Welcome back to The Chronicles coverage of the 2012 Blox Open House. Today we’re gonna take a look at part 2 of what is looking to be about three parts. I did a long run down yesterday of my entire trip up north but today I’m gonna give you guys my personal thoughts on the event itself…

The Blox Meet was umm…well, a learning experience I guess you can say. I went into it not knowing anything about the meet other than the photos I saw online from the previous years. Norcal guys were talking about it like it was the second biggest event up there and I think it lived up to its name. The turn-out was pretty good for a “meet”. I think they said it was over 450 cars in a pretty decently large spot. I ended up getting there super early so I got a chance to see the whole roll-in and set-up process and I was happy with what I saw. Everything went very smoothly from what I witnessed and nobody seemed to have any problems getting into the venue…

The quality of cars was 50/50. It is a “meet” after all so you can’t really expect the best of the best or anything but I guess you’re left with that feeling that you wished their were some better cars because they had awards for individual classes like a “car show”. It’s a free event though so people really shouldn’t complain. Having awards is a bonus but you can clearly see right away who is going to win the moment you walk through the gates. The snaggle-toothed ghetto baby mommas were pretty lame but it adds some comic relief, haha. You can’t blame the Blox people for that since they don’t control who comes in and out of their event…

My only real gripe with the event was how the cars were laid out. I understand that they wanted to maximize the space that they had but it would have been better if they angled the cars when they parked instead of parking them back to front like a regular parking lot. The cars then became kind of crammed together so it was hard to photograph them without having other cars in the shot. That and with people walking by, it just made things more crowded than they seemed. Hopefully next year they can try to space it out a little more and have the cars angle in. Then you can actually get a better look at the cars and photographers can get better shots. It’s not really a gripe though, more like a simple issue that can easily be fixed in the future…

I had a good time overall. It was kind of a drive for me but I don’t have any regrets about it. That and I basically got paid to be there so I really shouldn’t complain about anything, haha. We have so many events down here that the Blox meet would easily get lost in the mix down here in Socal. It’s a great event for Norcal because they don’t nearly have as many events as we do down here so they will always get a good turn-out and a nice mix of cars. I kind of get a feeling that they are trying to transition this event into a full on car show but if that does happen, it would be best served to stay in Norcal. There is just too much competition these days elsewhere and there honestly isn’t anything that stands out about the event that would make it recognizable to enthusiasts…

I like the idea of giving awards out and the fact that they have a diverse mix of cars. Organization was good as well but the lay-out itself can improve, but that just takes time…

Also, on another note, I know there may be a couple of you wondering where I stand on this whole “Skunk2/Blox” thing since I’ve been to the Blox Open House as well as the Skunk2 Unmeets. Well, I stand where I’ve always stood…over here in fucking Switzerland. I don’t really give a shit about all that hype concerning the beef with the two and I’ve heard the stories from both sides. I’m on my own side and I, as well as many of the people you see here on The Chronicles, would rather just be on the outside looking in and not be remotely involved in any of it. I could give a shit less really. I’m just here for cars and to go check out events and chill with friends. Whatever beef exists on their shit to deal with. I’m happy that they invited me to go attend their event and it was good to finally see what it was all about. I wish the best for them in the future and I hope this meet grows. On that note, let’s get going with the photos…

Two Civic from Norcal car crew, Bandits…

Jimmy Neitte’s K20 with individual throttle bodies and Neochrome horns…

Mike Trevino’s EG sedan… As stated yesterday, looking much better now that the Enkei NT03s are black… Larger Version Here (1400×933)

Mike’s K-swap with blue accents… Larger Version (1400×933)

Another shot of the Ziggybuilt F20C Integra… Larger Version (1400×933)

Shaved engine bay…hopefully they plan to raise the car when they actually drive it because you can see here that the oil pan is practically sitting on the floor… Larger Version (1400×933)

ATS Garage member Ben Huey’s turbocharged S2000…

Okada coils on Ben’s S2000…

Chris Sakai from ATS Garage’s multiple award-winning Civic build…

Dina Sakai’s J’s Racing-themed S2000 on Airrex suspension… Larger Version (1400×933)

ATS Anh’s Integra Type R…

Turbo JZA80 Supra owned by a friend of the ATS Garage guys…

While I was looking at this Evo, a guy comes up to me and asks me if I recognized him. I have a lot of strangers come up to me normally at events so I casually replied with a “no”. Turns out that this guy owned this Voltex Evo and I used to work with him in the early 2000s at Kragen Auto Parts. He was just a young kid then but I guess he joined the Air Force after Kragen and then built himself this really nice Evo. Pretty crazy to run into this guy after all these years….

The engine bay is pretty nice too with a host of ARC parts. It makes around 450hp or so and he even tracks the car occasionally. Back when I worked with him he barely learned how to drive a car, haha… crazy…

E46 BMW M3 on concave Volk Racing TE37s…

Loreto Garcia’s Civic that graced the cover of Super Street’s annual “Honda Issue” last year…

Genevieve Chanelle… Larger Version (1400×933)

JDM Drew’s “20Dolla R”…

The shell may have only cost $20 from an auction but the K-swap definitely wasn’t that cheap…

Gerald Reyes’ root beer DC2 on Work Equip 03…

Gerald’s gold-plated bay… Larger Version (1400×933)

Clean EF hatchback with a shaved engine bay that was parked with the rest of the Inspire-USA cars…

Slammed Lexus LS460…

Subaru STI with Gram Lights that look a little small for the flared body… Interesting also to have the bumper latch recessed into the fender/bumper….

This Evo X on Work S1Rs was definitely one of my favorite builds of the day…Really enjoyed the choice of mods and the little touches like laying a light coat of red over the carbon hood and Voltex wing to match the rest of the car…Nice work… Larger Version (1400×933)

Interior of the Evo X also had nice touches like the Bride fabric re-wrap…

Project Mu brakes all the way around on the Evo X…

Alexis Kobayashi… Larger Version (1400×933)

Really nice Zenki S14 on hot pink Gram Lights that I believe is female-owned… Larger Version (1400×933)

Beautiful R32 Skyline GTR on Volk Racing CE28s…

Another great Evo build that was at the Blox event was this brown Evo on teal Work Meister S1s… Not really sure how brown and teal go together but it certainly makes for a unique look… Larger Version (1400×933)

Model representing Team Rev that I am unsure the name of…

Laguna Seca Blue Evo with concave black TE37s…

Pretty clean brown DA Integra with a tucked bay on silver GAB Sport wheels…

I gotta get going so I’m just gonna cut it off here for today. There’s some more photos but it should only be one more part or so. Make sure you check out Part 1 if you missed it. I’ll include the link below…

Blox Open House 2012 Coverage…Part 1…