Retired 13 years ago. Don't miss it a bit. Spent a lot of time on the various islands doing Overhead line work. Probably a total of 4-5 months.My wife and I have also been on vacation there several times as well as the Cruise Paradise car event. I really enjoy it there but don't think I could live there long term. Know folks that went there and worked there for 30+ years and retired back to the mainland. It's not for everybody. I think if I did my choice would be the big island.
A buddy of mine has a place in Nicaragua. Every bit as beautiful and a fraction of the cost. Kinda not the place for a cool ride though. Most travel by cart pulled by some sort of animal or small motorcycle or scooter. Might be worth the trade off.
Wish I had retired about three years before I did.. All I can say when you do retire you want no debt staring you in the face. If you do go to Hawaii you can figure that you will have visitors on a somewhat regular basis and a back seat that holds two or three passengers is a must on a rod if you don't have a late model people hauler as a second vehicle. No odd ball wear parts on the rod. If you can't get on the net and find the part from several sources and have to go to a single source to get said part you probably don't want that part. It's one thing to plan on doing a brake job and order the parts from the mainland a month in advance or plan a clutch rebuild and do the same but if you have an odd ball throw out bearing that a little shop in Ohio puts together with the bearing from this and the collar from that after they machined the collar to work with your transmission and clutch combination that would be a real pain in the ass if the bearing went out and you had to wait until they made one for you. Standard Ford or any other brand of parts you shouldn't have that problem though. It's just knowing who to call or email to get the part if it isn't available locally.
I was gonna bring it up but you beat me to it! I can see it now, HAMB Drags Hawaii https://www.dragracekauai.com/
This might offend the rules but since you are the boss, get a Tesla. Long distance travel is not an issue on an island. Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Reality check........... Its nice to speculate about what you want to have and drive when you retire to Hawaii, but there are a lot of things to consider about how it might be possible. First, it isn't likely that you are going to have a large variety of cars to choose from in Hawaii. If you plan on building a car once you move there, the shipping costs will be a major consideration for anything you construct. Most likely the best choice is to build the car you want and have it shipped to Hawaii. While crusing about in Hawaii's near perfect climate, its tempting to consider something like a roadster of some type. Probably a roadster pickup would be a consideration, but if you do that.....yer gonna want a top of some kind because old skin and the sunshine are no longer compatible. You most likely will be limited to two cars, possibly 3. Yer gonna want a pickup of some kind. (47-57 Chevy/Ford) After that the choice becomes how practicle is a coupe/sedan/roadster of some kind. If I were gonna do the roadster thing, I would look at a Dearborn Duece because it has a top that can be put up easily and the windows actually seal with crank up windows so you can air condition it. Yes its not perfect traditionally but they sure are nice to drive. Then if a third car is viable, get something practicle. You could get a Ferrari like Magnum drove.........
My sick humor not directed at anyone particular person! " The phrase 'no man is an island' expresses the idea that human beings do badly when isolated from others and need to be part of a community in order to thrive. John Donne"
Well, since I don't dive but Hawaii has some great mountain biking I would put a panel or wagon to use.
How about that 38 ford coupe? That car is what brought me here, and made me decide to do mine in more of a traditional way. Btw any news on that one?
I was contemplating retirement...until I went to Vegas this last weekend. Damn it! Guess I'll work a bit more. Go Zags!
Man you already have the perfect hot rod! I don't care if you are in Hawaii or on Mars. Before I gave up this Coupe I would give up Diving.
Hawaii is the dream vacation spot. For retirement it seem ok if you got lots of cash, things aren’t cheap and you can always catch a plane to elsewhere when you get bored. For most retirees, more reasonably priced locals with lower costs of living seem more attractive. Costa Rica and Guadalajara come to mind. Then again parts of Arizona and Florida seem attractive for the same financial reasons. For cheaper still, as the Ozzys and Kiwis do, there is Indonesia. But hey, enjoy !
retired when I was 47 now 71 going great, have been to the last 10 LARS coming over again in April for 6 weeks
Retiring,just dose not always happen as planned or when. Hope it dose for most.! Life gets in the way,good an bad. 2001 my wife had a bad stroke an is still in a wheelchair an talk is hard,could of been the end,but was not. God bless us all. All the same at that point,two of us holding jobs,became zero of us. No your never ready for that crap an find away to take care of her an some how not go crazy,some help from family is great.. Lots of stuff is a must to be done. But keep your own brain going right a must too,a big help is falling back on things we love to do if we can. After some time,I did a very slow super low $ restore of my old hot rod. It helped a lot. If you can,have a little bit of a plan,just in case,an remember to take a little time to do what gives you a smile about something. A get together with fellow hot rodders an racers for a short time now an then works for me! Passing along an idea or a how too,is a feel good also,when it helps others. ! Thanks
I too think of retiring in about 10 years. Very unlikely that I will spend time in Hawaii or surfing. But if I did, I would want something like this.
My 2 cents worth: I lived on Maui from 1994 to 2008. Never expected to leave until my adult children moved to Texas for an affordable life, primarily driven by Hawaii real estate cost. We now live in Lubbock Texas and enjoy our grandchildren almost daily. RUST WORM loves salt air! When I lived in Calgary Alberta Canada the salt on winter roads ate the lower body. I still have my 1956 Chev Beauville 9 passenger station wagon to prove that. I took it to Maui and watched the salt in the air condense inside the upper parts of body and rust the roof! I still have her, and brought her to Texas. One of these days we will tackle rust "high n low". Seems car guys with deep pockets along California coast have special garages sealed n environmentaly controlled which would be worth duplicating. While on Maui I bought a 1948 Chevrolet canopy express which a surfer had bought in Missouri and brought to Maui. Canopy Express is very practical hauling surf or dive gear. My wife bought a 1937 Chev pickup with a 327 which a fellow bought in Oregon. Moving to the mainland meant shipping 9 old HAMB friendly vehicles via Matson Ship Line @ $1,000 each. Which gets them to the coast. Long Beach in my case. 1 more car I promise, Rex Winter Dry n windy Lubbock TX
I have a 36' sailboat with 5 partners moored at the Ala Wai boat harbor in Honolulu that we take turns staying at. If no ones there we rent it like an Air BnB. I have an iron head Sportster for transportation. Probably wouldn't work for Ryan cause you can't carry a lot of shit on it but it works well for us. Also, except for the Big Island, there are enough roads to cruise.
Hey R, Everything that is metal, chrome, sometimes low buck, stainless steel rusts on the coast in So Cal. That is a penalty for being right on the sand and water. But, for the people who hate rust, if one lives up in the coastal hills about a 1/2 mile up, then the homes are above the "rust belt." We had a house with a car port and a good coat of wax was all that was needed for protection on our 1940 sedan delivery. It was strange, but some days, we could see the fog/mist hovering on Coast Highway and the beaches down below and we were in the sunlight with everyone else in that portion of the back, hilly area, above the "rust belt." When we lived right on the sand, everything that was metal, rusted or started to rust. Waxing them helped, but it was an on going process. Everyday, moisture of some kind floated around in the air and caused damage to bicycles, motorcycles, and cars that were not parked in the normal garages. But, if they were sealed, (garages are built with open air circulation screens and openings.) that would have helped. Some mornings, we all have had cars parked outside and moisture gets all over. But, along the beach level, there is a crust of salt on the finishes of the cars. Even when we went to the local surf spots, if the fog moved in and the afternoon became misty, there was a fine layer of salt on our cars. So Cal as do other beachfront places all have that salt air moisture as a fact of life. As we are all aware: Neil Young brought a quote to life: “Rust Never Sleeps…” In Kauai, we were at sea level and the salt air was all around us. But, since it rained most of the time. It seemed that the fresh water pushed the salt air down and out. I am sure it was there, but the rain just seemed like a bucket of clean water rinsing everything. For the month we stayed at our friend’s house, we did wax the Rambler twice and several metal lamps that were inside of the house. Jnaki In So Cal and elsewhere on the coastline, there are homes up in the coastal hills. Above the “salt air rust line.” But, the jungle is so dense in Kauai that we did not see many homes or developments up in the hills. The high cliffs surrounding the Hanalei area was not high enough to be out of the salt air environment. So, people just deal with it. Wax helps, but it is more upkeep than living in the non-rust developing areas higher up in elevation. Speaking of sailboats, that is one thing that is a total, on going job. Despite the abundance of stainless steel fittings, lines, brackets, clips, and other items for sailboats only, they all rust as they are exposed to the salt air everyday and night. If one goes sailing, the whole boat gets its coating of salt on everything. So, for those that don't wash the salt air coating off of the whole boat and its abundant stainless steel parts, it is a guarantee that the next time you go to the sailboat/powerboat, there will be rust. Lots of wax, constant upkeep and washings help, but do not prevent it. Rust will creep into the smallest thread or joints, too. Hot rods don't sit on the salt water, but living on/in a coastal environment so close to the ocean causes time to think about a defensive strategy.
Hello, With our mind set focusing on what our families will be doing for the next several months, the funny mind wanders to past experiences to keep the noggin healthy and functioning well. Retirement? Maybe for some, it might come earlier than expected. Many people see Hawaii as a place to visit, move to or get a second house for a vacation spot or just wander around on the many trips to the “tropical paradise.” Back in our history, our friends decided to build a couple houses for a vacation home. After several years of vacationing there, they finally made the permanent move. Then they had the wonderful idea of starting a construction business, since they designed, planned, procured the necessary wood and stuff to create their own version of a tropical vacation house. The following years became successful and now they were/are permanent residents of Hanalei on the North shore of Kauai. Finding another set of photos from a different folder brought out what we considered a normal day. When we were in Hanalei for a month one summer, is was a beautiful spot with views all around. The scenery was top notch. It started our with the sun coming in our window and then while we were eating breakfast, the rains started pouring. It was not So Cal rain or even the Midwest power rains, it was just a thick, drenching rain that filled up streets, grassy lots and it all ran toward the ocean. We were marveling at the sight and decided that IF the rains stopped, we would go to the beach just around the big bay frontage. So within an hour or so, the rains stopped, the sun blasted it tropical heat and the moisture was like taking another shower. The wettest spot in the world peaked its views out for all to see. The skies were the brightest blue you can imagine. It was paradise. So, we gathered our stuff and made it to this calm white sand beach just down the street from our friend’s houses. The sand was endless and the water was warm and clear. It was quite shallow for quite a ways out. This is what plenty of people see as the true Hawaii, warm sun, warm water, white sand and the beautiful views all around. Jnaki Guess what was now, coming our way within another hour? Paradise? Temperamental to say the least… Since we were already wet from dabbling in the shallow water and hiding in the shaded tree/rocky area, we just let the rain pour on us. We were dry within an hour. But one thing we did notice, “RUST NEVER SLEEPS…”
when i was gettin' "short" at my job, i probably figured out on a daily basis how much time i had to go. my company had been taken over by some very dishonorable people...
The Jalopy Journal
