What's up everyone. So I have a 2014 3lt z51 with some bolt ons and a supercharger with a built engine waiting to be installed. Also...the look of the widebody vettes are just much better IMO. Therefore I decided to pull the trigger and do the conversion. I'm sure many of you have seen a few cars that have done it already and posted the DIY instructions. This is NOT A DIY THREAD. Just wanted to give another option for those looking to do this.

So far there's the weapon x route/piecing the kit together yourself which yields the same labor for install.
OR you can do the ACS rear conversion. I decided to do a mix of both. Since I wouldn't have been doing the work myself in either scenario I purchased the front fenders with inserts, rear quarters with inserts, rear fender liners, rear bumper cover and z06 wing all from a forum member for a great price. Then I purchased the ACS lower scoop for the wide body conversion that they sell (I purchased the lower scoop separately) and front fender liners.

I opted to not replace my lower aperture which I suppose is the right way to do this. However, i just didn't feel comfortable doing that. So....when doing the full conversion without the z06 lower aperture/rocker panel you run into two issues which I was already aware of.
1. The front fenders don't line up perfectly towards the bottom
2. The ACS Z06 scoop leaves a very noticeable seam where it is joined.

Now on to the solution....for those who may or may not want to. I had my body shop mold the ACS scoop and cut and re-work the lower portion of the fenders. The car should be completed in a week or two but here's some pics so far. (Some are terrible quality sorry). Also! Please remember this is no where near the final product. Still lots of sanding and measuring to do.

Edit** you'll have to open the pic and then zoom in...sorry about that.




Those lines which would be the ACS downfall IMO

 

Here's how the front fenders line up to the stingray panel. If you force it up the gap just moves to another area...either way you'll have some sort of gap.

Started molding the lower section. I dont belive it'll look OEM. But i personally think it'll look good....lets see lol.

Front fenders in the process of being re-worked a little. Side skirts (who i also purchased from a forum member) were test fitted and lines up fine.

rest of the fender fit perfect.

 

When there is a will there is a way !! Can’t wait to see how this turns out.

 

Lol thanks. Hopefully within a week or two it'll be complete. I'm aware this route might not be for everyone but hey...it's an option.

 

Agree with you 100% !! What you are doing is a great option. I had thought about doing something like this last year and I’m pretty sure quite a few Stingray owners would like to see your outcome and $ spent on doing the wide body this way. Cheers !!

 

I was thinking about doing it this route, that seam the ACS vent creates is ugly. What are they charging you for the labor of molding the vent into the rocker panel and front fender, is it cheaper then buying the entire rockers?

 

Is this whole project (with buying the car, the engine mods, and now all the body panel changes,including all the labor involved) cost you MORE OR LESS than just purchasing a used C7 Z06?

 

They're charging me 2700 to paint and install. I'm not sure what the exact breakdown is but I can find out on Wednesday. The ACS vent is $500 and the z06 lower aperture is around $600 I believe. So if you're doing the work yourself not much of a difference. But if you're paying a shop to do it then I'm sure its less labor intensive to bolt on and mold the ACS vent than cut and glue the lower panel. So it would be cheaper overall I would think.

 

With the texas speed short block Im sure its slightly more. My car is a 3lt so I would assume you mean a 3lz Z06? But at the end of this it might be a few grand more, if that and I'll be making much more power than a stock z06. I would also have upgraded wheels as well (if we factor in every expense). So with the car and all the mods its roughly 58k? But the power level would be far more than a stock 550whp (give or take) Z06....plus I just don't want to go through the hassle of selling my car and buying another one. If I sold it I probably wouldn't go for such a similar car. I'd probably want to upgrade to a c8. So a lot of factors involved but I understand what you mean. And again, this decision may not be for everyone but it made sense for me.

 

I'm in the process of doing nearly same thing with the only difference being how I am re working the front fender. I started with focusing more on re working the front fender versus modifying the aperture and I like your way of going about it much more.

 

Thanks I appreciate that. Are you doing the work yourself? Do you have pics? I'd love to see the route you went with this

 

Yeah, for some reason I got bored enough to take on composite work and am in the process of doing the fender re work amongst other things. So far ive been at it for about a week and the first fender is really close but not as close as id like it. Similarly, I also don't think it will look 100% oem but it should be pretty hard to tell.
There are a few pics in this thread and I should have a few more posted soon. My Instagram also has a bunch of pics and video clips in it.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-stingray.html

 

Nice! very cool that you're able to do the work yourself.

 

some quick updated shots. The car should be ready this week

 

 

Man he did a really good job on that!

 

 

gotcha, Yea I researched this numerous times and crunched the numbers. Not bad

 

 

Looking good man! I thought about just replacing the rockers and at 1200 for the pair it’s not bad but damn those shipping rates plus paint. Gmpartsdirect shipping charges are always high to the point the cost of shipping came out to be the same as the cost for both front fender liners and one rear.