Weenie Fest 2024
Author: Kai Her - April 20th, 2024
Welcome to the first ever Xplicit coverage! I was in exhilaration anticipating how the show will play out and what I will be able to capture when I was attending the show. Growing up in the central valley of California, it’s tough to spot a clean and well-executed build make an appearance at a local car meet or show and when you do, it’s a hidden gem that has been tucked away in the pockets of the valley. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack.
However, I feel that has changed. I really think the valley has really been stepping up their execution and build game. Of course, I’m sure most of us can relate that many of the inspiration and mentorship comes from the bay area (Norcal) or Socal. Whether it was from those areas or perhaps from a different part of the world, it’s really nice to see Central California holding it down and showing everyone else we can do just the same, or even better.
It’s not just a simple competition too, but you can explicitly see the rivalry in each show, whether you’re coming form Norcal to a Socal show, or from CentralCal competing in NorCal shows. Beyond the competition, of course, acquaintances are formed that may lead to a lifelong bond of friendship or acknowledgement.
It is safe to say, the internet and social media has really helped everyone guide their builds to reach their vision. Whether it was social media or the commitment and passion behind a build, it’s always nice to see a well JDM build every now and then at a local or Central California car show!
As much as I have tried to attend the bigger car shows that have been emerging in Central California (CaliCream, SwervFest), a show I am always eager to attend is Weenie Fest! Anthony, the host and director of the show, who also owns a local aftermarket automotive part store in Dinuba, CA managed to throw such a spectacular show. The show grows larger and Anthony brings something new to the table each year. This year, he was able to invite Honda Pro Jason out to the show and on top of that, pulled an April Fools joke that Vin Disel will be in attendance as well! LOL, he may have not fooled a lot of his friends and followers, but he fooled me.
Weenie Fest has become an annual show in Central California. So! As I was saying before, although it is difficult to try to find a “needle in the haystack” in CentralCal, you’ll definitely be seeing a lot of those “needles” here in this show. I immensely enjoyed the show and wished I was able to see the whole show as I wasn’t able to just because the NnovatioN brothers and I were constantly bombarded with people coming by to catch up with us or simply eat hotdogs and drink with us.
So, as much as I wanted to walk throughout the whole show, I didn’t get a chance to this year; therefore, most of coverage only came from one side of the show because as I was about to make my way to the other side of the show, it was already time for Anthony to announce the awards.
Weenie Fest is comprised of so many Honda builds! Because I’m a Honda fanatic, I am pleased to announce that my coverage is only specifically on Hondas. I was surprise to not see any Supras or Skylines. Although, there were a couple of nice static Nissan builds, I didn’t get a chance to grab a photo.
Well, without further ado, here is the coverage!
I started off my morning with getting gas to drive to the show. I’m usually better prepared, but the day before the show, I was at my wife’s little sister’s wedding. In result, I was only able to get the S2000 cleaned ahead of time and vacuumed. The show was about a good hour and 15 minutes away from me. Since I live in the Central Cal 209 area, the plan was to meet up with the NnovatioN brothers and then head out together to the show. Just in case if you didn’t know, I’m the only NnovatioN member whose in a different area code than everyone else. Although, they have been bugging me to move down. I don’ t know though, my roots are dug deep in the 209! Maybe some free weekly “sushi” will convince me to move down. :D
As I gassed up the S2 at a local Chevron, I was fortunate to spot this clean Civic Hatckback on the other aisle of the gas station. The Civic resembled a JDM EK9 with a 5 lug conversion, EK9 front end with various EK9 parts seen throughout the chassis. If you look closely enough, it has a roll cage inside the car as well. It looked to be a Cusco roll cage. Fairly enjoyed talking to the owner as he approached me. I wish I wasn’t such in a rush to meet up with the NnovatioN guys, as I would have loved to just talk about his Civic, which I truly adore.
Behind the Civic, was this clean green CRX EF which seems to have a JDM front end? I don’t get too excited when I see one just because I grew up around EGs and EKs more but I can tell the owner took pride into this build. Carefully choosing some Magnesium blue Te37’s to run with. You can also spot the pair of Recaro seats inside the car as well. The more I stare at it, the more I learn to appreciate the execution of the build more. Well done!
After meeting up with a few of the guys at Kong’s house, the designated spot to meet up with everyone else was in Sanger at a gas station close to Tou’s house. Greetings were exchanged and of course the bullsh!t talk emerged right away amongst the team members. LOL. However, I was able to capture a few photos as we were discussing our line up at the show.
Mee’s EG civic has come a long way. This time, he has decided to run his newly acquired Ce28n’s to the show. Just in case if you were wondering, those are not body bags in his car. They’re just his recently purchased Spoon seats. Since he didn’t want to get them dirty, he rode on it like that sitting on top of the plastic.
Jackson’s AWD Civic perched right next to the gas pump. Now, he is rocking a carbon fiber Tactical Art front lip with some Mangesium Blue Te37’s. Can you spot anything else new on his Civic?
Kong’s NSX sat real nice and ready for the show! Among the many wheels in Kong’s collection, theTe37s are probably one of my favorite. I’m always wondering what else he has in store next.
Finally, at the show and by the HHwHH Collectibles booth is this Mugen built Acura TSX. The car sat on some reissued MF10’s. The more you study the car, you’ll see that almost the whole car is covered with Mugen goodies that sets it off from the rest.
Further down from the booth is a Sonic Pearl GSR. I’ll admit, its been a long minute since I have spotted a GSR in this color. The last time I remember seeing one in this color was back in high school and it was owned by an older brother of a friend. The owner kept the OEM side moldings, relied on some OEM goodies, Spoon Sw388 wheels, and tasteful aftermarket parts to pull out a simple and clean execution.
A Midori Green EJ Hatchback sat nicely and quietly a corner of the show. The Civic sat on what seemed to be some Desmond RegaMaster EVO II wheels. The wheels utilized Matt’s (ICB) new decal color scheme to match up with the pair of blue Recaro Pole Positions inside the car. The aggressive carbon fiber First Molding front lip flowed well with the carbon fiber hood and along with all the black aesthetics on the Civic.
This Civic has a K powerplant with a Drag Cartel carbon fiber intake manifold. The Magnesium Blue tri-point strut bar is a nice touch to compliment the other blue color scheme inside the engine bay.
Jorge’s VSM ITR sat beautifully with a line of Integras behind the vendors. I spy the Endless big brake kit behind the Rays wheels. The side mirrors seemed to be the Ganador mirrors everyone has been trying to sell for a pretty nickel. This time around, Jorge also had on the Type R side skirts and rear spats. Then the biggest change is substituting the Voltex GT wing with the Mugen Gen. 1 wing.
When the lighting improved a bit at our side, I went back and quickly captured Peter’s NSX next to my S2000. Peter also rolled along with us to the show from the gas station. The ADVAN RG1’s have been redone, but instead of original white and blue strip finish, he went out of the norm and changed the strip to red. An APR GT wing sat in the rear and because it’s California, why not drive a classic Acura super car with the Targa top off!?
Blong’s Integra was spotted at the corner of the show beside the park trail. I’ve been following Blong’s build and like the Sonic Pearl Integra, Blong also kept on the OEM side moldings. Since it’s almost easier to spot an ITR at a show rather than a GSR, you can really appreciate the GSR builders keeping true to the OEM structure of their chassis.
Blong relied on an Exceed front lip and a pair of Aztec side skirts to carry out the execution of his build. He decided to run some black Te37SL’s to the show. I was really hoping to see him run the ADVAN RG1’s he recently have redone months ago.
Blong’s Integra is K swapped and utilized a Skunk2 Ultra Series manifold to draw in more air flow into the motor. The J’s Racing inspired valve cover and Cusco strut bar is a nice touch to his display.
Mee’s EG Civic, and you guys probably know him as Vang on Instagram; he has been blowing it up on social media. His car is easily recognized by the only one and of few guys with a single cam still in an EG. By now, most builders would have ditched the single cam vtec motor and put in a dual cam motor, whether it be a B or K series. The civic sits nice and low and the “body bags” are taken off the seats to reveal them. Spoon accessories and parts are discovered throughout the car and the Civic is well executed with a set of CE28n’s.
You are probably tired of seeing my S2000 on the site, but I guess I’ll quickly show you what wheels I decided to run to the show. I was going to run my EVO II’s, but within the minute, I decided to swap them out and run the ADVAN RG1’s instead. I think I have the weakest wheel set up that day, but one can agree to disagree. LOL! Spot anything new inside the engine bay?
This AWD Civic was at the end of our line up next to a Nissan 370 z, from what I can recall. The Civic is painted to what it seemed to be Battle Ship Gray. Te37’s in the Magnesium Blue finish sets off the color well. A huge hood exit and the Civic doesn’t look nervous at all taking anybody on in a drag race.
Up front is a GATO Performance intake manifold with a huge turbo charger in next to the firewall. Titanium parts were seen throughout the bay and the raw silver finish pieces were very pleasing to the eye.
Kao’s Mugen catalog Civic built. Mugen goodies are located throughout the exterior and interior of the car. The side skirts were even Mugen skirts, which I never knew existed until I saw it on Kao’s car. Much respect for this guy, he was also the same guy from last year who helped me mount on my Mugen wheels before my Super Street shoot the following morning.
The Mugen valve cover passed the authentication test. What else to describe Kao’s engine bay than the fact that it’s surrounded by Mugen accessories and parts? Still a nice and reliable car with power steering and A/C. I believe the accumulation of Mugen parts seen here is already worth more than the whole Civic.
Next to Kao’s Civic is All Star Repair’s Midori Green Civic. Various CTR parts traveled throughout the exterior of the car alongside a 5 lug conversion that is glued to a set of Rays Ce28n’s. The Civic is K powered with a tucked engine bay. Overall, a very good execution.
Simon’s EM1 sat a car away from my S2000. Simon put in some elbow work on the Civic prior to the show. If you didn’t notice, he is no longer on a 4 lug set up. He finally made a decision to jump to the dark side and go with a 5 lug conversion and now sitting on some 17 inch MF10’s. The bright red Bride seats have also been swapped out now as well. Now he is riding on some Yellow Tomcats and if you look even closer, he is no longer running the coupe with the spoiler in the rear.
The Mugen wheels were redone in a matte bronze color and in order to clear the Twinblocks behind the wheel, Simon needed to run a spacer to have enough space.
You guys probably don’t recognize this car in the NnovatioN line up, but this is Tou’s other project. An ITR he picked up in Texas a year ago. He has been collecting parts from time to time to restore and build the ITR to his vision, but he’s always getting his hands full with other projects, whether it being a house or another car project. Since his blue EG aka Captiva couldn’t make it to the show, we convinced him to bring out the ITR.
As you can see, it’s a subtle and stock OEM plus ITR with the gold and blue strip ADVAN RG1 and a pair of Spoon Twinblocks.
No introductions needed for this build. If you identify anyone who can build an NSX within a one to two year time frame, that’s probably Kong. As he stated, his NSX is near its completion and he is already getting his hands ready to build another car. This time, he have switched out the Tai-Tec wing back to the BYS carbon fiber spoiler. The OEM side mirrors have been switched out to a pair of Spoon Sport side mirrors as well.
The NSX sat low with a set of TE37 that has been refinished. The famous trophy kit Stoptech big brake kit is added for more stopping power!
A well executed Civic hatchback build parked close to the Weenie Fest booth. A Mode Parfume front lip and the Civic wore multiple CTR parts around the chassis. The side mirrors also appeared to be Mode Parfume as well and the inside of the hatchback is gutted. Silver Sprint Hart CP-R’s equalize out the white on the car.
Inside the hatchback, you can locate a Regamaster EVO wheel in the trunk. Very nice and the attention to detail was simple but pleasant to the eye!
Brain’s EG Civic aka Smurf. Some new addition to the Civic is the Spoon twinblocks behind the newly purchased Magnesium Blue Te37’s. The rear wing have also been swapped out to a Vibes wing. Keep an eye out on the Civic in the next up coming shows. Brian is already going through some more changes before the next shows.
Smurf’s power plant nicely finished in a raw silver finished. The yellow valve cover have been switched to a gray one. The Spoon strut bar, oil cap and radiator cap compliments the GATO Performance intake manifold very well. The titanium burnt hardware was a cherry on top!
Jackson’s AWD Civic made it to the NnovatioN line up. Subtle changes have been made throughout the Civic. The replica headlights have been swapped out and is now rolling on some CTR headlights. The Enkei RPF1’s have been sold and the Civic is now sitting on some Magnesium Blue Te37’s.
Just in case if you didn’t notice, the drag spoiler has also been taken off. Jackson flew to Las Vegas a few days before the show to pick up this J’s Racing GT wing and I have to say, the Civic is coming along tastefully. Jackson revealed more of the parts he already collected and I cannot wait to see the transformation he has in mind. I’m picturing the transformation to be completed right before Wekfest SJ 2024.
Later that day, Jackson was announced for “First place - Best 6th Gen Civic!” Here is a photo of the award on top of his motor.
All Star Repair’s white ITR sitting on CCW’s. A Mugen Gen. 1 wing is perched up on top of the trunk. A carbon fiber Spoon hood is up front and the ITR looked to be in great shape. However, the car did have trouble starting up after the show and I believe the All Star guys had to tow it home.
Xue’s ITR parked next to my S2. Now it’s all cleaned up and ready to show case some goodies inside the engine bay.
Up close and personal in the engine bay, Xue mixed and matched his parts with some Spoon accessories and parts with a Mugen Intake box. The headers are wrapped and the valve cover has been done in an anodized blue to compliment the Spoon radiator hoses.
Sua was one of the guys who met up with us as we rolled in together into the show. I met Sua at Simon’s daugther’s birthday party a few weekends ago and I was really drawn to how clean he kept his car. His interior is so mint, it makes my S2 look so dirty and underappreciated.
OEM plus build with not so many aftermarket parts. I spy some Skunk2 accessories, a no name strut bar and a resprayed valve cover in the iconic B Series Type R finish.
The only FL5 I was only able to spot at the show. The FK8’s are aging nicely, but I really like the subtle bodylines of the FL5 compared to the FK8. The huge front grill is what sets it off for me. I really dig it! This one, in particular, is owned by Ricky. He is riding on some Spoon Sw388’s and has a Garage Unique front lip sitting nice and low up front.
I am still trying to get used to seeing the new C series motors. It’s growing on me after seeing Ricky’s engine bay. A Spoon Sport valve cover and a Spoon Sport oil cap with a J’s Racing strut bar. Tasteful mods and a titanium intake arm adds an extra nice flair to display the engine bay.
This Black Acura Integra caught my eyes immediately as I walked past it. The Integra was sitting on these timeless and beautiful Sprint Hart CP-R’s. A wheel I want to get my hands on when I finish building my coupe project! Let’s hope I am fortunate enough to find a set for sale when I am ready to purchase.
The caliper sat quite close to the wheels. I wonder if it will clear a big brake kit.
The last batch of the photos after the announcements have been made to reveal the winners. The NnovatioN guys and I took home a total of five awards. The best award was the “Best Crew” award! As we were cleaning up, I was only able to take just a few more photos before we headed back to Xue’s house to celebrate Tou’s birthday.
Well, this pretty much concludes the Weenie Fest 2024 car show. It was a nice weather and the vibe was definitely in the air. Like I mentioned, I was so in the moment with just catching up with people that I didn’t even get a chance to go through the whole show. That just goes to show how big the show was! On top of that, I didn’t even get a chance to head back to the Weenie Fest booth to grab a t-shirt and snap a photo of Anthony’s car.
It was nice to see Honda Pro Jason at the show and see him vlog and do some Instagram reel of the NnovatioN line up. We were able to get a picture with him and had him hand over the awards to us when we went up on stage to pick up our awards.
It was tough to work with the lighting and the green grass while shooting. I didn’t bring a filter to eliminate the sun beams, but I did the best I could with the camera gear I brought and my amateur photography skills.
Anthony, the Weenie Fest staff ,and family, thank you for holding it down for us Central California guys. It’s always nice to attend to car show nearer to your community and home than driving up and down California.
