Kinardi Line #5: The Chaos of 'S***box Island' and Its Misfit Cars

Welcome to 'S***box Island': The Unlikely Home of Misfit Cars

Earlier this month, I shared a photo that captured the essence of our Camaro vs. World project series. The image featured our hero car, a Camaro, but it was nearly impossible to isolate it from the surrounding clutter. Literally. No matter where we positioned the Camaro in the shop, another forever-project would inevitably photobomb the shot.

This chaotic scene caught the attention of Eric Weiner, editorial director of this site. While most cars in our coverage aren’t mine, many are—and my wife would have a field day if she knew the full extent of my involvement in these projects. (For legal reasons, that last statement was a joke.)

When the Chaos Inspires Questions

Shortly after the latest Camaro vs. World post went live, my phone exploded with texts from Weiner:

EW: “Is that a 996 bumper on a BMW-powered Corvette?”
KK: “Yes.”
EW: “That is dumb… Why would you do such a dumb thing?”
KK: “May I forward your inquiry to my shrink?”
EW: “Kyle, my shrink is also this photo of my middle finger.”
KK: “The finger?”

Weiner’s response? “Please save it for the column.”

The Birth of 'S***box Island'

The clutter in the background isn’t just random junk—it’s a graveyard of vehicles, most of which arrived as trades or belong to Low Road Racing, the amateur endurance racing team my partner Levi and I co-own. Nearly all the work on our Camaro project and these race cars happens at Levi’s shop, a place we’ve affectionately dubbed ‘S***box Island.’

The island is home to roughly two dozen cars, all at different stages of repair—or disrepair. Some run; most don’t. But to collectors, none of them are redeemable. Seasons change, and so does the cast of “gorgeous misfits” inhabiting the island.

Who Owns What? The Complicated Web of Misfit Cars

I own shares in several of these cars, both race and road vehicles. It’s a complicated arrangement, but here’s the breakdown:

• One half of a BMW E30 spec racer
• One quarter of a BMW-powered Corvette endurance racer (which I “acquired” by trading away a whole Jaguar XJ-R)
• One half of the Camaro project
• One whole Miata
• A small stake in our team’s Ford Mustang II (Cologne)

These cars are scattered across Levi’s property—some in the shop, others in an attached garage, a detached garage, or even a cow pasture, depending on which one recently suffered a catastrophic engine failure. Welcome to the wild world of ‘S***box Island.’