In case you haven’t heard yet… Upshift, Fatlace, AN Films, and illest have come together to bring SLAMMED SOCIETY (SSGU) to Guam this December. I’m glad you’re able to join us as we countodown to show day, Saturday, December 14, 2013!
Guam’s automotive scene has really come a long way. Although we’re a tiny dot out here in the Pacific, we island tuners always continue to get worldwide attention. In the past 10 or so years, the scene has been continuously evolving; we’ve had many fads come and go – but truly they never really die. They become embedded into the tuning style – a particular tuner may enjoy more of the “stance” scene but at the same time still appreciate the functional race side. As we countdown to SSGU, I thought it would be a good idea to look back at where “we” came from the past 10 or so years. I always liked looking at that old AutoJam 2001-2003 album that was always hanging around on Google; but sadly I think it might have finally gotten deleted. That particular album had extensive coverage of the aftermath on Guam of original The Fast and the Furious movie – everyone and their momma had some type of body kit on their car at the time. I looked up to a lot of the cars in those pics because I was always on the outside looking in… it wasn’t till around 2004-5 when I had actually joined the show scene and had a digital camera in tow to take pics. So that’s where I’ll start… 2005.
Thought it would be really cool to start off this coverage with this car from AutoJam 2005 at Paseo…
DRIFT*UNIT themed 240sx by Ron and Kat. These guys were rockin’ Fatlace before it was even considered cool. DRIFT*UNIT was Mark Arcenal’s (Fatlace owner, founder, big bawwwws) foray into the car scene. This car had all types of “JDM” parts on it – CWest aero, Bride seats, 5Zigens, etc. When I first ran into it at the Ysengsong Mobil stoplight in Dededo, my neck completely broke having thought it had come from Japan or something, lol. Drifting was just getting popular around this time… a year later in 06, Tokyo Drift came out I think… Anyway, I later found out that this car was being built by some friends. I even sold my neon underbody glow kit to them, not sure if it ever made it on the car though.
Here’s a closer look at the DRIFT*UNIT armor. You hip-hop tagger peeps can probably see the Fatlace mixed in there. 😉
This car would still be totally relevant today, if it were still around…
Chris Delfino was still kicking ass during this time with his fully tricked out Civic. This thing had everything covered.
I don’t remember who owned this at the time but I know Jun from Redline did a lot of work on this…
It had that look that I appreciated from the earlier 2000 years… Really cleanly done. Rims were cool too, 5Zigen Heidfelds. I ain’t gonna lie – I always wanted some carbon fiber Altezza style tail lights but never got to try them on any of my cars.
The JDM scene was already around years before but it started to really blossom around this time. The full body-kit, huge rim look of the orange Integra was taking a back seat to a more OEM, simple look as seen on this Integra by Lawrence Adriatico (M2S). I wish I had a pic that I could post up, but this beige Integra looked pretty similar to the orange one. It had a Blitz front end but with Mitsubishi Eclipse headlights… big rims, full kit, huge APR wing, etc. It was enough for him to take home 1st place in the 4-door category at the famed Island Import Night Tumon.
Taichi’s Integra. This car took home many awards during it’s time too.. And believe it or not, it is still around in the scene being modded, although in a different style. The scene was really booming with car meets every Friday and shows every couple of months…aka we were broke and eating Ichiban.
HFDZ~Jaime’s Civic, this time at Island Import Night 2005 at the Guam International Raceway. This thing went through a couple of changes until he finally settled for this look. Love the color choice on it. He still had the show scene in his blood, hence the flip up trunk but it was nice for what it was. The M2S guys at the time also loved that Mugen themed stripe… I think we had like 3 cars rocking that during this time. It made for some serious busy time at the sign shop.
Speaking of sign shops… here you’ll see Rod Grino from our most favorite sign shop on island, HAFA ADAI SIGNS. They have always been supportive of the automotive scene on Guam and are always willing and able to help! As a matter of fact, I think they are also helping out with SSGU. Also pictured are younger versions of HFDZ~Jaime, M2S~LA, and TRU~Davey.
Marvin Delos Santos’ (Guaranteed) Mirage. This car also went through many changes. It was always one of my favorites.
Like a brand new!
Another popular car at the time was Guaranteed/RTOY Darrel’s Integra. Lots of everything on this one too.
The infamous RevTV RSX accompanied by photbomber and original owner Nate Denight (who happens to be the Deputy General Manager of the Guam Visitor’s Bureau nowadays…). The scene was so big that Nate made a local TV show about it and got everyone to watch every week. It was cool how he was able to document the build through the show. You can catch some snippets of it on YouTube if you’re interested.
No stranger to the HafaDaze world… Charley Mendoza’s Acura Integra back in 2005.
Not sure who owned this, but nicely done 240 with the S15 conversion with what looks to be a Bomex bumper. From what I’ve heard, it’s still somewhere on Guam looking the same way it did back in 2005.
Ending today’s coverage with just a small view of the crowd at Island Import Night 2005…
Come back for a look at more years of Guam’s storied car show history next weekend… here at HafaDaze!
Esta!