The Bay Area is home to one of the world's premiere import car shows: Wekfest. Having branched out to several other stops around the country - and as far away as Japan - nothing beats a homecoming event, and the locals are Wekfest's biggest supporters. What started out in San Francisco's Japantown quickly spread to Fort Mason by the water, and even then the crowds became so large that it made another switch to the San Jose Convention Center. Though not as iconic of a backdrop, these hallways can squeeze in a lot more cars and a little more breathing room in the aisles. Being a short flight from our home base of LA, Justin and I decided to head up and see what cars would be battling it out at Wekfest SJ, which was actually a good mix of NorCal versus SoCal competitors. Let's kick things off with my top 5. - Jonathan Wong, Driving Line Editor-In-Chief
Floss Design Nissan 180SX
The man known for reworking some of your favorite wheels with new finishes and sizes has a remarkable collection of cars, but Floss Design's latest is something I really enjoy. Sporting the latest Rocket Bunny aero, this RHD 180SX is probably one of the most complete demo cars in the country sporting this look - nice bright green paint (though I wonder how much cooler it'd be if it had been sprayed BRG instead), rare BBS E88 wheels (the same on Super Street's Ratchet Bunny FR-S) and a SR20DET spiced up with a few HKS bolt-ons. Miura-san would be very proud. (More detailed pics of all these picks can be found in the gallery at the end of this article!)
Team Nsidius EG Civic
I've seen a lot of Hondas in my days, and I do stress a lot. I love most of them and the Nsidius EG was new to me. A Spoon Sports-certified car, it came swapped with a K motor, Spoon brakes paint matched to the valve cover and yellow accented Recaro SPGs to continue the Spoon theme. If I still had my old EG, this is probably what it would look like today.
Higgins Built EF Civic
Anyone who knows me knows that I am the biggest EF fanatic. Though it's tough to call between this and the M's JDM Motors EF (one of my favorite EFs from this year's Wekfest LA), seeing Osaka JDM/Five Mart's Kazuhiro Furukawa snap a photo of a car that's been fashioned after what could have been built from his own garage was the perfect scene. An ITB'd B-series, stenciled tires and rollcage net were all the little touches to make it a psuedo-kanjo racer.
Mugen DC2 Integra Type R
Most modern day Honda builds are widely done with the K-series but it's nice to see this DC2R staying true to its roots with a B-series motor and all the Mugen accessories it has, like aero, engine bolt-ons, seats and the rear wing.
Wagonsteez Mazda Protege5
I first saw this Protege5 last year while visiting the Bay for Blox Evolution, and it's one of those cars that does the job of attracting attention because it is just so different than everything else. Great ride height and wheel selection, the owner also did up the engine bay nicely as well. Very refreshing! ------- I used to travel up to the Bay Area a lot when I was younger to visit family, and each time I came home to SoCal I brought a little bit of that "hella-lifestyle" back with me; it really is one of my favorite places to go. So when one of my favorite shows, Wekfest makes its stop up north, you know I have to make the trip as well. Never disappointing, there are always hella clean cars that show up, so here are my top 5 to conclude our Driving Line Editor's Choice from the 2015 Wekfest SJ show. - Justin Pagtalunan, Driving Line Associate Editor
1998 Acura Integra GS-R
The super clean engine bay area of Harvey Flores’ Integra is what caught my eye first and kept me looking. The mirror finish might be a photographer’s nightmare, but that shiny polish truly embodies a clean look. All the Mugen parts add to the quality of attention to detail in this build. The white TE37s wrapped in meaty NITTO NT01s are a nice new touch to Harvey’s build.
Volks Regime
I couldn’t pick one, so sue me. It’s my list and I'll bring out all the Bugs I want to! The Volks Regime crew brought out a number of pre-late-'60s models to the show, but it was these three Bugs from the late '50s and early '60s that I was intrigued by the most. Not quite daily driver or show car, but very quirky. Whether pristine or rusty, both styles go well with the VW Bug. You don’t need to do much to them, but they all have a lot of character – just like Herbie!
2007 Porsche GT3 Cup Car
Why does this car make my top list at Wekfest? Because racecar! I’m a sucker for Porsches, and seeing a Cup Car was a refreshing departure from all the RWB wide-body variants out there nowadays. Chasen Garcias’ Porsche is a true racecar inside and out – from livery to the stripped down interior – the only gripe about this Porsche was seeing it at a car show and not where it should be: on a racetrack.
1971 Datsun 510
Nothing boring about this beige classic. The owner of this Datsun has restored everything from the fuel system to the SSR Formula Mesh wheels. It’s looking just as fresh now as it was when it was first driven off the lot, with some new upgrades of course, like the Sparco steering wheel and custom dash with modern gauges. If looking cool wasn’t enough, running hot is just another surprise in this Dimer. Pop the hood to reveal the SR20 engine equipped with HKS parts, a GReddy intake, Garret turbocharger and more.
1991 Honda Civic Beagle
The cars I never forget are always the cars that I don’t know much about. While it had a familiar Honda shape to it, I was still puzzled at what it was exactly. Upon closer inspection I learned that Jesus Cerritos’ Honda is a 4WD Civic Beagle, a RHD import from Japan. The old school Volk Racing Artisan Spirit Fins really caught my eye, but as I was laying on the floor looking for different angles to shoot it, I noticed the Super Mario theme headliner. Like a magic mushroom, this little foreigner instantly grew on me! What are your top picks from Wekfest SJ? Let us know in the comments below and check the gallery below for detail shots of everything here!
