Words and Photos by Chris Ortez

 

Did you know that GTG stands for “Get Together” and that the G35 GTG event was established 8 years ago by my great friends Marcus Cooke and Chris Leiva?

Well, it isn’t news but I am certainly glad that the tradition has continued throughout the years.  Before this tradition began, before the phenomenon of Facebook pages and Instagram, we were all merely friends and enthusiasts on G35driver.com sharing ideas and helping one another with our builds.  There, we established everlasting friendships and created a culture of inclusiveness and respect amongst one another and our builds.  The tricky part then was that our friendship existed for the most part, online.  Only those local to one another would have the opportunity to meet up to show off their pride and joy with an afternoon drive or at various car shows.  Since those opportunities were few and far between during that time, we often tinkered with the idea of one day pulling off an ultimate G35 meet, that is until Marcus and Chris co-facilitated the efforts and scheduled the very first GTG.  The first event took place September 26, 2009 at Long Beach’s Shoreline Village.  There were a total of 46 Sedans, 31 coupes, 4 z33’s, 3 FX’s, 1 S2k and 1 Altima, for a total of 86 cars that turned up.  From there, the annual event grew and therefore was moved to a new venue at Tanabe.  GTG received support and sponsorship from many reputable companies and media attention from Superstreet and Modified Magazines.  Things have certainly changed as the years have progressed, including GTG VIII which was hosted for the first time by Outcast Garage at their facility in Santa Ana.  The event also brought out a variety of cars as you can see from my photos, but very few V35s with the attention to detail from past times.  Although many of the “OG’s” have moved on, including myself, a few still remain and continue to hold it down.  Nonetheless, the “OG’s” will always have a sense of appreciation for the V35 chassis and the GTG event.  I hope the annual tradition continues. – Ortez

Airlift Performance display booth supporting the event next to the Chris Outcast’s wide body coupe and Vivek’s sedan.

 

I mentioned a few “OG’s” still holding it down for the G community. Well, Vivek is one of them.  Sadly, It was recently announced that he is also moving on from the VQ chassis therefore will be parting out his Sedan.  As a matter of fact, his plans were to begin the parting out process the day after GTG VIII.  It’s unfortunate considering that his car is among the elite – a car that has seen multiple transformations through the years and has been an inspiration to the G community.  A build that will certainly be missed.

 

Mikey Dang’s complete Powerhouse Amuse kitted Z34 won first place Nissan.

 

The Zociety team was represented by a few Z33s and z34s.

 

Clean z34 on Bronze Scorpio Ace Alloy Wheels

 

TE37s will make any car look good. Yellow Brembo calipers to match the headlights.

 

lowtek_z33’s aggressive looking Z showing off his Mishimoto oil cooler and dual cold air intake setup.

 

Raahimjoonx6’s z34 by far was one of the wildest builds present at the event.  Equipped with fly1 motorsports Niko Edition Widebody Kit, AirRex Suspension, and Art In Motion MA5 wheels. Mishimoto’s Chilli the Penguin approved.

 

I like how clean this z34 looks with the Amuse front bumper. I hope the owner keeps it this way.

 

Zociety member brayen.z33 parked hard

 

OC Infiniti displaying a brand new Q60 and 400hp, twin turbo Q50s.  Can someone loan me $57k?

 

This was my first time meeting Neil Barroso and seeing his MambaVQ build in person.  I like how he has tied in the Jdm theme, carbon fiber parts and yellow accents.  He mentioned to me wanting to do some crazy Liberty Walk widebody overfender installation.  My response, PLEASE DON’T!

 

Glenn Laureno’s Q50, aka Lucy, sitting fresh on white SSR SP4 and red Akebonos.

 

I am liking the direction these guys have taken the Q50 game. Good Job Fellas.

 

Chris Nguyen’s Widebode CPv35 is one of the elite builds to date.

 

This was the only V36 (g37) IPL at the event. Clean…

 

A couple of aggressive looking v36s parked on the street.

 

Nice to see Christopher Marti’s  Stillen Supercharged, EAU Rouge Body Kit, HRE FlowForm and AP Racing BBK equipped build.  One of my favorite, which won best Q50.  Check out the artwork – artist unknown.

Mark Castillo showing off his prototype Outcast Garage Q-Style front bumper designed by Brian Burton.  Glad to see that Mark is still in the VQ family.

 

Parked the JdmCainStallion next to his 90’s rival. Talk about Outcast’s at a predominately Nissan/Infiniti GTG – No Pun intended!

 

Arizona native, Greg Hadju is the owner of this Cpv35 which won best G Coupe.  Although not my style, we had to recognize the work done to his build such as the one-off widebody kit, airlift performance suspension, complete custom interior, trunk and engine bay.  Check out his rear seat delete mod to house four 12″ subwoofers.  The other cool factor is that he does the work himself.  Kudos.

 

I like how this enthusiast is tracking his progress.  Nice looking undercarriage.

 

Rommel Jimenez has big plans for his Cpv35, having recently installed a set of Endless 355mm BBK that he sourced from OG CpV35 driver Edgar Lozoya.

 

This Nismo z33 with Hyper Bronze TE37SL wheels, Bride interior and Vertex steering wheel caught my attention.

 

RM_VQ has a great looking V36.  I liked his NOS and Television trunk display, which was entertaining the lady who attended the event with him. I hope I didn’t burn him….haha!

 

Clean z32.  I wanted to learn more about the car but never found the owner.

 

I was impressed with Marco Agredano’s Cpv35.  Elite Auto-Body transformed his car by painting it earlier this year and I must admit, they did an awesome job, specially with how they faded the Carbon Fiber.  He unveiled the polished with gold bolts, Meister Sp1 wheels & 326power lug nuts at Wekfest SJ.  I also want to compliment his illumaesthetic LED taillights which give it a modern, Jdm look IMO.  Keep up the good work Sir.

 

Daniel Campos has one of the best looking, well rounded Cpv35 builds to date.  I must admit that his build could have won multiple awards, but this time we recognized him with the Best Engine Bay award. He recently finished his Jdm Bride, black leather with blue stitching, carbon fiber interior which looks amazing.  Also for the first time he showed off his new custom hyper black, Rotiform Six wheels and Laguna Blue 8pot Brembo BBK set up.  One hell of a build my friend.

 

Will Pozi is in the process of changing his build around having unveiled his freshly painted, Grigio Telesto Cpv35.  His one of a kind build with the various Carbon Fiber panels stood out from the crowd, winning second place coupe.  He has plans to source a carbon fiber front bumper and install Seibon CF doors to complete his vision.  If you didn’t know, he sports pink accents in support of his mother-in-law who was battling cancer. A very thoughtful gesture of his.  I’m looking forward to the final outcome of your build Sir.

 

Kyle won best of show, with his clean Orange Cpv35 sitting on freshly refinished Volk SF Challenge wheels.  Kyle also changed the appearance of his build this year which has yielded him various awards.  We gave him props and awarded him best of show for a well rounded build with modifications that tie well together.  Congratulations!

 

Samurai Sword utilized as a hood prop.  Dont mess with this Sensei who is spending big money gold plating his engine bay.

 

Outcast Garage Chris Nguyen eventually made it to the event having drove from Santa Barbara in his beautifully executed Q50.  His car sits on VIP Modular VRC13 wheels on the drivers side and VRC110’s on the passenger side, airlift suspension, AP Racing BBK and Impul body kit. JUST SICK!

 

It was a pleasure having attended, judged and captured GTG VIII event through my lens. Special Thanks to the Outcast Garage Staff; 2c Nguyen, Mark Castillo, Brandon, Chris Nguyen for the hospitality and event coordination. I also want to shout out my partner in crime Alf Senato for helping with the judging process and for being a cool feller to hang out with.

Until Next Time……