Man, it has been quite a while since I put together one of these blog posts. Things have been so crazy hectic here that I find myself stuck in one of the rare occasions when I actually have TOO MUCH content to show you guys. Being in Japan for most of the first-half of the year will do that I guess. I collected so much photo content during those months that there was much catching-up to do after I returned home. And once I got home, most of my time was dedicated to executing the CHRNCLS x ADVAN collaboration properly. It was such a unique opportunity that there was so way I was going to NOT give it my all. As much as I hate to admit it, everything else went on the backburner as a result of that. I wanted to leave no stone unturned. There was no way I was going to allow someone to say “that’s nice but this could have been done better”. I wouldn’t let it leave my hands if that was the case. It wouldn’t be fair to my years of hard work. By the time the collaboration rolled-out to the public, there really wasn’t a second to breathe. The summer season had come upon us and I was immediately back on the road…

The hardest decision that I’ve come to right now with stock piles of photos is what to show you guys first. Originally I had thought to show it all in chronological order. The word “chronicle” is based on retelling history in order based on when it happened. But I find myself now deviating a bit from that idea because there’s a lot of stuff that is very relevant to what is happening here at home, and a lot of stuff from Japan that really doesn’t have a set timeline. If I never showed you guys what I shot in Japan, you would never have known that it had happened because there’s nowhere else to see it. They could be placed anywhere in the timeline and it would make sense to you. So, I decided to start where I most recently came from; San Jose, California. We’re going to start at one of the biggest events of the year, and a particularly special one for me, since I’ve been with Wekfest since the very beginning…

The Wekfest event series has always been special because both the show and The Chronicles began roughly around the same time. We are both at our 15-year milestone. That makes us all sound very old but I think being at this point deserves to be celebrated. I don’t think too many people in the automotive community can say that they created something that is still very much in the topic of relevancy in year 15. That’s special. I remember the very early days of Wekfest in San Francisco. The inaugural event was held in a cramped parking structure in San Francisco Japantown. I was at that event selling the first Chronicles t-shirts from the trunk of my friends Honda Fit at the show. I didn’t even have the resources to have a booth to sell stuff in. A couple friends had created this show and I was just there to support. I wouldn’t become a part of its ‘staff’ until some years later when I was invited to join the nationwide tour. It went from an overcrowded parking garage in SF to multiple stops all over the USA and even Japan. It’s been a hell of a fucking ride I’ll tell you. We made a lot of mistakes along the way, had to eat shit and learn, but there’s no other event like it. And that’s because of the people who are a part of it. I’m proud to say that Wekfest is still a very big part of my life. I get to travel everywhere with my friends and we do car shit together. What more could I ask for?…

After moving away from San Francisco, Wekfest found a new home in San Jose and this has been our biggest stop since. The Bay Area is where Wekfest began so this area of California will always be the defacto ‘home’ of the show. Even though many of the guys from the group are all now in Southern California, San Jose is our Super Bowl. It’s the biggest event featuring some of the best in the West and we often have many people fly-in from all over just to visit. They come to get a taste of what the West Coast car scene is all about. Other than Japan and Los Angeles, this event brings the best grouping of cars and also the most diverse. I still enjoy seeing the traditional Japanese-themed builds the most but I’m learning to appreciate all the Euro stuff and even many of the domestic high-dollar builds that come to the event now. As mentioned earlier, I have so much content to show you guys. I’ve been posting regularly on social media but I still enjoy creating these blog posts for more detailed coverage. I can show you more than just 1-10 photos at a time here, and it helps to build a more cohesive retelling of the event. So let’s get into it, enjoy!…

Jimmy Uy’s Porsche 991 “Street Cup” running a GT3 Cup front bumper, Cup front flares, carbon fiber hood, carbon mirrors, and black centerlock BBS E07…

I can’t say I’m a “Porsche guy” because it’s not my aspiration to own one but I do appreciate the beauty of these cars. The 991 in this trim in particular is just perfect. Street car with Cup car aero, nice and low, they just have so much presence…

Thomson Ho from System Motorsports has a pretty solid collection of vehicles. I first learned of him when he started posting all his various wheel set-ups on his black GR86. At that time I was trying to figure out what was the best sizing and set-up for my own so I kept-up with his progress. Little did I know at the time he had a bunch of other cars including this Porsche 997 GT3 RS…

It’s another fine example of a Porsche street car that just looks perfect lightly modified with BBS E88 wheels, suspension and some GT3 Cup aero upgrades…

I haven’t seen Lloyd Morales in a while so it was good to see him and his Vertex S14 again. He’s recently added a new RS Future front splitter as he dives deeper into making his award-winning 240SX into a dedicated track car…

Gilbert Villanueva from HHWHH Collectibles and his 2019 Honda Civic Type R wearing a full catalog of Mugen aero and accessories. He probably got tired of other FK8 owners asking him what his Rays Volk G025 wheel specs are so he went and made a decal stating exactly what they are on his front fenders. A bit hard to read with the image resized but they are 18×10 +34 which are actually pretty impressive specs for this chassis…

The Darkside Racing Civic returned once again this year to represent the city of San Jose and also to defend it’s title as one of the best Hondas in this region…

There are some changes made to the build for 2023 which I’ll get into a little later in the post when I show you more detailed photos of it…

Slammed BMW E36 M3 coupe tucking polished Volk TE37 wheels with an LTW-style rear wing and front lip…

Rodney Moenadi brought both his bike and his URAS GT KA24 turbocharged ER34 Skyline up to San Jose for the weekend…

The Toyo Tires display brought some heat for the San Jose event with one of their main vehicles being Cam Cocalis’ GM LS3-powered, tube-chassis, Toyota 86/FR-S. His build has been making waves over the past year or so after it emerged as one of the most talked-about, highly-touted, import builds from the 2022 SEMA Show…

The entire engine bay has been cut-out and tubed-framed, hosting a GM LS3 525 engine mated to a Tremec T56 Magnum-F transmission. The centerpiece of the LS set-up is the bronzed one-off 8-1 header…

The exterior features a full TRA Kyoto Pandem aero kit and 3-piece Work Meister S1 wheels. There’s so much more to this build too including the interior and the cut-out trunk/rear-end of the 86. If you ever get an opportunity to see this build in-person, I highly recommend it. You’d be pleasantly surprised to see that it’s even more impressive than how it appears in photos…

Rowie Landicho’s rare Japanese Domestic Market-only Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX Wagon with even rarer Varis-produced Solid & Joker aero. The entire kit is actually a one-off made by Varis in Japan specifically for Rowie and his Evo Wagon…

For those that aren’t familiar, there were less than 3,000 Evolution IX wagons ever-produced by Mitsubishi. Originally the numbers were around 2500 units but final production ended at around 2700. There are only 700 in white in total and only four of them are known to have residency here in the USA. Such quirky cars but oh so cool. Rowie also did an incredible job of building this wagon too. I’ll show you more of it in Part 2…

Marco Regalado from Hi-Octane Tuners and his C10 Hakosuka Skyline with front chin spoiler, bolt-on flares, and Racing Service Watanabe wheels. I like that he redid the front/rear bumpers and fender mirrors in black to match the flares…

Eric Anderson’s Hiro’s Hotrods-built E-AT Wonder Civic made the journey down from Washington just a few weeks removed from the recent Wekfest Seattle event…

You’d be hard-pressed to find a better-executed engine bay in all of North America right now. I can think of a couple but they’re all pretty top-tier and very similar in the way they’re presented…

If you’ve ever seen an E-AT Civic engine bay before, they’re typically pretty cramped. That’s because they’re pretty small. So small, that this B18C5 looks like it barely fits, yet, the engine bay seemingly has a ton of room around it with all unnecessary components deleted and shaved clean. Adding to the illusion of space is the fact that the radiator has been moved under the core support…

The backside between the B18C5 head and firewall are a set of Kinsler individual throttle bodies, a fuel pressure regulator, and Mil-spec quick-disconnect mount for the Rywire engine harness….

Thomas Hatcher’s Chevy Trailblazer SS also made the trek down with the Hiro’s Hotrods crew…

You’ll probably recognize Hatcher’s Trailblazer SS when you look inside the engine bay. Inside is a massive VSR turbocharger, custom-fabricated turbo manifold, polished Holley 427 COPO intake manifold and XRP HS79 hoses…

Auston Corbett’s EF8 CR-X SiR is another Honda build that has seen the craftsmanship of Austin Hironaka from Hiro’s Hotrods. While the outside is mostly Auston’s handy work, the engine bay has been completely redone by the other Austin…

The inside of the bay has been cut-down smooth and resprayed to match the exterior before the Japanese B16A was re-installed. The 1.6-liter hosts a ram-horn style turbo manifold, low-mounted turbo, tucked radiator, front-mounted intercooler, coil-on-plug ignition set-up, and much more…

Tony Pham’s turbocharged C32A-swapped NA1 NSX build with Advance front lip, Garage Kite wide front/rear fenders, and silver Volk Racing CE28 wheels…

Jonathan Tangalin’s custom Tiffany Blue-painted Mitsubishi Evolution 5/6 wearing Varis Asso front, Asso rear, Asso over fenders. front wide fenders, Varis Super Taikyu sides (I think), and Voltex rear wing with custom titanium wing stands…

Wheels are Advan Racing RGII, the brakes have been recoated to follow the Tiffany theme, and the interior looks like it has a full cage. Pretty cool to see an Evo 5/6 out and about because it’s another car we never got here in the USA…

Back inside the San Jose Convention Center, the boys were hard at work building the entire booth display. Each panel had to have new graphics applied and lined-up correctly on the wood frame…

The printed graphic being applied to one of many panels. Quite a tedious process that required a lot of precision though it was only going to be used for an afternoon…

Being that San Jose is the home-base for Wekfest, it was important to bring the most elaborate display to celebrate 15 great years…

A trio of 34GTR V-Specs making their way into the convention center. A rare sight for us here in California…

Kyle Carasi’s full Voltex Subaru WRX STI running Ganador mirrors, Project Mu brakes, and concave-face Magnesium Blue Volk Racing TE37 wheels…

Popular YouTuber Randy Truong’s R34 Skyline GT with Z-Tune face, Work Meister L1 wheels, and a unique turbocharged Honda K24 engine swap…

S13 240SX coupe wearing always sought-after BN Sports aero, Ganador mirrors, and 3-piece Work Meister S1 wheels…

Anthony Lezada aka therubdoctor’s gorgeous Long Beach Blue Pearl NSX with Downforce front lip, hood, front/rear fenders, Marga Hills sides, Magical Racing mirrors, APR rear spoiler, and polished Volk Racing TE37…

Thomson’s 997 GT3 RS all set-up at the System Motorsports’ booth in Hall 1…

Sam Street from Animal Style came-out to represent for the drifting community in his Origin Lab S13 coupe with flashy D-Magic livery…

Daniel Nguyen from Team Menace made the trip down from the Pacific Northwest in his turbocharged NSX to see what the competition was like down in San Jose…

One of the guys he’d be competing with was John Chan from Tronics in his yellow NA1 running a rare Mugen front lip and a custom resized set of Mugen MF10 wheels. If I remember correctly, he also has a newer 3.2L engine swap in this NSX…

GJ Santiago from ATS Garage got a prime spot right up front by the Wekfest display for his Le Mans Blue-painted Honda del Sol. You don’t see too many del Sols built to this level these days and he represents one of the best Honda builds in attendance that weekend. The outside may look simple at a glance but it actually has a complete JDM CR-X del Sol front-end and rear-end conversion. He’s also added his own Ameripol glass top and retrofitted Spoon Sports mirrors onto his doors…

The engine bay sees the most extensive makeover, fully resprayed to hold a JDM B20B engine paired with a GS-R head to allow for variable valve timing. Inside the head are Skunk2 camshafts and Supertech upgrades…

The tucked Speedfactory radiator allows for a better view of the Japanese Maxim Works header and an A.B. FAB oil catch can resides where the battery once stood…

A FEEL’s Honda Twin Cam radiator cap gives it that additional detail touch and a polished distributor delete cover brings eyes over to the coil-on-plug conversion…

15×7 +25 Work RSZ-R wheels wrapped in meaty 205/50 Yokohama Advan Neova AD08R tires…

Narrowly clearing the front flat face of the RSZ-R wheels are a pair of Spoon Sports calipers…

From the rear you can see the JDM taillights, rear plate garnish, EG2 rear wing and classic RS-R Ex-Mag exhaust…

Right next to GJ at the Function & Form booth was Chris Dumlao’s  Beluga Black Civic hatchback with Sergeant Racing front bumper, Exceed Japan front lip, OsakaJDM Devil Wing, and black 15-inch Volk TE37…

Shining bright under the convention center lights is a K20A2 swap utilizing Hasport EGK2. Inside, the K block has been upgraded with 12.5:1 CP Pistons, Crower rods, and a DNR ported head. Underneath the custom-painted valve cover are a set of Drag Cartel Stage II camshafts paired with Supertech valvetrain…

You can see here that the factory RBC intake manifold has been cut and modified for higher flow…

The most recent upgrade to the Civic appears to be a direct-port nitrous oxide induction set-up routed with custom-bent aluminum lines…

Behind the custom Kellybuilt intake arm is a K20A2 transmission with 4.7 final drive and Synchrotech gears. There’s also a Competition Clutch Stage III clutch inside the gear box along with an ultra lightweight flywheel and Quaife limited-slip differential…

Despite its incredibly well-kept, mirror black exterior, it should be noted yet again that this Civic is also used as a weekend track car. It just cleans up really well…

It’s always good to see the menacing Junction Produce Rolls Royce Phantom on VIP Modular FXS-550 wheels. Not really sure how many of these kits Junction Produce actually sold but I’m glad we have one out here in California…

Beautifully assembled Lexus LS460L representing Karuma Unlimited with a full collection of T-Demand suspension components. The outside of the LS features a Modellista front lip, Aimgain side skirts, and SSR Minerva wheels…

John Fob recently completed his Top Secret Super G-Force Wangan widebody Supra. This kit with this face brings back the ultimate nostalgia of Japanese tuning in the early 2000s. Wild that this kit was still attainable after two decades….

John always likes to mix traditional visuals with his own unique spin on the final product. The wheel/tire combo and how the car sits always makes me scratch my head a bit but I love Japanese Top Secret stuff so I always find myself looking at his Supra builds…

As the afternoon started to near its end on set-up day, Angel and the Art of Attack crew finally arrived in their Porsche 991 GT3 Cup Evo build…

They had just barely finished this Porsche in time to load it up and make the 7-hour drive to San Jose. This thing is nuts, especially with that massive rear wing and diffuser. It has so much presence and the graphics really help to bring eyes to this build…

One thing I’ve noticed about San Jose in the last couple of years is all the really nice BMW builds that are starting to pop-up. This E36 M3 was one of the cleanest and most thorough builds in the entire building…

Kenneth Graepsey Dioso’s has one of the best-looking FK8 Civic Type Rs in California wearing Varis Arising II carbon fiber widebody aero and black Volk Racing TE37 Saga wheels. His CTR might be one of the most complete being that it also has full custom interior as well…

SSR Koenig Monster wheels look great on his LS430 wearing subtle Aimgain VIP aero…

One of my favorites of San Jose, Kong Xiong’s full Advance Flat-Out NSX with wide front/rear fenders, and a rare Taitec rear spoiler…

R.C. O’Connor’s Clinched widebody F30 BMW sedan on Enkei RS05RR wheels…

Gonna wrap-up Part 1 here with a shot of Chris Garay’s freshly-built Integra has it was making its way into the building. I got plenty more photos of this car and more to come in Part 2!! Stay tuned for updates!!…

Thanks for looking!!…