Carbon Fiber Widebody Kit Install Has C7 Owner Cutting Up His Fenders

With a little help from a friend who also has a C7, this Stingray owner begins turning his Corvette into a widebody beast.

The automotive enthusiast culture is made up of a lot of different parts. One of those is modifications. In many circles, a stock car is an unfinished car. Another is friendship. What fun is having a cool car if you can’t share it with a buddy? This video from the Youtube channel TheSupercarSuspects is a great showcase of both.

Like most sports car owners, host Chris Harikian wants to do more with his C7 Corvette. There are a variety of ways he can take it to the next level. He can add power. He can lower it. Harikian chooses to make it broader with some carbon-fiber widebody panels. Luckily, he has a friend to help him do that. Harikian’s pal Tamir Russo isn’t just there to assist with the prep, though. He helps Harikian pull the widebody panels off his own heavily modified Corvette, then put them on Harikian’s car.

The guys start off by cleaning the stock C7 to prepare it for the yards of adhesive it’s about to receive. That’s right – instead of removing the factory fenders and installing the carbon-fiber pieces from Russo’s car, the guys are just going to glue the lightweight pieces on top of the Stingray’s fenders. The guys work well together, but their efforts lead to some troubling realizations. After both front fenders are in place, Harikian comes to a pricey conclusion, saying, “I need a carbon splitter now.”

Harikian and Russo continue harvesting parts from Russo’s over-the-top ‘Vette, leaving behind broad swaths that look like charcoal sketches. Once they’re off, all of the adhesive that held them in place needs to be sanded and cleaned off. The guys eventually get the rear fenders on, successfully clearing the edge of the driver’s door and the fuel filler door.

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When Harikian sees how much the rear fenders dwarf his stock wheels, it’s clear to him what his car requires next. Harikian says, “It needs spacers, for sure.” Russo agrees. “An inch and a half in the back and then the front’s going to have an inch.” Even with that plan in place, Harikian wants to get new — probably much wider — wheels.

Clearly, Harikian’s car has a long way to go, but he’ll be OK. He knows which mods to make next and has a good buddy to help him install them.

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Derek Shiekhi

Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.

After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.

While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.

Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.

In addition to writing for a variety of Internet Brands sites, including JK Forum, H-D Forums, The Mustang Source, Mustang Forums, LS1Tech, HondaTech, Jaguar Forums, YotaTech, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts. Derek also started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

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