OPTIONAL PARTS INSTRUCTIONS:
VENTED SIDEPOD ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS
The sidepods are to be slipped up under the buggy’s fender, not to be slipped in
between the body and the floorpan, but under the floorpan – along the bottom. At the
outset, three of four body bolts should be removed from each side of the floorpan, to be
drilled down through and replaced later (possibly with longer bolts).
When starting out, a floor jack with a wooden block on top, better yet, two jacks and
the help of a friend will reduce frustration. A bolt at each end, up under the fender, finishes
the job.
The sidepods are not intended to be water or mud-proof, but lots of clever folks have
made a waterproof compartment by cutting a reach-through access hole from the inside of
the car. If one does this, remember to radius the inside corners of the cutout to reduce the
possibility of stress cracks later. The upholstery shop has “pinch welt”, a plastic edge trim for
covering the raw fiberglass edge of the access hole.
Much scrutiny of late Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s air inlet ducts lays bare the source of the
protective screens that reside in these air ducts, as this material is nothing more than ½”
hardware cloth, the most common of barnyard materials! On smaller air inlets those
inventive Italians sometimes placed the wires of the screens at a 45° angle to be extra
clever. Otherwise, the screens are placed in a north, south, east and west configuration
level to the earth… suit yourself. Closer scrutiny shows that the screens have been powder-
coated shiny black, looking fatter or thicker. You too could do this – I didn’t. Further
inquisitiveness provided a not so surprising insight into these super expensive cars. I found a
dazzling display of fabrication as an art form wherein the delicate frame that secures the
screen to the car was hand-formed and welded from numerous itsy-bitsy pieces – nary a
thought of simplification from its maker! I used epoxy. No doubt there could be other
suitable ways to attach these screens to the backside of the fiberglass sidepods, but the
following procedure worked for me and is simple and functional.
Fig 1. Working from the backside of the sidepods, the outer perimeter wall of the air-duct
opening must be thoroughly sanded using the coarsest of sandpaper (16-grit) and/or a small
disk or drum sander. Sand about an inch or more down from the opening edge as illustrated
by the shaded area in Fig 1.
