It Turns Out You Can Still Buy Brand New Rad Kaminari Body Kits From The ’80s And ’90s

I’m a sucker for period-correct modifications. From slot mags on old Mopar muscle cars to old AC Schnitzer bits for ’80s BMWs, era-correct tweaks just feel so right. However, many old parts are virtually unobtanium, as production runs dried up years ago. It turns out, iconic body kit brand Kaminari has a different idea.

First established in 1981, Kaminari has been around the block, at one point being the hottest body kit company in America. From Honda Civics to Nissan 300ZX coupes, this Californian brand kitted them all out. However, it doesn’t seem to be done yet. Yes, the brand is still around in some form today, pumping out body kits from an extensive back catalog. Not only are these new-old body kits still for sale, Kaminari has put a whole bunch of vintage promo pictures on its website for us to ogle.

I mean, would you just look at this EF Honda Civic, all kitted out and dumped on some nifty five-spoke alloys. It’s the sort of clean machine you’d expect to see cruising around the San Fernando Valley in the early ‘90s, freeway-busting as Digital Underground blared through Pyle speakers.

That Civic is cool and all, but what if you want something more unusual? Boom: Kitted-out Dodge Shadow. While these two-door Mopar economy cars are thin on the ground these days due to the usual cycles of cheap cars getting all worn out, it’s cool to see someone still offering a body kit for the 2.2-liter turbo build of your dreams. While no Shelby CSX, this thing would still look tough on a set of period-correct Prime 168 wheels.

Alright, how about a kit for a car that’s easier to find in decent shape than a four-door early-’90s Civic or a small Dodge? I’m talking about the Doritomobile of the late ‘80s, the FC Mazda RX-7. While Kaminari’s kit for the original RX-7 was good, its kit for the Series 4 model is absolutely glorious. Just take a second and revel in the sheer depth of that chin spoiler and the width of those grille strakes.

The proud flare of that chin spoiler carries through the side skirts and rear valence, while a massive flying spoiler feels Pontiac Trans Am in all the right ways. Maybe its the pairing with those period-correct wheels, but this kit just hits in a different way than a BN Sports or Uras kit.

Of course, if we’re talking ‘80s Japanese coupes, we have to bring up the third-generation Honda Prelude. Sure, it’s front-wheel-drive and base models came with a carbureted B20A3 two-liter four-cylinder engine making all of 104 horsepower, but even the base models looked hot. We’re talking about a hoodline that still seems impossibly low, fantastic pop-up headlights, and a wonderfully-contoured decklid, all covering richly-textured steering and a nimble chassis setup. The Si model even went like it looked, with 135 fuel-injected horsepower, available four-wheel steering, and 195/60R14 Michelin MXV tires. These cars are still absolute gems you can pick up for reasonable money, and Kaminari’s kit just sends it over the top.

Just look at these glamour shots. Who wouldn’t want a piece of this? The proud lip kit really helps anchor the car, while the three-spoke wheels (American Racing Aries or similar) are an intravenous hit of early-’90s street energy. These are pretty much the gold standard of modified car promo pics from the era, and the Prelude itself isn’t bad either.

Something younger readers might not know is that the Nissan Maxima was once a red-hot sports sedan. In an era when the BMW 525i made 189 horsepower, the Maxima SE was champing at the bit with 190 ponies and a limited-slip differential. Unsurprisingly, Kaminari latched onto Nissan’s big sedan and cranked out a seriously aggressive body kit for it. Imagine how much fun it would be to build a tweaked Maxima today, an artifact from another time.

Given how tuning companies often have relatively short lifespans and part production runs are even shorter, it’s incredibly cool to see Kaminari still offering iconic aero kits of the early ‘90s for enthusiasts with a specific vision. Hell, the newest version of my car is just 12 years old and cool stuff like the Dinan ram intake duct, BMW performance exhaust, and all of Hartge are just gone from the face of the planet. Now, some might think it’s sacrilege to modify 30-plus-year-old survivor cars, but the first two rules of playing with cars are to be safe and have fun. If your idea of fun is period-correct modification, I’m all for it.

(Photo credits: Kaminari)

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