Hi all! Just want to share my latest project... almost 4 months of work put into the modification of my old body kit.
The differences are evident to the trained eye but to none afficionados, it just looks the same. To me of course, the difference is major... not to mention the financial bearing. lol!
Initially my flares were just stuck on with 3M double sided tape. Just in case I had to revert back to stock, it would be a breeze to do so. Feedback was pretty good and I liked it myself so I decided to get serious with it and make it permanent. This was easier said than done as it also required adding at least 3/4" wheel spacers to the front and 1" to the rear. I was fortunate as our local H&R distibutor had the fronts in stock but we needed to machine them to fit the stock studs. The rear was custom made following the H&R's design.
Now that the widened stance was achieved, we had to work on the fenders. The lips were eventually cut out since the tires would definitely be rubbing on them. The fiberglass flares, now functional are now riveted to the fenders and make the car look more solid now. Both bumpers received some minor modifications that are noticeable in the pics below. The front bumper was modified twice since the first job restricted airflow and caused the engine to overheat. I was quite happy with the final revision. The rear bumper is now of a two-piece construction and has a splitter.
Just when I thought all was done, I didn't like the treatment with the doors since the flares made the Familia look wide bodied but the stock doors and molding didn't do justice to the overall car. It would've been done then but, since we were already at it I decided to fit the doors with fiberglass cladding to complement the now wide bodied Familia. Doing so proved to be a good decision since it added more body to the car.
Graphics needed to be changed so what better way than to promote your own club... after all, Mazda wasn't paying for all my hard work anyway.
From the drawing board...
to reality...
The race inspired gas filler cap...
Before... (thanks for the pic caloy)
and after...
Before...
after...
finally...
Thanks for looking guys!
The differences are evident to the trained eye but to none afficionados, it just looks the same. To me of course, the difference is major... not to mention the financial bearing. lol!
Initially my flares were just stuck on with 3M double sided tape. Just in case I had to revert back to stock, it would be a breeze to do so. Feedback was pretty good and I liked it myself so I decided to get serious with it and make it permanent. This was easier said than done as it also required adding at least 3/4" wheel spacers to the front and 1" to the rear. I was fortunate as our local H&R distibutor had the fronts in stock but we needed to machine them to fit the stock studs. The rear was custom made following the H&R's design.
Now that the widened stance was achieved, we had to work on the fenders. The lips were eventually cut out since the tires would definitely be rubbing on them. The fiberglass flares, now functional are now riveted to the fenders and make the car look more solid now. Both bumpers received some minor modifications that are noticeable in the pics below. The front bumper was modified twice since the first job restricted airflow and caused the engine to overheat. I was quite happy with the final revision. The rear bumper is now of a two-piece construction and has a splitter.
Just when I thought all was done, I didn't like the treatment with the doors since the flares made the Familia look wide bodied but the stock doors and molding didn't do justice to the overall car. It would've been done then but, since we were already at it I decided to fit the doors with fiberglass cladding to complement the now wide bodied Familia. Doing so proved to be a good decision since it added more body to the car.
Graphics needed to be changed so what better way than to promote your own club... after all, Mazda wasn't paying for all my hard work anyway.
From the drawing board...
to reality...
The race inspired gas filler cap...
Before... (thanks for the pic caloy)
and after...
Before...
after...
finally...
Thanks for looking guys!
