Winter "diet"

by dynchel Wed Feb 01, 2017 1:34 pm

decided to shave some weight this winter. I'm a little disappointed that all this fat removed only too the bumper from 86 lbs to 54 lbs
Winter "diet" IMG_20161229_124856383_zpsy7lg6nwq

Winter "diet" IMG_20161229_124856383_zpsy7lg6nwq

rear cross brace...More for show as removes very little actual weight.

by dynchel Wed Feb 01, 2017 1:36 pm

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All back together. I'm guessing at least as strong as a '73 (rear)

by thatfnthing Wed Feb 01, 2017 2:12 pm

dynchel wrote:I'm a little disappointed that all this fat removed only too the bumper from 86 lbs to 54 lbs

32 lbs seems significant to me. Thumbs up

by dynchel Wed Feb 01, 2017 2:25 pm

It's OK, was hoping for more.

by fasrnur Wed Feb 01, 2017 2:40 pm

Drag racers look for ounces to take off. So 32lbs to just the rear bumper is a huge number. I'm going to be doing the same to both ends of mine come spring time. Looks good too sir.

by dynchel Wed Feb 01, 2017 2:43 pm

fasrnur wrote:Drag racers look for ounces to take off. So 32lbs to just the rear bumper is a huge number. I'm going to be doing the same to both ends of mine come spring time. Looks good too sir.

Thank you

by BBMALIBU Wed Feb 01, 2017 4:25 pm

Sorry but I have to ask......

Unless the car is used for competition that requires a certain weight limit.....why the need to reduce the weight?

Also, isn't it a little unsafe to remove the rear absorbers and replacing with solid brackets?

I solved the weight issue by simply adding more HP Very Happy

by dynchel Wed Feb 01, 2017 4:27 pm

I'm a drag racer at heart.. this is cheaper than more h/P.

by BBMALIBU Wed Feb 01, 2017 4:45 pm

Ok...but;

How fast is your car now?

How much weight are you seeking to drop?

And how fast are you hoping to go?

Don't get me wrong, I'm only wondering if you could reach your goal without dropping weight.

by fasrnur Wed Feb 01, 2017 4:52 pm

For myself, it's about trying to get mine to handle a little better. I know, if I do some shocks, sway bars, and springs I could get the same results. Like John said, it's cheaper than making more power right now. My car is on a strict budget build for right now. Everything I can do by myself for nothing is a bonus. After I get it handling better, then I'll move to make is faster with more power. Very Happy

by dynchel Wed Feb 01, 2017 7:57 pm

BBMALIBU wrote:Ok...but;

How fast is your car now?

How much weight are you seeking to drop?

And how fast are you hoping to go?

Don't get me wrong, I'm only wondering if you could reach your goal without dropping weight.

Never actually raced it, it's feels pretty strong. I was hoping to trim about 100 lbs this winter, & my goal would be 13 second et's.

by dynchel Wed Feb 01, 2017 7:59 pm

fasrnur wrote:For myself, it's about trying to get mine to handle a little better. I know, if I do some shocks, sway bars, and springs I could get the same results. Like John said, it's cheaper than making more power right now. My car is on a strict budget build for right now. Everything I can do by myself for nothing is a bonus. After I get it handling better, then I'll move to make is faster with more power.

Impala rear bar, poly bushings, along with a tight frontend & decent shocks will make these cars handle very well.

by bracketchev1221 Wed Feb 01, 2017 8:38 pm

look for weight on the front end. Weight out back isn't that bad. I used to run street cars with ballast in the trunk. Basically use the idea that every 100 lbs out is a .1 reduction in 1/4 mile e.t.

by dynchel Wed Feb 01, 2017 9:01 pm

bracketchev1221 wrote:look for weight on the front end. Weight out back isn't that bad. I used to run street cars with ballast in the trunk. Basically use the idea that every 100 lbs out is a .1 reduction in 1/4 mile e.t.

On the front, I have manual brakes, no a/c, gutted front bumper, '76 grille (10 lb saving there) aluminum intake, & engine brackets "trimmed down. I may have some plastic inner fenders soon.

by REVINKEVIN / Mr. 600+HP Wed Feb 01, 2017 9:40 pm

I like what you are doing there. I have been working on the front end of the Laguna. If I can take 30lbs off of the beak I will be happy. That being said, I am building a 496 big block so it will all come back. If I can make around 550 to 600 lbs/ft of torque I think it will hide some of the heft. I bought an extra frame as well. I want to see if I can take a few pounds out of it. That being said, I am using wide'nd Craiger Soft 8 steel wheels. I think I am doing what I can just to break even on weight. Oh yeah, I am installing a band pass sub box with 2 Kicker Solo 10's. After all this work my car will weigh more that it did. Oh well. Keep up the good work.

by bracketchev1221 Wed Feb 01, 2017 9:52 pm

Aluminum heads are a big help. Get the weight off the nose and make more power. My dart 355 CNC heads are 76 lbs lighter than 781 casting BBC heads.

by dynchel Wed Feb 01, 2017 9:54 pm

bracketchev1221 wrote:Aluminum heads are a big help. Get the weight off the nose and make more power. My dart 355 CNC heads are 76 lbs lighter than 781 casting BBC heads.

I didn't weigh them, but my #416 h/0 heads were considerably lighter than the original #881's.

by bracketchev1221 Thu Feb 02, 2017 11:21 am

A set of 180 CC runner aluminum heads would really wake that engine up.

by BBMALIBU Thu Feb 02, 2017 11:49 am

dynchel wrote: Never actually raced it, it's feels pretty strong. I was hoping to trim about 100 lbs this winter, & my goal would be 13 second et's.

Without touching the weight, a decent small block can push these cars into the 13's.

Do you know how much HP/TQ your small block is pushing?

by dynchel Thu Feb 02, 2017 9:47 pm

BBMALIBU wrote:
dynchel wrote: Never actually raced it, it's feels pretty strong. I was hoping to trim about 100 lbs this winter, & my goal would be 13 second et's.

Without touching the weight, a decent small block can push these cars into the 13's.

Do you know how much HP/TQ your small block is
pushing?

No. Guessing maybe 300 h/p

by fasrnur Thu Feb 02, 2017 10:31 pm

dynchel, these days or even in the past, if you have 300-350hp it's nothing to sneeze about. It's a realistic number to have. Sure it's not the 500. 600. or even the 700hp people out there have, but it puts you into a category that is a nice reliable engine that'll run on any gas you put in it, get decent mileage, and still scoot your car right along.

My goal besides chopping off some weight to my old submarine, is to make between 300-350hp. My car is on a real world budget of $10,000 or less when I'm done (?) with it. lol

Sure I could go with an LS power plant and an O/D tranny to make more power and get better gas mileage, but that would blow a big chunk of what I have left of my $10,000 budget. I have just over $5200 in mine right now and I still have to do the suspension and paint it.

Your car looks great dynchel and I hope mine looks half as nice as yours one day.

Jeff

by pila Thu Feb 02, 2017 11:09 pm

In regard to the rear bumper, in the 60s, a friend and I ran a '55 Chevy 2-door at the local drag strips, and I wanted a bit more weight in the rear, so I removed the rear bumper, sanded the inside of it, tinned it, and poured a puddle of lead in it !!
It was considerably heavier after that mod !! Illegal too of course Very Happy

by fasrnur Fri Feb 03, 2017 12:06 am

pila, it's been a long time to move weight to the rear of the car for traction indeed. I'm sure you did everything right by the rule book too. lol

by dynchel Fri Feb 03, 2017 8:03 am

Thanks fasrnur, I've had this car for going on 23 years. At this time in my life I have very little money for exotic car parts (two small children, wife, mortgage, etc) It has all the basic old school hot rod mods including built trans with 2000 stall converter & 373 gears with a locker. As far as adding weight to the rear, if 90 lbs removed makes it to light...I'll just adjust up the traction bars. Another thing I'm experimenting with is ducted cold air.I am currently waiting in some air intake pieces to attempt a cold air setup using factory pieces.

by Hs1973 Fri Feb 03, 2017 11:01 am

I to have shaved the bumpers as they are the easiest weight to loose. Also im thinking of cutting the bars in the doors out, for 2 reasons. 1 Being the weight, and 2 Being that the door is so heavy it closed like a safe door. And is causing the hinges to wear out fast.

Also i have a fiberglass hood, since it also is a heavy piece. On my want list is new alu heads, the old ones do a good job, and im pushing 350 horses on a fresh 355 smallblock. But i guess more wants more. If i could get 450 in the end, i would be happy with that. My chevelle is a streetcar that dosent see track or race, other than redlight action from time to time.

Right now the car is away for the winter, and i have a fresh rebuildt rear with a posi and 3:42, i cant wait to see what that does for my car. The car was Real slow of the Line with the old one peg rear, i belive it was a 2:73 or something. And it was a dog of the Line until i would get up in speed and rpm. Then it would just keep pulling till you lift the pedal. So i hope it is alot faster now. We shall see.

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