I Forgot How Much I Missed Summer…

March 12, 2016 / jasonhoang / Leave a comment

Had nothing planned today so we tagged along with Punit and Gopesh to drop their cars off to get some bodywork done. It was a nice day, I have yet to get my car back – which btw will be tomorrow!! – and thought this would be a nice relaxing way to spend a Saturday… I don’t remember the last time I hung out and just chilled. Decided to also bring my camera along just in case… I’m glad I did. This place has been bone dry lately.

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On the way to the bodyshop. This was the first time Punit and Gopesh brought their cars out this year. It was refreshing for sure… IMG_5507 copy

Punit brought his car to get his bumper and lip repainted. It took a beating last year and as you can kind of see in the pics, it’s been chipped up pretty bad. IMG_5506 copy

Gopesh took his in for a more minor fix – under his flares, a piece of his bumper was bent out and losing some paint, so he wanted to get that touched up. IMG_5508 copy

Andy – the owner of the shop has his 1976 Mitsubishi Lancer under the knife as well. He’s won a few awards with it and he’s looking to bring it back fresher than ever this year with a fresh coat of paint, and some new chrome trim pieces. IMG_5516 copy

Inside the shop, Punit checking to see if he’s high enough… IMG_5517 copy

This would be a prime picture if Gopesh’s ass wasn’t in the way. Thinking he’s a Calvin Klein model or something.. IMG_5523 copy

Inspection of the bumper. You can see the paint chips all over. IMG_5524 copy

Outside, Gopesh taking off the flare to reveal the imperfection he’s been talking about that none of us believed. IMG_5525 copy

I guess he wasn’t lying afterall… LOL IMG_5527 copy

A few more pics of Andy’s Evo – it has an Evo IV engine swapped into it. Cool. (thanks JC for the clarification).

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Some of the work that he’s been doing trying to get rid of the rust. IMG_5532 copy

There’s something about Japanese classic cars that just hit you right in the feels. Too cool. IMG_5534 copy

Decided to head over to Jackie’s shop to hang for a bit and on the hoist sits Steve’s RSX waiting for an oil change. IMG_5541 copy

Over on another hoist is Jackie’s project shop car – an ITR. There’s lots going on with it right now and he’s been stockpiling parts for it over the winter with much more to come. I took a few shots of what I could… IMG_5543 copy

DIY undertray IMG_5544 copy

Top 1 Canards IMG_5545 copy

Fender cut outs for that race car effect IMG_5553 copy

Not too long after – Nick and Derrick dropped by in Nick’s new Porsche GT3. Gone are the days of the GTR if you remember that one at all… IMG_5555 copy

Beautiful. IMG_5557 copy

Took a few interior pics… IMG_5560 copy

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The yellow BBK stands out nicely. IMG_5569 copy

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Squished. IMG_5577 copy

Rich’s winter car – his CR-V that he’s been modding here and there. He’s added a bunch of additions since he’s acquired it. One of the newest additions being the retro CR-V side decal. IMG_5576 copy

Nicely retrofitted projectors into the stock housings. I’ve always loved a clean retrofit. IMG_5590 copy

Outside of Jackie’s shop – Isaac’s LS-swapped RX7 sits… And it really just sits there most of the time, and it’s easy to walk passed it or never get it a second glance. However… Jackie gave me a ride in it not too long after I took this picture and I think I almost puked up the pizza I had earlier. IMG_5587 copy

The interior of the RX7. It’s nothing crazy – and like I said, it’s easy to underestimate. It doesn’t have sparkling, showroom paint. It doesn’t have anything that screams “hey look at me!” If any car can scare the shit out of you, it’s this one. I told everyone it’s highly likely that I would never get into this car again after Jackie drove it. LOL IMG_5584 copy

Back in the shop – on yet another hoist, sits Lester’s Mini Cooper. An ongoing project for Lester that will turn many heads when completed… IMG_5586 copy

I’m sure it’s an easy spot – but… Guess the Swap! IMG_5581 copy

A few shots of Steve’s interior as I walked by… Mugen wheel. IMG_5583 copy

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Lastly – Isaac’s dog chilling in the waiting room happy to see some new faces! Hopefully I’ll have a few pics tomorrow when I get the car back! Stay tuned! It’s about to be a crazy summer!

Mike McConnell’s Subaru-Powered 1968 Karmann Ghia

October 31, 2014August 8, 2019 / jasonhoang / Leave a comment

This was a long overdue photoshoot – Mike and I have been talking about getting together to shoot his Karmann Ghia for probably a year now since he started building it, and ever since then there has always been something that comes up – he needed to tune it, I had an appointment, something needed a slight fixing, I got caught up in other things… The list goes on. I can’t even count how many times we’ve gone back and forth about postponing our shoots. Anyway – we finally met up and with the daylight fading fast, we had to move quick.

Mike’s car is definitely something to see in person – it breaks necks left, right, and center. This is the first Karmann Ghia I’ve ever seen and before I met Mike, I never would’ve known what it was… It is older than me by almost 2 decades! The work that has been put into this thing and seeing the progress over Instagram is amazing and I’m glad I got a chance to capture this through my lens. As my Instagram caption stated – it is probably the craziest car to ever come through my lens to date. It’s hard not to respect and admire this car after watching it evolve through pictures from day 1.

I’ll add in some details as we go – as I’m sure you’re all wondering about it. Admittedly, though – I did not get all the shots I wanted to… It was a chilly night, we were losing sun extremely fast and we had no strobes to back us up if we needed it. All of these were shivering, handheld shots…

JC and I met up, Mike came shortly after and had just washed his car, he hopped out and quickly dried the windows with his sleeve and off we went.

On our way there, we had awesome light – not harsh and very calm – made for perfect color in the clouds and it definitely helped in bringing out the “classic” feel in the photos.

Immediately you’ll notice how damn slammed Mike’s car is – and it isn’t bagged either like you would expect. This is all static and Mike drives with no fucks given – that’s what I loved about this whole shoot – it was very care free and “do what you need to get the shot”.

One thing you also might not know just by looking at the pictures is that this car has been painted by Jesse – Mike’s partner-in-crime, if you will in building this car. This was actually Jesse’s car originally but Mike ended up taking it over and with the help of Jesse and his family, they built it into what it is today. I suppose you could say that Jesse is still building the dream, but with Mike at the wheel.

Another interesting thing to note is that Mike is rocking a set of Porsche “phone dial” wheels – 15×6 in the front and 16×8 in the back. Behind those sit some nice disc brakes as well…

Under that hatch (which I am regretting not getting a chance to show you guys) is a stock 2.2 turbo Subaru Legacy engine… This paired with a Haltech sprint 500 stand alone ECU from VEX gives it the power it needs to get going. There is currently no intercooler so he runs the risk of running hot but that is probably in the works for next year.

There are some distinct points that stand out on the car but to me, they are more like beauty marks rather than imperfections. And it works well on a car like this – it gives it character. Funny how as things age, imperfections turn into “character”. I’m sure you won’t disagree…

Another unique part of Mike’s car is the roof – again, painted by Jesse. There are lot of unique touches on the car that really make Mike’s car stand out and that’s huge these days. You really have to take risks in order to stand out, but you have to be willing to take the potential criticism that comes with it – good or bad. I think this is actually one of the highlights and I enjoy it a lot…

Kind of a rare shot of the master and the project… Especially when you’re a photographer yourself; it’s rare to have a shot of your own work.

JC’s car over to the side like usual under that nice sky.

This shot reminded me of a scene from a gangster movie – don’t ask me which one, it just does.

A shot to see the lines of the car. Truly one of a kind.

One other thing to note about Mike’s car is that all the paint work that was done was done with a rattle can. Mike then polished the car to blend the new and old paint together. I would say after looking at it that it would be a tough task to point out exactly where that is… By no means is it a paint booth/professional job but I don’t think that was the intention – Mike’s intention was really just to take a car that is unique and do something crazy and different with it with what they had, and finally get it to the point where it was driveable and they could just enjoy their fruits of labor.

Shooting a car with brand new parts and paint is one thing, but shooting a car where sweat and tears are a must in order to get to a stage of being able to say “finally” is different. There’s more appreciation and more of those moments where you’re standing there admiring the work more than the car at times. You get that feeling with Mike’s Karmann Ghia and it’s a rare feeling.

A shot to see just how low Mike rolls… There were a few times that we saw sparks fly out from the back and the car is just so low that rocks don’t even get a chance to go under it, it’ll just shoot out the side of the car. Just a little note of caution if you’re driving beside Mike 🙂

Another shot that better shows how low it is. This road was relatively flat and to someone like me, it’s a great road with little issues. But for Mike, he scraped… And he loved it.

Mad tuck. Even most bagged guys can’t get that much tuck.

A nice shot of the rear and his exhaust set up. Under that trunk is a beautiful Subaru 2.2L turbo engine – once again, a thing I regret not being able to capture. But not to worry… I’ll get it the next time we go out for sure.

The roller I posted up on Instagram that same night.

Low shots compliment Mike’s Ghia well just because it hugs the road so tight and we all know how good cars look when they’re slammed AND rolling.

One last shot of the many rollers we took that night that I decided to save for the long winter months. I loved a lot of these shots because we could see the moon so clearly and what better way to capture a beautiful car on a beautiful night.

We ended up stopping back at our rendezvous point and I had to get a few more shots. Even as we sat in the lot, it was breaking necks – and rightfully so…

That exhaust!!

One last shot to leave you all with for a nice and happy Halloween.

This shoot was honestly one of my more stressful shoots because as I mentioned – Mike is a photographer too, and while I was not really losing sleep over what he thought of shooting the car, I wanted to make sure that he loved the photos OF his car. I say this because in many ways, Mike is more than capable of shooting and capturing his own car so that’s where he asked me to step in and take it from a different perspective. I think for the most part, I captured it well even though I didn’t get all the shots I wanted, but at the same time it wasn’t a failed shoot (I do consider some of my shoots failed sometimes).

Thanks for coming out Mike! And I know Jesse is reading this – sorry we missed you! Next time, we’ll make sure we all come out together and do some epic shooting – DUB Dynasty style. Thanks (again and again) to JC for making the trek all the way out to the boonies to get this shoot in the bag with me.

Have a happy Halloween!

Quarry Park & Polish Auto Show 2013: Part 1 of 2

September 16, 2013 / jasonhoang / Leave a comment

Well the past Saturday was the annual Quarry Park & Polish Auto Show and like every year, we always try and make it out and show some support. The show is sponsored by MADD Canada and it’s essentially a free show with a lot of stuff going on. Awards, prize bags, raffles, and other pretty cool things so there is no reason for us not to go. They’ve always been super accommodating for us because we’re a totally different crowd than what they usually have – exotics and American muscle. Then you see all us ricers in our Japanese cars trying to fit in.

It always takes place at the Cardel Homes head office and it’s a pretty big lot for a bunch of cars to just roll into and show. The big wig at Cardel always brings all his toys out and it’s always awesome to see since they’re usually parked right underground. The main office is usually opened for browsing and they have the theater open as well. Various automotive documentaries are played throughout the day – one of which was “Senna” – but I didn’t get a chance to go in and watch at time it was playing. This time there was go-karting around back for people to watch, some RC car racing, and throughout the day there are little events like a revving competition. It’s always a good time because it’s a nice and short show and it’s a good time to just hang out and relax.

Speaking of ricers trying to fit in – they put us all in an area together because we are like-minded individuals and there is no need for hate. I get that there can be distaste and a very likely chance that some people aren’t going to like some modifications that others do. There is even going to be a superiority complex between groups that makes them think their style is better than everybody else – and it may as well be. But when certain groups vocally hate on other groups (that are parked right beside them) it ruins a good show. It’s one thing to have an Aventador and hate and it’s another thing to have a stock car with plastidipped parts and fake wheels and hate. People need to get off their imaginary high horse and just do you.

Personally, I have always built my cars for myself and not to impress anybody else. The recognition comes after the fact if you build it with a true and complete vision – not before. People shouldn’t be building cars for the recognition in the first place. It’s when you start off wanting attention that you really start to lose respect from other people. But that’s just my mini rant based on a few comments we heard from our neighbours at the show… Too bad.

Anyways – on with part 1!

Upon arriving to the show, there was a bit of a line up. Didn’t know why until we got up there, but there was a photographer positioning each car in front of a black background and taking pics. That was a pretty sweet idea!

Punit stopped in the middle lol

Was lucky enough to find a parking for the Mean Girls together.

The awards table. Pretty awesome idea as well – parts that were salvaged off of a wrecked Ferrari were made into various awards.

Even handed out exhibitor tags this year. Lucky 150.

The “world champion” award.

Most likely to be towed. Punit and his Integra should have got that?

Most horsepower…

Car we wish we had. I would say the Aventador…

Best show stopper – this was my favourite looking award.

Most carbon fiber…

Best headlight turner…

Inside were the raffles that we got to enter. One of the more popular choices was a set of HRE wheels. Here is one for display.

The rest of the gang showed up. Ryan in his EP3

Alex in his Integra

Noel in his S13

Prashant in his C63 AMG

Started off at the beginning of our line. A super clean Celica Supra

A minty Supra

An immaculate 5-series.

An awesome Volkswagen G60 that was for sale. Later on in the day the owner put up a sign asking for offers.

Punit’s GS450h

My LS

JC’s CT200h

Nick Chow’s old S2000 with some new shoes – TE37SL’s. He recently just sold the WORK Meister M1R’s that came with the car. I think this is a better look because it’s more of a “track” look but both wheels were money.

Super clean Focus. I didn’t really notice it until I walked around to the side but it was sitting nice and low on some BBS RS’s. This one was executed very nicely.

Alex’s Integra

A very well done Miata with a matte black finish on RPF1’s

McLaren MP4-12C up front and center.

Shot of the engine bay.

Super rare Alfa Romeo

Ollie towering down on another little dog as we were walking.

McDonald’s free coffee this year!

A super sick BMW Turbo clone. This was for sale too..

For $30,000 it could be yours!

Junior go karting set up in the back. You can see some of the karts getting tuned up.

A super mint Mini.

This was a beautifully finished HRE wheel. Not sure what the finish is called but it was orange and copper-ish and up close you could see the brushed finished. Awesome.

An RC car race track.

A Porsche Cayenne wrapped in a satin matte blue finish. Perfect job as well.

Part 2 tomorrow!

2013 International Auto Show – Part I

March 15, 2013 / jasonhoang / Leave a comment

Seems like it was just a few weeks ago that I posted coverage to the 2012 Auto Show as I was editing these pictures. For the last 4 or 5 years now, Diana and I have made an effort to make sure we go to the show and walk around since I get free tickets from work. I go to snap pics, and she goes – I think I mentioned this before – to get as much free stuff as she can. Occasionally she’ll make a comment about a car or something she likes but when she starts to see the giveaways, there’s no stopping her.

Anyways, yesterday was my appointment to drop the LS off at Lexus for a full on maintenance and fluid flush as well as two campaigns/recalls that were never done. I’m getting them to do everything from oil and brake fluids to the three cabin air filters to spark plug replacement and drive belt. A result of which now costs over $1100. X_X The spark plug replacement wasn’t on my to-do list since they quoted $680 something but I got a call later in the day saying since they’re already in there with the recall work, they’d just charge me for the plugs so I said “what the hell”.

The other thing that came from it was my bangin’ rental. For those of you wondering why I didn’t get a Lexus as a rental – I was told I needed to be part of the VIP program – one that you can only be a part of if you bought the car from there. So – they hooked me up with a rental instead and paid for it. Part of me wonders why they didn’t just give me one of their cars to save that rental fee… but whatever. When I got to the place, I was supposed to get an Altima but it was going to take about 20 minutes to clean so I opted for the 2013 Chevy Cruze instead…

Here’s the bad boy. Super small compared to the LS – but it’s kinda nice to be a little more peppy and nimble during turns and stuff. I don’t hate it…

The interior shot I got on the way there. Not too shabby – I do miss the heated steering wheel and seats in this cold weather though. There is about 5000km on the car, so it’s brand spankin’ new and it takes FOREVER for the engine to warm up.

The tickets we decided to try to use. I didn’t notice until the day of that the little print said “good for one weekend adult admission”. I brought them anyway and as we approached the parking gate, I made a bet with Diana that they wouldn’t let us in with these tickets because of that print. So I made a deal with her that she could pay for parking and I’ll pay for admission (LOL). So she pays the $15… we get to the inside gates and hand them the tickets – all the while, I’m like “oh man they’re gonna say we can’t use them”. And bang – we’re in. Needless to say, Diana wasn’t too impressed with me. I got her dinner later LOL

The same display Subaru seems to like putting up every year. Still cool though. I also noticed that people like to touch shit – like it’ll give them a better understanding of the car or something. I hate when people touch shit. lol

The BRZ – I actually love the BRZ more than the FRS the more I look at them. The headlights and rear are way nicer.

Minus the nasty stock wheels.

Over in the Jaguar booth. I’ll admit I was never a fan of Jaguar up until maybe a year or two ago. They just never appealed to me because they were so old man-ish. Now they’re just killing it.

Check out that rear!! VIP tray. Too crazy.

Killin’ it.

Killin’ it. The XK is my favourite.

Awesome front end.

Range Rover had sick cars this year as well. I’m over the Evoque though.

Brembos were huge on this.

Hyundai was another one of favourite displays. They’re creeping up slowly and they’re doing a really good job with design and presence. The new Genesis coupe with the new front – I love it.

And finally – the two cars I think I loved the most of the show. The Equus and Genesis Sedan. These two sedans can become extremely sick platforms for a K VIP build. Hyundai wins in the luxury sedan at this level.

Inside the Equus. It feels somewhat like the LS – lots of the components in the LS and where they’re located are similar in both the Equus and Genesis. It does feel a lot cheaper but for $50,000 less than a fully equipped Lexus, this thing is crazy.

The two side by side at the back of the Hyundai booth. LOVE.

The Genesis sedan. Front is just too awesome – they also did a really good job with the LED headlights.

Front quarter. The lines are similar to the Equus, but could you imagine either of these dumped on air with some sick 21’s or 22’s?! I want.

Veloster was also pretty cool looking.

Moved on over to Lexus. Ultimate gangster SUV.

Love the blue on this CT.

The new IS350 – I personally love that new grill. Diana said it looked too busy, but that would look deadly in the rear view.

IS-F. Another car I’m kinda over… haha

The ES hybrid – way better than the previous gen ES. Doesn’t look so cheap haha

F sport accessories

The GS – I said it last year and I’ll say it again – the best front end design ever.

And finally the flagship – LS. Not much has changed interior wise, except they’ve added new gadgets, a bigger screen and better looking dials. For the most part, it’s the same thing. The exterior is also more aggressive, but it doesn’t look as big as the previous gen. It doesn’t “look” like the flagship sedan anymore but it’s definitely still awesome.

Scion had a great set up like always with the custom widebody FRS on Work Meisters. Pretty nice.

Better view of the front quarter.

Interior shot – gutted and caged.

Rear quarter. Love the full red tails. I hate that altezza’s start to look like they’re coming back for some reason. Subaru impreza hatch – for example…

The fitment in the rear. I feel like they could’ve gone with a lower offset and a better disk to get more lip. It really isn’t that much for a widebody.

The IQ. Also – off topic, Scion also has legit lighting for their vehicles. lol

Another full shot of the FRS

Frontal.

Moved over to Toyota. The new Avalon looks pretty cool too. Thought they got rid of it… Which they should. And give us the Toyota Crown.

New Rav 4. Kind of looks like a mammoth from this view. Almost looks like the MDX.

My favourite van – the Sienna. Toyota did something awesome when they designed this because it’s a tuner’s dream. Even the options from Toyota is awesome – blacked out headlights, lip kit, wing…

FJ – been the same for a while.

Right on over to BMW. The X6 – another awesome SUV. As a matter of fact – I want an SUV now because of how much they’ve improved over the years. They looked like beefed up versions of their sedan brothers.

Rear of the 750i. I love the 7 series as well – but I feel the same way about the new flagship sedans of every maker – Audi, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes – they look smaller. Almost hard to tell them apart from their lower models at first glance.

Front quarter of the 750i.

Front shot. Could be a bit more aggressive, but they got the rear right.

The best one on display at their booth – the new M6 in a matte finish.

Front quarter shot.

Carbon roof!

Rear quarter.

The headlights. It looks like a lot of the companies now are going for the LED headlight and the squared bottom/top shape projector. Not sure if it has to do with achieving a cutoff with LED’s or maybe just coincidence.

Over to the Mini booth. The Paceman was pretty big.

Sick rear diffuser. Looks like the BRZ

The Nissan Bang Bus – according to Diana.

The 370Z. This still holds a soft spot in my heart and when I saw it again – I wanted it. It’s just massively wide that I would love to slap some 20×12’s on the rears. Diana took a seat in it and she doesn’t really like it. She also looks tiny in it… haha

Not a fan of the convertible at all but it’s still awesome.

GTR black edition.

Now onto Porsche. The Panamera – equipped with roof rack and all.

Awesome.

Cayenne. Another awesome SUV.

911 – couldn’t get a good shot of it, too many people lol.

Another gem that Diana found at the Porsche booth. I’d like to point out at this point that Diana is literally like a scavenger ant at the booths. While I’m snapping pics, she’ll wander off and circle the booth for things to grab. LOL and if I happen to move on too quickly, we’ll end up having to go back for her to try again. Living the life.

The new MDX prototype. Check the headlights.

Close up. Again, squared off projectors.

The new Acura RLX – same headlight LED design.

LED tails as well.

Nice front. Acura seems to be kinda pushing out a bunch of models that can’t really be slotted anywhere or are in the same class and it’s kind of confusing – maybe because of all the letters but there’s the CSX, ILX, RLX, TSX, and TL. hahaha

Another one of the booths that I enjoy going to is Audi. They always have a nice all-white set up. The A4 wagon.

The S6 – the ugly duckling in the middle. Not actually ugly because it’s awesome, but this one was sold to some lucky SOB.

Carbon console.

The Q7. Diana wanted this one.

Matte black Aventador. While awesome to see, the gating off of seeing these cars takes away from the attraction. I understand the point, but when I see it – I care less. lol