What exactly are Riveted Body Kits?
An old trend among Japanese tuner cars has come back in full force, and it’s hotter than ever. Years ago, we would see Japanese racers sporting riveted body kits, but now the trend is expanding to many more different models of cars. No longer reserved for race cars, the riveted body kit is an excellent choice for car customization. What, exactly, is a riveted body kit, though?
A riveted body kit is a custom car kit that widens the body and fenders of a car, and is held on using rivets instead of being welded or glued into place. This new (and yet old) bolt-on method provides a number of solid benefits to car customization, ranging from ease of application to hot appearance.
Since there is no need to weld or glue the parts into place, relying on rivets instead to hold the custom parts onto your ride, this is a project that might be easier for a DIY car modder to take on over a weekend. All you really need is the body kit, a rivet gun, and the rivets. The parts are made to fit your particular car, so you just put them into place and rivet away!
Another hot advantage to riveted body kit parts is that they are easier to replace, if damaged, than parts that were welded or glued. Just pop out the rivets, match the new replacement part to your vehicle, and rivet it into place. Easy peasy, nice and easy! Whether you’ve got fender flares or full body kits installed, you can rest assured that replacement of those parts, if necessary, will be a pretty quick and painless process.
You can also count on the riveted body kit to add a bit more customization than a non-riveted one — the rivets themselves. If you get highly chromed rivets, your car will have more shine and flash than it would otherwise. You also benefit from a look that used to be seen only at car races, and rarely at car shows, so your car can stand out from the crowd more.
The major drawback to the riveted body kit is the riveting process itself. Putting dozens of holes in your shiny ride might seem a bit….risky. And it is, simply because if you don’t do the job right, you will be left with a car that has the holes but no riveted parts on it. Take your time and do the job carefully, though, and those rivet holes will be filled with rivets all the time, and you won’t have to worry about the value of your car — the riveted body kit look is hotter than ever, and may actually increase your car’s value. And if you are not comfortable doing it yourself, you can take it to one of the many local professionals that specialize in “Paint, Wraps & Body” HERE.
This new (but old) trend of riveted body kits means an even more diverse crowd of custom cars at the big car shows. Things we might not have seen done on cars before are now possible, and your imagination is the only real limit to what you can rivet onto your car’s body. Widebody cars are now an easy thing to accomplish, and they look sharp and snazzy.
Explore body kits from the top manufacturers HERE. And find dealers and installers of body kits HERE.
Want to get better acceleration out of your car? Read our post 6 Car Modifications To Increase Acceleration.
Last Updated: July 16, 2014
