“It was all a dream”…is probably something I’d say had I actually got anything more than an hour sleep the night before Year10, but realistically, I was probably way too excited to sleep anyway. In the later years of doing these anniversary meets, I find myself almost over-prepared because the formula is just so simple. Literally nothing has changed year to year. It’s the same venue, pretty much the same people, and certainly the exact same hot ass weather. The cars kinda change with new builds debuting and all, but the atmosphere remains unchanged and I honestly think that is what people enjoy the most about it. The Chronicles meets just have this very classic, old school, comforting vibe to it that brings people together for a good time. Even if I wanted to change it, I don’t really think I would…EVER. There are some that say I may have even outgrown the Eibach Springs facility in Corona, CA but I’d rather just keep it this size with little to no want for further expansion. It’s just perfect how it is, I feel…

I find it pretty interesting now how this event has become this place for builders and tuning companies to debut their new car builds, because I originally was perfectly okay with people not even bringing their cars, lol. It was completely optional to even have a car. Just come hang out with us, shoot the shit, and if you had a car you wanted to bring, that’d be pretty great. In the years that followed, it became an event that, for whatever reason, was highly-anticipated. People even began saving their builds just so they could unveil them at this event. I mean, I guess it makes sense because I always schedule it the weekend before the SEMA Show but even that was only done to accommodate some of my Japanese friends who were visiting. I imagine this is just one of those things that worked-out with good fortune and came together organically. It is so humbling to know now that in our tenth year, we have people coming from all over the world just to experience this. People even drive their cars from as far as the East Coast and Canada to meet-up. Again, I wouldn’t change anything because the formula just works perfectly well as-is, but I did want to add another layer this year to the weekend. This year, some close friends of mine couldn’t make it out to the meet because one of my friends was getting married. Being as so many people come from all over for SEMA and Autofashion’s VIP Festival, I couldn’t just move the date entirely. I wanted people to be able to maximize their time while they were here in California so I thought it was best to just have another event that same weekend so my friends who missed my event for the wedding could still see many of these cars that had come from afar. The date, time, and location was kept pretty secretive in the weeks leading up to Year10 because I didn’t want to have a full on melee at our shop but the plan was to host a “Chronicles & Coffee” meet the morning after Year10. That way the people who were leaving to go home to wherever they came from could stop by in the morning and other enthusiasts who couldn’t attend Year10 would be able to experience a little bit of the meet in a much smaller, more intimate environment…

What was really great about the two events was just how different the feel of each were. Year10 was madness. It was a car meet/show with thousands of people and over 220 vehicles on full display. Chronicles & Coffee was the polar opposite. We had maybe a hundred or so enthusiasts on-hand, more than likely less than a hundred cars, and a whole lotta donuts. Back-to-back days with two very different, both very special, gatherings. As a photographer, I found myself constantly having the itch to shoot everything I could but another consistency that comes with these meets is the overwhelming responsibility of making sure that everything was operating smoothly. I don’t even think I had a chance to eat anything the entire day, even when food was being shoved right in front of me. I did find an hour or so in the afternoon to fire off some shots and that’s what we’re gonna look at in this two-part series. After that I’ll show you guys some coverage from the Chronicles & Coffee event that followed. I still have a bunch of Japanese visitors in town that I have to take out to dinner before they fly back so I’ll keep it brief today. Well, three paragraphs is brief for me, anyway. Enjoy and thank you to all who came out to Year10 and/or Chronicles & Coffee. None of this would be at all possible without the incredible amount of support I’ve received over the past ten years. You all are truly amazing folks and I’m happy to share this time with every one of you…

The first car the arrived at Eibach that morning, pretty much the same time as I rolled into the lot, was the debuting HKS USA Honda Civic Type R (FK8). HKS USA and the guys from Evasive Motorsport had just finished putting the car together hours before the meet. Pretty cool to have the new HKS democar at my event because years earlier I couldn’t get anybody to show up, let alone HKS, lol…

Brand new Advan Racing TC-4 on the FK8 warpped in Yokohama Advan A052 rubber…

Shortly after we started setting up, Sang cruised up in his turbocharged J’s Racing GT widebody S2000…

After snapping that photo, I had to organize all kinds of shit and make sure roll-in went smoothly so I put the camera away and didn’t pick it up again until the late afternoon…

The ATS Garage crew from the Bay Area had a huge presence this year at Year10 and it was a welcome sight to see as some of these cars had not been seen publicly before and some have been tucked away in storage for what seems like an eternity…

Probably the most recognized ATS Garage build in 2018 was Phil Sison’s K-powered Integra. It’s been great seeing this build out and about all year and a pleasure to host him at Year10…

The ’02 K20A engine running AT Power individual throttle bodies with a host of Cerakoted accessories thanks to Fred Chapman from Chapman Concepts…

GJ from ATS Garage’s B20B-powered Honda del Sol. Great-execution in the engine bay, as you’d expect from these guys, and a nice collection of parts from J’s Racing, Spoon Sports, FEEL’S, and more…

Ferd Nativdad finally came out of hiding and brought his right-hand drive K20A Integra down to Southern California. His latest Spoon Sports-theme looks great on the custom “Pole Position Blue” paint and you’ll be interested to know that he actually drove the car all the way down from the Bay Area for Year10…

2002 K20A with an RBC intake manifold, yellow valve cover, carbon intake, Rywire engine harness, and full-sized radiator which has been converted to -AN fittings and braided cooling hoses…

Jay Powers’ had an interesting approach on his Phoenix Yellow Integra Type R utilizing a front bumper which fuses a 94-97 top and 98-01 bottom together….

The HKS FK8 CTR after it was all set-up with hood-propped showcasing some new HKS goods…

Another of Sang Pham’s S2000 on a new set of Volk TE37SL that he acquired not too long ago…

Sang’s Full Race-turbocharged F22C engine…

Tommy Ha from GoTuning Unlimited found some time away from traveling to beautiful places all over the world to cruise out to Year10 in his full ASM-themed Honda S2000 CR…

Mike Schietroma’s turbocharged K-series EM1 Civic SI coupe displayed at the Mackin Industries booth sitting appropriately on Volk Racing CEs paired with Project Mu brakes…

Front face of the RCG-built EM1. Great to see them all the time and I am very much appreciative of the support over the years from their camp…

The ever-impressive engine bay of Mike’s Civic SI coupe hosting a K24A2 engine, All-In center-feed intake manifold, JDL Auto Design turbo manifold, and Garrett GT35R turbo…

RHD EG Civic wearing a J’s Racing front lip and wide fenders displayed at the Hasback booth…

Interesting pairing with an ARC intake pipe and OEM air box with Spoon Sports filter inside…

Phil’s DC5 RSX rocking a silver/black two-tone theme with mismatched white wheels. If those WEDS in the rear look familiar to you, they are indeed the ones that were once on my Odyssey…

Kemritte’s AE86 Corolla with Levin front face conversion with TBO hot dog hood and front bumper…

20-valve 4A-GE under the TBO hood with individual throttle bodies and a Koyorad radiator…

Jorge Torres and friends from Team 5star came all the way out from Texas to attend Year10 with four of their best builds. This is Torres’ K-powerd Mugen del Sol with custom double-vented front fenders…

Smoothed-out engine bay hosting a K powerplant, Mugen accessories, and a Golden Eagle intake manifold…

Eddie from 5star’s PY Integra Type R running an Exceed x Mode Parfume front lip, Mugen Gen. 1 rear wing, Ganador mirrors, and Diamond Black Volk CE28N…

Factory B18C ITR powerplant with a cleaned-up engine bay using a Mugen airbox set-up…

Fernando Huerta’s K-powered Mugen del Sol sitting nice and low on concave-faced bronze Volk TE37…

A couple of photos of the beautifully-executed engine bay which has been shaved smooth and filled, hosting a K20Z1 swap with Kinsler individual throttle bodies. Also check-out the Rywire tucked radiator set-up and custom -AN plumbing…

Mike from 5star’s Mugen-complete EK4 Civic SiR on 16×8 Mugen MF10…

Inside the EK4 engine bay, which has been completely smoothed-out and shaved is a K-series set-up as well, with a polished Skunk2 intake manifold and accessories from both Mugen, K-Tuned, and Hybrid Racing…

Inside Mike’s Mugen EK is a Mugen FG360 steering wheel w/horn pad, Mugen cluster, and Mugen shift knob mated to a Hybrid Racing shifter…

Tucked under the NEXT! Miracle X-Bar is a rare carbon fiber Mugen fuel cell cover to match with the Mugen S1 buckets and other Mugen goodies…

One of the more impactful debuts at this year’s Chronicles Anniversary Meet was Dani Lemus’ CR-X build with EF8 SiR face, J’s Racing hood, front lip, and old school Volk TE16 wheels re-imagined in black…

The gutted and simplified interior of Lemus’ CR-X, complete with bolt-in cage and MOMO steering wheel…

One of the more notable aspects of the CR-X build were the custom metal panels created by the madmen from ASC Speed Metal…

Winner for the most unexpected car and journey to Year10 goes to Ken and his bagged V12 Toyota Century which made the drive all the way from Canada!…

Displayed at the VTEC Club USA booth was John’s Civic hatchback, more recognized previously as “Goldie” from FF-Squad…

Inside “Goldie” is a tried and true B-series set-up with TODA Racing individual throttle bodies…

Still another set of photos to come from Year10, so come back for the rest! Hell, I’m even surprised I took so many photos, though I really wish I had all the time in the world to shoot more. Thanks for looking!!…