LIHU‘E — The 1931 Ford coupe has been in parades, but this week, it is scheduled to be in a hotel lobby. Myron Lindsey of the Aston Kaua‘i Beach at Maka‘iwa has arranged for Harvey Maeda’s 1931 Ford 5-window coupe
LIHU‘E — The 1931 Ford coupe has been in parades, but this week, it is scheduled to be in a hotel lobby.
Myron Lindsey of the Aston Kaua‘i Beach at Maka‘iwa has arranged for Harvey Maeda’s 1931 Ford 5-window coupe classic car to be on display at the Waipouli resort as a promotion for the hotel’s upcoming tribute to the 50’s weekend, Feb. 13-14.
“Having the car at the hotel is a tribute to the auto industry in Hawai‘i as well as giving people a throwback to the 50’s era,” Lindsey said in a voice mail. Lindsey became familiar with Maeda through Debbie Lindsey, principal of Koloa School where Maeda’s daughter works.
Lindsey said the hotel is planning a car show featuring some of Kaua‘i’s cars, a sock hop, and since Sunday is Valentine’s, special weekend rates so people can enjoy Valentine’s brunch prepared by Chef Rafael Camarillo.
“The car has been in parades, but I think it’s the first time it’s going to be in a hotel lobby,” Maeda said. “I don’t know how it’s going to work, but we’ll see.”
Maeda said the classic 1931 Ford has been an ongoing project since he acquired it about three years ago from Illinois.
“The only reason I got it was because it was so clean,” the Lihu‘e classic car collector said. “It didn’t even have a ripple. It was clean.”
Maeda of the Kaua‘i Classic Car group explained the difference between a classic car and a vintage car.
“With a classic car, we keep the original equipment of the body on the outside, but things get modified on the interior and engine,” Maeda said. “With a vintage car, everything is original equipment.”
Since its acquisition, Maeda said the 5-window coupe with a rumble seat has had its engine swapped for a Chevrolet 327-cu. in. V8 with Tri Power Carburators coupled to a 350 Turbo Hydro-Matic transmission.
“The car was clean, but I put in a lot of cosmetic work on it,” he said. “The chroming of various engine components, the reworking of the dash that now has wood inlays, there was some work put on it. It even has air conditioning.”
Maeda said one of the features of the coupe was the rolldown rear window, a feature he labels “the mother-in-law” seat, enabling the front compartment passengers to communicate with riders in the rumble seat.
“If there is too much talk, you can just roll up the window from behind the rear seat,” he said.
Maeda said there are about 50 active member in the Kaua‘i Classic Cars group where he serves as events and shows coordinator.
Richard Aki is the group’s president, Alan Hiranaka serves as vice president, Bobby Paik is the treasurer and Gilbert Nobriga is the secretary.
“This group has been in existence since 1991, started by Squeaky Sugitan who got the guys together so they could enjoy and talk about classic cars,” Maeda said. “Eventually, Squeaky moved to Arizona, but he was the one who started the group and we continue to get together to talk about the cars.”
In addition to the 1931 Ford, Maeda said his collection includes five other classic cars, including several that have yet to debut in parades and events.
Among his collection are a 1970 El Camino muscle car, a 1968 Camaro muscle car, a 1957 Corvette featuring an all-1996 Corvette running suspension system, a 1955 Chevy and a 1957 Corvette that still has its original fuel injection system.
“It’s a good thing I built the extra garage,” Maeda said. “I was running out of space to keep them.”
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
