I went to Miami and found exactly what I was looking for…

You know how you just seem to remember certain cars from events that just kind of make that event for you? Well for me, I go on the Wekfest Tour annually and every city I go to, I try to pinpoint certain cars that make me remember the city that I am in. Think of it as a “staple” of sorts to help me remember the city when I return the following year. These cars aren’t the ones that everyone likes or which everyone would agree is “cool” or “well-built”. It can be a combination of style and assembly but there is something unique about them; an “it” factor if you
may…

Well…I found it. There were two cars that put the stamp on Miami for me this year. One of them was the obvious “Best of Show”. When I say “obvious”, I say that without a doubt. I saw the car roll up and it was the prototype that everything else would be compared to that day, because it was the obvious “Best” in the building. Those of you who follow me on Instagram probably knew which car I’m referring to because I took a picture of it that morning and immediately posted it up for all to see….

“That” car was Will Tetro’s FD3S RX-7. It is simply…fantastic. Many rotary-purists will cringe at the fact that it has a GM LS3 engine in it, but as a whole, this thing is exactly what we like in terms of seeing a well-rounded build with quality craftsmanship. Custom engine bay, unique swap, forced-induction, custom paint, quality wheel/tire combo, interior work, aero that flows with the car, etc., etc. The moment I saw this car I knew we had a potential Best of Show on our hands and sure enough, there was nothing else that would come close to competing with it…

The engine bay not only features the LS3 motor, but it is also turbocharged with a custom fuel set-up, Edelbrock intake manifold, and all lines have been re-plumbed with -AN fittings/lines. You can tell that this bay was well thought-out because everything has been fabbed to fit tight and everything is where it needs to be….

Hoosier rubber wrapped around CCW D110 wheels and mounted on the body to house the aggressive wheels are RE Amemiya fenders and rear over fenders. No crazy wing in the back, just a RE rear carbon diffuser. The car itself is pretty nonchalant aesthetically but what lurks in the bay tells a different story. It all comes together well and is a build that you’d see possibly being very competitive on every other stop on the Wekfest Tour….Great job….

The other car, is anything but “conventional” and I promise you that a majority of the people didn’t know what they were looking at. They saw the kit, the wheels, and saw the big turbo. But they missed an important part of it. Allow me to explain….

Seeing a heavily-modified Celica in 2014 is pretty fucking rare as is so I was pretty surprised to see it when it pulled-up. I got a closer look and noticed the APR widebody kit, as well as the huge Work Rezax II wheels, but what really caught my eye was the turbo set-up.

I walked-up to get a closer look and was shocked to see the huge turbo, but something didn’t look right. Now, I should mention that I used to hang out with some friends who were into Celicas so I was familiar with them. I also got into the car scene originally as a Toyota guy so I know my way around them. I spent a couple minutes looking at the engine and realized that it wasn’t the factory 2ZZ-GE engine at all, but it was in fact a 3S-GTE swap from an older Toyota MR-2/Celica/Caldina! I don’t know which generation 3S-GTE this is since it has been so heavily-altered but I couldn’t believe that someone had actually done this swap on a 7th gen body. I believe this might actually be the only Celica of this generation in North America with this full swap. I came home and did some research and this car with this motor set-up has actually been around as far back as 2003! Jamasco Automotive in Hollywood, Florida did all the fab work for the swap and after seeing all the old photos of it, this build has definitely evolved over the years. It may seem a bit insignificant to many of you guys, but this is the crazy oddball shit I love to see whenever I go to different events. Not only is this car unconventional and a bit dated, it also has a very rich history in the Florida car scene and I’m happy to be able to see it in person. Interesting thing about this is that this APR kit has probably been on the car for a few years now and in 2014 this Rocket Bunny/Liberty Walk/RWB era is at its peak right now. If you put some rivets on it and called it a Rocket Bunny kit, people would be insane over it. Add the swap and it’ll blow people’s minds….Round of applause for this build. Holy shit. It definitely got my attention….Bravo….

This slammed MX-5 was looking really good on CCW D11L wheels…

Nothing wrong with a really pristine 993 911 on classic BBS E26…

White-on-white J-spec S15 Silvia from Royal Republic on Work VS-XX….

IS300 from Team SOLO wearing a T&E Vertex kit with white Avant Garde wheels….

Beefy-looking Lexus 2IS with custom fender flares and aggressive Work VS-KF. Hard to tell in the photo but try to spot the 326Power lug nuts…

Red Recaro seats look great inside this Porsche 996 on gold Fifteen52 wheels….

Custom widebody Acura TSX with A-Spec lip kit and WED’s Kranze Bazreias….

CL9 TSX running a Mugen front bumper from One Alliance….

Another angle of the widened 2IS….

Nice touch with the brushed lip on these Work Meister S1 wheels…

Good-looking AP1 S2000 with front/rear fender flares and step-lipped Work VS Edition wheels…

Fender flares seem to be a popular item at WFMIA, as witnessed on this Hyundai Genesis coupe…

Alex Bauza’s Vertex S15 Silvia on its way into the venue….

This FD3S featured a FEED front bumper and carbon blister fenders….

One of the cars that I thought I’d see a ton of in Florida where Nissan S-Chassis’. These are the cars that I always see o the web looking real good in that state and sure enough, I was not disappointed. I wish there were more but the ones that were present at the show were some good ones…

Garrett’s rootbeer-toned Kouki, for example, looked sick flared on WED’s Bazreias….

Another of the silver AP1 from earlier…

FG2 Civic SI rolling on custom step-lipped Blitz Type 01 wheels…

Chameleon-wrapped Lexus IS on Volk Racing GT7…

This AP2 was planted on the floor on BBS wheels…

Crazy that you rarely see Rocket Bunny stuff anywhere outside of the West Coast. You may see one or two pop up on occasion but you could almost say that it was a “rare” sight….

One build that I had anticipated seeing in person finally was Ron Hughes’ S2000. I had been casually following his build on Instagram over time and it looked like it had an abundance of really cool parts. The only problem was, I never knew when or if it was ever going to be finished. Hell, I don’t think Ron even knew when he would finish the car. I guess once he found out when Wekfest was coming to town, he finally pushed himself to get the car together for the event. I expected to see some rare goods on his AP2 but man, seeing it in person makes you appreciate it that much more. The front bumper, which you probably haven’t seen before, is actually an incredibly, INCREDIBLY, rare piece from Fabulous. Fabulous is like a Japanese VIP parts company so who even knew that they would ever make anything for this chassis. Mounted to the bumper are carbon 1st generation ASM canards along with J’s Racing front fender extensions that have been re-shaped to flow with the Fabulous bumper. The front fenders are J’s Racing, the carbon doors are J’s Racing, and the hood is also J’s. The hard top is an authentic Mugen piece and I’m sure we all know by now how hard it is for S2000 guys to fork out the cash for a real Mugen top, haha. The color of the car is not “Top Secret Gold” but is a Lamborghini color called “Oro Elios”….

The engine bay of Hughes’ S2K is nice and tidy with the centerpiece being the TODA Racing Sports Injection Kit (Individual Throttle Bodies). The set-up features a carbon air box (TODA dry carbon High-Power Surge Tank) which also helps the TODA kit serve as an intake manifold. Mounted to the tank is another rare piece, an M&M Honda titanium intake arm. The motor is also tuned on a Haltech standalone engine management system. All it really needs is a nice header and it is pretty much complete….

Inside you’ll find a set of ASM Ruby Recaro seats, a Carbing roll cage, Vertex steering wheel, and custom Alcantara-wrapped dashboard. The center console is a Galvez Customs console that has been modified to fit a C’s short shifter and Tommy Kaira “Baby Turtle” shift knob, which has been re-threaded to fit a Honda shifter….

The rear features original Spoon Sports rear over fenders and the rear bumper is not even a production Spoon Sports rear. It is a prototype, pre-production Spoon bumper that was sourced from Matt at ICB. The trunk is a ASM carbon trunk combined with an ASM duckbill spoiler. Mounted to the trunk is a Voltex Type 1V wing and the rear diffuser and vortex generators are from Top Secret. You know those L.E.D. taillights that everyone is going crazy over these days from Car Shop Glow? Well, Ron also has Car Shop Glow taillights but they are 1 of only 1 set in the world and were designed by Ron himself. He sent the design concept to Car Shop Glow and they produced the set for him. What Ron seemed to be most proud of when I was talking to him was the custom-fitted Project Mu big brakes. They contrast a little too much with the J’s Racing brakes up front but if you can make it work, hell, why not have the best of both worlds? I didn’t get a shot of the other side of the car but he even has a set of TE37RT on driver’s side. The car is crazy and just filled with a ton of rare parts. I don’t think people really get this car but those of us who appreciate real Japanese, rare, goods will know exactly how difficult it was to acquire these parts and get them to work together. It is no wonder why it has taken him so long to put this car together. Most of the time was spent collecting parts. In the end, it was a close race with Bradley Lafayette’s S2000 for Best Honda but Ron’s edged out the win just because of the sheer rarity of parts involved in his detailed build…

Bradley’s J’s Racing carbon S2000 all set-up inside with the hood removed to showcase the turbo set-up…

Holt’s Type R with its hood propped-up. Sounds like he’s got some big plans for this car next year so it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out in 2015…

Matt Hamilton’s Voltex S2000 on Mag Blue Volk CE28…

Danyelle Hash’s J’s Racing-themed Honda Fit…

Ceejay Mendez’s K20 turbocharged CR-X was a pretty crazy sight. His build is more catered to drag racing more than shows but it didn’t stop him from rolling into Wekfest Miami for display. He didn’t even lower his car or anything and pulled it into the show exactly how he would if it were going to the races. Actually I chatted with him for a minute and he mentioned that he didn’t even wash the car, haha…

DC5 RSX parked with the J’s Racing vendor line-up on bronze Volk CEs…

A couple more of Ron’s Oro Elios S2000. In these shots you get a better look at the front and rear big brakes…

Custom widebody 350Z with a Top Secret aero kit and VIP Modular wheels….

Blistered Type-X-themed 1993 240SX on Superstar Ordens…

Nax Whitmore’s custom LS430 from Part 1 of the coverage all laid-out inside the venue…

DC5 RSX on Airrex suspension…

Hope this dude has passwords….

Nice color combo on this NA MX-5. Earth tones aren’t used enough these days and everyone just wants to run wild neon colors and all this crazy shit…

The Vertex IS from earlier airred-out inside, looking much better once the fender gap is eliminated…

Closing out Part 2 with a shot of the JDM Elgrand-faced Nissan Quest on Vossen wheels….

Still a ton more to come, so make sure to come back for more!!!