I apologize for the delay in posting these photos but things have been pretty hectic lately around here. There was a some photos I had to finish up for some marketing stuff I’m doing for this company and honestly, I was almost a little hesitant to post these shots up from Wekfest LA because they just aren’t as complete as I’d like them to be, especially compared to all the coverage I’ve done over the years. The reason being behind the lack of photos is that I wasn’t at the show for the early morning staging, which is when I normally shoot. If you guys have been keeping up, you’ll know that I was busy trying to get my own car ready for the show for once and things just didn’t really work out that day. I forgot how difficult it was to do the whole media thing, doing photos and video, while also getting a car prepped for the event. In the past my car was usually ready for the show and all it needed was a wash and some gas but this year, I redid my entire vehicle and the glass had to be taken out for the re-spray and we just ran out of time. I was literally on my way to the show at around 12:05 PM when the car decided that it didn’t want to make the trek down to Long Beach. I had to bring the car back to IDL to park, and hopped into Tiffanie’s car to drive down to the show. It also feels very weird going to a car show like a normal spectator, having to park in the regular lot and then walk over to the line to get into the show, haha. It was an experience I hadn’t had in quite some time, let me tell you. This particular venue is trying to fuck Wekfest as well too by taxing everyone for the parking and it’s kind of a shit show down in Long Beach now, to be perfectly honest with you. There’s no way parking should cost more than the entrance fee to the show which is every indication that the Queen Mary lot does not want to host car shows anymore. That’s why Toyotafest moved over to the other side of Long Beach this year. For those of you who have gone to all the Wekfest events down here, I think this will be the last time you ever attend the show down at the Queen Mary, because this show is likely moving to a different venue. It’s just not a good idea to host the event here anymore when the people who own the venue are basically trying to force you out. I’ll be sure to let you guys know what is happening in the future but all signs point to there being a new venue in the following years. I would like to personally apologize on behalf of Wekfest if you felt like you were unjustly charged that $30 for parking because it totally was not the doing of the event. That was all Long Beach and the Queen Mary. Trust me, when I pulled into the parking lot, I also had to pay that $30 and I was like “what the fuck is going on here?” In years past it wasn’t nearly that much and the staff at the Queen Mary were less than helpful…

In any case, I didn’t get to Wekfest until about 2 PM and I immediately started shooting from then on. The trouble with shooting during this time and not in the morning is that it casts some pretty harsh shadows, especially when the skies are clear and there is no cloud cover in sight. Sigh…ah well. Here’s to hoping San Jose will be much better for coverage from me. My bad friends, I guess it isn’t easy being both behind the scenes and trying to have a car in the show as well. Time to re-prioritize and get everything on track. Here are the photos however, enjoy them and I will certainly be back shooting more in San Jose….

Wekfest Long Beach 2017

Words by StickyDilJoe

Photos by StickyDilJoe & Tiffanie Marie

Jonathan Wong’s Civic showed-up to Wekfest with a bit of a makeover. The story behind the change is because Yuta personally asked Wong to borrow his Civic to display at the Battlecraft booth at the event. Yuta would give it a slight change in appearance to display some product and return the car to its original form as Wong left it soon after the show ended. The one-off Rocket Bunny kit remained but the car sat much more aggressively on Exceed SSD coilovers and a set of custom Mugen MR5 wheels with really meaty Federal slicks…

A close-up look at the MR5s which have a matte black face while the lips have been powdercoated what is called “Double Dark Tint”which creates this translucent smokey gray finish…

David Andrade’s Mode Parfume Phantom GaMu Lexus LS430 sitting on the ground via Airrex suspension and Superstar Leon Hardiritt Ordens…

Mode Parfume Y51 Infiniti M also on Superstar Ordens…

Ming Ly’s Mode Parfume Phantom GaMu Lexus LS460L on RVL forged wheels. This Mode front bumper is actually a one-off made with added carbon fiber pieces which once belonged to one of the family member’s cars when it was in Japan…

Rilber’s Mode Parfume Phantom GaMu widebody Lexus 3GS…

Mode Parfume Toyota Prius running Airrunner suspension and SSR SP3 wheels…

Chuy Navarro’s Phoenix Yellow Integra Type R running brand new never before released Mugen MF10 wheels in 16×8 +42 format, also running a brand new color-matched Exceed Japan front lip, which should be available for U.S. customers by the time you read this from ICB Motorsports…

AP Racing front brakes stuffed behind the 16×8 bronze MF10 wheels…

Mugen S1 driver’s seat and Magical Racing side mirrors mounted to base plates…

Aimgain GT widebody Nissan GTR put together with the help of Autofashion USA in matte purple, nearly identical to the original R35 democar from Japan…

Aimgain GT x Stancenation widebody kit on this Scion FR-S on 3-piece Work Meister S1 wheels…

Al’s supercharged widebody Lexus 3GS on Avant Garde forged wheels…

Steve Wong’s Mode Parfume UCF20/21 Lexus LS sitting perfectly on SSR Professor TF1…

James Oliver’s custom widebody Mode Parfume Lexus SC430 from STYLESIXTYTHREE…

Bagged BMW E30 on BBS RS…

Aimgain x Stancenation widebody Nissan 370Z on Work Meister S1…

Rauh Welt Porsche 964 owned by artist Jon Sibal parked at the Work Wheels booth…

Mark’s Dimes Racing twin-turbo Lamborghini Huracan on BBS LM…

Liberty Walk Performance widebody Ferrari F430 on centerlock RVL wheels…

Ferrari 458 Italia with molded Liberty Walk widebody kit on Rotiform wheels…

TRA Kyoto Pandem widebody R32 Skyline GTR…

Prince Motor Company Sports-themed Hakosuka Skyline coupe…

Previous Wekfest “Best of Show” winner William Tetro’s twin-turbocharged GM LS-powered FC RX-7 came all the way out from Florida to be displayed at the BC Racing booth…

A look at the twin-turbocharged LSx engine bay of Tetro’s RX-7…

Jon Tran’s Hyundai Genesis bagged on RSV Forged wheels…

Lexus IS350 with Clinched widebody flares and RSV forged wheels owned by CT Phan…

My old buddy Jeff Correa’s bagged VIP-styled 8th gen. Honda Civic from San Diego…

Central Pine’s Aimgain Lexus 2GS on SSR Formula Mesh wheels…

Central Pine’s custom Lexus GS on full T-Demand suspension and SSR Executor wheels…

Also from Central Pine’s camp was this Lexus GS350 with T-Demand suspension components and SSR Executor wheels….

Kyoei USA’s Aimgain Jun VIP Lexus LS on Aimgain wheels…

This Lexus LS460 featured a Mode Parfume aero kit and Aimgain over-fenders bagged on BBS wheels…

Cesar from Kyoei USA’s Airrunner-equipped Toyota Century limo imported from Japan…

You don’t see air suspension on old Datsuns very often but this 240Z owned by Migel Armas was seated nicely on an Airrunner set-up…

Sang Pham’s Full Race-turbocharged J’s Racing GT widebody S2000 on new Volk Racing TE37 Saga in white…

Vertex-equipped Nissan 240SX on original Magnesium Volk Racing TE37 wheels owned by the Duong family from JADE crew… (Also Der’s favorite S14 ever…)

Ahmed Sulfab’s turbocharged Integra Type R that you guys just recently saw at the Eibach Honda Meet running C-West front bumper, INGS+1 sideskirts, and Crowhouse fenders…

A look at the engine bay with the billet B-series valve cover, Precision turbocharger, and custom titanium intercooler piping…

Holding practically the entire Mugen catalog together in real life was this Integra Type R owned by Alex Alfaro. He even just recently acquired the 16×8 Mugen MF10 wheels to add to his extensive collection…

Though his engine bay doesn’t have all the styling cues you’d expect these days from a shaved and tucked bay, it’s still a Type R hosting many components from Mugen…

Another view of the MF10s in bronze with matching Mugen Active Gate front brakes…

AT Civic hatchback with refinished black Mugen CF48 wheels with aero disks mounted to the faces. Also note the Mugen S1 buckets inside…

Robert Perez’s Spoon Sports catalog-complete Civic hatchback always looking great. That engine bay looks like it belongs in a Spoon Sports collectors hall, if there were ever to be one…

Civic hatchback laying on the grass with a set of SSR Air Stage wheels…

Issac Sierra’s Integra looking consistently immaculate on Desmond Regas. Also another engine bay that retains the OEM-look with just some minor additions…

GM LS-powered Nissan 350Z on the longest wing ever…

S2000 with bolt-on Circuit Garage flares hosting an individually-throttled motor with a practically naked engine bay. Crazy how much smoothing-out was done to this bay. If the engine itself had been cleaned-up a bit more along with tops of the dampers, it’d look damn near perfect…

Parked right next to that red AP1 was this LS-swapped AP2 S2000, this one with M&M Honda Hyper Widebody flares and a Voltex front bumper…

Andy Ta’s 1GS wearing a rare Skipper Design aero kit and SSR Professor MS3 wheels with red caps…

K-Break kitted Lexus 2GS from Endless Projects with modified front and rear fenders that host a set of Work Emitz wheels….

Nat’s HKS GT Supercharged Lexus LS460 from Endless Projects ended the day taking home the “Import of the Festival” award…

Jesse Brozyna from JDL Auto Design’s Scion FR-S with Varis front bumper, Todoroki front fenders, and Volk Racing wheels…

The engine bay has been cleaned-up and the flat-four motor is now turbocharged with his own custom kit running a GT2860RS turbo which helps the car make right around 400whp. Nice details with the XRP lines and all. Great work and one of the better FR-S bays out there…

That’s a wrap on Part 1. Still another section of photos to come so stay tuned!…