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Posted:
Wednesday, November 15, 2006 (10:47 AM HST)
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Other than the body itself, several pieces of the roadster had been protected from the elements while it did its two-year stretch resting against a fence near Punchbowl.
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Another
"A"
for Don Pierce
By
Elmo
Kekaa
Honolulu
Streets Magazine.
Photos: Don Pierce
HONOLULU
HI. — Just when Don Pierce of Honolulu started to enjoy his Hawaiian Rat Rod, he stumbled on another project. This time it's a 1930 Ford Model A roadster with a history full of identity issues.
Like a lot of old rods that somehow end-up being abandoned, this A-bone roadster was no exception either. And so it sat, swallowed
by neglect and disappointment while sitting against a fence outside a Punchbowl area home for at least two years before Don got wind of it.
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This photo taken back in June 06 show the wheel-wells had been cut-out from a previous owner. At some point in time there were plans to pro-street the roadster.
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Many of the details are a
little sketchy but the roadsters' timeline went something like this: Sometime in the late fifties it was owned by someone in Kalihi and then later spotted in early `60 cruising the streets of Waialae and Kaimuki. Perhaps once owned by Hawaii's famed hotrod builder at the time, Hi Ho Silva.
Between `68 to`76 the roadster sat in a Papakolea carport, hidden from sight until being torn apart and sold again. By then it went to a Dentist from Kailua rumored to have been bought under false pretences.
To his dismay, the Dentist thought it was a `32 Ford roadster. One of most sought after Fords by almost every hot rodder that ever lived. And by all accounts, from a hundred feet or so it would've fooled even the best of them into thinking it was a full-fendered deuce.
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A lot of the old bodywork had been done
with brass.
It seems that brazing was the choice of bodymen over
steel welding in Hawaii years ago. It's a difficult repair because conventional welding won't stick to brass.
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It's a common mistake made by novice rodders all too often and because how precise the roadster was setup, deuce frame, deuce front fenders and grill shell, at almost any distance, to an untrained eye it would be erroneous to think otherwise.
They say history repeats itself and it would've happened again if it weren't for Don's sharp akamai knowledge of vintage Ford tin.
What happened from here in all probability could only be considered as a stroke of just plain pure luck.
While parked next to a Punahou apartment complex in his bright yellow model A pickup, he caught the attention of a mobile mechanic doing a brake job in an adjacent parking lot.
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Photo taken August 06. Once Don got the roadster in his shop, he quickly added a deck lid, rear panel below and a chrome vintage license plate bracket. `39 teardrop taillights with
blue-dots and a steel `32 style dash were also some of the first things he went to work on.
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The mechanic, who shall remain nameless, walked over to Don and asked if he wanted to buy an old hot
rod `32 Ford roadster. His first instincts told him that in all likelihood it was far from being a deuce and the mechanic was probably mistaken about what he had.
After spending the better part of last year building his coupe, Don will easily admit that he did not want to take on another project. Nevertheless, in light of the price and other factors, how could anyone today pass up a chance to buy a deuce at a decent price?
While trying hard not to look overly anxious yet still consumed with doubts; he went to see the roadster.
When he got there, sure enough, at fifty feet from the rod his heart raced with excitement, his blood pressure shot up beyond normal ranges thinking, "it's a `32!" But as he got closer the distinguishing features of the model A quickly became apparent. The first and most obvious clue was the Model A firewall.
You'd think after he noticed it wasn't really a deuce he'd pass it up right? Wrong!
While Don inspected the roadster the mechanic began to unveil a number of extra `32 ford parts all fitted for the model A. At that point it didn't matter if the body had been a Volkswagen. The parts alone were
well worth it. Then, to top it all off Don spotted a solid brass NOS Duval windshield frame.
He said once he saw the frame, two cherry `32 front fenders and a useable deuce grill shell, compared to his coupe
(the Hawaiian Rat Rod) at least this one was intact and instantly knew that this was too good of a deal to let go.
So, for 1930 Model A Ford roadster that was built to look like a deuce and left a disappointing legacy with at least one of its previous owners, thanks to Don Pierce it will soon be worthy of a history that has yet to be written in the hotrod archives of Honolulu Streets.
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©2006
Honolulu Streets Magazine: All rights reserved.
This article may not be copied, published or reprinted
without the express written permission of Honolulu
Streets Magazine. |
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