Wekfest East will forever go down as the event that I wish I had gone to in 2012. I didn’t attend the Import Alliance Summer Meet this year but to be perfectly honest with you, after seeing the photos and hearing stories, I didn’t feel like I really missed out on anything. The 2011 event was monumental for me and an event I’ll never forget but the Charlotte event just didn’t seem to have that same feel this time around. As I stated in my Tuner Evolution 2012 event coverage, Wekfest East would have been a great event to go out to because there were two events going on back-to-back and I think May and everyone else would  have liked to stay an extra couple of days to roam around New York. We went last year on vacation and had a great time there so it would have made for an epic trip if we could somehow tie in a trip with two events together. In any case, I’m not gonna cry about it, but I wish I would have planned everything out better so that I could have been there to experience it with the east coast enthusiasts…

Eric Badis came through once again and provided the photos for this event. We don’t chat on the regular or anything but I’m glad that he has some skills behind the camera and active on that coast. He’s attended a majority of the bigger events out there and has been kind enough to let me use his photos throughout 2012. Another incentive about having Eric cover these events for me is that he rolls with the EMOTION crew and they are one of the premier car clubs in the country. They always have great cars and Eric is always around them, capturing everything he sees…

The cars at Wekfest East this year looked amazing. I mean, I’m not gonna lie, I’ve always felt that the west has been a couple steps ahead of the rest of the country because the foundation for our U.S. scene was founded here. In my eyes, I’ve always felt that the cars out here were at the forefront of the industry. After seeing some of the cars at WEKEAST, I am confident in saying that the playing field has been leveled. Some of the cars out there had my jaws dropped, wanting to see more. I’ve been around a long time so I have a pretty good idea of what is a solid build and what needs some more work, even if its just at a glance, and wow…some of the cars out there are just sick. The Honda community I believe is still a year or two behind, in terms of quality and style of build, but the VIP scene, the Evos, Subarus, and Nissans are right up there with some of the best I’ve seen in 2012. I’m happy that Wekfest is touring the country because we now finally get to see what is out there. Some of these cars I had never even seen before online and were probably just lurking on local forums or in hiding. Events like this are the ones where the best of the best come out and I think WEKEAST was able to shine a very bright light on the East Coast/Midwest automotive community, even more so than IA this year or last. That is no knock on IA by any means, they are doing a wonderful job in their own right, but it’s cool to see that everyone is recognizing that the Wekfest series is the premier show in our industry right now and it brings out the best automotive builds throughout the country…

Again, I wasn’t there so I wish I had more insight on the event. This is just a perspective of someone who is on the outside looking in. It’s rare for me to say that because I try to be everywhere and be a part of everything, but yes, this time around, I’m looking on from an outsiders point of view. The event looked like a lot of fun and the cruise down Times Square, NYC, looked like a memorable experience for all who were there to witness it. Congrats to Wek’Sos and the Wekfest crew for pulling off one for the books…

All the credit in the world goes to Eric Badis for presenting the show through his eyes. Some of the photos came out dark so I tried to make some adjustments to them so that you can see the subject matter better. It’s always tough to shoot at indoors events like this and the venue looked to be darker in general compared to other indoor events I’ve seen this year. The fluorescent lighting inside cast all kinds of hot spots and odd reflections so it makes it tough for photogs, even with tripods because there is constant foot traffic…

Enjoy the photos, we’re looking at a quick two-part series for Eric’s WEKEAST coverage. Unless I find some other photosets that I’m satisfied with, this might be the only WEKEAST coverage you see here on The Chronicles… Thanks for looking…

Props go out to Eric for devouring this massive hotel breakfast the morning of the event. I try not to eat like this normally before an event because I know by mid-day I’m going to have the massive squirts. I don’t know how he did it but that’s a lot of bacon to eat before a 10-hour show…

A view from his room as guys began prepping for roll-in that morning of WEKEAST…

Lexus CT200h on black Enkei NT03s cruising up with a Sorcery widebody NSX from Team EMOTION… Can’t help but think of this shot from 2009 Nisei Showoff every time I look at this shot…

Happy that he got a shot of this Evo X on purple TE37s before the actual event started because the venue was pretty dark and it was hard to photograph this car…. Nice selection of parts by the way…

The rear of the Sorcery NSX… I believe his name is Brett from what I hear. Even if it isn’t let’s just assume his name is “Brett” because there are a couple of other shots of his car later and it’s better to call him “Brett” than “NSX stranger”…haha…

Never really seen anyone get wheels to match their plates before but whether or not it was intentional, these yellow TEs contrast well with the grey of this Lexus IS…

Side profile shot of “Brett’s” NSX… cool to see this because this was how Phaze2 Tony had wanted his NSX to look like back when he still had plans to continue building it. He wanted to get that NSX-R scoop, add a bigger wing, and he even considered getting those SSR Type-Fs at the time but he wasn’t happy with the sizing that they offered. This one came out great though and I’m sure it got a lot of attention at WEKEAST…

Mugen-themed TSX build wth Mugen CL7/9 front bumper and Mugen GP wheels…

Nissan GTR on BBS wheels…

Kiet Hong’s DC5 RSX from EMOTION. You probably remember this car more when it was painted a Candy Fuchsia color… Always been a big fan of this RSX and it is looking good with the new colorway…

Kiet’s Mugen MF10s and Endless brakes… In the background is Lester Bracero’s TSX….

Inside the venue we can see the EMOTION crew setting up their huge line-up of vehicles…

Nick Weir’s VW cab from SEEN IT! made the trip out from Chicago for WEKEAST… I don’t actually know if he lives in Chicago and I could have just made that shit up…If anything he is probably in that area or somewhere in the United States, whatever…

A couple more shots of “Brett’s” widebody NSX…

If I ever won the lottery or somehow inherited an old rich person, I’d like t own a Porsche Panamera… I love how they look and this is one on DPE wheels looks sick… I’d rock one of these all day…

This VIP-styled KB1 Acura RL looks interesting… I’m happy that these things are still very expensive and kids can’t throw stupid wheels on these and fuck up the fenders yet… Nice touch with the woodgrain-painted engine covers…

Blue Evo on polished Advan RS-Ds and some Voltex aero…

The white one next to it even had the Voltex front bumper and hood…

I wonder if the owner actually attempted to drive this Evo on the streets of Jersey with that front bumper on…. if so, his/her butthole was probably clinched pretty tight… Probably looked like a kid eating Sourpatch Kids for the first time…

Both rocking Voltex GT wings…

I know DPK David will appreciate this LS430 since he’s starting to gather some ideas for his own VIP LS build…

I had a feeling WEKEAST was going to bring out some really clean VW builds… I think they refer to themselves as “VAG” or “Volkswagen Audi Geselschaft” and not “Vag” like the ones we all like going in and out of…Bet you that’s not the first time you’ve heard that stupid ass joke, huh?… They actually have a lot of similarities; some are really clean and shaved while some smell funny inside and have a lot of miles. Oh come on it was right there…

Here’s a clean, bagged VW GTI…

Audi A3 wagon on gold CCW LM20s…

White on white Subaru BR-Z on Work Emotion XD-9s…

This GR-chassis Subaru STi was looking good on Volk TE37SLs…

Supercharged RSX from EMOTION with BackYard Special front bumper, INGS+1 sides and rear flare, on white Work XT7s…

Derek Covington’s custom widebody turbo S2000…

I believe he ended up winning the Best Honda award at WEKEAST… congrats to him for the achievement…

Nice execution of the engine bay with the turbo set-up and the clean shave/tuck…

Always been a big fan of the GP Sports “Chokets” front bumper on Daniel Sarmiento’s Evo 8…. One of the less common aero pieces that look good on a popular chassis…

Raymond Leung’s Evo X with bronze Work Meister S1Rs and Esprit rear spoiler… I like the utilization of the Esprit graphic on the side ala Esprit Japan demo vehicles…

S2000 on Volk CEs…

Perhaps the plate is a stab at other Subaru guys attempting a VIP-themed STi build or the guy just doesn’t like the VIP scene in general, I don’t know, haha…maybe the guy has a Vietnamese cousin named “VIP” that is funny or something…

Mini on BBS “Primadonna”-style wheels…

Spoon Sports-themed Integra Type R that I remember seeing from the IA Summer event…

Really liked this Mugen EK4-themed Civic build ever since I saw it at one of the earlier Import Alliance meets this year. One of the better examples of what the other coast has to offer… I remember the owner always has the gas lid popped to show off his Mugen gas cap. That shit better be glued on if he ever tries to come out to the west because somebody will gank that shit real quick…

Engine bay is nice and tidy… I like the relocated oil filter to the fire wall and the use of orange highlights, even on the stickers that cover the cracked shock towers… well-played sir…

Integra with Japanese ITR conversion and Mugen ITR front bumper… Can’t help but imagine how much better it would look without the green bay…Not a bad build by any means but the outside is so simple and there seems to be so much going on inside and under the hood. It lacks a consistent flow, if you catch my drift…

Clean TSX on Enkei NT03s…

S2000 with CR front lip and white TEs with custom wheel decals…

This Civic coupe is not bad but the color combo always makes me think of a squash vegetable…Body is straight and everything but the colors throw it off as well as the old school Work Ewings.. Wheels belong on an older car but to each their own…There’s nothing wrong with trying something different…

Really nice job on the engine bay…

Chivas from Lowballers/Royal Origin’s east coast counterpart…haha… Orange coupe on Dunlop Formula Harts…

Turbo FG2 Civic coupe? Supercharged? On meth?…haha.. just kidding, I don’t know enough about this coupe to tell you anything about it…

350Z from “Stupid Fresh” on Work VS-XX wheels…the blue is so bright I think it burned into my monitor…

A pair of VIP-themed 2GSs…one of them you’ll recognize from the Tuner Evolution show…

Infiniti G37 coupe on what looks to be candy teal ISS Forged wheels…

Zeb Magsi’s 2JZ turbo Vertex GS from ISO…

Closing it out for now with this white M3 coupe…

Gonna stop right here because a 3/4 of the way through it, I got up to take a shit and then none of what I wrote previously saved to my computer and I had to redo everything all over again… FML… Anyways, back with part 2 later and hopefully more photos coming in this weekend.. Thanks for looking!!