For this second portion of the Wekfest SJ ’23 coverage, I’ll actually be spending a bulk of it spotlighting very specific builds that I encountered that weekend. San Jose is technically a 2-day event for the Wekfest crew because roll-in and set-up occurs the entire day prior to the actual show. Being that it is such a huge event with over 450 cars, it takes a good amount of time to stage every car and vendor. Add to that the time it takes to build the entire booth and the hours just fly-by. The good thing about having an entire weekend of Wekfest is that I actually get to experience the show. That sounds crazy from a spectator’s perspective but we literally spend all of our time work when the show happens all on the same day. Most of it is spend judging, some of it is doing all the announcing, even less of it is spent eating/relaxing, and whatever time I can muster in-between is used to shoot content. The bigger San Jose and Los Angeles events are fun for me because I have a few hours to actually walk the show and be a spectator myself. Los Angeles is obviously a good one for me because I can just go home and not be in a hotel. There are no suitcases involved. San Jose is nice because the hotel is directly connected to the convention center. So we can just walk back to our rooms after we are done for the day. There’s no rush to leave and the people at the San Jose Convention Center gives us as much time as we need to set-up. Long after the exhibitors are gone, we can stay behind and walk the show in peace. The doors are locked, security roams the building, and we get to do whatever we want…

Having that extra time presents us with a lot of opportunities to really LOOK at the cars. It’s an unspoken thing but on the two-day events, we actually do most of the judging after set-up, hours before the show goes live to the public. There’s nothing between us judges and the cars. It is complete silence. We wanted to make sure we had everything done before the show even started this year so we even ordered take-out and had dinner inside the San Jose Convention Center. Once our bellies were full, we got right back to work. That Saturday consisted of us walking into the convention hall at 8am in the morning and not leaving until 10pm that night. It’s a long fucking day. While I’m walking the show with my fellow Wekfest staffers, I also have my camera on me. I find no better time to shoot the cars within the show than when I’m judging because I’m already studying the cars in detail. Again, silence and undisturbed peace is helpful after a long day of social interaction. I just want to shoot and feel like I’m the only one in the room. As far as the judging goes, like I said, most of it is already done during that evening of set-up. There are some cars we will go back and look at again if the competition is close, but we usually have a pretty good grasp of what is what…

The photos below are some of the cars I cast a spotlight on along with some set-up photos from that Saturday. I don’t pick-up the camera again until the awards ceremony is done. The roll-out for this event is almost like another event in itself. Hundreds line-up on the street to watch the cars exit and it usually makes for some good content, especially when someone destroys their car on the exit driveway. I don’t know why people are so happy rooting for people’s downfall but I’ve exited that show before in an exhibitor car and everyone is just waiting for you to fail. There’s so much pressure, lol. I think there was only one occurrence this year where an A90 Supra had his front end destroyed. I’m sure you’ve seen it online already. Last year there was a guy who had his trunk pop-open and his whole hydraulic jack flew-out.  I still can’t believe it happened but you just never know, I guess. Enjoy the photos everyone, and thanks for looking!…

The Art of Attack x RS Future GT3 Cup EVO build freshly completed and on display next to the Wekfest display. The Porsche was actually finished just that morning of before it was transported from Southern California to San Jose…

The Wekfest “Best of Show” award on display for everyone to see and not touch…

Gene Fujita’s Honda CR-X built with the assist from GReddy and parked at their vendor display. This CR-X debuted last year at the Wekfest Los Angeles event and this was Northern California’s first opportunity to witness it in-person. The front features an JDM EF8 front end swap with carbon fiber J’s-style front lip and OsakaJDM wide fenders. The chassis has been stitch-welded with a full welded-in roll cage before being resprayed…

Under the OEM metal hood is a classic LS/VTEC swap featuring a B18B1 block and B16A head. Upgrades include a full-size Koyo radiator, GReddy header, Skunk2 Pro Series intake manifold, Skunk2 cooling hoses, custom-fabricated titanium intake arm, and Ignition Projects coils…

One of the builds that I was interested in seeing was the debuting Integra put together by Chris Garay from WheelSeek. I had seen a couple photos surface here and there from mutual friends but didn’t know it was coming to Wekfest until Chris mentioned it on Instagram. There were still a couple of things to button-up before the car could be considered anywhere near complete, but he did manage to get the car to San Jose in-time for the show…

The thing that stands-out most about the Integra  is the bright purple/lavender paint which is inspired by the RS Active Miata race car from Japan. It’s definitely a polarizing color choice but I feel like Chris always runs with his own vision which most of the time turns out to be rather polarizing. The front features a JDM DC2 ITR face wearing a rare Azect front lip and wide J’s Racing vented front fenders. Side skirts look to be C-West, rear wing is a Mugen Gen. 1, and mirrors are retrofitted Bomex/Bomex-style. The wheels are mismatched with Buddy Club P1 up front and SSR Type-C in the rear, but both are equally polished. Lowkey detail touch but I like the use of Yokohama Advan A052 tires since this is intended to be a weekend track car…

The lavender doesn’t extend into the engine bay or interior with both areas being resprayed instead in gloss black. The engine compartment sees a more minimalist approach as well with a JDM B20B with VTEC conversion powering the purple machine. There’s an assortment of different parts on the engine, probably because it’s all sourced from Chris’ stockpile of extra parts. A billet Golden Eagle intake manifold is paired with a custom titanium intake arm, a full-sized Koyo radiator connects to the B20B via Russell fittings/hoses, and a DigiDizzy digital distributor replaces the conventional distributor…

Custom aluminum brackets have been made and mounted by the headlights to hold the signature blue reservoirs of the JRZ RS-PRO adjustable coilovers…

Within the confines of the black interior is a single Bride seat paired with a suede KEY!S Racing steering wheel. The aluminum dashboard is actually a piece from PCI which Chris modified to include punched-out gussets for some added style. He also added a little nub that holds an AEM air/fuel gauge that looks kinda quirky but somehow makes plenty of sense. There’s also a roll bar installed inside that’s hard to see but it’s also been executed in the same lavender as the exterior…

A look at the Bomex mirrors that don’t really allow you to see anything but black coated fiberglass weave…

Danny Avina is one of those Honda enthusiasts from this area that has been around as long as the Wekfest series has been. As long as I’ve known him, he’s also had this DC5 RSX build which he’s painstakingly developed over the course of a decade-plus. Over the years, he’s gone through different aero set-ups, multiple sets of wheels and the steering wheel at one point was also on the left-side. Currently, the RSX features a Mugen front bumper, JDM DC5 ITR headlights, J’s Racing widened front fenders, J’s Racing side skirts, Mugen rear spoiler, OEM A-Spec rear lip, Vision Type DC mirrors, and bronze Volk Racing CE28N wheels…

When you look inside the engine bay, you’re likely to just stare at yourself in the reflection as his entire swapped K24A2 has been remade to a mirror-like finish. The RBC intake manifold, valve cover, and Hasport engine mounts looked to have been chromed. A Full Race manifold mounts the Precision turbo to the engine and the piping for the intercooler are also mirror-like in polish…

It’s hard to see here but the rear of the DC5 also has what looks to be a M&M Honda Type 2 rear diffuser mounted to the A-Spec rear lip…

Over at the Illiminate booth was Randy Truong’s Nissan Skyline “GT Type R” with Nismo Z-Tune front end, Ganador mirrors, and Work Meister L1 wheels…

Randy deems this the “GT Type R” because the R34 utilizes a Honda K24 swap using a TF Works K-swap Kit. Pushing the K24 to over 661-horsepower is a Garrett turbocharger, custom V-mounted intercooler, and TF Works K-swap intake manifold…

It’s kinda wild to see parts from KTuned, Skunk2 Racing, and Spoon Sports paired with a massive Nismo strut bar inside an R34 Skyline…

Kai Her’s S2000 has come a long way since I first started seeing it at Wekfest events up in Norcal. This is the most evolved form of his S2K and he also just recently got an online Motortrend feature. The outside has been thoroughly restored and repainted featuring a Spoon Sports S-Tai front, Spoon mirrors, Voltex Version 2 side skirts, Voltex Type 2 rear wing, Downforce 30mm widened front fenders, and First Molding vented hood…

The engine bay has been renovated and minimalized, hosting a Schmuck-Built titanium intake arm that connects to an ARC Induction Box. The valve cover is coated in bright yellow, a likely homage to Spoon Sports, topped with a titanium Rywire coil cover. Spoon Sports radiator hoses route to a Koyorad radiator and some Cusco accessories finish-off the custom wire-tucked bay…

The newest addition to Her’s S2000 are a set of staggered 18-inch re-barreled Mugen MF10 wheels which have been widened with a stepped-lip, anodized blue caps, and finished in a traditional MF10L format…

Milano Red EM1 Civic SI coupe from the NnovatioN crew running a J*Blood front bumper, JDM EK9 headlights, First Molding vented hood, 16-inch Desmond EVOs, and a pair of red Bride seats…

The B16A that came from the factory EM1 is gone, replaced and upgraded with a bigger B18C Type R engine swap. At a glance, you wouldn’t even think that there was a swap in here, especially since it has air conditioning and power steering. Some Spoon Sports components find their way onto the B18C like the carbon kevlar intake arm, valve cover, oil cap, cooling hoses, and front strut bar…

Vang Tou’s Captiva Blue Civic hatchback using the classic Spoon Sports-theme featuring their carbon fiber front lip. carbon fiber mirrors, carbon rear wing, and front brakes…

The Spoon-theme carries over into the B-swapped engine bay with Spoon valve cover, oil cap, header, cooling hoses, air filter, reservoir socks, and front strut bar…

Mee Vang’s single-cam EH3 from NnovatioN also rocked a Spoon Sports theme with the same front lip, wing, and brakes but with a set of Regamaster EVOs to pair with…

Kong Xiong’s NSX was one of the best NSXs at Wekfest San Jose featuring a full Advance Flatout aero kit from Japan along with a rare Taitec rear wing. Though subtle, the front and rear have widened fenders/quarter panels that flow seamlessly with the body to allow for the more aggressive Volk TE37 wheels…

The engine compartment has been cleaned-up as much as an NSX compartment can be. A couple of the other NSXs who were competing at some more work done to their engines, some even had swaps, but Kong chose to keep things simple and clean. Immediately catching one’s attention is the ARC Induction Box, a piece as rare as it is horsepower-depleting, but awesome to see nonetheless. I always joke about these ARC boxes because they look so cool but just kind of don’t work well. But, I’d put one in every car if I could, lol. Why? Because I’d rather look cool than make 3 extra horsepower. Hell, go ahead and take 5 more horsepower away as long as that filter stays nice and red. I’m glad Kong and I can see eye-to-eye on that…

Two bright yellow valve covers welcome onlookers who want a glimpse inside the mid-engine NSX. The yellow an obvious nod to Spoon Sports but paired with twin Mugen carbon fiber wire covers…

A look at the rear of the NSX and the Advance Flatout rear lower cowls…

…and Taitec GT500 wing. Not sure how much this was to acquire. The last time I saw one, it was for sale for about $1000 used but that was over a decade ago…

John Fob’s JZA80 Supra wearing incredibly-rare Top Secret Super G-Force Wangan aero with the odd headlights and all. The exterior has been sprayed in a metallic gold to resemble the original Top Secret demo cars but paired with a more modern Yokohama Advan GT wheel…

The engine bay of the Top Secret Supra is quite impressive hosting a plethora of very rare Abbey Road Company products. An HKS T51R turbo helps the 2JZ-GTE make tons more power and you can tell he tried to use the iconic HKS purple hue as a contrast color on the accessory pieces…

As promised, I was able to get some more photos of Rowie Landicho’s one-off Varis Solid & Joker Evolution IX Wagon on Advan Racing RZ-F2 wheels…

The exterior is impressive but the engine bay should not be overlooked. The 4G63 features a Hypertune billet valve cover, turbo manifold, billet intake manifold, fuel rail, and throttle body. Mounted to the Hypertune manifold is a blac Comp Turbo CTRX 5858 turbocharger…

A CSF radiator provides upgraded cooling with an ARC titanium cooling panel in front to pair nicely with the ARC Induction Box. The intake pipe that leads to the Hypertune throttle body is also fabricated in lightweight titanium…

Mikey Bitanga’s Integra GS-R with JDM Integra Type R front face. The Spoon Sports front lip has been paint-matched, as are the Spoon Sports mirrors, along with the end plates from the Mugen Gen. II wing. Mugen MF10 wheels in bronze are chosen because you just can’t go wrong with MF10s…

A Rywire Mil-Spec engine harness helps power the K20A swap within. A Cerakoted Circuit Hero front tower bar, wire cover, and custom intake arm help to add contrast to the engine bay…

Overall a solid Integra build, probably one of the better Hondas at Wekfest San Jose the last few years…

Next to Bitanga’s Integra was a Bay Area legend. Kelvin Bulda’s Civic is one of the longest-standing, top-tier Hondas from this area. He’s had this Civic as long as I’ve known him and it has been a LONG time. Easily over 10-years. In fact, I even had the pleasure of writing his Super Street feature back then. I always appreciate seeing him every year when I return to Northern California…

His hatchback has remained untouched mostly over the years. There’s really no need to change anything as it still stays pretty relevant in terms of aesthetic appeal even in 2023. It takes inspiration from the Japanese EK9 Type R but with an Air Walker front bumper, J’s Racing fenders, paint-matched Spoon Sports mirrors, and a Seeker rear wing. The best thing about the exterior is that it’s slammed on Mugen MF10 wheels and original logo Endless brakes…

The Type R-inspiration carries over into the engine bay which hosts a JDM B16B swap. Thinking back on it now, other than the Mugen Formula Head Cover, literally nothing else has changed in here since the Super Street feature in 2014. The exterior remains current by today’s standard of Honda-styling, but some of the components inside the engine compartment definitely show their age. Either some of the stuff isn’t used anymore or the companies which once made these products are long-gone…

The 5Zigen 4-2-1 header is still used here and there, but I can’t recall the last time I saw a set of Ultra 8mm spark plug wires. The Rigid 3-point front strut bar belongs in an automotive tuning museum, if such a place exists and the Shaft intake pipe is a part you’ve probably never even heard of. The radiator is an old-logo Koyorad half-core, the relocated Mugen oil filter is a nice touch, and the GAB Sports oil cap is an amazing old relic from the 90s…

Inside Kelvin’s Civic is a set of original red Bride Brix seats with matching reupholstered rear seats from a EK9 CTR. A Spoon Sports cluster has long been inside this dashboard and engine operations are managed via an old APEX’i PowerFC unit. The Civic also has red carpet, red door panels, an original Mugen shift knob, Mugen FG360 steering wheel w/horn pad, and a 4-point Cusco roll bar…

While Kelvin Bulda’s Civic represented a timeless Honda build from the early 2000s, up front by the Wekfest display was a perfect example of a modern custom car build. The GReddy-built BCNR33 Skyline GTR for Dai Yoshihara and Turn14 is a mix of classic styling techniques with current innovations. Immediately at a glance you’ll notice the Nismo 400R homage in the way the 33GTR is styled. The front bumper, front lip, sides, rear bumper, and wing foil are all original Nismo 400R pieces. EVS Tuning GTLM mirrors give it a unique look and the wheels are R33-inspired, forged, Titan7 T-07…

Inside is GReddys’ new 2.8-liter stroker engine and GP64R turbocharger. Everything from the intake manifold, intercooler, intake system, radiator, boost solenoid, exhaust system, oil cooler, and so much more are all brand new GReddy-manufactured items. Even the billet aluminum valve cover and cam cover are GReddy originals…

Mated to the stroked RB engine is an OS Giken OS-88 sequential transmission which uses a pneumatic paddle shift system. This R33 can be driven and shifted without ever even touching the sequential shifter itself…

After the last few photos of the GReddy “DAI33” Skyline, I put the camera away until it was time to get some video and photos from the roll-out after the show…

Mee Vang’s Spoon-themed Civic looked pretty great as it left the San Jose Convention Center…

The trio of R34 Skyline GTRs from Bains Tuning carefully making their way out of the long ramp. Again, everyone was just standing around the street screaming at exhibitors as they left to do something stupid, which is both annoying and also rather entertaining…

This slammed Mitsubishi Evo 8/9 on some concave-faced TE37 required some 3-wheel motion to clear the driveway. People didn’t even care about possibly being run over, they just wanted to record some possible fuckery…

This gorgeous RPS13 240SX with radiused fender work and Type-X aero narrowly cleared the exit. If I remember correctly, I heard this was once owned by Elvis from Stancenation…

Dan Lee’s Porsche 993 4S Rauh Welt Begriff “Skull Leader” digging the rubber scrub piece on his RWB front bumper into the pavement as he left…

No matter how many times I see it, wherever I am in the world, it’s always cool to see an RWB on a public street…

Jimmy Uy’s Street Cup 991 literally on the street…

Absolutely love this EF9-converted Civic hatchback from Forbidden Limits. It’s just one of those ‘less-is-more’ EF builds that look great with just a front-end swap and a nice set of wheels. Admittedly, one of the reasons why I don’t get more photos of this Civic is because it has Braum seats in it. It’s nothing personal at all, I just have a strong distaste for them. Otherwise this thing is pretty fantastic…

As usual, this entire post took way longer than I anticipated. I think I’ve been working on this post for the last 4-5 hours, lol. Like I said yesterday, I haven’t done these types of posts in a while and now I remember why. The brevity that social media has introduced to the world has made such a fun process like making a blog post almost feel tedious because of the amount of time it requires to execute. I’m gonna wrap it up with these last few shots of Angel and the Art of Attack GT3 Cup EVO before I leave you for today. It’s time for dinner before I jump back into photo processing. Have a good night/morning/afternoon or whenever you see this. Thanks again for looking and reading all these words!…