Just after finishing the interview for this article, Teddy Perreira said as he walked away, “The one thing I got to say is, I’m very proud of my ‘64 Chevy Nova SS because I put it together myself.” Perreira’s car
Just after finishing the interview for this article, Teddy Perreira said as he walked away, “The one thing I got to say is, I’m very proud of my ‘64 Chevy Nova SS because I put it together myself.”
Perreira’s car certainly is a work of love and it seems to express that value both visually and audibly.
When Perreira was a young man, he took automotive classes at Waimea High School and worked on cars, but would never say that he was the best at it. Back then, his grandfather owned a very reliable 1962 four-door six-cylinder Nova, and this is probably the main reason why Perreira decided to one day drive a Nova SS.
A couple of years back, Perreira owned a Harley Davidson, but his wife would only ride with him on special occasions. Other than that, she never liked to ride the bike all that much, so Perreira decided to sell the it and get a car.
Around the time he decided to sell the Harley he learned of a guy from Hanama‘ulu who owned a 1964 Chevy Nova and was interested in owning a Harley.
So Perreira drove to Hanama‘ulu to see the Nova and discovered it was totally stripped down and in pieces on the garage floor.
When the owner of the SS mentioned that he was looking to buy a Harley Perreira suggested they work out a deal.
“So he came over my house,” Perreira said, “and saw my bike and said, ‘Yeah, let’s make it a straight swap.’”
When Perreira’s dad found out he had exchanged the Harley for a car all in pieces he said, “Son, what you doing? You get one bike dat da guy had ride home with, and you get one car you no can run.”
Perreira’s replied, “No worries Dad, by da time I get da cah finish, going be five times dat bike.”
Teddy’s cousin, Paul Silva, offered him some good advice, “Teddy, when you going do um, do um good one time, since you get everything apart.” Silva was also immensely helpful when answering questions for his cousin, whenever Perreira hit a snag on the SS restoration.
Armed with all those years of vocational training, Perreira changed everything on his newly acquired Nova, including the original motor, which he felt was too “hyped” up for the road.
Right after he finished painting the Nova’s interior Perreira dropped in the 350 Chevy engine his cousin Paul built for him. Perreira also installed his own custom upholstery, replaced the glass all the way around and “went off” on adding chrome to his newly restored SS.
He swapped out the four-speed Muncie for a 700 R4 automatic transmission figuring that one day his wife would eventually want to drive the Nova.
Perreira looked up thoughtfully and said, “Yeah, if it wasn’t for my wife’s support in agreeing with me and dishing out da money and all da swears she give me, I nevah could have done it.”
When Perreira finally finished restoring his car the first thing his wife Lynn said was, “So Honey, when we goin’ cruisin’?”
Without a missing a beat Perreira gave her a wink and replied, “O.K. Honey, as soon as you put da gas in it.”
Anyone wishing to share their classic auto may find out more information by calling Richard Aki at 482-0688 or Harvey Maeda at 651-2813 or e-mailing harveyskoi@juno.com
Watch video footage of this classic 1961 Chevy Impala in action as part of The Garden Island’s recurring series on Kaua‘i’s Classic Car Club and check back each week for a new classic.
