Posted: Saturday, October 14, 2006 (10:44 AM HST)

Continued from Part Two.

Hawaiian Rat Rod Build Up – Three

Final edition;
The cold hard truth

By Elmo Kekaa
Honolulu Streets Magazine.

kay, so it's been a while, a whole year in fact since the Hawaiian Rat Rod segment has been updated. And we'll be the first to admit reporting about Don's progress is long overdue. Well, what we recently found out is that Don completed his coupe several months ago and has been using it, rain or shine, for daily transportation.

We also learned; from time to time Don finds true serenity from his hectic schedule by driving the Hawaiian Rat Rod to a cool spot somewhere on Oahu.

It could be a beach park or any place really, where the ocean meets sand and palm fronds flutter with the slightest breeze. Then, while sitting not far from the coupe on a bench, he can usually be seen reading some old back issue of Hot Rod magazine while gazing up now and then at the coupe.

He wont say it out loud but on those occasions at the park, under a deep blue Hawaiian sky reality sets in and he begins to feel pretty proud of his accom- plishment, and rightly so.

The cold hard truth is, not many guys could have put together a coupe that was in such bad condition as the Hawaiian Rat Rod was in. Additionally, there are very few who could stir-up enough determination to carry them through and overcome almost every kind of obstacle that was thrown in the mix.

Why should Don feel so proud of the Hawaiian Rat Rod? And what were those obstacles anyway?

What was never disclosed is the location and conditions of where the Hawaiian Rat Rod was being built.

See, Don's main job—when not acting in plays at Manoa Valley Theatre, singing with the Sounds of Aloha or going to acting classes—is a resident manager for a Waikiki hotel/condo. He makes sure the building stands without problems and is on-call 24-hrs. And amazingly enough in-between all else found time to build and complete a hardcore rat rod literally "under" conditions less than perfect.

Almost a year ago to date, centered in a paradise metropolis, twelve stories below a Waikiki building, in a hot, cramp, stuffy basement workshop, Don began to piece together what we affectionately now call the Hawaiian Rat Rod.

The humid conditions and high temperatures were so uncomfortable at times it would've been enough to destroy anyone's creativity. But the hotter and stuffier it got in his tidy, well-organized makeshift shop, the more Don sanded, grinded, welded, painted, fabricated and assembled every fragmented part of the coupe together.

Nonetheless, Don spent hours on the coupe, sometimes wanting to give up but as fast as that thought popped into his mind it quickly turned into inspiration, which carried him far into the night.

He admitted to his own surprise that there were also nights while working on the coupe he couldn't stop despite the lack of sleep, hunger and other human necessities.

Everyone needs a boost of encouragement once in a while but for a fatigued solitary hot rod builder it's hard to come by. Remarkably, hour after hour Don was able to go it alone, without any inspiring words from anyone other than his own driving will to finish the coupe and in a short time was able to succeed when most would have given up.

Click on any picture for a bigger view

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