Wekfest Long Beach Pt. 2

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There’s not too much I can add word-wise that I didn’t talk about in my first post, but part 2 will be covering the main part of the show hosted on the grassy section where the bulk of the cars were located.  No doubt you’ve seen a few shots of this insanely cambered Q45 (Y33 Cima) on rarely seen 3-spoke Work Equips from Low ‘N Slow, it had a primo spot and had the craziest wheel setup at the show.  It’s not surprising this look has caught on so quickly; it’s dangerous, difficult to properly achieve, and it came from Japan!Image

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Speaking of insane wheel setups… Armand’s widebody “Devil MR-2” always shows up with bucketloads of style and a touch of humor, this time serving a ramen lunch on his ultra deep-dish Blitz Technospeed Z1’s.Image

Really liked the look of this slammed hardtop Z4, I’ve always had a soft spot for these long-nosed roadsters.Image

Central Pine brought over their completely custom, one-off  LS430 that looks like it came straight from a Daikoku car meet with its aggressive VIP styling that is just starting to make its way over to the US.  While this style might not be to everyone’s taste, it’s awesome and refreshing to see something with so much custom work that is so well executed at a show where it seems like most people just fork over tons of cash to order bolt-ons online.ImageImageImage

The same trio of S2000’s I spotted at Eibach earlier this year, each with a slightly different approach to the chassis.  I’ll have to admit that seeing these on a regular basis has given me the itch to take one out for a test-drive… LOVE that Spoon front bumper!Image

2JZ swapped S14 Silvia that is a regular award winner for obvious reasons.  The hood was removed for the show but is one of my favorite parts of this car because the paint is sprayed in such a way as to barely reveal the carbon showing through down the center of the hood.  I love it when aftermarket parts can blend in with the rest of the car rather than stealing focus away from the build as a whole; subtlety is a rare trait among car show enthusiasts!Image

Rocket Bunny kits have exploded in popularity after the release of the FR-S kit and this is the first application (that I’m aware of) of the kit to an E36 stateside. As with all other RB kits, it flows really well with the stock lines of the car and gives it a really tough, works-style look with all the exposed rivets.ImageImage

Low ‘N Slow also brought out their completely slammed Z4 on Weds Kranze Bazreia.Image

Highly aggressive wheel fitment was everywhere I looked!ImageImageImage

#Staycrushing now sans wing and front splitter for a slightly simpler look, sporting the second version of the FR-S Rocket Bunny kit and Vortech supercharger to back up its mean appearance.  Image

I love seeing fellow Fit owners in shows since it’s pretty rare these days, we don’t get a whole lot of practical aftermarket support for the USDM chassis and Fits aren’t nearly as popular here as they are in Thailand or Japan where they have full shows dedicated to just this chassis!  This Mugen-faced version was a cool middle-ground between between a race and show set-up with Enkei RPF-1 and a Bride seat for some additional sportiness.Image

Widebody J’s Racing S2000 that looked like it should have been tearing up the streets of Willow rather than squatting on the grass in the Long Beach sun.Image

I love the Supermade kit but….the color and finish of the paint on this S14 really leave something to be desired.  There’s no accounting when it comes to other’s taste, as they say, but I have to say the quality of the parts and the car itself demand something that looks a little less like baby-food-colored spraypaint.Image

Especially when it is regularly parked next to the ‘Crawl 86’ sporting a much more eye-friendly shade of metallic purple.Image

Not much needs to be done to an Elise to get it to stand out in a crowd, bronze BBS RS and a low ride height set it off just right.Image

Wide SC300 that looked like it was ready to leave the show for some serious sideways on-ramp shenanigans. Image

I stood in front of this Hakosuka Skyline for about ten minutes before I could get a picture that didn’t have someone else snapping one at the same time, and for good reason!Image

The coolest bosozoku build in Southern California showed up with a couple more outlandish additions, I LOVE watching the progression of this thing as it’s exactly the approach I would take if I had the opportunity.Image

I’ve seen this E63 rolling around town a handful of times and finally got to take a thorough look at it, love the grey color and the execution of the kit and wheels was just right.  The bikes on the roof-rack alone cost more than most sets of wheels! ImageThis E36 wagon was the last thing that caught my eye on my way out, also from the same club as the E63 (wonder if that palindrome was on purpose haha), hopefully we’ll be seeing more from these guys as the year progresses since they seem to have a good grip on building solidly slammed wagons.  While this wraps it up for my coverage of the show itself, shots from the parking lot will be coming soon and really should not be missed. See you next time!

Wekfest Long Beach by Max Montague

 

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