One day shortly after Alan Hironaka graduated from high school, his dad said, “I have a friend that wants to sell a car. Let’s go take a look.” Hironaka’s father was a mechanic and seemed to have an endless source
One day shortly after Alan Hironaka graduated from high school, his dad said, “I have a friend that wants to sell a car. Let’s go take a look.” Hironaka’s father was a mechanic and seemed to have an endless source of leads on available cars for sale.
When they arrived at the yard of his father’s friend, Alan was greeted by a 1969 Plymouth GTX with a 440 cubic inch big block Super Commando V8.
It didn’t take long between the look-see and a friendly handshake before Hironaka and his dad found themselves driving away in a Detroit muscle car at a yard sale bargain price of $150.
After giving the GTX a thorough mechanical going over, Hironaka and a good friend added a black diamond tuck interior and his cousin painted a flashy but classy gold paint job.
This became Hironaka’s first classic car, and after driving his GTX around town he soon learned the value of working for his father at the Kapa‘a Super Service gas station in Wailua.
Even though gas prices back then were nothing like they are today, the cost of running a high-test petrol-slurping Detroit Super Commando V8 could easily send a brain freeze directly to your wallet.
As the years passed by, Alan Hironaka moved through a succession of other cars until 10 years back when he ran across a 1957 Chevy Bel Air in excellent condition.
He called up the owner only to discover that one of his good friends had just beaten him to the sale of the black and chrome classic.
Not about to give up on his missed opportunity, Hironaka called up his friend to inform him that he was still interested in buying the Bel Air should the friend ever get tired of owning it.
The guy agreed to call him if he ever decided to part with the ‘57 Chevy.
Fortunately for Hironaka, his old friend decided to make a few improvements to the ’57 that became beneficial to him later, including, dropping in a brand new small block engine and adding a cam.
The owner gradually chose to make the ‘57 a weekend warrior, driven mostly on sunny days, keeping the Chevy clean and mean for the next owner.
Ten years passed and Hironaka finally got the call he had been waiting for. After some smooth and friendly negotiations, Hironaka acquired his dream car and continues to make improvements as each month goes by.
“I’ve got a living room full of parts and accessories that need to be installed whenever I can find the time because this is an ongoing work-in-progress,” he said.
Hironaka has owned his classic Bel Air for two years now and has no plans to sell it.
Hironaka added that his 1957 Chevy Bel Air along with many other classic cars from the Kaua‘i Classic Car Club will be displayed on Saturday, July 25, at the Koloa Plantation Day parade.
To view a short video of Alan Hironaka’s 1957 Chevy Bel Air, click on the “TGI video” link at kauaiworld.com.
Watch video
footage online
of this classic 1957 Chevy Bel Air 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.
• Leo DuBois, contributor, can be reached via news editor Nathan Eagle at 245-3681 (ext. 227) or via e-mail at neagle@kauaipubco.com
