Wekfest San Jose…Hanging with the Camber Kings

Wekfest San Jose is called a “Premier automotive gathering,” by insiders and for good reason. It was an event that I had never attended. In fact, I had never heard of the venue until just recently. Spencer, a new friend and co-worker, mentioned he was hoping to participate in the show and needed quality photos of his Mustang to submit for consideration. Since I basically have a camera attached to my hand at all times we set up an evening to take images. My education into the world of Wekfest styled builds began during our photo shoot.

At the age of 44 I’m not a young man, nor would I consider myself old. Instead I’m at that age where I kinda feel I’ve seen most of what the automotive industry can throw at me. I had seen Spencer’s Mustang a few times, but never looked it over in great detail, or taken a ride in it.

From my perspective his 2012 Mustang was “wild” as it was wide, low, loud, and had a crazy huge wing on the back. I never took the time to appreciate the flow of the car and its intentional styling with his particular goal in mind. Spencer explained all this to me as I grabbed images.

Stance was the primary goal of his build, and in his case, actual performance as well, as he drives his Mustang everywhere…and drives it hard!! Stance being the main styling of a car instead of just “a” feature of a build” was a new concept to me.

With this in mind, I looked forward to seeing more of at Wekfest. As I mentioned Spencer’s mustang never sees a trailer, so we left at 4am on Saturday morning of Wekfest weekend headed south to San Jose, California.

After seven hours of driving we arrived at the San Joe Convention Center… We pulled into line and I couldn’t help recalling the old saying of “Dorothy, we are not in Kansas anymore” as we were surrounded by cars whose manufacturer I couldn’t recognize, much less the models of the cars. Camber was a prevalent theme and I couldn’t help but notice the Wekfest crowd is just as into LS swaps as hot rodders are!

When it was our turn to enter the convention center it was already packed with cars, and they didn’t stop rolling in until 480 cars made it through the doors. Though the actual car show wasn’t until Sunday participates were all parked by Saturday evening which was great as it allowed for a relaxing time to get cars detailed and vendor booths setup.

Spencer taped off his massive 11” front and 12.5” wide rear rims which saved a ton of detailing after the long drive. While Spencer was busy cleaning, I got busy taking photos in what felt like an ocean of show cars.

Although I struggled with makes and models initially, it wasn’t long before I was picking off Toyota’s, Subaru’s and Scion’s. The cars were all top quality which was a result of the pre-screening process for acceptance into the show. No junk allowed!

Peering around, I noticed turbo swaps, heavily chromed engine bays, LS swaps, gorgeous custom paint, full custom interiors, sweet wheels, and of course rocker-scrapping stance and crazy camber. Many of these cars wouldn’t garner a second glance in the mall parking lot but when they’re this heavily modified, rodified, custom plated and polished, it’s just way cool. They’re no different than hot rods, lowriders or lifted trucks in a car show sense. They’re created from passion pure and simple and it showed.

I also noticed a good showing of late model American Muscle Cars most of which were decked out in widebody kits.

Sunday was the big show. The spectator gates swung open at 1pm and the place was full throttle until the 6pm closing. I’m not the best at math, but the lines of spectators to get insi de was several people wide and wrapped around both the upper and lower floors of the convention center as far as the eye could see. The vibe was electric and it was “Off the hook” as the kids say. One couldn’t help but notice all of the pretty ladies, many of whom were car owners, walking the show and posting for pictures.

There was no air of “my car is better than yours,” here either. Wekfest is all about showing off your form of automotive expression and the love for car building. The showplex was filled with laughter, compliments and praises to the builders who were more than willing to share their ideas and building tips. It was fantastic camaraderie.

With so much momentum, the show ran a little longer than the posted 6pm closing partly to let the massive crowds filter out. Once the show did finally let out the exiting show cars were greeted by massive crowds lining the streets on both sides wanting to both see and hear the cars in motion. Along with the procession comes the ever popular revs and sweet exhaust notes.

The weekend was an awesome experience and educational for someone who has spent the majority of their life around hot rods. I’ll be back!

Wekfest San Jose Photo Extra!