e-body Diet

[The Cuda Guy]

What do you guys do to lose weight with your ebody cars? 

Don

[Oldschool]

Not an "E" body, but I can tell what has been done to my '69.  It has been tubbed, so no backseat. It has fiberglass decklid, hood, front bumper, and front fenders. That is the diet part of it. Now for the part that added weight back. The roll cage and subframe stuff added weight back. When it is all said and done, the '69 with a big Hemi and Dana 60, weighs 3254 without me in it.  Race weight depends one how much I weigh at the time.....       

[brads70]

aluminum rad,intake,water pump and housing,heads.
If it's just for drag racing I'd go with manual steering, eliminates pump, hoses, fluid and heavy power box.Move the battery to the trunk
If your getting really "anal" turn down the rotors,drums to the minimum, hollow bolts everywere. get rid of all the seats,dash,ditch the heater . etc....
http://www.kreitzovaltrackparts.com/productCat42553.ctlg

[The Cuda Guy]

Not getting anal, just wanting a signifigant reduction for my car, Im sure Alan kow a few tricks!  Just wanted to see if anyone had some knowledge to share eg. I know Sldege always says to remove the door bars from the inner doors.

Don

[brads70]

LOL Don! I work at a stockcar track as a tech inspector, you should see some of the "creative" things I see! Steel sprayed onto aluminum parts so a magnet sticks, lightweight everything! They never stop trying new things! That's what I love about stockcar racing!  I've thought a few times about as Darth Vader says
"come to the dark side" and joining a race team.

[HP2]

Fiberglass panels, aluminum brackets, titanium bolts, lexan instead of glass, removed undercoating, no sound deadener, swiss cheesing brackets, thin wall materials in places.

It gets pricey getting light weight after a while. Best approach is to look at 100 places where you can loose a pound rather than expect a few big gains.

[vinb]

Acid Dip everything from the doors foward...

And Aftermarket front windshield..

Don't forget to move the wheelbase, easy enough to do....

[BIGSHCLUNK]

Don, the best way for NIKKI to loose weight is keep me out of her! 

[Moparal]

on your car for street?

take beams out of doors
remove front sway bar
aluminum radiator
aluminum water pump housing
aluminum heads
standard steering
fiberglass hood and remove springs/hinges
remove a/c box
remove over the axle exhaust pipes
fuel cell
standard disc brakes
aluminum rims
glass seats
remove back window regulator assemblies and mount permanent
remove impact rails on bumpers if not already done

[The Cuda Guy]

on your car for street?

take beams out of doors
remove front sway bar
aluminum radiator
aluminum water pump housing
aluminum heads
standard steering
fiberglass hood and remove springs/hinges
remove a/c box
remove over the axle exhaust pipes
fuel cell
standard disc brakes
aluminum rims
glass seats
remove back window regulator assemblies and mount permanent
remove impact rails on bumpers if not already done

WOW Alan, I knew you had some tricks up your sleeve for e-bodies LOL!!!  That is an impressive list.  Thanks for the feedback! 

I never thought of removing the sway bar?

Is this the stuff you did to your cuda when you first started preping it for race? 

Don

[Alaskan_TA]

Some guys even remove every other seat spring.

Drill the centers out of body mounting bolts.

Swiss cheese the radiator support, inner doors.

It can get crazy to save a few pounds.

[HP2]

Couple of intersting reads, if your so inclined. I like the PHR cost in $ per pound approach because it shows you much it costs to get light.

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_0911_chevelle_weight_reduction/index.html

http://www.popularhotrodding.com/tech/0810phr_weight_reduction_performace_parts/index.html

[drewcrane]

Change out the glass with plexi glass,and put lighter brakes on as well,also ..........................

get a hole punch and ...............................make cheese

[whitesatinmopar]

That does look like an odd shaped piece of swiss cheese.    But wouldn't that be counter poroductive? Air/wind being trapped and directed to the inside creating a "wind drag" affect? Just a thought.?

[Oldschool]

The cheapest way to go faster is to reduce weight. We used to use the old "for every 100 pounds you reduce, you gain about a tenth on the track". That is not a hard and fast rule, just a backyard mechanic guideline.
All that said, you must be careful reducing weight in a street car because it is easy to compromise safety on the road.
There are plenty of places to reduce weight on my '69, but then it starts turning into a race only car and that is not my intentions with the car. I drive it to car shows every weekend and rarely take it down the track. So, it is a heavy pig on the track....