Wekfest Texas 2012 Coverage…Part 3…

By stickydiljoeOctober 5, 2012 ( 7 )

Today I thought I’d take some time to actually talk about the actual Wekfest Texas show. One of the best things about starting The Chronicles is that it has presented me with a lot of wonderful opportunities. One of the opportunities that I always enjoy the most is getting out of my normal comfort zone in Socal and visiting another part of the country. I attend so many events out here that it’s sad to say, but things can tend to get watered-down by the end of the year. You’ve seen the same cars over and over again and you basically just go to events to hang out with friends. Wekfest Texas happened at the perfect time because I was feeling a little burnt out with all the shows over here in Cali and was looking forward to seeing something completely new. Though I recognized a number of builds because I had seen them in photos online before, I would say that almost 80% of the cars at Texas Wekfest were cars that I had not seen before…. and that’s a great thing. I love being able to see the different types of builds in other parts of the country and Texas brought out a good crop of cars. I’ve learned to embrace all the different styles of car builds out there and though I still have my personal preferences, I’m always down to check out something new. I love experiencing different communities of people within our import scene because they are typically less competitive than the people out here on the west. The competition is a great thing because it helps to create some very amazing builds but I think we should all remember that its okay to just go to an event and hang out sometimes without having to worry about winning a trophy or being better than the next guy. The camaraderie is what has kept me around all these years and I cherish the relationships that I have developed though the years. Wekfest Texas was a very relaxing environment because people were just genuinely happy to be there to experience the show. Wekfest has become a huge event within our industry and people from other parts of the country are excited to be a part of it. I love how everyone at the show was very good about listening to the staff and following directions. I think roll-in went very smoothly, maybe the smoothest it ever has and the vibe throughout the day was a good one. Everybody at the show huddled around the Wek’Sos booth and listened patiently as Junior from Wekfest gave them directions and chatted with them about the show. Everyone also cheered for everyone during the awards ceremony and, from observation, everyone was very thankful that Wekfest was in Texas…

Seeing everyone have a good time made that event for me. After the show there were some minor complaints here and there but that was expected. It’s tough when you get so many different personalities and place them in one building but everything was generally very positive. Texas was a highlight for me in 2012 and I look forward to going back what they have to offer in 2013. Thanks to everyone for making it a memorable experience. Can’t say enough about the Wekfest guys of course for putting faith in me and bringing me along with them. Just a great group of guys and they got an amazing thing going for them with the Wekfest series…

We are going to dive right into the coverage today with photos from the start of Wekfest that weekend. By this time, a big chunk of the cars were already inside and staged so I started snapping away before the gates officially opened for spectators. I tried to get whatever I could before the flood of people came in and before I had to start judging the Honda Class. It got so crowded by the early afternoon that it was basically impossible to get a clear shot anyway and with the low-lighting inside the venue, it was necessary to have a tripod. With all the people walking back and forth, it just wasn’t a good idea to try and do coverage during the show. It wasn’t nearly as packed as Wekfest SF but that show is just on another level. If you want to get a good idea of the size of this show and the foot traffic, let’s just say that you kind of had to move around strategically to get around everyone and walk the entire show floor…It was packed in there. Anyways, here is Part 3…

If you missed any of the previous two parts, I’d prefer that you took a look at those photos before you got to these…

Wekfest Texas 2012 Coverage…Part 1…

Wekfest Texas 2012 Coverage…Part 2…

Now, here is what I captured after I left the roll-in area…

Rudy Garza’s Acura Integra from Hard Hitters crew…This car is a little rough around the edges but it’s a good looking DC. Like the color and the wheels look like they’ve been re-barreled and redone in a black chrome finish…

Nice tuck under the hood…I would add an intake pipe to give it more of a complete look though because the filter looks a little odd right up on the throttle body…

Don Vo’s 4-door Civic on some Work Equip 03s… Looks almost like a cross between Phaze2 Arnel’s hatchback in its early days and the 4-door he has now. Got a chance to chat with Don for a little bit and he’s a nice guy…

Jeremy Hancock’s VIP Honda Odyssey build on Airrunner suspension… Always liked the VIP Odyssey look and this is one of the better U.S. Odyssey builds around…

Brenden Hinds’ Audi S5 on Vossen VVSCV7 wheels from Team Nemesis…

Chris Young’s Mugen RSX, which ended-up winning the 1st Place Acura Class award at Wekfest TX…

Had a chance to speak to Paul Morgan, owner of this S2000 with Top Secret aero, for quite awhile. Very nice guy with a great deal of knowledge and experience in the import industry. This S2K is also driven daily if I remember correctly and tracked occasionally. Love the Super Advan Racing Ver. 2 wheels on the car because it’s a wheel that is rarely used on this chassis…

Parked right next to Paul Morgan’s S2000 was this yellow S2000, owned by his wife Angylique Morgan. Cool to see a married couple with a pair of award-winning S2000s. Her’s has a molded J’s Racing half lip and rare FEEL’s Twin Cam sideskirts…

One of my favorite builds that day that I was happy to witness in person was Greg Strube’s pristine BMW E30 M3 on classic HRE 506 wheels…

This DC5 looked interesting with refinished Work Rezax II wheels with 24k gold lips…

Rami Qasem’s beautifully executed S2000 on TE37SLs and ARC goods under the hood…

WED’s Kranze Cerberus II wheels on this candy red Z33…

K-swapped two-toned Civic coupe from Team Ikon…

I was a fan of this DAP EK4 SiR-styled Civic hatchback that featured a K20-swap and CCW Classics…

Tom Syhachack’s S2000 on matte gun metal Work Meister S1s..

Fernando Huerta’s immaculate K20 del Sol engine bay…

Eric McMillan’s VIP-themed Lexus SC430 on silver Rezax IIs…

Z34 370Z from Bottom Out crew on a set of silver/bronze Work Gnosis GS4s…

Fireman Antoine Hobbs’ 9-second turbo drag coupe was nice and tidy for its first major car show…

Mark Rolston’s bad ass RB26DETT-swapped Datsun 240Z…

If that wasn’t wild enough for you, Rolston also brought out his unfinished all carbon-bodied 260Z, featuring a twin turbo VQ35-swap…

A shot of how Kevin Gerlach’s 370Z looks with his air cup kit suspension airred-up…

Really clean Lexus IS300 with custom flared fenders/rear quarter panels…

Rootbeer 2nd gen. Lexus IS on Work Schwert SC2s…

White Zenki UCF31 Lexus LS430 at the Futura Designs booth with Futura brakes on display…

Another look at the black LS430 from Futura Designs…

Love the attention to detail in the interior and the custom perforated diamond-stitched leather seats…

Turbo S2000 with OEM hardtop and teal CCW LM20s…

This S2K was interesting-looking on Work Emitz wheels…

Clean MK4 VW Golf…

Matte black Accord Crosstour from DWS aka “Do Work Son”…

Charlie Telles’ Civic coupe from CNS Custom Works.. Nice attention to details in this build. Still seems a little incomplete but it is definitely getting there. Love how he paint-matched practically everything, including the coilovers, and the custom-modded OEM fenders. What really needs to be seen is all the work in the engine bay…

Insane amount of engraving on the intake manifold, wire cover, and catch can… looks pretty sick. One thing I would change about his build are the wheels though. With the custom paint and all the work in the bay, the wheels almost take away from the rest of the car. It was cool to see it in person though after seeing some shots of his build online…

Lexus 2GS on Work VS-KFs…

Richard Cayetano’s Eclipse bay…Really like how he matched all the little details with the purple of the Wiggins clamps…

Kinda hard to tell but this 350Z was actually wrapped in some sort of matte white carbon material…

Will Redman’s Acura Integra Type R with a combination of Spoon Sports, Mugen, and FEEL’s Twin Cam mods…The traditional side of me still cringes a little whenever I see Spoon and Mugen stuff mixed together but I gotta admit that it comes together nicely on this ITR… The bay wasn’t tucked, still had A/C, power steering, and ABS but it was still a eye-catching build… Proof that you can still build a nice Honda without going completely apeshits on it. That and who doesn’t like Phoenix Yellow ITRs?…

One of the Hondas that I really wanted to see while I was in Texas was Marcus Chin’s Honda Fit. Even though it was recently featured in Honda Tuning magazine, I still think it is an overlooked build because it’s a Honda Fit. The reality is that it’s just a very well-rounded Honda with a ton of custom work…At a car show, it hits all areas that the judges are looking for…engine work, suspension, brakes, custom audio, custom interior, everything…

Garrett T25 Turbocharged with custom intake manifold from Kustomz Unlimited… If you want to see more of this car, click here to check out the web version of his HT feature…

Another Honda that was featured in HT not too long ago was David Nguyen’s Civic. When it hit print, it wasn’t turbocharged yet and you probably wouldn’t recognize it unless you saw his HT feature here…. It’s in full drag car form now but when it was featured, it was just a N/A street car…