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Posted:
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
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Rodney and Pauline are original members of the Wanderers Car Club and make regular cruises from their home in Ewa Beach to scenic
points around Oahu such as Maunalua Bay Beach Park in Hawaii Kai. |
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Rodney's
`46 Hauler
Ewa Beach,
Hawaii.
By
Hui K. Aloha
Honolulu
Streets Magazine.
Photos: Mike Owens /
Rodney Rodrigues
f
you were one of the
fortunate ones to grow up when Andy's Drive-in was the hot spot for
street rods in Kailua on Oneawa St., then you probably could relate
very well to Rodney Rodrigues.
As a youngster Rodney would hele over to Andy's and hang out with all the older guys who owned hot rods and customs. It wasn't long before he got the bug thinking one day he'd own a chopped `50 Merc. Well things happen and getting that Merc didn't, but part of his entourage of previously owned cars included a hand full of street rods, street machines and 4-wheelers that were all nothing less than cool.
There was a `58 Chevy, a 1973 Plymouth Duster and several Jeeps varying in color parked in his driveway at one time or another but none of them could ever compare to his bright red chopped `46 Ford Pickup.
Rodney's Hauler was originally built into a street rod in the bay area of California when he purchased it in 2000. "My wife Pauline and I found the `46
Ford truck and it has really been a great truck ever since."
Says Rodney.
Its heart beats strong with a perky 455 Buick engine pumped-up once in a while by a Nitrous Oxide System and the transmission is a smooth shifting GM automatic turbo 400.
Keeping it apart from being just your average vintage truck, custom additions, such as an AC unit that blows ice-cold air and power windows to boot, keep Rodney and Pauline cool on those balmy Hawaiian days. And of course letting Rodney know what's happening up front at a glance are a set of Ford Masterpiece gauges perfectly fitted into the dash. A Buick Regal tilt steering column has also been added in the cockpit for comfort on those long cruises around the Island.
When you're not lookin at those `48 Ford truck rear fenders wondering why there's just something about Rodney's truck that looks really neat, the deep rich brown solid Koa wood bedliner will get your attention quickly.
Rollin on
sometimes-uneven asphalt is kept level and looking good with a set of extremely shiny Cragar series 54 ss/t wheels wrapped in Dunlop GT rubber.
While Rodney's `46 seemingly stands out above the rest, he enjoys cruising with other fellow street rodders. "My wife and I are original members of the Wanderers Car Club, and enjoy our time cruising and hanging out with other Wanderers and the rest of the hot rodding people on
Oahu." Said Rodney in an email to Honolulu Streets.
You wouldn't want to carry any greasy engine parts in the bed but a picnic basket full of goodies and a beach blanket for the next cruise is just what Rodney's hauler is all about.
Click on ANY picture for a bigger view.
 Watch
for The Hawaiian Rat Rod
Build Up Part 3, It gets fired up.
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