“Motor Imports purchased that SIATA,” says Hogan, “and we
got it just in time to prep it and race it in Hawaiian Speed Week
in 1957.” He raced the car himself and did quite well, so during
the dealership grand opening right after the race an impressed
spectator asked him for a ride.
“So I didn’t even ask anybody; I just grabbed the keys and
took him for a long 45-minute ride,” he reminisces, conceding
that he figured it might be his last chance in the car, especially if
he got fired for taking it.
“When we got back, the sales manager was walking up with
steam coming out of his ears, and before he could say anything,
Calvin Ching asks, ‘Are you the sales manager? Dan just took me
for a ride in this car and I want to buy it right now.’”
“I tried to buy the car in Hawaii on and off for ten years,” says
Kolodziejski. The car’s journey was a roundabout one once the
original buyer sold it, including being lien-sold due to its Florida
buyers failing to pay for their storage lot.
When he finally acquired the SIATA, Kolodziejski had the
perfect engine for it, an original 8V. And it’s one that has tons
of inherent value even outside the car, as a piece of automotive
history. According to Hagerty Insurance, the car is worth well
north of $1.5 million. But he says the engine alone may hold a
value of close to half-a-million dollars.
Kolodziejski and his wife, Arlene, have lived in Montecito for
around a year, having raised their kids in Pacific Palisades. A real
estate investor, he has done well enough to establish a collection
of Italian race cars from the 1950s.
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