July 20th, 2024 we had another installment of the “Wheels by the Waves” at Bellows Air Force Station, in Waimanalo, Hawai’i. We’ve slowly been increasing the number of Kei vehicles in attendance, and we’re having a good time! There’s a nice, covered lanai (porch, veranda) with lots of tables. During the event, the band Karaoke Stars plays a wide variety of tunes, and they invite people up to sing! Lots of fun to watch. There’s also food, drinks (and adult drinks!), and things to do inside. One of these times we'll get smart and bring some lawn chairs to hang out down by the vehicles. As much as I love the Karaoke Stars, my old-man ears, "enhanced" by tinnitus thanks to the USMC, can't hear crap other than the music when it's going. :) Ok, Andy. Enough blabbering (as usual!) - on to the photos!
First up, Joshua's KS4 (Subaru Sambar, 4WD Pickup). Besides having some bad-ass purple wheels, he's got lights (all of them), a friggin front bumper-mounted WINCH, a giant storage box, an overhead frame with awning that he can deploy, and even a cool Subaru storage box forward of the battery on the lower left (passenger) side. Joshua's vehicle isn't just for showing off the entire light and frame packages of some companies - he takes it offroad. He takes it offroad to Kaʻena Point. Kaʻena was the brother of Pele in Hawaiian mythology, and his name translates to "heat." The terrain out there gets to "not messing around" pretty quickly, and Joshua has said that as long as he has the ground clearance, he's fine! SUBARU STRONG!
Jeez, I didn't notice 'till now he's got not only the big awning on the driver's side, but the one at the front and rear of the whole "cage" thingy! ...not to mention, another awesome purple wheel.
The cool OEM Subaru storage box that I really want!
Bonus picture including Matt! He owns a couple of Kei vehicles - a Daihatsu Move, and a Subaru Vivio RX-R that we're going to pressure him into writing about on here at some point. It's got a cool history! ;) Oh! and a Honda Motocompo (tiny, fold-up electric scooter) that he takes on adventures all over O'ahu.)
Matt's (1996?) Daihatsu Move SR-XX. It's an auto-tragic, but Matt knows what he's doing when he has to "row his own." Be sure to check all the cool rear-window decals! Matt said that found the "momiji mark" (colloquially "紅葉マーク" or "autumn leaf mark") on the side of a road on Okinawa while he was stationed there. It is perfectly weathered - I kid, you can see what it's supposed to look like here. Next to him, my 1997 Subaru Sambar Super Deluxe Classic pickup (KS3, 5MT). Matt tries to bring the 90s back into his vehicles, and I think he's doing a good job, especially with those 3-spoke wheels! My favorite decal on his window says, "Low Power, High Spirits." Indeed my friend, indeed.
Other than Matt and myself, Tina and Doug Wekell showed up in their so-cool Daihatsu Atrai! Check out that cool double-glass sliding sunroof. They've customized the vehicle, including a new interior (very cool), and the really fun detail of a "whole mess of" stickers in the door / hatch jambs! Tina and Doug are super-duper humans. They're ending their military career here on O'ahu and are planning on staying! <happy heart>
Of course, there were non-kei vehicles, too! Major Chhen, the Commanding Officer of Bellows Air Force Station loves to see vehicles of all types out there! The first one with the yellow spoke wheels I'm pretty sure is a Ford Model A Coupe. That puts it in the 1927 - 1931 timeline, during which Ford produced a staggering 4,858,644 units of all styles. (Not only is the German component of my ancestry proud, but also the nerd side at such a precise figure!)
This is also a Model A, but I'm not rounded enough on early Fords to know which body style. Very, very cool though. The matte black finish + chrome is appropriately mean! Fenderless wheels... = the business.
I may be a 70s/80s kid, but I know a Ford flathead V-8 when I see one! Dressed up nicely with cool accents. Always love me a big 'ole blue oval badge.
My brain only knows this as a "Ford T-Bucket," which I know is doing it a disservice. Then again... I spy a Chevy Bowtie up front, so... call it what you will. I appreciate the color, chrome, and engineering that went into it though!
Cool kids like high-rise Edelbrock intakes!
I vaguely recall one of the guys saying that one of the T-buckets had 18" wide rear tires, and the other, 21". If I put all four of my 155mm tires together, we're wider! (at 14 7/16ths") :D
Up front, the blue T-bucket has a "Boyce MotoMeter," which was patented in 1912, and used through the 1920s to show engine operating temperature before the advent of the dash-mounted temperature gauge. (edit - it bothers me that I took what I consider such a "crap" photo where the focus was off!)
In the mid 1980s, American fast-food chain "Wendy's" had a commercial in which one of the people questions, "Where's the Beef?" - (one of the participants questions a rival chain's "bun growth.") In this case, the beef is right there, ma'am. Right. THERE.
What looks to be a set of Autometer gauges and some massive collectors from the air filters to the intake manifolds.
I don't know if it's "old school" chrome or Jet-Hot's "Classic Polish," but either way I am here for it, daddy-o!
Nice (Aussie?) guy brought his "just landed on island" Ford Tornio. Someone knowledge-check me here. Is that a 1969? All I know is the body was straight, the vinyl roof was tight, and she sounded good rollin' in! Love to see examples of what I think are just...absolutely gigantic, wasteful American cars from the 1960s and 1970s. <laughs in 658 cc> :D
Part of the beautiful view from the covered lanai of the "Reservations / Turtle Cove Building" (Bldg 220). (Inside there's food & drink, and adult bevvies, shuffle board and pool tables!) (Dear Bellows AFS, building needs a better name.)
Absolutely gorgeous VW Beetle I've seen show up at Bellows AFS a few times. I'm guessing a 1973 by the license plate, but I'm not sure. Inside and out, it's mint!
Karaoke Stars with a guest singer from the crowd.
<needle dragging across a record sound> Ok. Full stop. We need to talk about something here. The way people pronounce "Karaoke"(カラオケ)... is just fucking WRONG. Click the link. It's not "Karey-o-kee" or any goddamn mish-mash of some shit that you thought was even close to correct. Click the link. Pronounce it like that. Do the damn originating language (Japanese) some respect! Back to Karaoke Stars. The catalog of music that these guys can play is pretty dang deep. I give maximum points, plus another 10, to anyone who gets up to sing with a live band in front of a crowd of strangers! Maybe... one day. One day I will punish those in the audience with my screeching. One day.
Japanese vehicle representation. On the left is Major Chhen's Mitsubishi Evolution X, and everything to the right of that is right-hand-drive. ;) Maj Chhen does also own a Toyota Chaser, a JDM ("Japanese Domestic Market" if 'ya don't know) right-hand-drive sedan. I haven't seen that one yet, but Major says that they're both for sale as he's looking to mix things up and (gasp) go German for a while! From left to right, excluding the Major's Evo, we've got a Toyota HiAce - I think it's a H100 variant, but there were so many sub-variants that I'm not sure of the exact nomenclature. Next up is Tina & Doug's Daihatsu Atrai (turbo I think), Joshua's Sambar (KS4), Matt's Daihatsu Move SR-XX (L602), and some tall guy's Sambar Classic pickup (KS3).
This was after some JDM folks showed up, again from the lanai. The view? It definitely does NOT suck.
Interior of the HiAce. It's super plush compared to our Kei vehicles. Look at those curtains!
Some Japanese goodness, although they bolted pretty quick. :(
All-in-all, it was another successful outing to Bellows AFS. I can't thank the Commanding Officer, Major Chhen and the Bellows staff, military folks and civilian, for allowing us to come on for such a cool event.
Are you a civilian without base access? YOU CAN GO! Email andy@projekt-en07.com for details.
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