SP Rides: ‘Cream’ of the Crop
BY MICHAEL KITCHENS
Year, make, model: 1936 Chevrolet 5-Window Coupe
Owner: Spike Hokoana
Age: 56
Occupation: Mechanic
Hobbies: Dirt biking, hot rods
Color: Creamsicle orange
Engine: 396 V8 with torque converter, new transmission
Exterior: Flame paint job, billet and chrome grille, headlights, rear tails
Interior: Custom upholstered interior, bucket seats, cold air conditioning, billet steering wheel and shift knob
Wheels/brakes/tires: 15-inch Budnik Wheels in front, 17-inch in the rear with Hoosier Pro Streets
Spike Hokoana was 12 years old when he picked up his first Volkswagen — a 1965 Beetle. Since then he’s owned an extreme amount of them. We’re talking from a 1959 Bug all the way up to a 1974 Karmann Ghia. He’s a fan, which may make you wonder why this week’s Street Pulse Ride is a 1936 Chevrolet 5-Window Coupe.
You’d expect it to be another Bug and rightly so. In fact, he was building a “baby window” at the time. A year earlier he had spoken to a friend, Jason, about this Chevy coupe. They just happened to speak again and that’s when it happened.
“He was losing interest, so I went down to his house, he brought it out, started it up, I looked it over, inside, outside and asked him how much,” Hokoana said. “But I thought you were a VW guy?” said Jason. “I like the car,” was Hokoana’s response.
It was absolutely classic. What drew Hokoana to the car was its overall niceness and the value it would hold. This 1936 needed some work to get it to where Hokoana wanted it to be. It is vibrant with a delicious Creamsicle-colored paint job — complete with the traditional flame-work on the driver and passenger side. Chrome accents such as the gorgeous grille, headlights, and shiny trim are highlights throughout the build. You can clearly see the dual radiator fans through the front grille. To protect the front during cruises, Hokoana had a custom front bra created specifically for this car.
It carries a big block 396 that has been refreshed and is in good working order.
“It’s nothing special, but it’s got cold AC and it runs good now,” Hokoana explained.
Popping open the dual hoods reveals the well maintained V8 amid the traditional gear. Hokoana has done quite a bit of work, including the transmission, a new torque converter, the air conditioning and a number of other modifications.
A mainland shop has lovingly upholstered the interior and rear trunk. The seats have been replaced with comfortable buckets while portions of the doors and interior components have been reupholstered in tan and dark tan colors.
The wheels are Budnik Wheels with 15s in the front and 17s in the back. These wheels aren’t too extreme but they’re high quality — and high dollar. They’re clad in Hoosier Pro Street rubber and they’re certainly pretty to look at.
All in all, this is a gorgeous vehicle. Hokoana has loved cars since he was a kid. The friends and camaraderie make it all worthwhile. Everyone helps each other, and Hokoana considers it the way to go. He’s met a lot of friends, even international ones. They often cruise Waikiki and park in the second to last cutout, which provides the opportunity to meet people from all over the world — Japan, Australia, New Zealand and even Africa — who happen to have their own American hot rods.
Being an auto enthusiast means you’re part of a worldwide community in so many ways. Hokoana is happy to soak it up.
