 1964 with a four-port Riley on a Model B engine. In 1952 the car ran 146 mph.
1953 Bonneville Nationals
In 1953 the car ran 150 mph, good enough for 5th in class.
In 1956 and 1958 they were top-points championship for SCTA. In 1964 they installed a Tempest four-cylinder. Arnold Birner was a partner in the car and he and Leo Goosen made a dual-overhead camshaft head for it. With the Riley the tank reached 170 mph. With the Tempest it reached 214 mph.
Ike Williams originally worked as a mechanic at Baldwin & Sommerfeld Automotive Service. By the mid-1950s he had taken over the shop.
1969 Bonneville Nationals
Baldy, Gus, and Ike entered the E Class lakester at the 1969 Bonneville Nationals. Baldy managed a 200.44 mph run, that was good enough for first in class, but it was under the record held by Tim Rochlitzer in his True Radius Bending Special at 221.98 mph.
The Last Run
In 1975 Ike ran the B&S Garage Lakester at Bonneville for the last time. Gus and Baldy had long since moved to Modesto and left the bellytank in the shop with Ike. In 2018 Ike's daughter, Andria Williams, told Kustomrama that her dad decided in 1975 that he was going to drive the tank and take full control; " It ran great through all his licensing passes, and I believe his highest pass was 197 mph. Baldy talked him into letting him make a pass & threw a rod. That was its last pass on the Salt. Dad got the #1 in class trophy at the SCTA banquet in January 1976. We all went to an after-party at Burke LeSage's.I beat my parents home at 7: am, they got home about 8:30 am. Dad passed away one week later. No downtime at all."[2] Gus and Baldy were done with the bellytank after that, and it was put into the tobacco barn at Gus' place.
Julian Doty
Julian Doty worked at Baldwin & Sommerfeld Automotive Service as well. Julian wanted the engine, and Jim Lattin wanted the car, so Julian made a deal; he pulled the engine and delivered the car to Jim the same day. Lattin kept the tank as it was, he only washed it.
References
- ↑ George William Blystone II aka "Bly"
- ↑ Andria Williams
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