Upshift’s Battle Showcase Coverage Part 1

Hey guys! Nice to see you back… It’s been awhile, but you know the drill; Better late than never! The 2017 car show season began with Upshift’s Battle Showcase at the Guam International Raceway back on February 11…

I’m pretty sure enthusiasts who had entered the show were hella worried about how the weather was going to turn out… The skies looked nothing like the beautiful blue view you see in the pic above. The rain didn’t stop until around 4pm… There were already videos being circulated on Whatsapp of how bad the weather conditions looked up at the track. Thankfully, mother nature started cooperating and once the gates opened for the show, she decided to hold back them tears for the rest of the night…

We’ve probably mentioned this in the past; But my favorite part about car shows is seeing something new — whether it be a new look/make-over to an enthusiast’s current ride or a completely new challenger  throwing their hat into the ring… such as Noel Manansala’s Porsche 911 Turbo.

…and of course this Honda Odyssey owned by Julius Franco… I smell a new trend on island… Vanning…?

Justin Rosario was back with a new look on his S2000; Went from Suzuka blue to a darker tone and slapped on some BBS RS rollers…

Are those the infamous $$$ Carshopglow taillights on there….? Did a little snooping and according to his Instagram, a Kraftwerks supercharger $$$ sits under the hood. #teachme

Car show veteran Jasper Leong from Team Exile showed up with his ever evolving 350Z build… Jasper was previously known for his show/auto-x ready Integra mock-ITR build which he has since parted out and sold. Gotta admit, his Integra was one of my favorite ground-up local builds in recent memory. Can’t wait to see what else he has planned for the Z.

Another Z from Team Exile…

I’m glad to see how this “Shark Fit” has turned out… Jeff ditched those tacky shark teeth extensions in the lower grill and slapped on some aggressive fitting SSRs.

Ran into this slick looking FRS owned by Jeff Vargas of Team Exodus. It’s definitely hard to stand out nowadays but one can always appreciate little subtle mods like the customized textured Proline license plate frame…

Slammed on Airrex…

Joel Tamagos’s race/track category winner 2JZ powered Celica…

Another winner… Taking top honors in the Truck/SUV category, Jay Santos’s 1979 Hilux… Such a sick build. This thing looks newer than my wife’s 2011 Scion XB. lol

So as JME and I were walking around checking out all the entries, I ran into this Integra owned by Randolph Bumagat. To most, it would look like a regular car dropped on some bronze rims… but man seeing it really took me back to the early 2000s when we were knee deep in the scene.. The classic “VSM” paint job paired with the timeless TE37s… the Wings West “Mugen” front lip… The mudflaps… front AND rear. Back in the day, we would take off the front flaps  “to save them for show” because they would shave and grind down going over speedbumps and what not during daily driving. lol. Ahh, I literally took a trip down memory lane to the days when we would be on honda-tech.com for hours and hours interacting and checking out all the Honda enthusiasts around the world. Roots bruh.

Nowadays, forums are pretty much on their last breath due to the advancement of other social platforms like Facebook and Instagram… but one of the guys I remember being active on the Honda boards was Ryan “Rywire” Basseri (seen above judging a Chevy S10). This dude was and still is a major player in the Honda scene with his innovative engine harness and tuck accessories… He has since become a household name with the Honda crowd, building one of the baddest Integras ever (just Google him if you don’t already know). Didn’t get to chat with him long as I’d like but it was cool having him visit our island and getting a taste of the local culture.

Closer look at the Chevy S10 owned by Ivan Dydasco… It ended up taking home 1st place honors in the Bagged category.

Quick flick of the homies from Lowered 2 Perfection… At the end of the night, they ended up taking home “Best Crew” honors.

Jeff Calbang with just another 240sx…

Just kidding… He’s got Godzilla’s heart implanted. Lechx10

Mike~L2P’s RSX… Going with dat track look rolling on some SSRs.

Canards, canards everywhere.

No stranger to the HFDZ scene, Jed Espino aka jeders aka jedespinophoto’s TSX. He ended up taking home 2nd Place in the JDM category. He also ended up taking home best umbrella of the night (see background).

1st place JDM honors went to Mike Franco’s J’s Racing themed EG Civic.

Ohkay K K…..

Rex Deseo came out hard with his recently redone Skyline sitting pretty at the Proline booth… This thing is so clean… Check out his Instagram @dxstroyxr for more flix.

Steven Gass’s IS300 came out with a semi-new look… The CAI crew was posting up teasers of the new Monster Service flares and of course the massive 19×12 VIP Modulars… and the overall package did not disappoint — he ended up taking home Best Lexus of the night. It’s pretty interesting to see how present time tuners are adopting late 90-early 2000’s styling cues again… We’ll be doing the same with something soon. 😉

Another throwback, this time a mint Nissan 720 owned by Jaime Flores.

Ending tonight’s coverage with James Fleming’s ITR that was shipped in from Saipan…

Spoon’ed out… and…

Manuel Ada’s EG Civic, also from Saipan… Body looked pretty mint and all lined up. Personally, I think another wheel choice (TE37, Regamaster, ahem ahem) would complement it way better…

Another clean bay with his own personal touches… The Saipan boys came ready to battle…

 Stay tuned for part 2 later this week… We also have a small kine announcement regarding new gear we got in the works!  Thanks for checking us out!
~HFDZ