In the five years that I’ve been doing The Chronicles, I’ve tried my best to really push the “community” side of our hobby. I started out originally just wanting to give you guys a glimpse of what goes on behind-the-scenes here in the Socal Honda community and it is crazy to think now that I’ve been presented with the opportunity to travel worldwide and document the lives of others. The people have always been incredibly important to me and I hope that this YEAR//FIVE anniversary event reinforces that idea. The event was never meant to be big or to be the “next big thing”. I just wanted everyone that supported me through the years to have a chance to hang out together and to enjoy the labor of one another’s love. Though the meet has grown substantially in the time that I’ve been doing it, it still has that really tight, friendly, vibe to it. I’ve heard many say that they liken this event to the Eibach Meets of year’s past. While that is flattering, I will never create anything that will compare to that landmark event and I don’t ever intend to replace it. What we have here, is a small get together with cars. We hand out awards for fun and even those heavy glass pieces that I had made this year were not meant to be taken seriously. I spend a lot of time focusing on things that are important to me and my wish is that you guys got to understand that when you were present at YEAR//FIVE…

I’m overwhelmed by the support I’ve received over time and going into the second year of The Chronicles, I had no idea how long it would continue. I really wanted to get my career in path and to really try to land a solid job with a publication somewhere but it just never panned out. I think maybe it had more to do with me not really pushing as hard as I thought I did because subconsciously, I felt that I had something good going with this site. I guess you can even say that it is “branded” now and a recognized name out here. I don’t know, I never want to see things that way because I’d like to believe that I was still a nobody putting together a site that no one wanted to look at…there’s just less pressure that way. There are still times honestly when I feel like I should have just gotten a desk job and worked for one of the magazines that I freelance for but I’ve known all along that if I ended up doing that, there would be no stickydiljoe.com. I’m always a little torn between it and those who are the closest to me understand that. They provide me with the motivation to continue forward with this and remind me all the time that this is something I created organically from scratch and it can’t be replicated. You’ll sometimes here me say that this whole Chronicles deal was built on hopes and dreams and well, that’s a very honest statement. It was an idea that became something more than I could have ever imagined. It also taught me to be responsible and has pushed me to work harder than I ever have. Crazy to think about it now but it is true that when you really find what you love, you really work hard for it. If not for you guys who unknowingly push me everyday with your support and with your kind words, I don’t know where I would be. I take a really lighthearted approach to this site most of the time because it is really a major part of my personality but I really do appreciate everyone that continues to come here everyday waiting for updates…

Trust me, I love doing freelance work and writing/shooting for publications but it is a combination of that work and this site that has really made me into who I am today. It was always a dream of mine to have my work published in print and that has provided me with opportunities I never knew were there. I can be brash, opinionated, horribly incorrect, and always in desperate need of sleep, but I am who I am, and I can’t ask for anything more from you guys than to understand that…

Today, I will close out my YEAR//FIVE coverage. We will take a look at some cars that I captured after I presented the awards and also show you guys a excellent video of the meet that was put together by my good buddy Sam Ip. It is probably my favorite video that I’ve seen so far of the event and I think you guys will enjoy it very much. Before I begin though, I must thank everyone that helped out with the set-up of the event throughout the day and those who took time out of their own schedules to make sure that the event went smoothly. These folks didn’t ask for anything in return and just wanted to lend a helping hand and I love and appreciate you guys for doing so. Also, I can’t forget to thank May most of all and the girls for managing The Chronicles booth throughout the day and moving merchandise for me. I know it got really hectic at times but they were able to handle it and everyone got what they wanted in a timely manner. I’m very fortunate to have incredible people in my life…

With the coverage, I really wish that I had more time to really document more of the event. It was difficult because I had so much to do and had so much going on so there are a lot of great cars that are missing from these photos. I apologize for not being able to get more stuff for you guys to look at and for those who you who don’t find your cars in my coverage, it is nothing against you or what you have put together, I merely didn’t have the time to capture it. I’d rather post up the photos that came out good enough instead of flooding you guys with endless amounts of bad photos with harsh lighting. There looked to be tons of coverage from various media outlets from YEAR//FIVE so I’m sure your work did not go unnoticed…

If you missed Parts 1 and 2, please go back now to view it…

YEAR//FIVE 2013 Coverage…Part 1…

YEAR//FIVE 2013 Coverage…Part 2…

Enjoy and as always, thanks for looking….

Nice clean Civic hatchback from Arizona that has quite a bit of history behind it. If I remember correctly, this was once the same purple/teal Civic that belonged to HBK Jon. It switched hands a couple times to various owners before finally landing with the right owner. He then transformed the car to what you see today. Pretty awesome that it is still around because HBK Jon’s Civic was a regular here on The Chronicles back in the earlier years…

Ray Deleon’s DB8 Integra from Las Vegas, NV rocking that double front strut bar action…

Ahmed Sulfab’s Acura Integra Type R with Mugen aero kit and bronze Volk Racing TE37V from Arizona…

Kinda liked this shot with his hood closed because you can catch a good glimpse of his JUN valve cover…

I’ve always teased Chivas about his chameleon engine bay so it was really good to see that he finally decided to color-match it. Not that there was anything really wrong with having the two-toned bay, it just has more of a timeless appeal to it if everything was matched and he finally decided to pull the trigger…

My buddy Keith Cheng aka K3ychain’s Lexus IS300 slammed on aggressive 5Zigen FN01RC wheels. I was a little hesitant on the notion of him going with these wheels but after he got them on, I gotta say, it’s not a bad look at all…

Minh Nguyen from Royal Origin brought out his Lexus 2IS with some new additions to it…

Dave Chik’s boosted S2000 project on Desmond Regamaster EVOs with Nitto NT01 rubber. If the name sounds familiar, it’s probably because you recognize him more for his absolutely pristine DA Integra project…

Always liked how this grey hatchback looked with EK4 SiR bumpers and white Regamaster EVOs…

EF hatchback on silver Kosei K-1 wheels…

Issac Sierra’s SSBP Acura Integra on white EVOs…

Mugen-themed Civic on black/red RnRs…

Interesting hood vent on this white Civic reppin’ OsakaJDM….

I liked this white EF with SiR front bumper and SSR EX-C Fins. Nice job with the engine bay and keeping it nice and tidy while still using a ARC induction box and intake arm as well as a full-sized Koyo radiator. Got a Mil-spec engine harness on there as well…

Black S2000 on polished CCW Classic…

Even with K-swaps being as popular as they have ever been, you’d still be hard-pressed to really find a K-swapped DA floating around. The motors just sit way too low on them and you’re sort of relegated to driving at a pretty high ride height. Cool car nonetheless though and cool to see one of the few K-DA Integras…

Dumped EM1 Civic Si coupe on refinished Blitz Type-01 wheels…

Pepper white Civic hatch on white Regamaster EVOs. I really liked the red coupe next to it as well that had J’s Racing fenders and AP Racing brakes but I just couldn’t get a good shot of it to post here on the site….

This Civic looked pretty good on Dunlop Formula Hart wheels and wearing an Air Walker front bumper…

There isn’t a whole lot going on with this EF. Just a nice clean set-up and love the fact that the body panels are straight and how the car looks mint…

This EF Civic 4-door had a more track-oriented motif to it with the gutted interior and aero add-ons….

Originally, this FD3S wasn’t parked up front in the VIP area but I wish it was. Love color and all with the dark red interior and the Advan Racing TCIII wheels. Very nicely done…

Rick Nguyen’s Chrysler 300C build that was a late addition to the YEAR//FIVE event. He ended up getting his spot from someone who couldn’t make it and from what he tells me, YEAR//FIVE was his only car-related event of the year…

Nice to see Frank from Bolt Boys finally getting his Civic running. He’d been working on this K-swap for awhile now and just recently got the car running and tuned. This car has come a very long way and though it may not be to everyone’s tastes, I can appreciate the work that was involved in creating it….

I don’t know if you guys are aware, but many of the people close to me who are long time Honda guys have recently made the switch over to tinkering with luxury Japanese vehicles. I’ve had my Q for a long time now and have been following VIP car culture in Japan for as long as I’ve been into Hondas but it is cool to see that everyone else is diving into something completely different….

Christina Miranda’s Lexus LS430 bagged on Leon Hardiritt Waffes….

DPK David had his EJ1 coupe at the event but also brought out his Lexus LS430 on Function/Form coilovers and his newly acquired Leon Hardiritt Ordens. He accidentally did some damage to both rear quarter panels a couple weeks back and our friend Edson from Premier Autobody re-shaped everything and repainted it just in time for YEAR//FIVE…

HeyMikeyyyy decided to keep his turbocharged Integra at home and brought out his new LS400 project bagged on Rotiform wheels…

Jimmy from DPK’s bagged old school Mercedes….

Phaze2 Mizzark’s BMW M5 on Leon Hardiritt Ordens…

Another shot of JDM Wong’s Suzuka Blue EF on Barramundi Design Toman wheels in 16-inch sizing…

The newly-engaged JDMEGO Jay and JDM Wong from Super Street. Two vital members of our car culture that aren’t very often in the public eye…

For me, the meet was a great success because I had both of my favorite times of vehicles there; street/track-styled imports as well as more traditional Japanese luxury car tuning….

Yasutaka Shimomukai from Tactical Art was nice enough to hang out the entire day while also documenting the event for his friends back home in Japan….

A nice trio of Integras; (Left to Right) Ahmed’s ITR, Brian Hua’s DB8, and Loi Hua’s Type R….

The last shot of the day was this photo of Alex’s Mugen-themed ITR on silver Mugen MF10. Before you go, make sure to watch the video below of YEAR//FIVE through the eyes of Sam from Sam Ip Media. His videos have been getting better and better every time and I love the fact that he took time out of his work day to come flim at my event. While it is linked on the page, I suggest that you click on it to view the video in full HD resolution. Thanks to him and to all of you who attended YEAR//FIVE. Now…onto Year SIX….