Wekfest LA 2014: Part One

Words by Matt Willis

Last weekend there was a ‘double-header’ of shows in LA: Wekfest ’14 from the Queen Mary in Long Beach, and later on Extreme Autofest kicked off at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. We attended and covered both, so we’ll have lots of content coming through over the next few days. Now that summer is pretty much here for Southern California, there will be no shortage of shows and events.

Tim and I had the intent of stopping by the weekly Cars & Coffee gathering in Irvine, since it was on the way up to Long Beach. However, on an early Wekfest morning, we found ourselves in need of sleep. To make a long story short, we stopped for a quick breakfast in Dana Point and continued straight north to the Queen Mary. Around 10:00, we arrived on scene. Roll in and setup was still going on, so we were pretty much on standby for a few hours.

As is the norm for most shows, there seemed to be confusion among the staff in getting everything going. Nobody was really on the same page early on, so it made things difficult – not only for us, but for the other staff members as well. They did get it sorted out, and eventually guests and media began filling up the grounds. The venue is just as I remember it though, as the Queen Mary Events Park has served host to many other events over the years.

There was a wide array of vehicles and all the builds were definitely top-notch. There were crowds around so many cars – some were just over-the-top with fabrication and tech, some were pristine and polished, and some were purely iconic. But it was the right combination, because just a few hours into the show the place was packed full of guests.

This first part of our coverage will mainly cover the entry plaza…

The view of Long Beach from the Wekfest venue.

The first car that everyone noticed was the Liberty Walk/LTMW GTR, mainly because it was right at the entrance. It was getting quite a bit of attention, as most of the Liberty Walk builds do…

370Z looking clean-cut at the Vossen Wheels booth…

The Tjin Edition Ford F-150. Although there is a lot of negative feedback from, you know…truck functionality activists…on the internet. In the end this is still a classic Neil Tjin build. It’s his style. I agree, I wouldn’t do that to my own truck – but then again, unless it was a show build, how many people would?

Very nice Civic hatchback from Insidious. Love the color and contrast created with the wheels.

…and the unique deck spoiler too…

Tim shooting the K-series equipped engine compartment close-up…

…this is the end result.

Christian Coujin’s supercharged FRS…

Rauh-Welt Begriff 993 on iForged wheels.

The Accuair/LTMW/Liberty Walk 328xi on it’s HRE wheels…

The exterior of this Limitless Society Civic is nice, but not mind blowing. At least that’s what I thought. But what it lacks in rolling style, it makes up for under the hood. This has to be one of the best Honda bays I have ever seen, in terms of both shine and engineering. It’s like a work of art, I could stare at it for hours…hah…

A top-down angle. The polish is so immaculate, Tim’s reflection on the manifold is all sharp and clear. I think the metallic powder blue color adds to the definition and really makes this bay stand out.

Miatas from Project-G on the floor…

Interesting setup in this particular Project-G Miata…

Amir Bentatou’s 911, which I haven’t seen in quite some time. But great to see it here at Wekfest getting all sorts of looks and attention.

Lots of Hondas in the lineup…including the Rywire Civic EA-T…

Some unique Subaru builds…

The iconic Evasive Motorsports S2000. And on the topic of iconic, Joey Lee’s Q45 build was right next to it…

With many of the cars I like, I often find myself being the only one on the face of the Earth that likes it. That’s not the case here, it’s actually me and the guy that built this R350. But I think it works. The R class makes a great VIP-style chassis.