By the time you guys read this I’ll probably be walking around in New York City already, taking in the hot ass, incredibly humid, weather before we are set to host the East Coast Wekfest stop in Edison, New Jersey. These last couple days have been interesting. The photos and words from Wekfest Los Angeles have generated some pretty good discussions. I’m glad we can have a constructive conversation about our automotive tuning community. I’ve probably written much more than I have in quite some time and I’m glad my words are being absorbed by people. Any time you have such a competitive environment like Los Angeles and San Jose, it is going to spark some banter. Everyone who competes and has been competing over the years wants to win. They want to feel validated for their hard work. I get it. The rest of the crew at Wekfest gets it too. We’d just prefer that you understand our process. That’s why in the last few Vlogs I’ve given you guys a glimpse into the war room where we talk about the show and its competitors. I think moving forward I’ll continue to do so. Sometimes I do it for comedic relief and show that I’m watching cat videos on Instagram or something but we do spend a bulk of the time at any event we host deliberating. It’s not always easy either. We’ll sometimes discuss who goes where and who wins what up until the very end of the show. Though many of us aren’t exactly in that mindset where we ourselves want to compete in that way with our cars, we fully appreciate the ones that still have the competitive fire…

California is a tough place to judge a car show but then I’m already a bit anxious about going back to New Jersey. I don’t think there is another stop in our tour where people are as competitive as the enthusiasts from the East Coast. There is just a different type of energy out there. And I bet they are even more amped-up since we haven’t been back in a few years. Hopefully we see some great cars and meet some great people out there. Until then, I invite you to check out the final concluding portion of my photos from the 2022 Wekfest event in Los Angeles, California. I’ll see some of you out in New Jersey…

Enjoy…

Daniel Song’s immaculate 1972 Datsun 240Z which was a ground-up restoration build by JDM Legends in Salt Lake City, Utah. The entire chassis was resprayed in House of Kolor Pure White paint and hosts 240ZG over-fenders, a Type 1 front chin spoiler, Z432 rear wing, as well as staggered RS Watanabe wheels…

The reworked engine bay features a L28 2.8-liter straight-six engine with OER 45mm carburetors, Fujitsubo 6-2 header, Koyo radiator, Vibrant oil catch set-up…

Inside is a completely restored 240Z dashboard, brand new door panels, Datsun Competition steering wheel and Bride Historix seats…

I overheard at the end of the show that his 240Z was actually for sale since he had another big project lined-up. I don’t know what he’s going to do next but whoever purchases this JDM Legends-built Z is going to love it…

Daniel Song also brought his R33 Skyline GTR to show alongside his Z. Originally he had set-up to do a Pandem widebody R33 but the GTR he received was way cleaner than he anticipated it would be. Instead of cutting the car up, he decided to create his very own Nismo 400R-tribute build…

William’s Lexus LS430 UL wearing full Aimgain VIP aero and one of my favorite wheels ever, the SSR Professor MS3 in gold…

An exceptional Rallye Red FK8 Civic Type R put together by Hayden Chan running a Varis Arising-II aero kit paired with a Voltex GT wing and Almighty Grey Regamaster EVO II wheels…

I was honestly quite surprised to see such a clean EM1 Civic SI at the show. Other than the modern 15-inch Volk TE37SL wheels, the coupe looks like it’s frozen in time. It’s so simple aesthetically but if you’re an avid Honda aficionado, this type of build will stop you in your tracks. So many EM1 coupes have been destroyed or stolen over the years that its refreshing to see such a nice one at a car show. Just factory body, no additions other than suspension and wheels for the exterior—it’s just fine the way it is…

The engine bay also looks frozen in time with the only real modern updates being the coil-over-plug conversion. The B16A remains, the coupe still has working air conditioning, working cruise control, a Comptech air box, Skunk2 intake manifold, and DC Sports header. Some day this thing is going to be worth A LOT of money…

Leo Barrit’s ’95 Toyota Supra is relatively simple on the outside, running HRE wheels, a Twinz Design front valance, Type 2 front lip, and Type 1 sides, and rear diffuser, but the car truly shines in the engine bay…

The once naturally-aspirated Supra now hosts a 3.3L BC Racing-stroked 2JZ-GTE VVTi swap with a Borg Warner twin-turbocharged set-up that makes over 1100-horsepower! All the plumbing is custom-fabricated out of titanium contrasted with the high polish from the Hypertune intake manifold, Koyo radiator, and bright blue valve cover…

A fantastically-executed engine bay that not only looks good, but functions and makes gobs of power. That is why Leo’s Supra was award the “Engine Bay of the Festival” award at this year’s Wekfest Los Angeles…

A solid collection of parts on this Toyota 86 with a giant Narita Dogfight decal plastered on its doors. The front is Varis Arising-II, as are the sideskirts, but front/rear over fenders are from TRA Kyoto. The giant factory mirrors have been swapped for classic Craftsquare carbon mirrors and the rear features a Voltex Type 7 swan-neck wing…

Jeff’s Carbonerre Motors widebody Mercedes AMG GTS aired-out, resting on his BBS LM-R wheels…

After the doors opened for the show to begin, the incredibly-rare C10 Hakosuka Skyline GTR from Auto Conduct had its hood propped open to showcase the clean engine set-up inside the bay…

Unlike many rebadged Skyline GTXs, this is a legit GTR, complete with the original DOHC S20 inline-6 engine and its Mikuni-Solex carburetors…

Enrique Guerra’s DA showed-up this year with some new changes after winning the “90s Car of the Festival” ward in 2021. He added to his era-specific theme with the addition of a Kaminari front bumper, Kaminari side skirts, and Kaminari rear bumper. I don’t know if I love this look more than his previous but he’s always done a great job of showing the quality in his execution. His Integra is a nice take on an era-specific build with some modern components. It’s like a fusion of time periods…

Anthony Keuth always gets the best spectator parking at Wekfest LA. He understood the life hack of just showing your car and hanging-out with your friends without having to park far, lol. Mildly kidding of course. Anthony’s DA has come a long way and he comes from a family of Honda enthusiasts. His dad even came by to chill and talk Hondas with his fellow enthusiasts…

What I described about the points-based judging system being outdated is where a build like Andrew Horn’s would apply. At a conventional, traditional, import car show, Horn’s Civic would never win because it’s purely-bred to be a race car. It has no custom audio, no custom interior, and the paint finish is far from perfect. He never built the car for points so he’d easily get lost in a mix of other cars because he scores “0” in specific categories. What I and the other judges from Wekfest see in this build is a highly-developed race car. The necessary parts and areas of the car that make it a race car are executed with great care and quality. His parts selection is also exceptional and those components are utilized to make this Civic a competitive racing vehicle. It’s functional. It doesn’t need custom suede interior or full car audio, or a chromed undercarriage, so why should he be punished for bringing his car to compete?…

There is a natural flow to his build, you understand its purpose and it looks great. It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t need to be. Detail and execution reign for this Civic. He also did a majority of the work all on his own in his garage. That’s why it placed as the “Civic of the Festival”…

Horn also gets credit for one of the longest tenured Civic builds that is still very much a relevant build in 2022. His Civic has gone through many changes in the 15+ years that he’s been modifying it. There was a time when it was the demo car for Password:JDM, running a B16B and competing in the Honda Challenge series during a time when time attack racing was not even in the scope of many enthusiasts. Now the car has a K20A powerplant employing the help of Drag Cartel 2.2 cams, a beautiful PracWorks carbon fiber intake manifold, Skunk2 header, and full-size CSF radiator. It is also worth noting that the throttle body has been converted to electronic drive-by-wire and operates via Emtron engine management…

There’s just so much more development to this build than meets the eye and to fully understand it would help you easily come to a conclusion that it was one of the best inside that building that weekend…

If you’d like to know more about Andrew’s Civic, CLICK HERE…

The “Judge’s Choice of the Festival” ultimately went to Alex Alfaro’s Integra Type R which was one of the shows most interesting builds with quite the story. I wrote a lengthy post about this ITR on my Instagram page which I’ll include here since it tells a pretty good tale of Alex and his Integra. I’ll try to add some additional details after since I hit the character limit on IG…

“A couple of big stories came from this past weekend’s Wekfest Los Angeles event, but for me personally, this one was the most significant…

If you guys know @itr_alex, you’ll know that he’s never one to speak much but always has some pretty amazing parts tucked away. He’s one of those guys that just loves collecting rare items for his Integra. Alex is also one not to bring his car out unless he has something new or interesting to show the world…

About 5 years ago, he started email correspondence with Junichi Tanaka and JUN Auto about possibly getting a JUN-built B-series engine for his ‘97 ITR. Tanaka himself communicated with Alex and gave him details about what all came with the engine and what to expect if he was to go through with the order. He provided full specifications but expressed reluctance in building the engine because of the difficulties that would come with finding a good base motor. The B-series engine is older obviously so it made sense. Alex was still interested however because it was a piece he’s always wanted. The famed founder of JUN Auto passed away in 2019 from illness before the order could go through so Alex reconnected with JUN some time after and actually spoke to Tanaka’s son who had taken over. He asked if he could still get the engine built but the son was reluctant for the same reasons. Alex showed him that previous emails that he had with his father and the son eventually came around, agreeing to build it in honor of his late-father…

A few months ago, the JUN-built B18C arrived in the US and much to Alex’s surprise, the B18C longblock was also originally from a ‘97 R. He got the engine in recently and brought the car out for the first time at WFLA. What Alex possesses now is what might be the last Honda B-series engine to ever come out of JUN Auto…

The wheels are also noteworthy. They’re not Work Emotions, but a special Work WAE forged wheel made in the early 2000s for circuit racing. Some 17-in versions have surfaced over the years but these 16s were last seen on a Spoon S2000 endurance race car some time in ‘02…”

I ran out of space to type more but I should mention that he even contacted Work Wheels directly to get more information on the wheels and they didn’t have anything for him. All they knew was that the wheels were commissioned back in the ’90s for a one-make race. The forged wheels didn’t even have labels or anything, just the wheel specs etched into the back of one of the spokes of each wheel…

The entire engine bay was cleaned-up and repainted by Auto Explosion in Gardena, CA. before the JUN B18C went in. Everything inside that could be purchased brand new from the Acura dealership was acquired. That’s why miscellaneous parts like the power steering reservoir, coolant reservoir, and more all look so clean. It’s because they’re new OEM products. There’s no shaving of the engine bay or a Mil-spec wire harness because Alex wanted the car to look as it would have back in the early 2000s. Even the engine harness that was used is a new OEM-style harness…

I asked what engine management he was running and he told me that he went with a Hondata unit instead of the chipped ECU that JUN would have supplied. It made sense because he was running TODA Racing individual throttle bodies and the JUN engine would run better with more modern technology which could be tuned to the atmospheric conditions of Southern California…

Look at how new everything looks, whether it be the engine mounts or little details like the OEM zinc-plated hardware. This car is just incredible through and through. So many details, such incredible parts selection with so many rare pieces, and a whole fucking JUN engine….

Unbelievable…

The iconic JUN valve cover, billet aluminum spark plug wire cover, signature red TODA Racing fuel rail, and Maxim Works header…

A closer look at the rare forged Work WAE wheels wrapped in Yokohama Advan A048 tires with pristine Mugen Active Gate brakes behind them…

I wonder how many people noticed the almost impossible to find Crowhouse rear bumper for the DC2 chassis. It is such a subtle piece that most wouldn’t even notice…

Again, builds like this are exactly why a points-based system of judging is antiquated. How are you supposed to score this?…

Soon after I stopped studying Alex’s Integra for what seemed like hours, it was time to announce the awards and commence the roll-out of Wekfest LA. Since the show ended around 6PM, the sun was setting and cast some gold hues on the exhibitor cars as they exited….

The overall “Car of the Festival” winner, Ravi Dolwani and his SV Auto-built custom Porsche 911 SC…

The winner of the “Honda of the Festival” at San Jose came down to Los Angeles to claim the award once again…

It’s remarkable that this Civic looks this good every event when it spends many weekends as a dutiful track car. Not only is it functional, it’s perhaps the most complete Honda build at the show inside and out…

A glimpse of the custom center-exit exhaust on the DSR Civic CX which is an homage to the old ATS Garage EK built by Fred Chapman…

Props to Enrique Guerra for rocking a Kaminari kit in 2022 and making it look cool…

Didn’t get a chance to get a photo of Joseph Pham’s FK8 Type R inside the show, but glad I was able to get him as he was leaving…

Sun flares and CE28s with Donnie Cristobal’s K24 Civic sedan…

I was trying to get some more shots of these two Euros as they were leaving but most of the photos came out blurry. Total fucked that…

DJ Inch and his 997 exiting the building….

Tommy Ha heading home with his “S2000 of the Festival” award in his ASM S2000CR…

Dong Park’s widebody FD RX-7…

The fleet of Liberty Walk widebody exotics from LTMW roaring out of the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center…

Didn’t get a chance to get a photo of them inside but I snapped this shot of these guys on the street while they waited for their friends…

Gene spent the entire day at the show to chat with fellow enthusiasts about his CR-X, but at the end of the day, he had his friends step-in to help him get his car home. I guess they didn’t want to take any chances with his back still being hurt for him to roll-out…

The car still had to be loaded onto a trailer so it made sense that he left it to more capable hands—and backs….

Anthony and his Marga Hills widebody NSX…

John Cruz’s Spoon Sports lip was sitting mighty close to the pavement as he drove away…

It felt good to hear Alex’s JUN B18C run after listening to the story that led up to him getting his Integra Type R together…

Joe Le’s Aston Martin just has so much presence on these Volk TE SL wheels. It’s one of those cars that no matter where it is, you’ll find yourself turning your head to look at it…

Jordan from West Collective left feeling accomplished after winning “Acura of the Festival” back-to-back years in Los Angeles. He promises some big changes to his DC5 build in the very near future…

Buff Kutschat surprised everyone when he showed-up with a fresh new K-swapped DC2 Integra build that no one had seen before. He ended the day winning the “Integra/RSX of the Festival” award. Buff is actually one of the older Honda enthusiasts who recently started attending events like Wekfest after taking time off to start and grow his family…

…and we close-out this year’s Wekfest Los Angeles coverage with a final shot of this Liberty Walk Ferrari F430…

This weekend is the final Wekfest event of the summer season, if you guys are gonna be out in New Jersey, I’ll see you all there!!…