I honestly don’t even know where to begin with this article…

I’ve had a passion for cars longer than I can remember. I find myself in a constant mindset of networking, and building more relationships with people from all sides of the spectrum, to not only share the stories of their cars and builds, but more importantly, the stories behind the people themselves, and what it means to them to be so involved with this enamored passion for cars.

Around the beginning of spring this year, I helped organize one of our bi-annual local Japanese Super Car Cruises that my buddy Evan has been hosting for quite some time. This was one of my favorite events to partake in throughout the year, as it consisted of a large group of diverse Japanese Supercars that formed together as one colossal sight to see.

And since I knew I’d be taking photos of the event anyways, I figured it would be the best opportunity to get my feet wet on the Speedhunters website.

This story will remain significant for me, as it was the catalyst into becoming a contributor here in the first place.

Shortly after, I realized how much joy storytelling really brought to me. So I quickly rounded up a few local friends who I knew had some seriously epic builds, and decided to showcase them to the rest of the world to hear their stories. Eric Lam taught us how to Supra, Nim Divino gave us some insight on a well-balanced NSX, and Ken Stevens got his gangster etiquette on.

With four IATSH articles locked down, I tried to keep up the momentum by continuing to find more interesting things to talk about.

The first, being the most random experience I’d ever had during Monterey car week. With Nissan being the marque this year, and the fairly recent acquisition of my R32 GT-R, I knew I’d be in for some sort of treat throughout the week. But I would’ve never guessed that it would be encountering the million-dollar Ital-Design GTR-50.

This was the prototype press car that had been making all sorts of noise throughout the week in the automotive world. Its design was controversial, its price tag was hefty, and it was everything I loved about Nissan’s creative history.

The only regret I feel, was that I was so far gone with the excitement of being around the car, that I forgot to take more photos of it parked with my GT-R. But who knows, there’s always next year.

Normally, Monterey Car Week would be the highlight of the summer, but this year was special in a sense that Rennsport Reunion was making its comeback to California, and it would be right in my backyard. With talks of the event for years amongst fellow Porsche enthusiasts and hobbyists, I had a certain high-level of expectation of the gathering. Little did I know, that I’d be privileged with the opportunity to partake in the event first hand.

There was a Porsche party, a few Porsche drives with RGruppe members, and of course the main event at Laguna Seca. It’s safe to say, this was definitely one of the most epic events I’d been to.

After the summer ended, I was all about getting back on track for featuring people. I’d networked with a few friends I’ve met over the years, all of whom shared interesting stories and journeys with their passion towards setting themselves apart from the crowd, starting with James Stephens’ Nasty Z.

I was rather fond of telling this story not only because it was a badass Z, but also because it portrayed something I often see lacking in the vintage automotive community: prolonged motivation. It took James nearly 10 years and over six figures to get this Z to where it sits today. And despite that, it has recently had its look overhauled yet again, with additions of long-stock JDM fender mirrors, and a monstrous set of Watanabe wheels custom built by Love20Bee. James portrays what true love with a car is all about, as most of us can hardly keep a car for more than a few years.

Countering that last statement, Mike owned his Hawkeye STi since 2007, and it too underwent numerous surgical procedures to get to where it’s at today. As a matter of fact, he also recently changed the look since this write up, replacing the Volk TE37’s with a new set of bronze Volk CE28’s. You can’t go wrong with either set up Mike, so keep up the continuous progression. He and I go way back, and it was a story long overdue, so it was awesome being able to share it with you guys.

Carlo and I on the other hand only recently became acquainted through non-other than the best networking tool around Instagram. This dude had the ultimate Porsche Dynamic Duo and was actually driving them on the track.

Far too often I come across pages where owners showcase their cars endlessly in the safety of their garage, and that’s never been my style. I mean, I’ve racked up 15,000kms on my GT-R in the last two years alone. So when I see someone that truly enjoys their toys, I immediately know that we’re going to get along. What I liked most about this pair was that they were set up nearly identical to each other, and it made for a great way to portray the difference in age between the two 911s.

In the midst of all this havoc, my close friend and Nissan mentor, Andrew, had finally completed his year-long garage built 510. This story was planned before I even became part of the team because I knew that even if I wasn’t the one to tell it, I would help reach out and get someone on the site to give it a shot.

Andrew has been sending me Speedhunters articles since the day I met him, and I felt it was only right to finally get him on the site he visited so frequently. His build was absolutely beyond what either of us thought it would become, and his passion for cars was a story in its own. What really set this car apart though, was the attention to detail. It’s probably the most JDM SSS spec’d 510 in California, other than real SSS’s, and with a touch of shakotan flavor, it became my favorite 510 around.

Speaking of Datsuns, earlier in the year Andrew invited me to an annual swap meet that had been taking place probably since before I was born. Although I wasn’t able to share this event as coverage (it was long before my time here), I did manage to link up with one of the guys I met during the show.

Carlos’s 521 was the rattiest and most unique mini truck I’d seen in a long time, and it was getting an assortment of attention during that meet. It too was garage built, and I couldn’t get over how much character this little thing had. It sported an unconventional N/A SR20 swap, one of one SSR Longchamps, and all sorts of other little gimmicks that really set itself apart.

It saddens me to give this update, but about a week after the article was published, Carlos was involved in an accident, which totalled the truck. I’m happy to say that he walked away unharmed though, and that this story was the ending for a true grass-roots built 521.

While shooting Carlos’s 521, we both recalled some of the more unique builds we’ve seen throughout the years in northern California. One that we both came to recollect was Cary Miller’s RA21 Pro Street Celica. I first laid eyes on this beauty after its debut at Wek Fest last year and was adamant on featuring it since then.

Luckily, the stars aligned during JCCS, as we were parked fairly close to each other and had the chance to finally meet in person. He showed me around the car and proceeded to explain how he built it all himself in his home shop, and how everything was based on trial and error. It was an impressive build, to say the least, and this thing is fast.

When I think about it, JCCS was probably the most fun I’d had at a car show in a long time. Trevor’s coverage gave you guys quite a solid grasp on the number of cars and people that attended the show, and though I’m typically not keen on parking my car for 8 hours on some grass instead of driving it, I can confidently say that I’ll be doing my best to go back every year for as long as I can.

There were a ton of awesome people, builds, and shops that attended this year, and luckily for me, I was able to see one of my favorite Z’s in person, which belonged to Love20Bee.

Love20Bee has become a household name in the world of JDM wheels. These guys are all about quality and uniqueness, and I was able to see it all unfold right in front of me whilst on a tour of the shop. It felt like being a fat kid in a candy store if I’m honest.

There were all sorts of crazy rare wheels that I’d been drooling over for years. Wheels that I didn’t even know still existed. Overwhelmed with the experience, I managed to snap some photos and write some words about the whole thing, including some showcasing on his personal cars. Since then, Matt has added a few more cars to his collection, and we’ll eventually be doing a follow up on that later.

Since I was already in So-Cal for work, and I finished Matt’s shoot, I figured I’d try to arrange something with another buddy whom I met through Instagram a while back. Joe Fend and I became acquainted after a ‘small-world’ encounter, where I found out he had purchased a mutual friend’s Kenmeri Skyline a while back.

While initial plans were to feature that car, things took a downturn when the body shop notified him that it was not done with the metal work on the car. Rest assured though, Joe rolled up his sleeves and got his beautiful 90’s inspired RX-3 ready for showcasing. I’d always wanted to get up close and personal with one of these, as they are pretty rare in the states, and also boast an incredible racing pedigree.

After all, the RX-3 was the car the killed off king Hakosuka’s famous 49-win streak.

More recently, I explained how I bought my GT-R, and told Justin Chou’s interesting story of his transition from Battlebots to Alfa Romeos. I’ll further be posting my coverage of Sonoma’s annual Winter Jam event as well, and I think that’s where my year will see its cutoff on the site. But brace yourselves, because I have a lot in store for 2019.

If you can’t tell by now, Speedhunters is all about diversity amongst the community. We love anything and everything that has to do with things that move. And I’ve done my best to bring that to you guys with my first year (or half year) of hunting speed.

2019 is just around the corner, and as with every year, we all come up with resolutions. Well, this year, my resolution is to bring you guys some of the most unique, most diverse, and most interesting stories you’ll find on the internet.

Naveed Yousufzai 
Instagram: eatwithnaveed