It was January 2002, and the Subaru WRX had been on sale in the States for only a few months. It was then, during our annual visit to the Tokyo Auto Salon, that we discovered the dopest body kit ever unveiled for a Subaru Wagon. Liberal Body Kits makes body kits for both the WRX wagon and coupe. If JDM styling is the goal for your Subaru, you have to visit japanparts.com to see what it has in stock for the WRX.
One of the main differences between the WRX wagon and coupe is the coupe is equipped with widebody fenders and quarter panels. Not realizing this, we were under the impression that any WRX body kit would bolt up to both the coupe and wagon. Wrong. We discovered we'd either be forced to convert our WRX's fenders and quarters in order to add a kit that was originally designed for the coupe, or find a body kit designed specifically for the wagon.
Thankfully, the Liberal wagon kit came to our rescue and, just for kicks, we ordered one and went down to the San Diego Car Salon to see just how well it would adapt to the U.S.-spec WRX. According to the guys at SDCS, the body kit is ready to paint, requires no modification for fitment and follows the bodylines with no excessive gaps. One issue we had to address was that our wagon was equipped with a Blitz front-mount intercooler, which required modifying the front lip.
The Liberal kit adapts to the factory lower front bumper with a combination of double-sided tape and self-tapping screws. Also added to the front facials is an aftermarket upper front grille. What makes the Liberal unit unique is it hangs over the top section of the front bumper, giving it a more aerodynamic look. O.E. side skirts are removed and replaced with the Liberal units. The O.E. rear bumper remains intact, but added to it is the aftermarket bumper. One other thing about the aftermarket unit is it does compensate for a larger exhaust tip.