It’s still weird to think that iMSS 2022 was the end. A show that has been a staple of our community for so long – which only existed thanks to a group, a “brand”, a movement that has done so much for the Calgary scene – is no more. When August 2023 rolls around and we don’t have a date marked on the calendar for another Sunday School, it’ll probably feel even stranger still.

However, in reality Sunday School ’22 was never supposed to be a thing; the finale was meant to be in 2020 but of course that had to be postponed, so we had a couple of extra years to prepare for the end of this series and we still weren’t ready to bid it farewell.

Driven was always our kickoff for the season, shows like Park and Polish (or these days, High River) were the mark of the end, and there were highlights in between, but Sunday School always stood out as something special. It was a show but at the same time it didn’t feel like it. It was almost more of an annual reunion of friends and family, a progress report on the Calgary scene showcasing all of the latest and greatest its members had to offer after another year of work, and a care-free day to just kick back and relax in the sun (ironically after usually burning ourselves out preparing for it in the days and weeks leading up, and then more often than not literally burning ourselves in the sun because we’d always forget the sunscreen. Annual sunburn contests were a thing, you may recall). It was something special, and just as ill.motion as a whole have been a major part of what makes up the identity of the Calgary scene, so too was Sunday School specifically.

This year then, with the date for iMSS set and announced, we quickly got to work coordinating a little group to have at the tenth and final rendition and for the most part it all went off without a hitch. Don had the most trouble (really the only trouble) in our group, but we’ll get to that. Haha. While in other years we tried to go big with massive lineups of cars, race to complete new builds in time to debut, or have something else special up our sleeves, this year was a very relaxed event with the vehicles more or less set ahead of time and all of us just intending to show up (somewhat rested for once) and take in the grand finale to an amazing series. I didn’t shoot every car at the event that day, instead catching up with a number of folks and also making sure to simply enjoy the tenth and final iMSS while it was still going on. For those that were there I hope you did too, and if you weren’t present I hope you enjoy it through my selection of photos and others’ as well. iMSS X: Part 1 starts now.

If you’re a regular reader of the site you’ll be aware of our long-standing tradition of making up commemorative decals for events we attend as groups. For iMSS X I took some basic inspiration from some recent Wekfest trophies of all things, and included some brushed vinyl as a callback to iMSS 2013 – the first time we attended the show under the officialTHREETWENTY banner – as our decals then were made entirely from the same material. These were intentionally subtle so that they could be left on if desired and not scream for attention, to just be a little reminder of the day for some time to come. Incidentally I made up a couple of gold/black spares as well but they were never used.

Anyway, roll-in went fairly smoothly that day aside from some concern about having enough room to squeeze all of our cars in (long story short we got them all lined up nicely with enough room in between). The only other hurdle we encountered was a slightly unfortunate change in plans for our favourite Californian as mentioned in the last post; as with iMSS 2016 and 2019, we had been intending for José to be present and with this in mind, when registration opened I entered both Mustard and the S15. José was to fly up here for the weekend (or a bit longer) and I was going to be giving him the keys to Mustard so that he could bring it down – which was also going to be a bit of a surprise for him – but through no fault of his own he couldn’t make it. Rather than pull a car out of the show, with a big thanks to Mario we were able to have both down at the lot regardless; that morning I brought Mustard down early, immediately hopped into the Tesla to be brought back home, and then drove back in the S15. Come the end of the day Megan took the “keys” (card? phone?) for the Tesla and Mario drove Mustard so we could take them back to my place in one trip. Thank you again, guys!

After that little back-and-forth, by the time I returned with the S15 our lineup was already being positioned; once all was said and done (including final cleaning) the camera then came back out for the proper photos. First up in our line this year was Ruzz’s RS, sitting on fifteen52 Holeshot RSRs and sporting its Infamous aero. You’ll note he was back to his original, unvented hood as well.

Next up was Mario with his Tesla – now officially dubbed Bao – sporting an Unplugged front lip, carbon fiber rear spoiler, springs, and some mismatched (blue on one side, black on the other) Fast wheels. Since the show, as you may have seen, he has switched it over to air suspension and is keeping an eye out for some new wheels to really get this thing turning heads when it’s on the ground.

Naturally, beside Mario’s car sat Mustard, still more or less as it has been since mid-2019. You’ll note that on the dash I had the trophy we collected from iMSS 2016 when we debuted it post-swap; with the series now over I’m even more pleased that we (yes, we collectively) have one of the awards as a souvenir from this chapter of the Calgary scene and will treasure it forever.

Next up was the S15, looking far better than it did in iMSS 2019 when it was still (mostly) white and sitting on the Koenigs. I wanted Mustard present at this year’s show since it has been there every single year except for the first show in 2011. The S15 on the other hand, I wanted present as I really wanted some photos of it at a Sunday School in its new, truly presentable form.

After a little bit of debate my mother decided to bring the Thunderbird out as it was the car she brought to her first Sunday School and therefore felt it was only fitting that it attended the last as well.

Similarly, the first time Don attended a Sunday School he was with our group, so when this year’s was announced he asked if he could close it out with us as well. Of course I said yes, and so the plan was for his classic Mini to be part of the lineup. Unfortunately he ran into some troubles with it so he then asked if he could bring his Porsche (928) instead, and I told him that was perfectly fine! However, you’ll note that it’s not a 928 in the photo above; it too had some trouble so he then asked if he could bring his S3 and again I said yes. I wasn’t fussed with what he brought that day, it was just nice to have him as part of the group once again and the S3 looked great anyway. Note the subtle Flow Designs aero; a brand we’re big fans of!

And last but not least, we had Harrison with his MX-6 on Mazdaspeed MS-01Ss. His wheels – the whole car in fact – are always super clean and ready for a Jason BI at any moment it seems. Behind them sat some recently-fitted Mazda 6 brakes, providing an OEM+ brake upgrade for the little FWD coupe.

And speaking of wheels and Jason – before we move on to the rest of the show – as you may have seen in Jason’s post I had a little surprise for him sitting in one of my barrels. He puts up with the patina in the S15’s vintage Advans so I made sure that Mustard’s barrels were ready for him.

With that, we now move on to the rest of the show. Immediately next to us was Infamous’ booth, complete with Jesse’s R32 sedan debuting their new 6-piece widebody kit. It has been amazing to watch what their team is achieving and after the A90 kit caused the stir at Driven last year, seeing the R32 kit on display was awesome as well. It represents another huge amount of work from the guys and I can’t wait to see it on other builds around the world!

SPWC had their always-impressive lineup out, although I didn’t take many photos since I shoot them a lot at other events as well…Danny, you can smack me next time you see me. Or have Sydney chase me with the R/C cars, I don’t know. She probably will anyway.

In Garage Box’s lineup sat this very attractive EK; the red/blue/yellow scheme got me thinking of Roy Barba’s old EK (that reference will go over most of the youngins’ heads) and it looked amazing. Ks may be newer and “better”, but there was something so nice about seeing a B-series being used here instead.

The Redline girls were out in full force, and after Mel’s win at All Ford the day prior Brooke took a trophy home at iMSS for her bagged Q60. Congratulations again!

Alex has been keeping busy with his Hondas of course (and had also added to the Honda count at the show) but was really turning heads with his trio of M cars: his E92 M3, E39 M5, and brand new E46 M3 build as well. If iMSS had continued, I’m sure there would come a year when the entire field would just be his cars.

Crowds prevented me from getting a full shot of the car, but once Jon and I spied the finish on these Works neither of us could resist a closer look. Do you remember the advanced, colour-changing paints in NFSU2 that you could apply to wheels and calipers? That’s what we were being reminded of here.

Super tidy FD with a fairly aggressive front lip; it’s nice to see some of these still retaining their original and un-cut quarters. Haha

If I were to say “engine swapped RX-7”, I’ll assume your first guess would not be an RB25. This was yet another example of a car built for function that was still to a high enough standard of finish to fit in at a show. I think Jason even handed out one of his uber-rare “Get Out of BI Jail Free” cards given it’s actually used and not just a show piece.

And on the topic of wild engine swaps, a 300ZX with a Toyota heart now calling the bay home. It appeared to fit pretty well too, and worth noting is the bay had been shaved before being resprayed. Very nicely done.

I remember after the show David joked that there was only one photo of his M6 at it; I let him know I’d have one (eventually) coming and earlier this week I sent it over as a teaser once I had it edited.

Carter’s 1.5JZ-swapped 240SX was looking good as always, with the ever-tidy exterior not really hinting at what was underhood. You’d know it was turbocharged, but likely assume there to be an SR20 or something similar.

Next to it sat a coupe sibling, with another wild swap (although from the same manufacturer this time) in the form of an RB26/30 engine and 25 transmission. 800+ horsepower in a 30+ year-old S-chassis must be absolutely nutty; yes, that’s what this one makes.

If there was one car that really made Jon and I stop in our tracks at the show this year, it was this Civic coupe. The insane ride height and fitment, gorgeous colour (reminiscent of Chinablau, as seen on Terence’s EK), and clean approach (free of decals or wild aero) really turned our heads. Anything with clear tails also gets immediate bonus points from Jon, sometimes accompanied with finger-pointing and him calling out “clear tails!” as well.

I believe this is Isaac’s FC? Regardless, I had to grab a shot from across the lot when I spied it. White paint, red Brides, bronze TEs; you can’t go wrong.

On that, the jokes continue of Calgary being the TE capital, but can you really complain? Oh no, our city is overrun with high-quality, authentic wheels; the problems we have here. Haha. You can’t deny just how versatile the basic design is though; once you start tweaking version, sizing, and colour it can suit everything.

One car I was very pleased to see basking in the sun that day was Levi’s R32 GT-R, showing off that phenomenal KAD R35 paint it received a couple of years ago. With the few exterior mods he’s added to it and the perfectly-sized TEs he’s got a timeless appearance here.

A close up of his Rocket Dancer front lip…

I feel like we’re starting to see a few more modified DC5s around here, and if any of the new builders ever need inspiration they need to look no further than Brandon’s example. The J’s bumper for this platform will always look good.

If I recall correctly this EM1 was the same car that Alex used to own (Mr. Big BMW Guy Now Alex), and it was still looking phenomenal. Some carbon lip damage is inevitable in Calgary.

With his M235i now gone, Jacob is driving a Kona N these days. Credit where credit’s due, Hyundai (and Kia) are killing it these days and this whole N line seems to be something to really pay attention to. I don’t know if he has many plans for it (or what is even available in the aftermarket) but I wouldn’t be surprised if he puts his own spin on it.

Tri-spoke the world! Zak’s ’94 Vigor always stands out at events not just due to the wrap or Try-Force Zelda wheels, but the fact it’s a Vigor in the first place! I’m excited to see the widebody he’s been working on come to life and transform this car yet again.

Nothing to see here Americans, just a few R34s.

In all seriousness though, while we still enjoy teasing our US friends, with the way the values of these have gone even we don’t get to see them as much up here any more. It’s wild to think that in the right specs, a trio of these as shown here could clear $1 million.

I’ve always wondered just what it would be like to live with a set of Craft Squares or similar. I know many people that have run them on street cars but have never sat behind the wheel of a car with them, myself. There’s no denying they looked right at home on Manuel’s STi though, alongside the Varis aero and Voltex wing.

Who would have thought, way back in the OG Beyond days, that we’d be seeing modified 911s at our events in town? Naturally, quality wheels were showcased on this trio and also naturally, one was a set of TE37s.

If there was one brand that stood out as being extremely well-represented at iMSS X, not just in quantity but more importantly quality, it was Honda. When there was even a group of 4 NSXs – on top of all of the DC2Rs, FK8s, and more – the Honda fans could be certain they were in for a treat.

And while all of the NSXs were impressive, it was Jackie’s own NA1 that was stealing the spotlight a bit. This was absolutely one of the most-anticipated debuts of the show this year as it was all coming together after a very long and very in-depth overhaul. Jackie purchased this car 10 years ago now, and for about the last 8 of them it was off of the road.

Authentic Spoon aero, an ’02+ conversion, high-comp 3.1L engine build (with Toda internals and ITBs on display through the rear glass), and many brand new OEM parts followed by a full respray in its original red, this was a full-on restomod of his beloved NSX and we were all super happy to see it return to the road this year while simultaneously raising the bar for builds in Calgary.

It wasn’t the only Honda to come back after a lengthy rebuild, but that (and more) will have to wait for the second part of our iMSS coverage, next! It’s after midnight now and I definitely need to get this wrapped up so I can get to bed. Thank you all for reading, and be sure to stay tuned for the conclusion once I get through the rest of the photos. Take care!

-Bill