While I was in Japan back in February, there was a week gap where I didn’t have any other visitors with me. Sara had gone home, Kristian and Der wasn’t set to arrive yet, and there was some free time to just recover. January had been pretty crazy so this was the week where I’d sit down finally can create some content. Creating meant chillin’ inside Yasu’s office at Exceed with the heater blasting while inhaling nonstop second-hand smoke. It’s now April and I can still smell the Seven Stars cigarettes every day, I swear. I put a couple of Vlog episodes together during that time while Yasu caught-up on work at the shop. By the end of the week, it was time for us to resume our adventures and the event I was looking forward to was the AF Fest car show hosted by my friends from Autofashion USA. I’ve known these guys since like 2004-ish so I always appreciate what they do and try to show my support. These guys were doing big things back then and allowed a young scrub like me to tag along and occasionally show my Accord with their fleet of VIP cars. I don’t know why but they me chill with them. Maybe it was a San Diego thing where you just look out for one another, who knows. But it’s been almost 20 years now and I’m happy to say that we are all alive and kicking while still remaining pretty relevant in the scope of the automotive tuning industry. Bascailly, I fuck with these dudes. They’re homies. If they’re doing something or hosting an event, I always try my best to go and every year when I used to do my anniversary meets, the guys from Autofashion would be out to help DJ even though they were dead-tired from building SEMA cars. They are good people and I think their accomplishments translate worldwide because they’ve also created a pretty cool event series in Japan over the last few years. Cool cars, good people, I don’t have to be there all day…that sounds like a fun day to me, lol…

Here are the photos. Sorry they are a few months late!…

After first seeing the Inazuma Worx AE86 build at Wekfest Japan last year, I was excited to finally be able to get some photos of it outside with better lighting. This might be one of the best builds I’ve ever seen in all my years visiting Japan, and I’m not saying that lightly. Masataka Ikeda has built some pretty amazing Toyotas in the past as well and continues to top himself with every new project…

The engine bay of the AE85 has been completely redone and reshaped from the ground-up. Each panel has been shaved smooth with unnecessary holes and studs eliminated. Mounted in the center, looking as if it were floating above the floor, is a Toyota 1UZ-FE V8 engine originally meant for a Toyota Celsior….

Long-gone is the unsightly factory intake manifold with its abundance of vacuum hoses and massive intake air box. In its place now are a set of individual throttle bodies which allow the 4.0L engine to take in fresh open air…

The cooling system has been re-plumbed to accommodate the new chassis that the engine resides in and the lines have been converted to -AN style fittings with a custom filler neck up top. Fine details have been paid to every aspect of this build and we can even go on for hours just talking about the engine bay of this Trueno alone. Take for example, the top cover where it says “1UZ-FE”. Looks like a factory piece right? Well it is but it has also been modified. That cover is actually notched and has a section where there is a provision for a valve on the intake manifold. Since the manifold is gone, Ikeda took the factory piece and altered it to be completely flat to streamline it. Then it was resprayed to factory color and it blends right in as if it were always like that from the start. Details people, details….

The custom dashboard has been designed with symmetry in mind, offering an AIM display in the center and dual PDMs on each end for various vehicle functions…

The exterior is a modern take on the classic TRD N2 livery with much added girth all around with the addition of a TRA Kyoto Pandem widebody kit…

Stuffed under ther Pandem box flares are chunky 225/585R15 Dunlop slicks wrapped around a set of Volk Racing TE37V SL wheels…

Toyota 86 (ZN6) running a TRD front lip, sides, rear lip, Aero Fins, and Volk CEs featuring an Honda K24 engine swap done by Sonoda from Impact! in Kyoto. The swap also uses a custom high-rise header, Skunk2 magnesium valve cover, and a PracWorks intake manifold attached to a drive-by-wire throttle body…

Our friends from Mechadock brought out their purple EK4 Civic SiR…

Inside the white engine bay is a B18C Type R engine swap running a Mugen hader, coil-over-plug conversion, and a set of individual throttle bodies…

Hikaru Taguchi from Moontech’s Ferrari 488GTB sitting on Ploom air suspension and Neutrale forged 3-piece wheels…

This R32 Skyline GTR looked great with all the N1 bits on it but what stood-out to me were the custom-built Work Ewing mesh wheels…

These are actually ’90s-era Work “Ewing I” wheels that have been completely refurbished. The faces and center caps are original but they’ve been transferred over to new step-lipped 3-piece lips and barrels…

What makes these stand-out are the original faces which now have a brushed aluminum finish as well as the restored center cap. You don’t see these Ewing I wheels that often these days so it’s cool to see especially on a period-correct chassis like an 32GTR…

Inside the Skyline was this OMP wheel which had the Nismo old logo horn button mounted to it…

Somewhere in Motion Picture Heaven, Johnny Tran is smiling down on Toshiki Sakurai for keeping his VeilSide S2000 alive in 2023. Sure there have been many attempts at replicating many of the cars from The Fast and The Furious film, but likely none better than Sakurai’s iteration of Tran’s Honda 2000. It’s not film-accurate you might say and of course it isn’t—it’s better. Much better…

The graphics have mostly been replicated faithfully, with certain brands changed, and the aero stays true to the original VeilSide kit. Sakurai’s S2000 however, looks much more aggressive because it sits very low on deep-dish Work VS-XX wheels that fill-out the widened front/rear fenders. The quality of work is high on this car and it looks to be meticulously maintained. Also, the ultimate win for his S2000 is that it didn’t end its tenure on this Earth as Suki’s pink S2000 in the god-awful second film like Tran’s did…

A man that refers to himself simply as “Paradox” owns this beautifully-executed Mugen CRX PRO.2 on Mugen MR-5 wheels…

These MR-5s are a bit unique though in that they have been re-barreled and refinished. The faces are silver metallic, the step-lipped barrel gives it a much wider appearance, and it even has one-off center caps. The owner has even dubbed these the “Mugen MR-5 Kai” so other enthusiasts don’t mistake them for your traditonal MR-5 wheel…

Rare to see a full PRO.2 kit these days and a CR-X put together so well in any part of the world. I love that the owner added his own little touches to it to set it apart and though it remains pretty traditional, it flirts with the idea of modernization and breaking the traditional Mugen catalog-mold…

Tsubasa Nakamura’s J’s Racing Type-GT widebody S2000 minus the Itasha-themed livery that I have become so used to seeing the car wear. This is a nice change though and allows everyone the opportunity to see all the aggressive lines of this kit…

I feel like the only time I get the opportunity to see nice RX-8 builds is when I’m in Japan so I often find myself taking photos of them. This RE Amemiya-themed SE3P caught my eye right away sitting nicely on Enkei RS-05RR wheels…

I always enjoy this venue because of the Tower of the Sun statue in the distance. It makes for a nice backdrop that is so unmistakably Japan…

Also representing Mechadock that afternoon was this white EG6 Civic with Chargespeed-style widened front fenders, an unpainted Sergeant front bumper, carbon lip, and front-staggered Enkei RPF1 wheels…

Under the double vented FRP hood is a B18C running a Maxim Works header, custom intake pipe, full-sized radiator, and PracWorks intake manifold…

The B-series set-up has also been updated to have a distributor-less coil-over-plug ignition system utilizing Audi VW ignition coils…

Another shot of the rear quarter angle of the Inazuma Worx Pandem 1UZ-powered Toyota Trueno…

Another of my favorites currently in Japan is E.Prime Racing’s AE85 Trueno. I was fortunate enough to see this build debut last year when I finally returned to Japan after the pandemic hiatus. Daito from E.Prime always creates amazing automotive projects and this one might be some of his best work yet….

As noted, this originally was an AE85 chassis, which meant that it was never offered with the iconic 4A-GE engine. The 85 was the base-model equivalent of the Trueno and Levin family so it was only equipped with a single-cam 1.5L 3A-U. The engine made all of 82-horsepower so it was the perfect candidate for a unique engine swap. Instead of going the 4A-GE route, Daito opted for a more modern BEAMS 3S-GE engine from an Altezza RS200…

The BEAMS engine has a very unique valve cover design to it and while redoing the engine bay, he also decided to reshape the wheel tubs to replicate the shape of the valve cover for symmetry…

The engine is secured to the chassis using an engine mount kit from JSP Fab here in California. Being that the engine wasn’t meant for the AE85, a custom cooling system had to be plumbed and attached to a V-mounted GReddy radiator. The exhaust manifold is also a one-off piece which Daito created himself…

The intake manifold is a Weldspeed billet unit paired with a drive-by-wire motor which is controlled by a Link ECU. Yes there is no intake pipe for it as future plans will see this 3S-GE go the forced-induction route with a custom turbo set-up…

The outside of the Trueno was cut-up to make room for a full TRA Kyoto Pandem widebody kit before it was painted Solar Orange, a limited-edition color used on current model Toyotas. The only sections left unpainted are the Workshop Takumi carbon fiber roof skin, the J*Blood carbon fiber doors, and Craftsquare mirrors. He also has a Workshop J*Blood carbon hood but since the engine bay is always on display, there’s never a need for the car to have a hood…

When the car first debuted, it sat on a set of Volk Racing TE37V SL wheels but since Daito has been working closely recently with Work Wheels Japan, he has switched over to a set of 3-piece Work Meister CR01 wheels…

The rear hatch has been painted but it’s also made of carbon fiber composite from J*Blood. I didn’t take any photos of the interior this time around but there is a full weld-in cage within, one single bucket seat, and the inside has been resprayed in the same signature hue of blue paint he uses his all his other builds….

Being a really skilled metal fabricator, Daito also had some fun with the license plate cover in the rear, showing both his love of cars and cats…

Daito from E.Prime’s wife, Ena, owns this EK4 Civic SiR which sits on the new Work Emotion RS11 wheels. The front lip, rear lip, and rear wing are all custom-made pieces by Daito himself…

TRA Kyoto Pandem V3 equipped 180SX on Airrunner suspension…

Toyota 86 wearing classy TRD Japan aero with custom widened front and rear fenders housing a set of brand new Speed Star Racing Professor SP6 3-piece wheels…

This Mazda RX8 running Pandem widebody aero on Work VS-XV wheels was dressed to resemble Mad Mike Whiddett’s old RX8 competition drift car. It’s executed quite faithfully minus some obvious differences but nonetheless, a skilled job…

The Porsche 997 4S which I was first introduced to in 2022 with a full custom-made body that resembles a modern-day version of the classic Kremer Racing Porsche 935 K3/80 competition car…

Friendly reminder that not all VeilSide Fortune RX7 builds are assembled to be a replica of Han’s FD from F&F Tokyo Drift. This one, owned by Naoto from Buzz Rhyme and built by Garage Excellent, is very different in fact, with Lambo-style doors, airbrushed body panels, custom 3-piece wheels and more….

One of the most random things I can say that I’ve ever seen at a car show in Japan, is this completely stock Nissan Quest mini-van. Now I know that there are plenty of people in Japan who are obsessed with USDM culture and lifestyle, but there are other events catered to this type of thing. And AF Fest isn’t necessarily one of those events where people showcase their affection for USDM culture. Whatever the case may be, this Quest was accepted into the show, lol. There’s nothing really special about it. It’s literally just a Nissan Quest which started life in Hawaii and was then imported into Japan where it now stalks the Japanese highway system…

I will say one thing that needs to be mentioned. It’s probably the first time I’ve seen a Nissan Quest in about a decade because most of these have all but died off and have been sent to wrecking yards all over America. So for this one to still exist and be in this good of condition speaks to the care of the current owner…

Do some of you guys remember that EF8 CR-X I posted a while back with the EF9 front-end swap? Well the owner, Akishino, also owns this Porsche 981 Cayman with a GT4 front face and Desmond Regamaster EVO II wheels…

A rare Honda Midnight Purple 1995 NSX Type-T owned by Takahiro Furuta…

Original NSX-spec double-staggered Mugen M7 wheels on Furuta’s NSX…

Yanagi brought his Idemitsu-themed EG6 Civic out to AF Fest for its final show before it went on a short hiatus. If you look inside the Civic, you’ll see that his bolt-in cage is gone. That’s because he had plans to take the car down to Osaka after to get a custom weld-in roll cage made by Exceed Japan…

Though he seems to drive this EG6 any and everywhere throughout Japan, the engine bay is still fairing pretty well with the exception of some stress cracks starting to form under the bodywork…

The B16B looks so bare without an intake pipe and radiator, which has been tucked under the core support. The radiator hoses actually run behind the engine and route under the frame rail almost completely removed from view…

Here you can get a better view of what is going on underneath the distributor and where the -AN plumbed cooling hoses route to…

I actually just saw photos of the cage being fabricated by Yasu from Exceed just recently. It’s looking pretty good and I wonder what else Yanagi will do to the EG6 again before he brings it out into public…

Current generation (E210) Toyota Corolla Sport hatchback with a full OE-optional Modellista lip kit and SSR Professor SP6 wheels. I must add that this is a very good look and I would not mind this at all as a daily cruiser…

Volkswagen Golf GTI (MK7) on a beautiful set of BBS RS center-lock wheels which come complete with a set of turbo fans…

Mao Nakai’s 1974 Datsun Z bagged on Accuair suspension tucking RS Watanabe wheels which are wrapped in Yokohama Advan Neova tires…

The Midnight Purple full carbon fiber R32 Skyline GTR from Garage Active has returned to Japan after making a brief appearance in the USA a few months prior…

No expense has been spared in this project as the Garage Active 32GTR hosts an HKS-built 3.0L “RB30” Step 3 V-Cam set-up

HKS-everything with the only exception being the GReddy billet aluminum intake manifold…

Garrett-produced HKS GT75115_BB turbocharger which is capable of maximum output of  around 1100hp…

RB30 cam cover with the signature “Powered by HKS” badge indicating what type of engine it is and serial number…

More beauty shots of the Inazuma Worx Pandem-widebody Trueno…

I’m not gonna lie, the 1UZ-FE isn’t the most attractive of engines to photograph but it definitely helps to have the eight trumpets up top…

Not entirely sure what throttle bodies these are but I believe they are OBX units since they make an actual kit for the 1UZ…

The fuel set-up in the trunk was pretty exceptional as well, I just wish I had access that afternoon to get more shots of it…

While we are here I might as well show you some more of the Total Create E.Prime Trueno with a view from up top…

Solar Orange is actually quite difficult to capture because it is so reactive to bright light. I had to go back a couple times just get a clean shot of the BEAMS engine without the area around it being blown-out from the sunlight…

Tactical Art-built EK4 Civic running their carbon fiber lip with OEM EK9 components to complete the exterior…

Inside the engine bay has been resprayed to a gray tone which has been stripped clean to host a DC5 K20A Type R engine…

Keigo Okada’s Tactical Art-built Honda Integra Type R sitting snuggly on Volk TE37…

The engine bay has also been painted the same grey as the EK above with the brake booster deleted and the radiator tucked under the core support. The B18C Type R hosts a Maxim Works header, Rywire coil-over-plug conversion, and Kinsler individual throttle bodies…

32GTR with N1 front bumper, front lip, sides, rear spats, and custom matte-brushed aluminum finish Volk TEs…

Wrapping this one up with one more shot of alternate universe Johnny Tran’s VeilSide Honda 2000 since its pretty rad to still see F&F-inspired builds in 2023. I’m pretty sure I got more photos to get to still from Japan even though I’m going back again soon. Stay tuned for more and thanks for looking!!…