SP Rides: Scoring ‘Points’ with a Buick Regal
BY MICHAEL KITCHENS
Name: Bill Akiona
Age: 43
Occupation: Owner of Bill’s Chop Shop
Hobbies: Lowriding, customization
Year/Make/Model: 1979 Buick Regal
Color: Bully Bron, and mixed by Mark from NAPA
Pinstriping: Manny’s Autoworks from LA
Hydraulics: 3 pumps, 8 batteries, Elite 200, Adex to nose
Special thanks go out to Kalani Wela, Boogie Tavares, Mike and Jarryd Ercanbrack, Rob Pedro and the Outsiders Car Club
Bill Akiona knows what it’s like to chase after something of value. He pursued this 1979 Buick Regal T-Top for about two years while it switched hands between several other people, biding his time. Finally, when he had the opportunity to purchase it, he jumped at the opportunity.
What made this Buick so valuable to Akiona? Born from the GM division, the Regal T-Top was positioned as a mid-sized luxury scale in 1973. But since that time, models from this line have been modified for drag racing, cruising and low riding.
Akiona, of course, has taken this Regal to another level. The car is capable of doing everything hydraulic lowriders are known for, hopping and jumping while being able to perform exotic stances such as a three-wheel pose. Naturally, getting a vehicle to this point takes a lot of of work and modification.
“We tore it apart, yanked everything,” explained Akiona. “I built this car because I could never have (one).”
In order to make the needed modifications to the suspension and route the hydraulics, the car had to be torn down and then rebuilt with a specific plan. Right out of the gate, eight enormous batteries had to be installed in order to power the three-pump setup. And wow, what a huge amount of power! During our photo shoot, for example, one of the solenoids actually failed, requiring a swap. While Akiona was trouble-shooting the problem, the batteries produced an extremely large spark that was loud and bright enough to make everyone jump back a few steps. Except for Akiona, that is, who remained quite calm during the brief “fireworks” show.
Lowrider jobs are known for the paint jobs, and this one doesn’t disappoint. The Zodiac brown/black paint is inlaid with pearls and detailed with gorgeous pin striping and custom paint that shines in varying shades of orange. Good friend “Boogz” was responsible the bodywork, while Akiona handled the House of Kolor orange patterns and the pin striping was finished by an LA artist, Manny, who was flown in specifically to handle some of the Outsider Car Club’s cars.
This street bully is dropped low on 72-spoke “chinas” that have been also color-matched to the orange theme. The interior is in great condition as well, and features the Outsider’s nameplate basked in more glow, thanks to the custom speaker setup directly underneath.
Akiona’s plan with this Regal was to score points with other car aficionados, who would appreciate this ride for being different. So, he appropriately named this hopper of a car “Brownie Points.”
