Is your current off-road machine also your first? We're guessing it's not. Most of us started off with something basic, played in the dirt for a while, and then admitted the off-road addiction had taken hold. The next step? Find a way to go bigger and better.
Brothers Keith and Tony Sato of Orange, California, are just like you. "We grew up with the desert as our second home," Tony told us. "Our family was into camping and shooting, and our parents started taking us to the desert when we were about six months old. A buddy's uncle had some property in Lucerne, so we were out there all the time." Before too long, the Sato brothers had grown enough to ride dirt bikes. As the years went by, the dirt bikes were supplemented by a Baja Bug for Keith and a Toyota 4x4 pickup for Tony. These machines were sold and replaced with pair of classic Bronco's. Keith had a '66, while Tony had a '68. "We were helping out a Class 2 buggy in the La Rana series. The Broncos were great chase vehicles, and we had fun chasing and helping out in the pits." Tony continued, "We always liked going fast in the dirt, and after riding in a Class 2 car and seeing what it could do, we were hooked."
Keith sold his Bronco, while Tony kept his and used it for a prerunner and chase vehicle. Keith took the proceeds from selling his Bronco and used them to buy a 5/1600 Baja Bug. Tony explained where things went from there:
"Keith originally just wanted to take the 5/1600 out to play, but I told him that I'd pay half the entry fees so we could go racing. That was all it took. We knew the basics, and we knew we wanted to go racing! During our first race, we got our doors blown off. We knew we had a lot of work to do if we wanted to be competitive. At the time each La Rana race (the predecessor to MDR and M.O.R.E.) would have 15 to 25 entries in the 5/1600 class. You had to pin it to win it. We learned a lot, and we ended up winning our class championship in '98. That was the same year we won our class in the Kartek 400 in Lucerne Valley, which was the first year for a 400-mile race in the local desert. That was a huge victory for us. Our goal was to win the points championship and then move up in class."
Right about then, Keith and Tony had a chance to step up once again. The championship-winning 5/1600 was sold to make room for a new buggy. The new buggy was a Class 1 Raceco that had the '98 MDR Class 1 championship to its credit. It was owned by a friend names John Lucas. The Raceco was a solid vehicle that had received some recent upgrades. The front end had been re-worked by Bill Varnes of Mirage Race Cars, while the rear suspension had been re-done by Mike Monohan. The Sato brothers figured it would make an ideal Class 12 buggy, and began rebuilding the Raceco's midsection for increased safety and comfort.
About the time the now-Class 12 Raceco was coming together, opportunity came knocking again. Casey Currie was selling a freshly-built F-150 prerunner. Casey had planned to take the F-150 to the short course races at Glen Helen Raceway and to the desert, but changed his plans and put the truck up for sale. "Keith and I had been out helping the Curries when they were racing in Jeepspeed," said Tony. "We had ridden in the truck in Glamis and we also got to prerun a lap out in Lucerne Valley in Casey's F-150 and we liked the truck, so when Casey put it up for sale, we were immediately interested." Sato Brothers Racing sold their almost-completed Class 12 project, which netted them almost exactly the amount they needed to buy Casey's F-150.
Since the F-150 landed in their stable, Keith and Tony have performed several upgrades in anticipation of another starting line. The engine started out as a standard-issue 351 Windsor, but was stroked to 392 cubic inches using a Ford Racing block. In the suspension department, Sato Bros. Racing hardware now cycles beneath the front of the truck in the form of I-beams and radius arms originally built by James Hall of James Gang Racing, and then modified by SBR. The James Hall/SBR front end is steered using an SBR-built pitman arm in conjunction with an SBR single-swing crossover steering linkage. Additional tubes were added to the 'cage for extra strength and safety.
Is the truck ready to rock? It's close. It still needs a racing fuel cell instead of a stock gas tank. The rear-mounted radiator will be replaced with one that sits directly behind the cab, and the Fluidyne tranny cooler will be re-mounted in a more optimal location. Finally, SBR has a set of four Kuster bypass shocks waiting to be mounted astride the 3-inch King coilovers and the 2.5-inch King bump stops found at each corner of the truck. New lower rear suspension links will be built to accommodate the Kuster bypass units, while an additional set of shock mounting brackets will be added to the front suspension.
With these final details checked off the list, this F-150 will be ready for a high-desert starting line, and Sato Brothers Racing will be back in contention. Sato Brothers Racing would like to give special thanks to Currie Enterprises, PSC Motorsports, OC Driveline, and UNI Filters: "Without help from these companies, the truck wouldn't be at this level. We can't thank them enough."
After crawling under and perching on top of the truck in the name of photography, and riding in the truck in the name of research, there's only one thing left for us to say: we should all be so fortunate to trade up to something like this.
 |  The 392ci Ford Racing SVO...  The 392ci Ford Racing SVO Sportsman block is capped off with Ford Racing "Z" cylinder heads. It breathes through a UNI Filter and exhales through custom fenderwell headers. Just to the left of a King shock reservoir you'll find a PSC power steering reservoir that's connected to a matching PSC power steering box. The radiator is rear-mounted, so you won't see it in the engine bay, but the stainless steel coolant lines can be seen just behind the PSC reservoir. An Autofab fiberglass hood connects to the stock hinges at the firewall, and is pinned in place with Autofab hood pins at the grille. |  Finding a durable transmission...  Finding a durable transmission is as easy as sending a suitable core to Culhane Racing. Steve Culhane installed a reverse-pattern manual valve body in this C-6, which uses a TCS torque convertor. |
 A rear-mounted radiator makes...  A rear-mounted radiator makes for a cleaner engine bay, and distributes weight to the rear for better balance. Those are the advantages. As with everything else, there's no such thing as a free lunch. It takes a lot of plumbing to get the coolant all the way to the rear of the truck and back up to the front. The second difficulty is that the radiator is not in the best position for catching enough cooling air, even with the wing on the back to help direct airflow. This setup has worked acceptably, but not well enough to inspire confidence to run long races in triple-digit desert heat. There's a PWR radiator and a pair of Spal fans sitting in the shop, waiting to be installed in the cab's rear window. |  When it came to fabricating...  When it came to fabricating the I-beams, Keith and Tony turned to Currie Enterprises for Super Duty parts. Super Duty 4x4 axle end forgings and steering knuckles worked great. Instead of using Super Duty rotors and calipers, lighter weight Wilwood components were called on for good reason: a single Super Duty brake rotor weighs more than a unit bearing hub, a Wilwood brake rotor, a Wilwood rotor hat, and a Wilwood caliper combined. |  A PSC-built Extreme Race/Prerunner...  A PSC-built Extreme Race/Prerunner steering box takes the place of the stock F-150 unit. The PSC steering box has a 1.625-inch sector shaft for durability and is powered by a PSC high-volume race pump mounted using PSC Windsor-block brackets. A PSC ram assist will be installed in the near future. The custom SBR pitman arm drives the passenger's side tie rod, and a centerlink. |
 It's always desirable to use...  It's always desirable to use mass-produced, readily-available hard parts as long as their performance is up to par. The SBR F-150 takes advantage of Currie-modified F-250/F-350 Super Duty unit bearings at all four corners..... |  .....The Super Duty unit bearings...  .....The Super Duty unit bearings can be changed out as a cartridge unit with only four bolts to mess with, and one spare bearing will work on any corner of the truck. This setup won King of the Hammers last year under Shannon Campbell's buggy, and is sure to garner equal accolades under the Sato Bros. F-150. |  This truck sits low, and yet...  This truck sits low, and yet has plenty of bump travel. Several tricks are responsible for making this work, one of which is the notched frame that allows the tie rod to clear the frame rail at full bump. To the left of the tie rod, you can see the single-swing idler arm that actuates the driver's side tie rod. The steering system is completely custom and was built by Keith and Tony. Another trick to better bump travel used on this truck is to "rake" the rear of the cab downward on the chassis. This effectively bumps the rear of the frame upward and creates extra bump travel in the rear suspension. |
 Between the full-floating...  Between the full-floating Currie rear hubs, you'll find a Currie Enterprises C-MAC Ford 9-inch housing. Currie no longer makes the C-MAC, but there's a replacement product in the works that will make its way under this truck once available. The four-link pivot points were laid out by James Hall of James Gang Racing, who was responsible for the initial buildup of the truck for Casey Currie. Inside the housing there's a Currie 9+ race case, a 9+ pinion support, a spool, and a billet steel 1350-series yoke. 35-spline axles rendered in 300M material connect the spool with the floater hubs. OC Driveline built the drive shaft. |  Three-inch diameter Currie...  Three-inch diameter Currie Johnny Joints were welded in place on the end of the radius arms. The Johnny Joints use urethane bushings to encase the heat-treated ball center, so they run quietly and are shock absorbent. An added benefit is that the urethane bushings are inexpensive to replace when they're worn. The Johnny Joint urethane bushings on this truck are holding up great. The first set has yet to wear out. |  The originally-installed door...  The originally-installed door bars were removed in favor of this ultra-strong setup, and the cab 'cage's strength was augmented by adding a few 'cage-to-frame tie-ins. To keep heat and fumes out of the cab, sheet metal patches seal the holes made during the 'cage work. The Sato brothers have added a lot more tubing to the original cage (witness the mix of blue-painted tubing with the yet-unpainted new tubing) and plan to add even more reinforcement tubes in the near future. |
 James Hall determined the...  James Hall determined the pivot locations, but the Sato Brothers were the ones to fabricate the mounts on the axle when they installed the C-MAC. That's some expertly-executed TIG work. |  Seventeen-inch Robby Gordon...  Seventeen-inch Robby Gordon beadlock wheels wrapped with 37-inch Goodyear MT/R's are a tough, proven combination. You can see a Wilwood Dynalite caliper to the left of the Currie floater hub. SBR plans to swap the Dynalites out for a pair of Wilwood Superlite calipers and Wilwood GT-series rotors identical to the ones used up front. That way, stopping power will be a little better, and the front and rear calipers and rotors will be interchangeable. |  If this truck looks wide,...  If this truck looks wide, that's because it is. It's also very stable in the corners. The rear-mounted spare is easy to get to during tire changes. |
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