I am thinking of building another 67 Coronet Race car. I have heard back in 65 (and before) there were light weight race cars that had the bodies acid dipped? Is this correct. Is it possible to do that today and if so would it be worth it? Or could weight be saved in other ways. My plan would be 2800 pound 440 auto Dana car. Thanks.

yeah they dipped them back then...some came out so thin they would have to be braced....

expensive way to go...use of aluminum and fiberglass will get the weight down..like an aluminum firewall...aluminum tubs...trunk metal replaced with aluminum..etc..

fiberglass hood..rear deck...doors and Lexan glass...that should get you down...Im tired already..

I'd stay was from the acid, put your $ in fiberglass panels.
A pal of mine has a old SRD built 3 link rear Pro Stock '73 Vega. The doors were acid dipped and to prevent them from flexing, boat flotation foam was sprayed in the inside panels. Unfortunately, it was also a place to retain moisture, doors rusted out from the inside.

Much easier ways to cut the fat.
Acid dipped cars will almost likely bend and twist beyond repair if dipped. The early 65'AFX cars twisted and could not close doors properly. They were crap in just a few short months.
You'll spend much more $ trying to brace it back to strength and that in itself will put back the weight that was removed.
Besides it being illegal to use certain acids in most states these days, when you do find a facility to perform it, they will not guarantee that the acid will be neutralized enough to keep the car from rusting into the earth again.
An A-body Dana car can be lightened to that magic number of 2800 with a few well thought out remedies. Aluminum, Lexan, Fiberglass, Carbon fiber, Titanium,(if you have those dollars burning a hole in the pocket), Inconel, Stainless steel and the list keeps going.
Remember, that a super light car may be it's own enemy when it comes to stability on the high end.

Thanks guys for the responses. I agree, fiberglass and Lexan will be the way to go.

Mike, Yes there are plenty of solutions to your delima. Give me a call and I can hook you up with anything you can think of. You want aluminum doors for that coronet? I can do it! Start off with a aluminum bumper and bracket set and knock off a quick 50 pounds or so. How about an aluminum hood/ aluminum RO-23 hood scoop and fender set? QuickSilver can deliver! Later,JC.

oohhps.
I just realized that you are building a B-body for competition. Well, that is a little harder but fun to do. This is the rule of thumb. Taking things off is easy and inexpensive at first, but shortly there after, it will get pricey when those last hundred or so pounds need to come off.
get creative and or ask many questions to heads of state here.
I'm taking the fifth. LOL.


Joey, what do you mean you have Aluminum doors for a 66-67 Coronet? As far as I know, none were ever made unless you are making some thing different.

Why try and take all the weight out of the car, and then add a heavy truck rear to it? Why not install a Ford 9"? They can be built lighter...

Just start with body that has been in your area all its life. Some of the ones I have seen are pretty...light weight.

The term back in the day ws "chemical milling". The EPA has either put that process to rest, or it's gone so far underground that no one knows where it's done nowadays.
It's different & more aggressive than the Redi-Strip strip tanks for removing paint.
The Golden Commandos '65 AWB car and the Autodynamics '70 Chally T/A car are probebly the 2 most famous "oops, went too far" stories; there are pics of the Commandos car with the quarters buckled from launching it.
Those cars did indeed have rust problems, because it's very hard if not impossible to get all the chemical out of the nooks & crannies.
Bear in mind that if you replace the firewall and/or floor there are ramifications in the NHRA rulebook. I would think you can find a lot of fiberglass parts for your car, and lexan or polycarbonate windows will cut a bunch of weight too.

[qutoe]Joey, what do you mean you have Aluminum doors for a 66-67 Coronet? As far as I know, none were ever made unless you are making some thing different.

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He makes them from scratch.

I saw his '63 Dodge front bumpers in aluminum and they are KILLA!

If you ever look at the Strickler altered wheel base car,look under the drivers seat. Dave had passed on when this car was restored but Stiiles was around. He said that bracket had to be installed because the seat fell thru the floor when the car was transported from Detroit to Pennsylvania.
Doug

GY3, don't forget, RO23 cars were not just built in 67, the first were built in 1965 (which had lightweight steel fenders, not aluminum). The 64 cars had Aluminum noses but were not VIN'd RO23.

Confused yet?

because it's very hard if not impossible to get all the chemical out of the nooks & crannies

Can't be done - has to be neutralized by alkaline (baking soda, etc.) wash until water flow-off is 7.0000 PH.
IIRC only 1 or 2 cars were done that way - and all the other simply dissolved.

Show us some photos of the aluminum work to the bumpers, doors. A guy here used to make bumpers and other panels out of light gauge steel and seems to have disappeared.