Wekfest Texas 2013 Coverage…Part 3…


Welcome back everyone to the ongoing Wekfest Texas 2013 coverage. I still have yet to complete all the photos but I think that there will probably just be one more post after today of coverage. I know it is a lot of content to go through but I always find that it is better to capture more of whatever catches my eye than to restrict myself. Any time I travel outside of California to cover an event, I always take a lot of photos, often of the same cars because I’m not sure if I’ll ever be back again to that particular region and the way the scene is these days, you’re likely to never even see some of these builds again after an event because guys will either part their cars out and build something new, or they will have a completely new look next year. Things just move way too quickly nowadays and if you miss a particular moment in time, you’re likely to miss out on some really good builds. I found myself running back and forth that morning specifically for that reason. I didn’t want to miss out on some of these cars and as hard as I tried, I know I still did…

I made sure to get more of some specific builds because I really liked them and I really wanted to show you guys in detail what these cars have to offer. These guys/gals who are working on their cars work very hard to bring the quality that the Wekfest event expects so they deserve more than just a simple shot. You kind of need to go through the cars and even though I didn’t have a whole lot of time to go over every car in detail, I did my best to capture the stand-outs who really worked hard to execute their cars how they envisioned them to be. I spoke on the microphone about this during the awards ceremony when Junior wanted to me speak to the crowd. Wekfest always delivers a quality event to every stop that they make throughout the country and I’m proud to say that the enthusiasts who participated at WFTX returned the favor by giving us that same level of quality. Nobody wants to go to a show with lackluster cars and the Texas Wekfest event definitely delivers when it comes to great car builds. If you didn’t get approved for the show through Wekfest’s strict screening process this year, try again, and build harder and better. Your efforts will not be overlooked and you too will be a part of the premier import automotive show in the country some day…

Today, we’re gonna look at some more shots from the morning set-up. I walked back and forth all morning and just snapped away without mercy. You’ll see some cars you’ve seen in the previous two posts, some new ones, and I’ve even managed to supply coverage of some of the models from the Wekfest Texas event. I always find myself either forgetting or just not shooting the models at the show because I am just too busy and by the time I get a chance to pick up the camera again, it is already the end of the day. Normally when I am covering the morning portion of the show, the models haven’t even arrived yet so I can’t really get shots of them then. For WFTX, I finished judging in a reasonable amount of time and found myself being able to shoot some more. Anyways, enjoy, whether you want to see model shots or not…

Hopefully you haven’t missed the previous two installements of Wekfest Texas Coverage. If you have, please click the links below to catch-up with the rest of us…

Wekfest Texas 2013 Coverage…Part 1…

Wekfest Texas 2013 Coverage…Part 2…

Let’s keep the photos comin’…

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Kickin’ off Part 3 with a couple more photos of Bradley Lafayette’s K24-swapped Honda Integra Type R reppin’ Hybrid Racing. Love the battleship grey engine bay and also how everything is nicely executed. It is a nice functional bay set-up and proof that you don’t have to shave a bay smooth for it to look clean…

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Here’s some more of David Cordell’s JDM RHD EG6 Civic. This was one of my favorites from WFTX. I mean, I love EG6s in general but hearing how he painstakingly restored this chassis from the ground-up really made me appreciate the car that much more. He took the time to seek out all of the OEM Honda pieces he could find, often having to look to the U.K. since EG6s in Japan have typically been raped of all parts already. The car wasn’t originally Milano Red either, he just chose to spray it in this color because of how classic of a look it was. Even the side moldings were repainted a couple times just to get the right look that matched the OEM JDM silver side moldings that came on the SiR trim models. Turns out that the moldings came in two different shades of silver and he had to do quite a bit of research before being able to match it the way he wanted to. Pretty awesome and a great build that will most certainly stand the test of time as long as he chooses to keep it in this exact state…

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Even the engine bay looks almost factory with original air conditioning lines and all. Everything has just been cleaned up and looks how a lightly-modded Honda would be executed in Japan. Love the custom K-Tech Engine Service valve cover and the use of the Billion cooling hoses…

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Matt Tucker’s EK9 with turbocharged K20 swap has always been one of my favorite CTR builds in the nation. The other was Jeff Diaz’s from Washington that was unceremoniously taken from him a couple years back. Matt knows his stuff and he’s always kept this CTR up-to-date with minor mods here and there to continue its evolultion. There isn’t a whole lot more he can do to this thing so he decided to just slap some bigger tires on it and enjoy it…

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One more from a different angle showcasing his Air Walker front…

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Wesley Lebouef’s EK9 CTR with First Molding Flugel Plate front lip and a shot of his K-swapped bay. Another good-looking bay with just the bare necessities…

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Honda F20C-swapped AE86 Corolla with Levin front end conversion from Natsukashi Garage. I sometimes wonder where some of these car crews get their Japanese crew names from; like, does it actually mean something to them or did they just decide to pick whatever Japanese word they saw at the moment and attached “garage” or “crew”, etc. to the end of it. It’s a little odd if it just doesn’t mean anything… I think if it was to be a “correct” Japanese club name, the more appropriate order for it would be “Garage Natsukashi” which actually flows a little better, but what the fuck do I know, haha… sorry, just rambling on…

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Jessyca Blood’s Aimgain ISC was unquestionably a favorite of mine from Wekfest Texas. The car just flows so well with that aero kit and the wheels really set it off. If she spent some time doing up the engine bay and really customizing it, this could probably be a top tier show winner at any event…

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Custom Honda Odyssey from CVT Designs on ADV.1 wheels. One of the best Honda builds at WFTX that weekend and fell just short of taking home an award…

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Charlie’s Civic coupe from CNS Custom Works with J’s Racing front lip and Work Carving Head 40s. I think a lot of people overlook this car because it “doesn’t fit their style” but seriously, you should definitely stop to take a closer look at this car if you see it at a show. The level of detail is very good and the car flows quite well despite people’s insistence that it is “too lowrider”. The engraving work is awesome in the engine bay…

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…and you see the theme carried over even onto the center caps of the Carving Head wheels. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think that the wheels came that way…

It wouldn’t be a Wekfest event without its headlining model, Ms. Elissa Alva. I’ve gotten a chance to get to know a lot more about her after having the opportunity to chill with her and the rest of the Wekfest family during our stops on the Wekfest Tour and, as expected, she’s really nice and very well-spoken. She’s got a good head on her shoulders and is a great representative for the Wekfest brand. I don’t think they could have found anyone better for the job and its cool to see her brand evolve alongside the Wekfest series. I normally don’t have time to get some shots with her during the show because she’s surrounding by her legion of fans but during the WFTX event, we found a time to connect and get some photos. Some random break-dancing battle happened right in front of the Wekfest booth so everyone was distracted and I snapped away….

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Don’t forget to check out her website and blog HERE if you are an Elissa Alva fan….

I actually got those shots of Elissa later in the day and felt it was better suited for today’s post, so let’s just pretend that it all happened in sequence and I walked back out and the show hadn’t started yet. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense that there was such a huge crowd behind her when in reality, the show hadn’t even started yet, haha…

Anyways…

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Back outside in the roll-in area, I spotted this Acura RSX from “Squirrel Squad” on custom Work Rezax II wheels with gold-plated lips…

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Another car on Rezax IIs was this Z33. Notice the rear custom fender work and the radius job…

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I remember this Miata on OZ Turbos from last year’s Texas event. Doesn’t look like a whole lot has changed since then…

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Infiniti G35 coupe with a Kuruma Z front bumper and SSR Type-Fs…

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Subaru WRX STI with huge rear spoiler and rear blister fenders….

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FG2 Civic coupe dippin’ really low on BBS LM wheels…

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Something that I noticed at WFTX that was a bit surprising was the presence of the NSX platform. Normally at a show you’d maybe see one or two, maybe even three sometimes, but in Texas, I guess they are popular cars to mod because Wekfest featured 7 of them. What was great about all 7 is that they were all modded very differently from one another, which is really cool…

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DC5 RSX on white Work VS-XXs. Looks like someone is boosted because you can see a intercooler lurking behind the front bumper…

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You rarely see the newer Accords like this heavily modded like the one you see above. Looks like something straight out of Thailand where they often take less-popular chassis’ and turn them into VIP-styled masterpieces…

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350Z slammed on Work Euroline wheels. Texas sure loves their Z33s…

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Will aka “Garageassistplus” brought out his well-kept Phoenix Yellow DC2 Type R on bronze Volk Racing SE37Ks…

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Glad to see that I was well-represented in Texas as I spotted a lot of enthusiasts rocking Chronicles hoodies and tees throughout the day…

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Ruckus with white-wall rubber cruising by…

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Chris Young’s Mugen RSX is another build that I remember from last year’s Texas Wekfest. Not a whole lot has changed and he really didn’t need to worry because he’s done basically all you can to this chassis. The Acura Class is usually pretty think in Texas so he was a lock to win anyway, but I’m sure this event could benefit from some more heavily modded Acuras…

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Datsun 510 on Advan Onis that you may remember from my SEMA Show coverage. Really cool build that was a favorite of all the judges from Wekfest….

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I don’t know if this Acura RL even made it inside the show or was just a support vehicle but I found it neatly tucked away with some other random cars in the back lot. The newer RL chassis is still a little too pricey for people to mod but I really like this one…

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DC2 Integra on Enkei Racing S and Special Projects P1 Spec front lip and splitter…

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Slammed Vee-dub on white CC…uh…dubs…

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This NSX on WED’s wheels was wearing a very rare Sorcery Super GT aero kit. Looks like something is missing because it doesn’t have the GT wing to match but I can’t remember the last time I saw this particular Sorcery kit in the States…

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Another shot of the 510, which ended the day winning two awards…

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Yet another NSX, this wearing a silver on silver motif with staggered 18/19-inch Volke TE37s…

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Sunworks Integra with full Rando aero kit and rare Ganador side mirrors….

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Paul Morgan’s S2000 was completely revamped for the 2013 WFTX event. The entire car was re-sprayed in Midnight Purple and he added J’s Racing front fenders and rear flares. Since he wasn’t using a J’s front bumper to match the flares, he had the front add-on flares modified to fit the shape of the Top Secret front bumper. Paul’s S2 is amazing and one of the few that actually has an authentic Mugen hard top as well…

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Paul also brought out his daily driver to the show, which was this Kouki S14 on gold Advan Racing T7 wheels. You know they are both his car because this S14 has a license plate that says “RHDJEW” and his S2000 has a plate that says “JDM JEW”, haha…

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The winner of Wekfest Texas’ Best of Show award two consecutive years, aka the “King of the South”, was this Lexus GS400 owned and built by Thomas Pinai. Thomas took his car out to the West Coast as well and won top honors so the car was subsequently retired from competition. He was actually supposed to be a judge for the show this year but had a family emergency that came up and couldn’t make the show. Unfortunately he couldn’t be there, but he still had a friend bring out his GS for display by the Wekfest booth…

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Winner for the coolest name at Wekfest went to model Bear Dellinger. She came by the Wekfest booth while I was there and explained to us that her name is actually legit. It’s not her first name but “Bear” is her real middle name, so she decided to run with it when she started modeling. She’s a self-professed drifter and import automotive aficionado as well so she’s not only a model, she’s a gear head to boot…

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Wild widebody Lexus 2GS with 2JZ-GTE swap…

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Lorinser Mercedes S600 sedan from NOLA STUNNAS….

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Really liked how this Mazda 3 from Team 16niss came together…

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Tori Kim aka “@boringasiangirl” on Instagram made her Wekfest Texas debut as one of the winners of the Wekfest Guest Model Competition…

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S-Chassis enthusiasts in Texas appear to be very fond of the Kouki face, as a majority of the S14s I saw at WFTX were non-Zenki models. I don’t even recall seeing a Zenki S14 to be honest. This one was planted on pink SSR Professor SP1…

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Rami Qasem’s turbocharged Honda S2000 wearing ASM aero from Team Low-Weezy-Ana. I hear Rami got married today as well so huge congrats to him. Funny thing is that we talk to one another occasionally online but he didn’t even realize it was me that was judging his car at Wekfest, haha…

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One of the Low-Weezy-Ana models…

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Another observation of mine was the growing popularity of the new CCW Classic 5 wheel. I remember seeing a set pop up at WEKEAST awhile back and since then, these things are all over Texas….

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Gonna go ahead and stop here for today with a shot of this purple, turbocharged Civic coupe from Team Ikon. The engine bay set-up on this coupe was pretty nutty and I got better shots of it coming tomorrow. Thanks for looking and stay tuned for Part 4 of 4!…

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8 comments

  1. that yellow bug eyes WRX is just a WRX, seeing as how the bug eyes never had a STI in this part of the world

  2. Wooooow!!! Beautiful Cars & Nice Girls =) Tuning is an art! Please upload other photos!!!

  3. ayeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee biancaaaaaa

  4. Haha I laughed a little when I saw Natsukashii Garage. It actually is a good name I think. The word natsukashii conveys the meanings of good memories, and can be used to describe something you miss from the past. I’m guessing natsukashii garage must consist of mostly old school cars.

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