Fluid MotorUnion at Tuner Galleria!

07 Mar Fluid MotorUnion at Tuner Galleria!

This past Saturday, Fluid MotorUnion closed down shop to head to Rosemont, Illinois, to participate in the Tuner Galleria, a celebration of all things tuned.

The work certainly didn’t start on Saturday, though. After spending all week making sure the cars were where they needed to be, we approached Friday evening with a sense of anticipation and excitement. This was the first car show of the year, after all, and we wanted to start out the season with a good impression. We put a new race splitter on Dick Cook’s M3, molded it to the bumper and repainted it, and Luci put everything into tip-top shape just before we left:

We also spent a good amount of time cleaning up the M45 before we left, too, including plenty of aluminum polish:

The drive to Tuner Galleria was fraught with peril. And by that, we mean rain. Lots, and lots of rain. However, we arrived in Rosemont without issue, right smack dab in the middle of our previously-arranged arrival time. Plenty of microfiber cloths later, we put the cars into position in our assigned area and got to work assembling our tent and the various other pieces of our new weekend home:

Having finished our setup for the evening, we went home. The next morning, we arrived back in Rosemont to finalize our setup and everything started without a hitch. We won’t give away the X5 or M45 yet (as they’re going to be all over the internet soon, anyhow), so we took a few pictures of our own setup:

However, the majority of the shots were taken to show you what else the Tuner Galleria had to offer. The closest car to us, and by far one of the most interesting cars in the whole show, was this original Honda S600, complete with the most terrifying backseat since that Mini-Me cutout in the Mini Cooper:

There was plenty of European representation out on the floor of Tuner Galleria, such as this Alpina B7, not exactly the most commonplace BMW on the streets, especially in its newest body style. Believe it or not, there were actually two of these on the floor:

On the other side of the floorspace, we found this M45. Just like Marilynn’s, it features a pretty crazy stance. However, this specific Infiniti was going for the JDM treatment, so it featured several items unique to that specific culture, such as the JDM Nissan badging, ridiculous camber on all four corners, and that little kitschy knot hanging from the rearview:

Next to the M45 was this genuine S15 Silvia, another Nissan staple. This one featured some Voltex aero and some ridiculously negative offset in the rear, producing what was likely the deepest-dish wheel in the whole show:

More Euro representation came from this bagged Audi, as well. This was one of the lowest cars in the entire show, barely hovering above the cement floor:

Your humble narrator thought this was one of the coolest ways to prop up a car, also:

And then we ended up checking out more Japanese cars, of which there were plenty. And they weren’t just limited to street cars, either. For example, here’s the world’s fastest Mitsubishi Evolution. Some of the info on this car was nothing short of impressive:

As always, Top Speed brought their trio of ascending GT-Rs. It’s not every day you see an R33, R34 and R35 right next to one another:

Also, as one may expect at a tuner-based car show, there were plenty of non-garage-affiliated rides. And of course there was the occasional engine-swapped Civic, red valve cover and all:

We saved the best two pictures for last, too. In terms of complete spectacle, being able to see the turbo setup on this Evo drag car was pretty neat. Look at the size of that snail! It would suck up an entire city block if it could:

Finally, this little number was directly next to the X5. Old Ferraris always evoke a sense of nostalgia, back when assorted go-fast bits and aerodynamic upgrades weren’t really the norm for Italian stallions. The paint practically shouted “Rosso!” at every opportunity. If you look closely, you’ll see sipes reminiscent of winter tires on this Ferrari’s rubber. Although we highly doubt this car would ever see a salt-specked road, you never know…

Overall, the show was a great success. Many stopped through our booth, checking out the cars and getting an opportunity to chat with several members of the Fluid family. Business cards were exchanged, hands were shaken, and many smiles were thrown around. This was a great first year for Chicago’s Tuner Galleria, and we can only imagine how much it will grow next year. Until then, though, there’s plenty more car shows between now and then, so keep your eyes toward the blog for more posts like these as the weekends keep getting warmer!