Porsche-O-Phile

I have a few questions about the install, namely how it's done and how much of the fender the widebody fenders actually includes. Does it leave a big honkin' gap between the edge of the existing inner fenderwell to the inside edge of the widebody fender? If so, how'd you close the gap? Since the existing fenders are spot-welded and the widebodys are fiberglass, what's the method of attachment of the fiberglass fenders to the metal body?

I'm considering doing this widebody conversion on my Callaway car, but I want to know what I'm getting into exactly - not just expect to run out, spend $1,000 on fiberglass panels that are worthless due to all kinds of fitment issues and crap. Thanks.

Pics appreciated.

White Pony

www.gt-racing.com has some, I'm very curiuos myself about this, I am thinking about putting widebody rear and a 944 front on my 924s.

Porsche-O-Phile

Yea, those are the ones I'm considering but I'm concerned about fitment issues, how they connect to the existing body and whether or not they're gonna' leave humongous gaps between the existing body and the new fenders.

Naturally GT-Racing will probably just say "we just make the fenders - making them work for your particular application is up to you" (and in their defense, they ARE just a fiberglass fabricator). Hence my questions. . .

Paying $1,000+ on fenders plus more for wider wheels, spacers, etc. and hours of labor to end up with 2" (or larger) gaps between the inner body and fenders would not make me happy.

White Pony

I dunno... I tried several times to get ahold of them via telephone and never got anything but a kina smart assed message.

From what I've heard of like kits there are some fitment issues. You have to do real bodywork, cutting, riveting and bondo-ing, patching in gaps.... I got a quote from a bodyshop that had done alot of "kits" before and few, if any of them ever fit just right. They said especially if you want the "smooth trasnsition" it can be very labor intensive, hence expensive. Which you probably have guessed.

Although what is a few grand for something that almost nobody else has?

Porsche-O-Phile

True 'dat.

I might do it anyway but want to know exactly what the scope of work is before taking this on.

Wade B

Jeff, I think xsboost (Dan) is doing one of these right now on Eurotrash's car. Maybe he can shed some light on how he is doing it.

From doing custom work on cars in the past, I CAN say that there isn't necessarily one way to do any of this kind of work. When you decide that, yes, you defnitely want to do a modification of some sort, you get the parts and then assess what you have to do (read, "fabricate") to make it work. Then that determination and adrenaline kick in.........

Chris_924s

Whoa.. Wade is lurking!!
Yep. PM xsboost for info, or he may just hop on this thread a bit later.

Porsche-O-Phile

Cool, I'll do that. I had some asshat put a ding in my fender the other day so I figure it's an excuse to upgrade, seeing as I'm upgrading damn near everything else in the car anyway.

944-LT1

Ive done it. You can cut the old out and leave an inch and a half to mate to on the original fender or you can cut it out entirely. Youll need fiberglass resin jelly to glue them on.

Ill try to get everything in but I will miss something im sure.
I left the inch and a half, scuffed it up with 50 grit and used quarter inch zip-screws every inch where it mated to the original steel. After all screws where in place, I used mild heat to form the panels to a great fit. After it settled, I removed the panel and applied the glue (have to work really fast here). Then with it glued and mated I re-installed all the screws and left it overnight.

Next day...I remove all the screws and check for any problems (not like I could do anything about it now). No problems! So, I start sanding the mating edge down and layed a layer of 2" fiberglass mat over the mating edge. Wait for it to dry and sand. When it was looking good (not sure if youll need more layers), I started with the 2k body filler to fill in the imperfections. Sand that down and repeat with a Bondos tiger strand jelly (?). Then glaxe it with light weight filler. Then wet-sand, prime, sand, prime, sand, etc, until its purdy. I used a bunch of different objects for the inverse curve like a paint stick wrapped in sand paper to lightly sand the primer to check for peaks and valleys. Time for finals. I wetsanded again. Then I used an American Turbine HVLP unit (best purchase ever) to lay down the base coat and clear, clear, clear.

Once dry I wet sanded up to 2000 then used "Wizards" buffing compund and went through the steps (pads) until it was like a mirror. Polished and done!

I was easy. And, you must do it. Well I shouldnt say easy but yeah easy! Youll love it. I run 295/30/18's under there now whereas before they would have rubbed like crazy! Very aggressive stance too!

Then a drunk driver bashed into my rear left quarter and drove off. SO......ill be doing it again although im not sure I wont enjoy it!!!

You need to figure something for wheel wells too. I made me own with an english wheel! You can make an english wheel yourself for very little money but thats another thread huh?

I left something out didnt I?

Porsche-O-Phile

Thanks for that. I'd love to see some pics of your handiwork. More I learn about this, the more I'm leaning towards it. . . 13" wide rear wheels would look just SO insane on a 944.

Wade B

Oh yeah...makes it all the more tempting......

xsboost90

ive used body bolt clips and welded them to the quarters as hangers. Then made brakets to attach the lower of the panels too. I havent gotten much further than that besides putting on the front end. MOst of the problems come from not having brakets to attach the stuff and no kind of inner wheel wells or splash guards to keep stuff from kicking up on a street car. I was full force on jeff's car but i havent heard from him in a while or seen any $ so i kinda have been letting it sit.

944-LT1

Here you go. Thats snow on the rear bumper.

944-LT1's Gallery Check It Out!!!

944-LT1

Its not very noticeable but I included a link to my gallery above the pictures.

XSBOOST, I feel your pain with the lack or..... hell......absolutely no instructions or hardware OR any kind of technical assistance from gt-racing. They were quite rude to me when I called with a question. I bought all my fiberglass from lindseyracing.com because they offered 10% off Gt-racings prices. I like Lindseyracing. They are great people. But, when i called gt-racing, they (he) said that these were meant (only) for professional installation. Thats about it. SO...I called americaninternationalracing.com for advice and found out that not only could they help me with install advice...but they sell the rear quarters in 3" wider!!!! and cheaper!!! I was bummed because I already had the 2".

Anyway, AIR told me to use Bondo brand fiberglass resin jelly (green can) and finish with Bondo brand tiger reinforced filler. They told me thats what they use. I was so thankful for them helping me.

In the gallery on the 3 page you can see something cool. When that jerk hit my car, instead of leaving a huge dent, most of the damge was controlled by the fiberglass. The car kinda bounced of the fender like a rubbermaid trash can! So damage isnt as bad as it would have been while still metal.

Let me know if you have anymore questions! Always around and ready to help!

Techno Duck

Sorry to hijack, but 944-LT1, where did you get that fender crest decal? Have been trying to find one in that style for a long time.