Putting the car on a diet

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DaveBonds

DaveBonds

Garage Trash
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I've been thinking a lot, lately, about how I can make my cars lighter, without losing creature comfort, like seats, etc.

Focusing on front end, mostly for handling and overall weight loss, most to be had up front, anyway, for better balance.

Here is what I'm thinking, so far;

-Trunk mount battery
-Carbon fiber/ composite hood with aluminum frame glued, still hinged, lighter hood hinge springs
-aluminum k frame
-tubular A arms
-lightweight discs
-aluminum header/ grille support
-aftermarket heater
-aluminum bumper brackets
-fiberglass or aluminum bumper

Any personal exp. or info would be appreciated. I'm going with a 6 cyl.

Thought about ditching undercoat, but I don't know if the gain would be that significant. This is going to be a full interior car.
 
aluminum radiator..

smaller alternator...
 
I suppose alum radiator would be a bit lighter.

What are you thinking on the alt? Denso?
 
I know I could lose torsion bars. I don't wanna. I like them too much to coil swap.

I'm thinking about also losing P/S, but that's a tough one. Are there lighter boxes out there? How do the firm feel units weigh?
 
-Trunk mount battery

Redistributing the weight is good. No weight loss, weight gain with extra long cables.

-Carbon fiber/ composite hood with aluminum frame glued, still hinged, lighter hood hinge springs


-aluminum k frame

A tube K yes.

-tubular A arms

Yes

-lightweight discs

Disc brakes? As in light weight disc brakes?

-aluminum header/ grille support

That seems like a lot of work for a minimal gain

-aftermarket heater

Like a electric heater? Leave the stock one in there.

-aluminum bumper bracke

Yes

-fiberglass or aluminum bumper

Fiberglass

Any personal exp. or info would be appreciated. I'm going with a 6 cyl.

Thought about ditching undercoat, but I don't know if the gain would be that significant. This is going to be a full interior car

Leave the undercoating. Major pain to remove. You'll just end up with a car that rusts quickly.
The under carpet sound deadener (sp?) is heavy.

Fiberglass hood, fenders, doors maybe possible for year/model, trunck lid, rear bumper as well as front bumper, aluminum wheels with skinny tires, Dakota rear disc brakes, lighter driveshaft, dump the jack and spare???? LOL
Lexan glass replacement.
 
Forgot about the cables.

I still want to dump the batt in the trunk. Good weight, like you said.

The header/ grille support weighs more than my dash. This is for a '68 Charger.

It totally would be a waste of time for something like a dart sport.

I'm afraid of going with anything, other than steel on the sides, mostly because of cruises and people leaning.

I have the ability to make aluminum parts, but I'm thinking I should just do the hood and call it a day? I dunno.

I was thinking Vintage Air compact for the heater. I don't know if it's beneficial, but I feel like the stock heater box and core is heavy. Vintage Air still runs antifreeze and they are light.

I have a set of B body disc spindles, but I'm thinking of going aftermarket to drop caliper weight.

I'm going to run 15x7 aluminum wheels on all four corners. I figure that unsprung weight is even better to drop. Never heard of using Dakota brakes. I've heard of some people using AMC. I'll have to check that out.
 
  • Replace side and rear glass with Lexan.
  • Remove window regulators and go to a strap to raise and lower windows like the SS Darts had.
  • Install a smaller battery.
  • Remove spare tire or substitute a donut.
  • Substitute aluminum wheels for steel ones.
  • Replace rear spring assemblies with mono-leafs.
  • Put the driver on a 1100 calorie per day diet. lol
 
Have you replaced the starter motor with a light weight mini starter (saves over 5 pounds, starts quicker, less power draw)

Since you are doing light weight disk calipers, what about using a newer aluminum MC (those old dual bowl cast iron Master Cylinders are so heavy)

Also, if you go with aluminum brackets with a fiberglass or aluminum bumper, might as well go with the aluminum bolts... Just saying :D

Good luck... sounds like a "fun" project!!!
 
DaveBonds said:
Can you run a higher amp Denso alt with that kit? I wouldn't mind a 110.
Click to expand...

Not sure, it's a off the shelf Toyota forrunner alt. don't need any more than 60 amp if you don't have a bunch of gizmos(weight)
 
Bigdummy said:
Put a bigger motor in it
Click to expand...

Not if its an original slant 6 Charger. Believe me, I'd LOVE to have a 383, 440 or hemi Charger but I'd also love to find an original slant Charger as well. They're gettin rarer due to people swapping big blocks into em.
 
I like your idea!
Get an all aluminum slant 6 for it with aluminum intake and tube header with single exhaust (no tail pipe), aluminum pulleys, mini starter, Denso alt, aluminum radiator with fiberglass flex fan, pin on fiberglass hood, fiberglass bumpers, fenders and doors (carbon fiber if you can afford it would be better), tubular front end components, lexan windows, aluminum dash, and as many brackets as you can find with aluminum, remove any wiring that you don't absolutely need, replace all bolts with titanium, break out the hole saw and drill bits and swiss cheese all of the structure you can reach, lightweight bucket seats, smallest tires on the lightest 14'' aluminum wheels you can find, 904 automatic, carbon fiber drive shaft, 7 1/4'' rear end with 2:21 gears, heater and radio delete, standard steering, standard brakes with aluminum master cyl, lightweight Willwood disc brakes front and rear, no undercoating or carpet insulation, lightweight battery, 5 gallon fuel cell, no spare tire and wheel or jack and tools, the lightest steering wheel and column you can find, find the lightest windshield wipers and motor from a newer car, leave the windshield washer system as is, remove two lug nuts out of five on each wheel, remove 2 of the 4 headlights, remove undercoating, acid dip the body and paint the car with one coat of paint.
I hope this helps.
 
Oh man...

Removing lugnuts...

lol...

Some good ideas, though!

The engine will be plenty quick. Power to weight.

I've been thinking mostly about the front of the car, as that is inherently the heaviest end of the car, but overall weight is also a good idea. Weight transfer benefits a bunch, taking weight from the front of the car and moving it elsewhere or off. I like the light battery idea. I'll likely go with a gel-core in the trunk.

How well do the mono leaf springs hold up for street use? Never considered a pair, although I've heard of people using them. Makes sense to me.

I have an aluminum driveshaft from a dodge van. I suppose that would also help with driveline moving weight as well as overall, if I had it cut and balanced.

I'm willing to do things like use lighter sound insulation, but I don't want to lose original appearances in the interior.

I'll try the 60amp alt. I think. Nothing crazy with the electrical system. I am going to ditch the vacuum operated headlights, though, and go with a single electric motor and aluminum linkages.

My goal is to get this car as close to weighing as much as a factory A body 2dr hdtp, without terrorizing it's comfort. So, any unsprung weight, weight down low, weight out of sight, replacing steel with other, lighter materials or metals are things I'd rather hit up first, before losing factory looking stuff up high or in direct view, with the exception of some things in the engine compartment.

Light master cyl. is a good idea. I wonder if there is one that doesn't look too out of place, like a cast aluminum one with a factory, spring rod kept lid.

Light starter is going to be a must. This car isn't getting a slant six. It's getting a 265 with aluminum head. Lighter than an iron slant.

The aluminum slant would be amazing, but I'm not keen on the design of the head seal. They are inherently weak to high cylinder PSI.

I'm wondering how well a pair of carbon fiber fenders would fare, in the real world/ street driven/ cruises, etc.

I'd be willing to make a pair of carbon fenders. I'm worried that aluminum, while I can make it happen, would be the wrong choice for a car with a front end that long and wide. Toying with the engine always needs access from over the fenders and I know that aluminum bends if you look at it funny.

This plastics company down the street from my work that makes their own poly resins has a better, impact resistant resin used for glassing and fiber parts manufacturing. The guy was demonstrating with a thin, 2 layer panel and a pic hammer, compared to a 4 layer polyester resin fiberglass panel that he did with their standard resin

I'm thinking that I could use that stuff, coupled with the carbon weave cloth that they sell on the roll, could make some really stout, lightweight fenders. I don't mind glassing aluminum reproductions of the fender braces in and some aluminum braces in areas, aluminum splash shields, etc.
 
Another thing that dawned on me, is that if I drop lots of weight, I could keep the small block torsion bars and have the same spring rate, to keep it comfy.

I also noticed an ad in a magazine from AMD.

They were advertising their floor pans, vs brand x floor pans, with theirs weighing a bit more, due to heavier gauge metal.

I don't know that I'd take it this far, but if I went with the not so concourse resto floor pan and trunk, I could lose some weight there.

This car will either be getting a 904 or A500.
 
Borgeson steering box will save you some poundage.
 
727 to 904 (oops..6 cyl.)
8 3/4 to 8 1/4
watch the capacity on that alum. rad
get rid of any undercoating
 
Some dudes are heavy.

I'm not exactly a lightweight, but if I go on a 1100 diet, I will die. I eat 3000 a day or more and I struggle keeping it on.

Nobody that I know sells an aluminum K member. This would be something that I would fab.
 
roccodart440 said:
rumblefish360 said:
-aluminum k frame

Who sells one of these?
Click to expand...

This part I was saying yes to get but HELL if I know who makes them. If you note, the list is someone else's list that I make a statement afterwards on. I did not say he should get one but I did say tubular parts. You can get a K frame of tube. I do not know of anyone making a K frame of Aluminum or if one was ever made of that metal.

Each part mentioned on that list by someone has a dash in front of the part mentioned as one to get. Below or next to it is where I make a suggestion.
Click to expand...
 
There was a Charger at SEMA sporting one that someone fab'd from square aluminum tube. It was holding a new Hemi, so I know this will be fine with a smaller six.

I've seen the tubular steel units.

I want to go super stealthy on this one. I'm thinking about keeping the same design, plus a few gussets, compared to the steel unit and making it from plate aluminum.

If I anneal it, the plate parts will form easy. Tram gauge will tell me anything I need to know when I fab it, paint it black and watch it on curbs. I'm not dropping the ride height, or anything.

If I can make an aluminum dash, I may do that, too. Anything from the cowl, forward.

I'm not too sure I want aluminum doors with all of the stock components on them. Thinking that steel from the cowl back, for the majority of the body will stay. Most of the weight from the doors is inside the shell. The shells aren't too bad on these. Not like the E body cars. I don't want to mess with different regulators, ditch glass, etc. I don't think it will help much to make Aluminum door shells, without doing something else with the regulators, frames, etc.

Stationary stuff, I may make from lighter material. Door panels with the same vinyl covering, different board material...

I think the big thing on this car is going to be the hood. It is enormous. According to AMD, it weighs 84lbs.

Each fender, according to them, weighs 48lbs.

If I make a composite hood with aluminum bracing (factory style), and fenders, I'll bet I can get 100lbs off right there.
 
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