Just What A ’68 Mustang Needed

Dear Pamela,

I just want to give a shout out to a great family-owned company, Pearl City Transmission. Before moving back home to Hawaii from the Mainland, I shipped my pride and joy, a 1968 Ford Mustang convertible that has been in the family since 1974.

After coming home from work one day I noticed there was a serious leak in my transmission line. I started doing my research on the Internet to see which were the trusted shops on Island (a good two hours).

Reading some of the horror stories posted, it seemed like it was going to be a crap shoot on selecting a transmission shop. That’s when I saw the ad for Pearl City Transmission. I began looking into their operation and read a few past postings and decided to give them a ring. After talking with Ian, the general manager/owner, we agreed to have my car towed to the shop. When I arrived at Pearl City Transmission I noticed my car was moved inside to protect it from the weather even though they weren’t going to get to it until the next day.

The team actually fabricated a return cooling line needed so I wouldn’t have to wait seven days to get it from the Mainland. They also fixed a seal leak from another line that two other shops on the Mainland missed.

Ian and his son both test-drove my car to see if they could confirm my story about my trans running hot and showing high levels, like double what it should have been reading. They got back to me and explained the problem.

Their technician flushed the system (first time in 44 years) and cleared up the problem. On top of all that, the trans was slipping a little and Ian made some minor adjustments to repair the problem. To make a long story longer, I received excellent service and a fair price with some great fix-it-yourself tips. Thanks again to Pearl City Transmission, a true kamaaina shop!

Rich Trundy, Pacific Energy Consulting Group

Dear Rich,

Pearl City Transmission owner Ian Nakashima says he’s a classic car freak himself and appreciates when people take care of their vehicles. “When he came in I explained those cooler lines were no longer available, so my son John and I made them ourselves,” he says. “This is the second time I’ve been mentioned in APPLAUSE. Even today people remember the first letter, and it was years and years ago.”