Hi all, don’t worry, I didn’t forget about the second half of the Wekfest Hawaii photos, I’ve just been super busy here in Japan. We’re in the midst of a three-day Osaka Auto Messe event and I’m typing most of this at a tiny desk situated right in-between the No Good Racing booth and the Mode Parfume display cars. I have gaps of time during the show when I can actually sit down and do stuff but it is so loud in here and there is so much going on that it’s honestly kind of hard to focus…

Anyways, back to Hawaii…

It was a good show this year. Hawaii stays pretty consistent because things don’t change very often out here. The cars are generally the same year to year and you’ll have maybe 2 or 3 new builds that debut annually. Most guys will just try to change their set-ups so their cars look a little different and there are some cars that don’t change at all. They literally have like three big events out here every year so I can understand how it can be less than motivating at times trying to do new stuff to their cars or start completely new builds. Everything just moves a bit slower out here but you come to appreciate it just being out here and enjoying the pace. I’m so used to the fast speed of life in Los Angeles so I could never see myself living in Hawaii but a lot of the other guys in the Wekfest crew absolutely love it out there. It serves as a nice little vacation for me and a gap between Japan trips for myself but I do often find myself feeling a bit stagnant while in Hawaii. I just always feel like I need to be doing something car-related to maximize my time while I’m not at home, you know?…

The show was good though. I’m happy to see an influx of Honda builds coming back to the WFHI event. I think its important to have good Hondas at shows like this because it helps to give the younger generation good examples of how to pay attention to detail. In the next few years I hope to see some more growth from Hawaii. Things look to be on an upswing right now and people seem excited about this show so we shall see where it goes. They also have a race track that is being built so maybe that will get enthusiasts excited about building cars again since so many of them blamed the closure of their old race track for things dying off in the past…

I’m sure I can elaborate more but there is just too much going on right now. I think this weekend alone, not only did we have Osaka Auto Messe for three days but in that time we also hosted a night meet out here. Throw some more shop visits in there after and my itinerary is packed. I haven’t even made it to Tokyo yet and there should be even more car stuff happening there. It’s time for me to wrap this up and get back to the car shit that’s happening right in front of me. Thanks and enjoy the photos everyone…

The sunlight was beaming into the Blaisdell center quite nicely right before the show started so I took the opportunity to get some detailed photos of the Abanes Garage Civic drag car. I’d call it an “EF/ED” Civic but it is so far evolved where it is now basically a tube frame race car with a K-series engine in it…

The purple valve cover on the 4Piston-built K24 engine…

Rear angle showing the exhaust manifold which dumps directly out the passenger side shock tower area…

Not too much of an 1989 Civic left, just a full-tube chassis with no dashboard, panels or anything. Just a firewall with the AEM electronics mounted to it…

The centerpiece of the cockpit features a Quaife 5-speed sequential transmission…

AEM CD-7 digital display and a trio of gauges mounted on the steering shaft of the Civic…

A glimpse at the rear section of the tube chassis along with the single Corbeau racing seat…

M&H Racemaster slicks mounted to Kaizer racing wheels…

4Piston Super 102mm K24 engine…

Carbon induction box pulls air into 71.5mm Kinsler individual throttle bodies…

I always have a tough time figuring out where to categorize this build when we do judging because there is nothing else really like it at Wekfest Hawaii. It stands out in a way where other cars in the building really can’t compete against it…

Lance Harano’s 1973 TE Corolla on TRD Tosco wheels is a previous “Car of the Festival” winner at the WFHI events. Not much has changed over the years and it kinda sits perfectly as-is so there’s really no reason to alter it…

2TG head mated to a 1.9-liter 3TC block with a Kameari high-style header…

Dellorto twin side-draft carbs with TWM rolled horns…

Once the car was inside and cleaned-up from the rain outside, it was finally time to get a closer look at Nisa Duarte’s RedZone-built RHD EK9 Civic Type R N1. Being that it was a rare N1-model CTR, the exterior remains relatively stock-ish in appearance. The main difference between this build and a factory-spec EK9 is that the whole car has been resprayed inside and out in Championship white with a lot of metallic flake added to give it an almost iridescent appearance. The Mugen MF10 wheels have also been customized the reflect the color palette inside the engine bay…

The B16B that came factory with the EK9 is long gone. If I remember correctly this N1 chassis was imported to the U.S. without a motor so the task was remaking the engine bay and getting a proper powerplant in there. Sitting inside now is a modern K-series swap with a slight tilt forward thanks to Hasport engine mounts typically meant for drag racing. The angle allows for direct airflow to the intake-side of the engine which now has a set of Kinsler individual throttle bodies…

Immediately you’ll see a very consistent color palette in-place with the teal and purple coating much of the components in the bay. Here you can see the angle of the engine with the core support and the coated Kinsler ITBs…

Back by the passenger-side firewall is the fuel pressure regulator, filter, and fuel lines which also match the teal/purple motif. Right next to it is a crankcase breather box also running matching black braided hoses with -AN fittings…

The header probably wasn’t intentionally matched but the heat has changed the runners to a similar colorway. The color change on the header also means that the car is fired-up and driven which is always a plus…

Tucked radiator core under the front core support with -AN hose ends and braided lines. The fittings are barely visible from the front angle but are also color-matched to suit the theme of the car…

If you’ve never seen the K-series swap with the leaned mounts, here’s the angle of it from the side showing the hood clearance and fender line…

Though the execution may be a little extreme for some, one can definitely appreciate the amount of work and effort involved with pulling off a custom engine bay like this…

Braxton’s 445-horsepower K-swapped Civic hatchback continues to evolve. As you saw in Part 1, he’s added an Airwalker rear bumper to match the BYS front that he has as well as a switch to Work RSZ-R wheels…

4Piston Racing-built K20/K24 with Wiseco pistons and Manley H-beam connecting rods inside. The head is a 4Piston Pro 163 head with 4Piston RR4 camshafts. Outside is a Skunk2 intake manifold and header with an HKS muffler on the other end. If you look closely you’ll also see that this motor also is equipped with a Nitrous Xpress kit for a little bit of extra “juice”…

Brandon Ikeda’s Integra RS from Project1 was actually one of my favorites this year. I really like what he’s done with the car and how simply effective it is in appearance. The gray tone, Gram Lights 57DR wheels, and Wings West lip just work well together…

Teal engine bay inside that’s been cleaned-up with a Comptech air box up front. Interesting choice to go with the blue wrinkle valve cover. It clashes with the teal in the bay but somehow it isn’t distracting to the eye…

Bright white Civic hatchback with a J-Blood front bumper and matching white Mugen MF10L wheels with blue anodized caps representing RedZone in Hawaii…

Turbocharged K-series swap inside the engine bay with a crankcase breather where the battery was once mounted and a Skunk2 intake manifold in the front by the half-core radiator…

Another favorite of mine this year was Caitlyn Iha’s Civic hatchback with a carbon fiber Tactical Art front lip and Mag Blue Volk TEs…

The engine bay is a great example of less being more with good detail touches without overdoing or over accessorizing…

Just minor things like the black valve cover looking practically brand new, the brand new radiator overflow, the color-matched brake booster, hell, even the OEM battery in its original location…it’s all just very minor things that everybody can do, but its done in a way with cleanliness and that OEM+ mentality that works so well. It’s timeless in many ways and will never go out of style. The only gripe, if I would have one, is the wrapped intake pipe. The wrap shows functionality but its so busy that you can’t help but focus on it. I’m just nitpicking of course because I really enjoy this car…

Jr Tiangco’s Midori Green hatchback looked great with the First Molding Flugel Plate, J’s Racing vented fenders and black Volk TEs…

His engine bay was an interesting one because he actually went and paint-matched his engine and transmission housing to the body of the car. Normally this would look a little tacky but it works because he has black accents which help to give it some darker contrast. Nice touch with the hand-pinstriped valve cover with the blue hardware which also matches the NGK wires and Spoon Sports reservoir covers. Everything is pretty well thought-out. If I had to point out something that would make this bay even better would be if the hardware was not obviously painted and still retained their original finish. It would just give it that added detail. Perhaps even zinc’d hardware would be fantastic…

Once the F50 from Mansu was parked on display inside, I was finally able to get a better look at how the custom suicide doors open…

If you really want to go that extra mile to pull-off that luxury VIP-style, suicide doors would be the way to go. Crazy that this was done and the doors are functional and everything. It really opens up the eyes to the custom interior within…

Mike Matsumoto’s NSX was wrapped in orange vinyl this year with his SSR Professor SP3 wheels now fully-polished…

The guys from R-Crew in Northern California made the trip out to Hawaii risking Coronavirus and all to support Randy Naito and his race-trimmed Midori Green Civic build…

If you’ve seen my coverage from WFHI in the past few years, you’ll recognize his Civic immediately as it is almost a staple at this event every year. Not much has changed this year but his car is pretty developed so there really isn’t a whole lot more he can do other than starting fresh from the ground-up again….

This K-powered EH hatch was rocking some under-glow neon lights, perhaps thinking he had stumbled into an HIN show or something but the car itself looks pretty good with 15-inch Gram Lights 57DR wheels and a Wings West front lip…

Billy Ogami brought-out his two Toyota TE27 Corollas, both built by Robby aka “The Frameman”…

The blue TE featured a naturally-aspirated 2TC/3TC engine with polished carburetors and rolled horns…

The red one behind it had a bit more of a drag race look to it with the beefy rear tires in the rear…

Under the hood of this Corolla was a turbocharged 2TC/3TC engine…

Here’s another shot of that pristine Toyota Corona sedan representing Old School Imports Hawaii…

PUREVIP brought out a nice collection of black big body Lexus builds including Richardson’s GReddy supercharged LS430 with Mode Parfume aero, 326power big brakes, and Work Wheels…

Devan’s LS400 from Team Mansu bagged on Airlift suspension, running a catalog of T-Demand products and Work Meister S1 3-piece wheels…

Mark from PUREVIP’s LS430 with Artisan Spirits aero and Superstar Leon Hardiritt Welles wheels…

Brian Calbero’s Evo IX 4G63-powered Lancer with a full J-spec Lancer Evolution conversion and Tommy Makinen Edition interior…

ZN6 86 rocking Rallybacker over fenders and Work Meister M1…

One more of Mark Abanes’ tubed-framed ’89 Civic hatchback drag car…

Becky and friends hanging out at the Wekfest booth…

…and a group shot of the Wekfest gang after the show ended…

The day after we hung-out at our AirBnb and watched Andy Reid win his first Super Bowl in 21 years…

I gotta get back to Japan stuff as I’ve been typing the last third of this post in Yasu’s FK7 Civic as we’re driving to do shop visits. Thanks for looking everybody!!…