Weight reduction: Running out of ideas.

[427Swede]

Yes, it would be very simple to screw a plate to the fibre glass. It is an flat surface.
If you would like to retain some ventilation a fine meshed alu net would probably work just as fine. The fibre glass has an edge that prevents water from pouring in.
I do not think it would stop a spray from a water hose that is directed straight down the ventilation holes but that will probably not the original pieces do either

 

[vette427sbc]

I thought the astro vents were open all the time anyway unless the AC was on? Mines been off/open for over a year now. No leaks or obvious drafts

 

[69427]

I thought the astro vents were open all the time anyway unless the AC was on? Mines been off/open for over a year now. No leaks or obvious drafts

Mine's a non-AC car, and I'm no expert on the Astro ventilation, but it was my assumption that the vent position was directly controlled by the vent roller on the console.

 

[69427]

Got another 8 pounds

Pulled a couple things out today. The rear vent setup came out surprisingly quickly, although I pity the poor bastard on the assembly line who had to install them all day long. That setup was a touch more than three pounds. Took out the passenger headliner, a touch less than three pounds. And then also pulled off the wiper door vacuum actuator can, a touch less than two pounds. I haven't driven in the rain with this car in several years, but if I need the wipers I can manually open the wiper door.

 

[427Swede]

I remember from the assembly of my car last year that the mechanism that opens the wiper door was rather heavy. Also the wiper door itself is a heavy piece as well as the grille in front of the wiper door. It should not be too complicated to use the parts as a mould and make plastic parts. If then the complete mechanism was removed and replaced with some home made hinges to allow manual opening by means of a wire, I think a lot of weight could be removed from a high point in the car.
You would still maintain a stock apperance with the plastic parts.
Just a few thoughts :drink:

 

[69427]

I remember from the assembly of my car last year that the mechanism that opens the wiper door was rather heavy. Also the wiper door itself is a heavy piece as well as the grille in front of the wiper door. It should not be too complicated to use the parts as a mould and make plastic parts. If then the complete mechanism was removed and replaced with some home made hinges to allow manual opening by means of a wire, I think a lot of weight could be removed from a high point in the car.
You would still maintain a stock apperance with the plastic parts.
Just a few thoughts :drink:

I appreciate the input. :thumbs:

Oh, and I think I'll probably be able to pull another pound off the car once I get all the leaves vacuumed out of the rear vent trough. :wink:

 

[mrvette]

I remember from the assembly of my car last year that the mechanism that opens the wiper door was rather heavy. Also the wiper door itself is a heavy piece as well as the grille in front of the wiper door. It should not be too complicated to use the parts as a mould and make plastic parts. If then the complete mechanism was removed and replaced with some home made hinges to allow manual opening by means of a wire, I think a lot of weight could be removed from a high point in the car.
You would still maintain a stock apperance with the plastic parts.
Just a few thoughts :drink:

I appreciate the input. :thumbs:

Oh, and I think I'll probably be able to pull another pound off the car once I get all the leaves vacuumed out of the rear vent trough. :wink:

And replace them with bags of helium......:drink::devil:

 

[BBShark]

I remember from the assembly of my car last year that the mechanism that opens the wiper door was rather heavy. Also the wiper door itself is a heavy piece as well as the grille in front of the wiper door. It should not be too complicated to use the parts as a mould and make plastic parts. If then the complete mechanism was removed and replaced with some home made hinges to allow manual opening by means of a wire, I think a lot of weight could be removed from a high point in the car.
You would still maintain a stock apperance with the plastic parts.
Just a few thoughts :drink:

I just happen to have a wiper door with trim sitting here. It's 5.6lbs

Somewhere I have the lift mechanism

 

[vette427sbc]

I think Second Gen restorations (the guy that does all the C3 racecars?) makes a 'glass piece to replace the wiper door, grill and mechanism. All of that stuff has got to weigh close to 10 lbs. I emailed him a while back about availability and price but got no response.

Then there is Mid America Industries (not to be confused with Mid America motorworks) that is making fiberglass bumpers. I was thinking of making some kind of steel or alum. bar surrounded in some high density foam inside the rear bumpers. Would probably end up not losing as much weight that way but Id still like to have some kind of functional-ish bumpers.

 

[phantomjock]

Rear Shocks for bumper?

Removing the rear shocks for the 5 mph bumper could save a few pounds - replace with AL or F/G tubing...
Cheers - Jim

 

[kwplot34]

Replace your drive shaft with one of these, says its 50% lighter than steel .
http://www.markwilliams.com/whatsnew.aspx

 

[69427]

Replace your drive shaft with one of these, says its 50% lighter than steel .
http://www.markwilliams.com/whatsnew.aspx

Thanks.

I took a quick peek the other day, and I need to see what the stuff costs.

 

[69427]

Replacement trans crossmember.

Trying to lose a few pounds off the trans crossmember if I can. The stock crossmember weighs about 22#, and I'm welding up an aluminum substitute. The shape is slightly different than the stock crossmember to better fit with the under-floor bellypans, clear the exhaust pulse termination box despite the wider aluminum tubing, and to open up the possibility of running 3 1/2" pipes from the header collectors to the EPT box.




So far the part weighs 8 pounds. I still have to fabricate the outer lower mounts that bolt to the bottom of the frame, and then throw on some gussets here and there. I'm shooting for a target of 12 pounds.

I still need to measure what the actual weight is at the transmission mount, and then I was going to put the crossmember in a fixture to measure the deflection under some "excess" load to get a feel for how much strength safety margin I have with this piece.

 

[vette427sbc]

Probably only good for a few ounces but... use aluminum tubing for the door lock/latch rods? Theres 3 rods per door. (early cars)

 

[denpo]

I'm finding the shifter plate to be quiet heavy for what it does.
With it simple shape, that would be a very good candidate for resin casting.

Also, the brake proportioning valve is milled in a solid piece of brass-like material, maybe there is aftermarket aluminum replacement.

 

[Motivational]

The weight of my car alone with full tank (3 gallons LOL) and full nitrous bottle.

 

[Motivational]

Lexan window and light weight master.

 

[Motivational]

Carbon Fiber lift off hood and light wheels.

 

[mrvette]

:shocking: Hey Moti, did you fill the frame with helium??? somehow you lost about 600+ lbs off that car, hell of a number man.....nice work....:beer:

 

[Motivational]

I still have 52 more pounds I can get out of it easily. 1 piece fiberglass t-top being made right now and carbon fiber lithium ion battery.

 

[Motivational]

Does anyone have the actual contact info for the place making the fiber glass bumpers?

 

[GT6Steve]

I still have 52 more pounds I can get out of it easily. 1 piece fiberglass t-top being made right now and carbon fiber lithium ion battery.

OK that's got potential for the racer. I too am a fanatic on shaving ounces cuz they add up to pounds. It really shows on my 200 HP road racer. Who made the CF seat? I have a Kirkey alloy seat now.

Colin Chapman of Lotus said something like 'horsepower makes you fast in a straight line but lightness makes you fast everywhere':idea:

 

[Motivational]

Greg at Ultra-Carbon makes the seats. https://www.facebook.com/greg.shampine.7?fref=ts
253-906-8126 is his phone number.

 

[Motivational]

I ordered a Lexan pre formed 3/16 windshield this morning.:nuts:

 

[rtj]

.[/QUOTE]

r.[/QUOTE]


Who's alum hubs?

 

[GT6Steve]

I ordered a Lexan pre formed 3/16 windshield this morning.:nuts:

I made my own rear window for a fastback by sandwiching a piece of plexi between two rear glasses in the Mojave sun. After about two weeks I had a perfectly formed rear screen.

This wouldn't work with Lexan but it does demonstrate the power of our solar out here.:beer:

 

[69427]

Trans crossmember and shifter bracket.

Been making some progress on the replacement trans crossmember when I'm not out getting more argon for the tig, and blades and repair parts for my jigsaw. Another trial fit for the crossmember:



Right now I'm at 10# (the original was 22#). I'm still adding some gussets and assorted pieces to it. I'd like to stay at or below 12# for this, but we'll see where it's at when I'm happy with the strength of it. I've hung my weight on it (and that number is none of your damn business :amused, and it feels pretty good. Adding 20% more material to it to increase the stiffness will still keep me at 12#.

Cut out my shifter bracket yesterday. I'm mounting the stock shifter to the Muncie transmission rather than to a separate bracket that bolted to the crossmember. The bracket is half inch aluminum and currently at 13 ounces, but I can get a couple more out of it with a bit more machining away of the "excess" material.



The major players with my transmission swap (taking out the 5 speed and putting the M21 back in for the season) give me about 40# off the car. The trans is about 30# lighter, the crossmember will hopefully be 10# lighter, the new pressure plate is 3 1/2 # lighter, and the tubular shifter rods and aluminum shifter arms are about a pound lighter.

One other item on the list. The stock shifter has a 1 3/4" ball on the top. It's steel and weighs half a pound (obscenely heavy for such a small part). I'm hoping to get back to my favorite scrap yard in the near future to see if I can find a chunk of aluminum to make a replacement shifter ball. It won't be much weight reduction, but it will be a bit less unproductive weight in the car.

 

[mrvette]

You need to hit a pool table/billiards supply house, and buy an 8 ball for shifter knob.....

I have a HURST chrome lever with a 8 ball on it, and if you don't have a 8 ball shifter, you know you just ain't COOL.......:1st::shocking::beer:

 

[Motivational]

So my stock deluxe door panels weigh about 11 pounds each. There is weight to be saved if you also take out inner door release and lock handle mechanism and rods. I also found the power window motor cover weighs 1 pound so I will be taking those out as well. I am thinking of making some new door panels and release handle to save 20lbs total between both sides.

 

[Twin_Turbo]

You need to hit a pool table/billiards supply house, and buy an 8 ball for shifter knob.....

I have a HURST chrome lever with a 8 ball on it, and if you don't have a 8 ball shifter, you know you just ain't COOL.......:1st::shocking::beer:

CV products has a super light yet tiny shifter ball, I have one too