How Hot Wheels and a Pandemic Led to a Civic Type R Build and a New Business

Dec 09, 2023

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For many of you, Hot Wheels was a major part of your earliest years and might've served as a gateway to your current automotive obsession. The reader cracking a little grin after that first statement likely has a nice little collection currently, and hey, we're right there with you.

Gilbert Villanueva knows a thing or two about those 1:64 scale die-cast collectibles that've brought kids (and adults) so much joy over the years. He and his business partner Ryan, along with his wife, Cheryll, own HHwHH (Hella Hot Wheels Heavy Hitters), a small storefront in northern California that caters to the Hot Wheel aficionado as well as offering a select group of other collectibles.

Having collected die-cast cars and assorted bits since 2009, Gilbert had amassed quite the assortment and much of it included multiple versions of Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and other brands. While organizing his storage one day in 2014, he came up with the idea of bringing some of those duplicates to HIN Santa Clara to display on a six-foot table that borrowed space from his friend's vendor booth.

"I'd always seen the same merch all the time at shows - stickers, posters, clothing, etc.," he says. "I was thinking my Hot Wheels would be perfect to introduce at car shows because it's obviously car related, loved by all ages and genders, and when I see kids attending shows, they don't last an hour cause they get bored so fast. Having some toy cars there, they're entertained."

Finding his groove, Gilbert attended more shows and began offering free gift bags to children under 7, and it proved to be a hit with both kids and parents. For the next few years, he brought his collectibles to 10 local shows per year before expanding into southern California and Seattle. By 2019, things were cooking and along with the toy cars, HHwHH would display a few real cars to drive home the point that they weren't just a vendor, but real enthusiasts. Then, all of those car shows came to a screeching halt as the world faced a pandemic and related lockdown. As a result, those collectibles were left collecting dust in storage.

Just before the pandemic hit, Gilbert took a leap of faith with a brand new chassis—a far cry from the familiar CRX builds that he'd become accustomed to, at one point stacking up six different examples at the same time. He posed the FK8 idea to his wife and she agreed on it, but finding one at a dealer was all but impossible. An order was placed and a lengthy wait required, but it gave him time to research the chassis a little more and figure out his plan of attack.

When the new Type R finally arrived, Cheryll was certainly feeling it. "We picked it up and right after, she liked it so much that she started daily driving it," he says. "Parts were starting to get delivered and as much as I wanted to install them, time was a factor with work, family, etc." As the pandemic rolled into the U.S., his time was about to free up considerably.

"The pandemic hits and I got laid off of work, as many did," Gilbert recalls. Without his full time job and no shows to attend to run his collectibles side business, he had the sort of time needed to install of the parts that he'd been stockpiling. A bolt-on affair under the hood, the basics were taken care of first and included a GReddy exhaust and intercooler kit, Eventuri intake and cross-over pipe, HKS front and mid-pipes, and PRL's downpipe and plug-and-play flex-fuel kit. Plenty of dress up touches from Chasing Js were sprinkled in and he was content with the look and power of the FK8's K20C.

Gilbert raided King Motorsports' Mugen-filled parts shelves and came back with a front lip, side skirts, bumper garnish, rear wing, and taillights. Always popular TE37 wheels, this version in high contrasting blue, were bolted in place over a Project Mu x Alcon forged 6-piston brake kit and the car's ride height selected with Fortune Auto 510 series coilovers.

The rear seats were deleted in favor of an EVS Tuning carbon fiber replacement and a Studio RSR roll bar mounted in place. The remaining seats were pulled to make room for Mugen's modern MSZ buckets that match the brand's carbon trimmed steering wheel and Schroth harnesses anchored to the aforementioned roll bar. As good as the factory shifter is, Gilbert opted for CAE's much taller and shorter shifting assembly.

In the midst of the lock downs and the free time to finish piecing together his Type R, Gilbert and his wife, along with his business partner, decided to open a storefront. It sounds a little crazy, as the world was still figuring out its next move, but after recognizing that a small business space wouldn't cost much more than the storage that was already housing their collectibles where they weren't generating any income, it felt like the right move.

Today, the HHwHH store front is in full swing and Gilbert reports that he's also back to working his regular 9-5 full time job. With car shows and associated events picking back up, you can find their vendor booth back in action as well. "I still can't believe what we started," he says. "By early 2021, we were seeing other Hot Wheels/die-cast vendors at import car shows and events and we have to respect the hustle. We think we started something really good. Thank you for all the support, we appreciate everyone. Come collect with us!"

Car 2019 Honda Civic Type R

Owner Gilbert Villanueva

Instagram @hhwhh_by_panda23 @hhwhh_collectibles

Engine Hasport mounts; GReddy intercooler, piping, oil cooler, SP HG exhaust system, 3-in. front pipe, mid-pipe; HKS black edtion blow-off valve; Eventuri turbo pipe V2, intake, carbon fiber valvecover; PTP black edition turbo and downpipe blanket; PRL downpipe, flex-fuel kit; Radium coolant tank, dual oil catch can; Rywire ground kit; Chasing Js titanium hardware, coolant cap, oil cap, dipstick, windshield washer reservoir cover; Antigravity ATX-30 lithium battery; mele Design Firm rally battery tray; APR carbon fiber cooling plate; custom carbon fiber fuse box, aluminum A/C caps; Hondata FlashPro

Drivetrain Exedy stage II cerametallic clutch, lightweight flywheel; CAE ultra-shifter

Suspension Fortune Auto 510 series coilovers, camber plates; Swift springs; Hardrace rear camber arms; front/rear BeatRush titanium shock tower bars; Studio RSR chromoly roll bar; HKS suspension EDC kit

Braking Project Mu x Alcon calipers; Project Mu 380mm front rotors, steel braided lines; Paragon 350mm rear rotors; powder coated polish silver rear calipers

Wheels & Tires Volk Racing TE37 SAGA 18x11 +37 front, 18x9.5 +33 rear; Toyo Proxes R888R 295/30 front, 265/30 rear; ARP extended studs; Chasing J's titanium lug nuts, valve stem caps

Exterior Mugen front lip, side skirts, rear under spoiler, rear wing, side window visors, front bumper garnish, carbon fiber mirror caps, LED taillights, door handle protectors, titanium badges; Chasing Js bolt kit, front license plate mount; First Molding super aero vented hood; Honda Access door moldings, optional rear bumper applique; EVS Tuning front grill; Racebred 3-in. front splitter with quick-release brackets, front tire spats; OEM rear vent update; OEM JDM clear sidemarkers; 3M matte black roof wrap; custom aluminum rear wiper delete; Diode Dynamics Elite Series fog lights; Rplate digital license plate; LaminX headlight film

Interior Mugen Recaro MSZ seats, steering wheel, start button; Recaro sliders, brackets; Schroth Racing 3-in. Profi II ASM harnesses; Studio RSR harness reels; Chasing Js teardrop shift knob, shift pattern plate, door sills; Detailed by Panem custom carbon fiber shift plate; EVS Tuning carbon fiber rear seat delete w/Chasing Js hardware; Tuxmat floor mats; H3R Performance fire extinguisher, prolock quick-release bracket; Honda Access first aid kit; Diode Dynamics interior LEDs

Thank You First I would like to thank God for every accomplishment and the success I'm having. And to my family, especially my wife, Cheryll Hermosura, for giving me her FK8 and trusting me with it for me to work on a new chassis and to my two angels Ezra and Tatum, my day one supporters! To my extended family and friends at HHwHH Ryan, Gervin, Mark, Baek, Giann, Gerard, Mike, Jerry, Alex, Jessie, Jomar, Danny, Arjan, Shawn, Brian, Eric. And to all my sponsors/supporters Fortune Auto, SpeedImage Usa, Chasing J's, Toys Tires, Anti Gravity Battery, MeLe Design Firm, Paragon Brakes, RaceBred Components, Greddy Performance, Mackin Industries, Evasive Motorsports, Diode Dynamics, H3R Performance, Detailed By Panem, Amsoil inc, P3 Gauges, LaminX Film, SlipLo Usa, BlackVue, Tracklife Composites, Exedy Usa, Fkn Prints, Mr. SexyS2K, Brian Garage, StreetOutCast, inspire Usa, Studio Rsr, Mistrshop, illumaesthetic, Dsr Prez, Dsr George, and Qu1ckWorks.