Project SC300 Road Racer: Part 23 – Wider is better! Getting Clearance with a Wide Body Kit.
Subaru wagon trunk open and doors open with 2 large boxes inside
Have you ever seen an entire body kit fit in 2 cardboard boxes inside a station wagon?

We reached out to KBD Body Kits to see about getting one of their VTX style polyurethane wide body kits for the SC300. A polyurethane kit, especially in the fenders, would be great on a road racing car. A little bumpybump action wasn’t going to crack fiberglass all to hell. Drop the car on the jack? It just squishes the side skirt.

Oh, and the whole body kit fits in 2 cardboard boxes. What the…?

 

Instructions sticker with stick figures
That’s right – the body kit comes folded up in cardboard boxes.

KBD employs a polyurethane combined with a “memory” feature. After they manufacture it, they pack it up, and ship it to you folded up. Take it out of the boxes, let it get pretty hot (direct sunlight, heat gun, etc), and it recovers to the desired shape.

 

Body kit parts folded up and cardboard boxes all strewn about sunny driveway
Let’s get started then. First step, let the kit parts recover.

Some 90+ degree days in Georgia direct sunlight should do the trick. Although this is a pretty sad looking scene. With the kit parts basking in the driveway, I got to work taking the existing body panels and parts off.

 

close up of front fender and quarter-turn plate
Since the front bumper was already off, I started with the front fenders.

As you can see here, we have a 1/4 turn fastener attached to the front fender. I used 1/4 turns to make the front bumper really easy to get on and off. 1/4 turn fasteners are quick and easy to use, but they are a little difficult to align correctly when you first install them, and they’re a little finicky to mate. There are other options out there, and we might try some.

The two bolts down in front attach the nose of the fender to the central support system.

5 comments

    1. You’re not kidding @MattAtRedondo ! Sometimes you have to step back and look at the long path you took to get you are before you can appreciate it.

      Just don’t try to add up all the dollars you spent. That’s a bad idea!

  1. Those wheels look amazing. As an aside, you really should always run valve caps at the track. I run the little plastic ones because as you mentioned – every ounce counts.

    I’ve had debris or dirt get into the stem from an off track excursion and cause a deflation. Caps eliminate that possibility. Looking forward to the next installment.

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