The Beginning, Wekfest Preparation.
2 Weeks prior to Wekfest, one day, Kennedy wakes up and can't get out of bed. His Ankles and Wrists gave out on him.. We thought he'd get better after a day of recovering, but things did not get better. Kennedy couldn't back out of the show so he had to do whatever it took to get all 13 cars ready for Wekfest... How'd he do this you ask? Chris took him to the doctor, who injected him with a cortisone shot so he could use his hands and walk. $600 went down the drain to get the shots so he could work on the cars, even though the doctor advised against it because if he broke anything, he would not be able to feel it. Kennedy took the shots anyways, which allowed him to walk (or at least limp) and have some use of his wrists for painting.
Also, David's towing vehicle (supposed to tow Hugh's Widebody GS) had a mysterious problem.... its drive shaft fell off, and the rear end cracked!! So we were out one tow vehicle, and had to start looking into other options.
The Journey to the North
So originally the plan was to leave from Platinum VIP at 1PM to head to San Francisco. Guess what time we left the shop? A bit before 1PM right? ....Nope, we ended up leaving the shop at 8:30PM. Why? I'll tell you why!
So a a week before everyone was working feverishly on getting the cars prepared for Wekfest. We stopped working on the collision cars in order to make time to complete all the show cars before the deadline.Thursday night when I left the shop, everyone kept working, and ended up pulling an all nighter.... so Friday rolls around, and I tell them I'm going to be a bit late to the shop, and I arrive a bit after 1PM.... and guess what? Everyone is still working on the cars, putting finishing touches and fixing some last minute issues. All the cars were supposed to show up before 1PM, but only Davis, Jay, and PJ were there and ready to roll out. People started showing up later though. This is when problems started hitting harder. Roger's 300C was getting his tires mounted at another shop, and the shop made a big ouch. While mounting the wheel, they bent it!! So Roger had to drop out from the show. He wasn't the only one that ended up dropping out of the show though. The other twin Q45, David's twin, also dropped out... his reasoning was that he got the wrong tire size, so he didn't want to show. David's Q45 also had a weird problem. An electrical gremlin caused his speedometer to take a crap on him, and none of his cars' sensors were working.
... Then came the big OH SHIT!!! Moment. Kennedy had to move the RV to the front of the shop so that he could air up the tires. In the process of doing so, one of the RAREST occurrences happened.... he backed the RV into a sign D'OH!!! *facepalm* Minor damages to the RV though, thankfully. Henry's GS then starts experiencing a weird glitch, and his check engine light goes off. Apparently the throttle body took a shit on him, and he couldn't go over 10MPH. Luckily a new one was easily found and replaced the following day, which set him back about $1,000.
Finally the trip up north starts, at 8:30PM Friday night.... 7 Hours and a half behind schedule, but nevertheless it's happening! We're all prepared for the trip, with lots of tools also, in case anything happens. Everything should be good right? Not really... One hour into the drive, Davis' GS gets a flat tire.... he didn't have a spare too, so he ended up calling AAA and getting a tow. He was so frustrated he ended up dropping out of the show and towing the car back to Platinum VIP. After this incident the caravan resumes and continues the trek up North..... but halfway up, another problem appears... The trailer Kennedy's using for his Aristo cracks, and causes huge damage to the front bumper, cracking it everywhere. Face's Mercedes CL also gets damaged, its windshield cracks, and sets him back $1000 for a new rain sensor windshield. After these incidents, the drive up North is all safe, and no problems arise, thankfully.
Cruising around San Francisco, Breaking Necks Left and Right!
Nothing actually happened too bad on Saturday before the show. Chris got a ticket because he was running Platinum plates though.... first ticket in the group! Then at the car wash place, the people hit the trailer, bending one of the rims. Mike tried to hammer it out, and Kennedy did too, fixing it.
The Show: Wekfest San Francisco 2010
I don't think I have to say too much other than.... WE KILLED IT!!!!!
1ST Place VIP- Hugh's Widebody GS
2ND Place VIP- Kennedy's Aristo
1ST Best Infiniti- David's Q45
2ND Best Lexus- Henry's GS430
2ND Exotic- Jay's Aston Martin
3RD Best Euro- Oscar's Wide body M3
And the best award of all....
BEST CREW- PLATINUM VIP and VIP MODULAR!!
The Return Home: Utter Disaster
After the show late Sunday night, David almost could have gotten a DUI. He was pulled over by an SFPD officer because the officer wanted to know what kind of car he was driving. He had drank earlier, and luckily passed the sobriety test. He was given a ticket for no plates though, and thankfully not in jail.The drive back home became a test of endurance for everybody. This was probably the worst drive back EVER from any show we've ever gone to. The plan was to head back down South by 11AM. The first problem came at 11AM, a cracked trailer. Kennedy's trailer cracked, damaging his Aristo's front bumper. Everybody pulled off and started an emergency repair session to mend the trailer, which lasted from 11AM to 3PM. After the trailer was fixed, it was time to finally hit the road again, and we hoped we would not experience any more problems on our trek back home. Then... you guessed it, more problems. At 5PM, David's Q45 linings fall down on the freeway. The linings get fixed, but it takes another hour, and we finish repairs to his Q45 at 6PM. So we hit road again, and trouble AGAIN! Anthony's Q45 struck an object, which damaged his right quarter panel, right rear door, and rear bumper. The custom VIP Modular wheels he had that were just finished also damaged too. So here comes the fun part, taking off that one right rear VIP Modular wheel, and putting the spare on. One big problem appeared, his 22'' VIP Modulars were TOO BIG for his spare! Not one mile after Anthony's blown tire incident, the trailer carrying the Widebody GS blew a tire. There was no spare for the trailer, so it was time to improvise. We jacked the Q45 onto the trailer, and put the Q45's spare on the trailer. Luckily Chris had his spare, and it fit on Anthony's Q45. This whole process took about two hours, but then it was back to hitting the road. While on the road, a bolt from the trailer hit Chris' GS' hood and A Pillar. Luckily the damage wasn't severe, so the trip back to SoCal continued. Finally after four hours, home was getting close, we were now around Lost Hills, and still continuing our journey home safely.... Until Face's CL ran into a problem with his fender cracking. After the fender incident, the havoc ended, and no one else experienced any problems, thankfully.
The trip to Wekfest took a huge toll on us physically, physically, and mentally. Thankfully everyone was able to make it home safely though. The only cars that had no problems whatsoever were three Infiniti's: Malik's Q45, PJ's G35, and Jay's G35. So now, let's total up the expenses for this trip:
Henry's GS400 Throttle Body- $1000
Davis' Tire- $200
RV Damage- $1000
David's Truck- $3000
Trailer spare- $300
Anthony's Q45- $2500
Face's windshield- $1000
Rental- $500
Show expenses- $7000
Total cost of the Wekfest SF show: ~$16,500.
Now that's what you call dedication.
So are we attending the next Wekfest? Who knows? Until Next year.... only time will tell!
Rolling Platinum Style.... Priceless.
You guys know how we do it!
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