7 Stand Out Builds from Wekfest Los Angeles 2016

June 1, 2016
Story By
Jonathan Wong

Quality control is the name of the game when it comes to Wekfest and their show car selection process. There are repeated denials and many hurt feelings as a result. But this type of control is necessary and filling nearly every square inch of the Queen Mary lot were some of LA's finest show, semi-race and stanced-out cars. Here are my top seven selects:

1. Honda Civic Coupe, Nemo's Garage

At the Eibach Meet only a couple weeks ago, the Nemo's Garage Civic coupe didn't even have an engine in it. Though not fully running by Wekfest, the turbocharged K was finally resting in place with lots of chrome dipped parts and was easily one of the cleanest bays of the entire show. The interior also had a custom dash with a new digital instrument cluster and center-mounted iPad for who knows what exactly. Coupes rarely get my attention but Nemo's caught it for sure.

2. Mugen NSX, Chad Castelo

This NSX is like an exceptionally fine bottle of wine; it simply gets better with age. Representing Meguiar's, Chad Castelo's award-winning build features the rarest of the rarities from Mugen and other custom fabricated pieces. A true masterpiece with M7s on one side and MF10s on the other.

3. '57 Beck Outlaw Speedster, John & Edison Sarkisyan

Here's an example of a poor man's Porsche done extremely well. This VW 356 replica was built by the Sarkisyan brothers, using a Beck Speedster body that was mated to a retrofitted '64 Beetle chassis. There are so many intricate details it's no wonder this car was selected as the Best of Show.

4. Mugen Accord Wagon, Ryan Ordinario

Most new school enthusiasts would blow right past this without giving it a second thought but Ryan Ordinario's Accord Wagon is rocking plenty of rare Mugen gear with an air suspension to dump it on top of its M7s. It's not fast or ultra-pristine but a true Honda head will appreciate this for what it is.

5. Rocket Bunny/Pandem EG Civic, LTMW

Though the first EG to rock this Pandem kit was at Wekfest Nagoya, LTMW has the honors of being the first Stateside to do the conversion. It'll still take some getting used to, and perhaps it's not the right color, but being bagged on TE37Vs is pretty buff. Also noteworthy: the rear SiR interior conversion.

6. DC Integra, Ahmed Sulfab

Representing Vivid Racing and Jade Motorsports, Ahmed's Integra is the best tribute to an actual Integra Type R that anyone can do. Converted to a JDM front end with HID headlights and rocking a turbocharged B-series, this is one DC2 that I would love to see ripping around a circuit.

7. DA Integra, Dustin McQueary

In SoCal there are only a handful of clean second-gen Integras on the show circuit, and one of them belongs to Dustin McQueary. It's gone through several different looks but at Wekfest he came strong with SSR EXC-Mesh and both a carbon fiber hood and rear hatch. Topped off with an ITBd B-series, this is the perfect blending of old and new school styles in one package.