Though some on here use the B&M plate type transmission coolers with good results, I found that Hayden's biggest fin type unit also gets the job done fairly well on the street. Super light weight too even though it almost covers the whole front of my radiator and seems like one to the naked eye when peaking through the grille.

What the hell...???

A 26 page thread on detailed weight reduction...??? How did i miss this??? Damn.


I wanna take a stab on the weight guess game. I haven't been doing the math, but i read all 26 pages. I'm thinking that rigs gotta be 2500-2600 tops. I'd say 2500, but i've seen quite a few places where you're still carting excess metal (and i dont mean pricey aftermarket yum stuff). 2600 tops (empty). I know full well how the details and mad obsession can add up (or subtract, for that matter...).

I'm too poor to buy powertrain parts, so i've become a self-titled master ov weight-reduction. I love this game. One thing i think is VERY important to mention... and i've not seen mentioned so far in here... is that if this is going to become an obsession for you... start with the right car (not talking about the OP here). I've seen so many ov these threads go on and on about the minutae... ridiculous OCD detail... yet refuse to see the rather measurable differences in the different years ov the actual cars. I've spent weeks (total hours invested mind you) in hacking my 71 Fury III down to a fighting weight... only to wish i'd started with a 69 Fury I. Same with my 72 Charger. A 71 would have been considerably better. I'm still looking for a decent 69 Imperial... and i've passed up several good 70's and 71's... just to have a better starting point.

I like Challengers... E-bodies have always been my car. When i started looking for the ultimate project, i scoured the Earth for a 'deputy' car... but couldn't find one. But i did get a 706cyl/3speed/NO option car. Wheelwell trim... that was all that was not standard on the tag. Got it in original paint too (mostly faded off... even better) so there was no ugly bodywork or ten coats ov Maaco hiding underneath (paint and bondo are heavy!). The search was worth it... it scaled (on some pricey 4-point stock car scales) at 2975, minus a few items but with some HEAVY added rollers. The math came out to about 3006... as it actually rolled off the lot. Yes folks... thats an E-body... The same car in 71 would have been more... in 74, a LOT more (and no... swapping 70 bumpers onto your 74 does NOT make it a 70 weight-wise...). I even started to wonder if i should sell it to look for a similar 70 Barracuda... as option for option that Plymouth will weigh about 50lbs less than its longer Dodge sibling. When i learned about that that 50lb difference chewed at me for a bit i dont mind admitting. And thats 50lbs i cannot ever make up... unless i actually section the car 2"... heh heh...

I understand that (for example) Thumper's 71 is already family... but had he started with even a 70 (then converted to look like a 71 if its the year he likes) he'd be a bit better off. Better still if he just wanted a Dart... and used a 67 (want a 69 instead...??? STILL start with a 67 and add the newer aesthetics). Better still with a 67 Valiant 2dr. THose 67 Barracudas were stupid-light too.

So i've gone pretty nutty on some less than deserving cars, mainly because i was driving them at the time. Even my 68 Caddy hearse is now 500lbs lighter than it started... and i haven't even begun to think about that one. This E-body will be a true experiment for my mostly-steel/non-clapped-out/stock-as-possible-looking/Road Warrior-budget road car. I'm also a bit better off than drag racers because as a road car i can be a tad less obsessive about keeping weight over the rear... though as it sits my car has a particularly HUGE front-rear bias... and that must be addressed.


Cool thread. I'll be watchin'...

Oh... and i have one question for all those who have taken substantial weight off their cars but kept the stock dimensions.

Is there ever a point where you can be TOO light? In an aerodynamic standpoint? Lets be get hypothetical here, and say i got my stock-bodied (maybe slightly lowered, usual low-buck aero stuff... nothing silly) Challenger down to 2000lbs. Thats excessive, but just to make a point. Can it be too light? Is there a point where the horrid aerodynamics ov these old cars starts to overtake the weight and they get too sketchy to drive? In another life i had an all-steel 70 Buick Skylark that weighed around 3200lbs... (heh... dont ask how i did that...) stock height, NO lightweight parts at all in that car. I had two friends with similar year Buicks and they all drove a LOT better... way more stable, easier to drive, etc.

Are there ANY issues one can run into with a car when it gets too light? aside from the usual NVH or reliability issues that is.

Well. Welcome to the Lesser dome.
I'm runnin' out the door at the moment, but let me add briefly that yes, getting a car too light could pose a serious problem. Look no further than the aerodynamic and stable problems the Dodge Hemi Colts had back in the early 70's. Possibly killing one of our best drivers ever. The late Don Carlton.
I even think that Sox and Martin disliked the cars as well. Those cars as were from the factory floor deserved the small block in the meanest of ways in my book. I would never had built a Hemi Colt just based on the front to rear weight ratio. totally a basket case. Even the factory altered wheel base cars had a bundle to deal with at top end.
I personally picked the Dodge over the Plymouth's because they were more mean looking to me and in my case, lighter than the 64's in stock civilian form. I have also always dreamed of driving and racing a true Factory light weight so of course after extensive research, I fell upon creating a 64' 2% car on a 65' chassis using hand made/ and or factory lightweight parts, except the Hemi.

I'll fill in on more details and tales later. But welcome to our insanity for the vanity of going fast and having a motor to last.

Well, I found the short in the steering colume and today I decided to put the stock windshield in for now but made a template for my future lexan for down the road. I`ll get lightweight ft. racing tires which will more than make up for the 12-13 lbs. the glass adds compared to lexan then it`s install my seats w/my new HEAVILY lightened alum. brackets, get fuel and scale it this weekend.........

Thumpman...Looking forward to your results!! Keep us posted!

Me too............. sure hope the "chop cut rebuild" pays off for me as I`ve spent countless hours grinding, chopping, cutting and drilling holes in holes to make it happen.........

Damn, I can`t win for loosin these days...........I chipped the bottom of the windshield then figured I`d buff out some of the build up and scratched the glass making it useless unless there`s a way to remove scratch marks and scale deposits since it also sat outside through rain and snow........... I`m definately done for now and am going to cover this pos up till I cool down.......

Some cars just are what ends up on our laps.
Some cars are just a direct self challenge to make efficient and fast. I personally thought that for obvious reasons, my car would look big and heavy to most eyes including within the Mopar camp.
I guess you can say that we all pick our own theoretical limits and try to puncture through and have a sense of achievement. No disrespect of course, but going the way of the bottle or the hairdryer just was not my cup of heat. I'd rather struggle and invent as I go.

Plus, I just, just,just love the early B-bodies and their history.

I hear ya............I could easily spray this thing to bottom 9`s or better but what`s the fun in that and the challenge part well that`s kickin my but. I`ve got a glass guy on his way to see if the chips are going to be a problem and was told if it breaks, it`s on me which I completely understand...........

The windshield`s a sucess and hate to say I love the stock look more than flush mounted lexan but I will get a piece in the near future and install it in the stock rubber and call it good..........It`s Miller time.................

Hey Dominc, my new 1970 Cuda weighs 1875 lbs with the Powerglide, air shifter and converter but no motor, exhaust,fuel or coolant in it Skip called me last week wanting to know if I was going to the MATS race(I'm not ), are you?

That`s a nice lookin car Cab.......and light....... Not sure about the Mats still finishing up the last details then it`s off to Irwindale to see how it goes.

Excess weight being carted around? I know, I know. I would have a magnesium or stainless K member if the funds were in abundance, but it will have to wait.
I absolutely do not want to trim it down or modify it extensively as I have seen on here, (Though some of those K's are works of art, especially the ones from Bobs fabrication and the one on DVW's ride) but I love the stock look. I also love the stock appearing steering, not really into racks.
Also, I'm not into the headaches of an all aluminum engine block on the street. I think the iron pup can be trimmed here and there to rid it of a few pounds and keep the heat in at the same time.

Aluminum doors would be a great self gift some day.
I know I have an easy 230 Lbs that could be removed, but I will have to settle for the more realistic 100 lbs left in it that will get the boot some day.

Labatt, Molson, or Miller then take a step back. Start again don't give up. It's all worth it in the end.
Doug

Yes and no. The K can be a complicated piece being that it all has to be symmetrically correct so that the front end geometry stays correct and the car steers and works the suspension correctly. If so, it is indeed a lot of measuring and jigging. Yes, those factory K's were the visual pollution of Chrysler's Friday rush or Monday Blues.

Maybe... Maybe I'll give it a try some day.

The cost and the shifting of the cylinders in an aluminum block is what steered me away back when they came out. My car by no means is a daily driver, but it does see Real world heavy weight traffic and its costs when I take it out. Especially on the worlds biggest parking lot, the LIE 495.
If ever in the case I concede and go to an alloy block, I would think that the boys at BEST machine would also let me know the real A/FFX of such a beast on the street. I have a hunch that you are probably right that an alloy block could live happily ever after on the street. Right now since I run a front engine plate, the only exterior remodeling that I probably will do is cutting off Rembrandts mounting ears on the block that could amount to a couple of pounds.

As far as Aluminum doors, well my roll bar side arms would probably keep me safer than any steel door could. I'll have to post flicks of it to see the merits of it. Plus, who can deny Chrysler's lightweight artifacts. Though I'm in denial of their cost right now. LOL.

Believe this either as a stroke of luck or just good shade tree engineering. In short, my friends light weight Duster who we applied just a couple of my tricks to had a vicious spin out and hit the wall on two points both rear and front. This was at 50 MPH mind you. My Aluminum bumper brackets miraculously survived almost intact even after being directly hit from the side. The fiberglass bumper in which I was against in the first place broke in a few places but was salvageable as well. Fender was toast. Chassis was a little shifted but professionally straightened.
That being said, I've recently looked behind a few new cars inner front facades and found aluminum crash bars behind the bumper covers. Maybe these take impact and distribute the kinetic energy better through out the car. I could be wrong. With all this in mind, I drive my pup through the streets with a Grandmothers care and a sitting Gangsters stare just in case. Maybe that's why my plugs need to be cleaned up every so often.LOL.

You guys r makin me tired............ How do you guys feel about alum. bolts on seats as in roll bar bolts and mounting to floor bolts. I`ve got a guy that goes to L.A. on thursdays and can get whatever I need in alum.................