Hawaii is forever an interesting place. I know people from the island who can’t wait to leave it and I know plenty more people who can’t wait to go. It is both paradise and not anything like paradise, depending on who you’re talking to. I myself, enjoy the island. Not nearly as much as many of my friends do, however. I see it more as a destination to absorb car culture and learn. I’ve never been much of a beach person so I don’t find myself itching to laying out in the sun all day to relax. Every time I go back to Hawaii, I honestly feel like everything slows down ten-fold and I’m antsy, waiting to do something or go home because I have other things to take care of. It always seems a little tiring every time I go back to Hawaii for Wekfest because it is typically just a week removed from when I return from my annual trip to Japan. Going from low 30s weather to high 80s makes for some adjustment, especially when you take the time difference into consideration. I can’t complain though. It is Hawaii after all and even in February, it is already a very scenic environment and you can’t help but absorb yourself into the culture there…

This trip was probably my favorite trip to Hawaii since I first started going out there for Wekfest. I think I’ve gotten to know my way around pretty well and am no longer just a tourist there. I find solace in just being able to get around the island and go to the places I like. I’ve also had the chance to get to know some people pretty well there too so it just seems like you’re going to a different area to visit friends, which is always nice. Car culture doesn’t change very much there. You’re likely to see a lot of the same cars and re-visit the same faces if you find yourself there every  year. You may see a few new builds but for the most part, things remain as they have. Tradition is very important to the Hawaiian Islands and they have a great deal of pride in retaining that. I think accessibility has a lot to do why things stay so stagnant there as well. Competition isn’t nearly as crazy as it is in other states or regions so people don’t always feel the need to come out with their biggest and baddest set-up every year. Enthusiasts there just bring their cars out to show and to hang out. Awards matter to a certain extent, but people aren’t at each other’s throats either trying to win something. I’ve said it before in my previous posts about Hawaii but I feel like there was a generation gap that happened somewhere during the 2000s when the scene there just slowly faded away for a bit. The older guys are still building cars and doing great things down there but the new crowd has a completely different grasp on how cars are built and the methodology between the two generations is very surprising. I can’t exactly narrow it down to what it is but I always learn something new every time I go down there and chat with the locals…

Style is ever-important in this great hobby of ours and what I take away from going to Hawaii is that enthusiasts there definitely have their own unique way of building cars. It isn’t old or new, it’s just different. I guess you can say that they put their own flair on things to make it their own. Every stop on the tour is like that though, in that you really get to see how different areas do things differently. We all get inspired from somewhere or something, but depending on where you were brought up, you will evidently have a unique way of executing that inspiration in your own way. I think that is what makes this hobby so fun. Check out the photos below for yourself and decide if it is something you enjoy or find inspiration from…

Mike Matsumoto’s NSX always looking good low to the ground and sitting on 3-piece SSR Professor SP3 wheels…

Wide posture on this Z33 with TRA Kyoto Rocket Bunny aero…

Liberty Walk Porsche 997.2 that I believe is the same orange one from last year…

Troy Caraballo’s Kaido racer-styled 1981 Toyota Corona…

Lifted Toyota trucks are very popular on the island so Wekfest Hawaii played host to a few modified pick-ups…

Another shot of Chad Kobayashi’s Liberty Walk Porsche 997….

…as well as the Corona. Notice the old JIC Magic seats inside. Can’t remember the last time I saw a pair of those…

Liberty Walk R35 GTR on RSV Forged wheels planted on the ground….

Front view of the Rocket Bunny 350Z…

Section-D brought out a host of really nice AE86 builds that I’ll have plenty more photos of later…

Really nicely built CR-X on SSR wheels by an older Honda guy who now has two kids that he brings to the show with him….Or they could be someone else’s kids I don’t know, haha…

Make up your own capture, I don’t know. It’s a nice CR-X. There. I’m pretty sure I gave it an award too.

Wekfest has really pushed the idea of variety over the last few years so you see a little bit of everything at these shows including lowriders, trucks, domestics, etc…

Check out the engraving work on the grille of this Lincoln…

Slammed Civic hatchback on polished Work Equip 03s. The front lip was seriously millimeters away from the ground…

Wild custom lowrider motorcycle with candy paint and a ton of engraved components…

Rocket Bunny Ver. II Scion FR-S running a GReddy bolt-on turbo kit…

Subaru WRX wagon bagged on Barramundi Design Grandy wheels…

Bagged Subaru BRZ on VIP Modular wheels…

This EF drag car from Abanes Garage was pretty insane. I knew it was something special the moment it pulled-up and every part of the car looked like it had been customized in some way…

The fabrication work was top-notch and the color really made the car stand-out in a sea of show cars…

Check out the cage and all the fab work inside the car. It has a H2b set-up that I have more photos of in Part 2 so stay tuned for that…

Another shot of the slammed Civic on 15-inch Equips…

Volkswagen Bus looking pristine….

Tommy Dolormente’s Toyota Starlet from OSIxHI…

Lance Harano’s TE Corolla has always been a consistent award-winning car at the Wekfest Hawaii events but he decided to switch it up this year and brought out this AE86 Corolla with Levin front end conversion and SSR Longchamp XR4….

Toyota Supra Turbo with a rare GReddy Gracer front lip, carbon front fenders, Ganador Super Mirrors, and SSR Professor SP1 wheels…

AE86 Corolla with Levin front end and Impulse widebody kit…

Black Limited-themed AE86 Corolla. This isn’t a true Black Limited because there were only 400 of them ever made in Japan. All were RHD Sprinter Trueno models and this is a LHD U.S. model Corolla but this one seems to have all the parts from an actual Black Limited, which is pretty awesome…

I didn’t get a good look at the interior but the exterior had all the original parts and styling cues of a Black Limited…

A Levin-converted LHD AE86 coupe and white Trueno-style hatchback waiting to roll-in behind the Black Limited 86…

The rest of the Section-D squad weren’t Corollas but were an assortment of other impressive makes and models….

This S13 coupe owned by Alex Ching had the Spirit Rei Odyvia front end conversion, but didn’t have the rest of the kit with the front and rear wide fenders so it looked slightly different than your traditional Odyvia. I believe it still had a KA24DE motor as well but was turbocharged. I’ll have to go over the rest of the photos first to see if I remembered correctly…

Jeff Pascual’s Acura Integra Type R with a color-matched Spoon Sports front lip, J’s Racing carbon fiber hood, Mugen Gen. 1 rear wing, Volk Racing TEs, and custom modified rear bumper from Section-D. I remember talking to Jeff and he tells me he drives the shit out of this thing and after going over the car during the show, it is very obvious that he does, which is pretty cool. I dig the custom bits and pieces on it, especially the plexi-glass front pieces that cover the front bumper vents. Nice build overall…

That’s a wrap on Part 1. I promise there is much to see in Part 2 so stay tuned! Thanks for looking…