Re: Shedding weight on an A-body
[Re: 68 HEMI GTS]
#955864
03/22/11 06:26 PM
03/22/11 06:26 PM
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 6,295 U.S.
moparniac
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Im with the leave the car alone and build a bigger motor camp!
Mopar Performance
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Re: Shedding weight on an A-body
[Re: moparniac]
#955865
03/22/11 06:35 PM
03/22/11 06:35 PM
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Joined: May 2004
Posts: 3,210 robin hood country
deaks
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master
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robin hood country
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That's too nicer car to cut up, just use nos untill you get the money for more head or motor.
69 Dart GTS 440 mopar .590 cam, Edelbrock heads, 3200# best et 6.45, 106.78, 10.14, 132.88 mph, 1.47 60ft best 60ft 1.36
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Re: Shedding weight on an A-body
[Re: deaks]
#955866
03/22/11 10:22 PM
03/22/11 10:22 PM
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 6,257 acworth / N. georgia - south e...
cheapstreetdustr
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acworth / N. georgia - south e...
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you can make a jig for a drill press.. and drill out every body fastener bolt down the center with a 9/32 drill bit..you will still get the fasterners holding power but it will be hollow and it will all add up.. you could do it to just about every bolt every fastener holding hardware on the body of the car.. you said something thats free..and not really destroy the car... its easy enough youll just need cutting fluid and lots of beer.. cheapst
365" Iron J heads,,3480lbs best 1.39 60ft on SS springs.10.54,124 mph ...6.67 1/8th et.average 60fts 1.46 w/ small cam &.063 no2 pill tagged & insured [image][/image]
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Re: Shedding weight on an A-body
[Re: mshred]
#955868
03/22/11 11:00 PM
03/22/11 11:00 PM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 3,354 ohio
HEMIDARTS
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Quote:
Hey everybody, thanks the opinions and compliments
I still don't know how some get their cars so light even when they are all steel iron headed cars, but whatever...its a streetcar, so its gotta have some level of comfort. The plan is for a BIG inch SB eventually so until then i'll have to pill it till i kill it lol
Can anybody help on the rear window regulator removal though? I was thinking about doing this regardless of the weight saving thing since i never use those windows. How can i keep the window up with the regulator gone?
You could do the seatbelt trick that the 68 HEMI Darts did. They did that on the door windows. Wrap a belt around the window, put a fastener on the headliner. Problem solved.
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Re: Shedding weight on an A-body
[Re: dOrk !]
#955871
03/22/11 11:30 PM
03/22/11 11:30 PM
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 3,415 Toronto
mshred
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Quote:
If you are not willing to seriously consider AT LEAST a FG front bumper(you CAN get them "chromed" ... then you are just farding in-the-wind ... IMO.
I'll stick with the farting then
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Re: Shedding weight on an A-body
[Re: mshred]
#955872
03/23/11 12:36 AM
03/23/11 12:36 AM
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,414 St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
David_in_St_Croi
top fuel
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Joined: May 2003
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St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
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A couple of thoughts here. First, your car really does look very nice. The rear windows your best bet is to just remove the inner door panel and take a look. Take out the window regulator and see what kind of track arrangement there is. Push the windows all the way up. Then just put a screw or something through the front and rear tracks or to some thing in the body. Probably best to use some kind of fastener with a piece of fuel hose over it so you do not chip the glass and cause a crack. Our 70 RR is a post with flip out windows so don't really have more insight than that. I think the seat belt trick was for the door windows. It would be pretty cool if you could make it work for the front doors. I do believe the seat belt trick is an all up or all down option though. Removing undercoating wouldn't bother me at all. At this age in our cars' lives the original undercoating is more likely to be semi lifted and holding water in. The heater box with the air conditioning condenser in our 70 RR is probably 50 pounds. Plus you have got rid of the heater hose weight and the entrained water. Our's got the flick right away. Working under the dash is much easier. I then mounted the MSD 6AL on the firewall inside the passenger compartment so it is out of the weather and cooler, could not have done that with the heater box in place. Pull it out, make an aluminium cover plate and try it for the year. It is not irreversible, as opposed to hacking out the door beams. The weight you are removing is also farther forward than the door beams. If you don't like it, put it back in. As far as the 727 versus A833 question, don't forget the weight of all the fluid in the torque converter, the lines to the cooler, the fluid in the lines, the cooler itself, the shield for the tranny (although that is still lighter than a Lakewood at 52 pounds according to the American Airlines baggage scale, at least that is big block weight). When I was building racing sailboats we always cut off the fastener ends. Adds up remarkably quickly, and something you can do with little cost. When the carpet dies in our RR I will just be removing it and painting the floorboards with a heavy duty paint. We like the minimalist interior anyway, and with no carpets it is not a big deal when rainwater gets in. Not sure about small blocks but the factory iron intake manifolds on big blocks are brutally heavy. Replacing it with an aluminium intake manifold is a big saving. Of course, that is not free or low cost. you might also have already done it, I forget if your first post list mentioned that. Go to the gym if you are not in shape. Actually, this was a story told to me by another naval architect once. This couple was trying to decide whether to spend $30000 in materials to knock another 30 pounds off the boat they were having designed and built. The wife finally said "Go on a diet, join the gym, save the money. You are always on the boat, and you have been wanting to lose 30 pounds".
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Re: Shedding weight on an A-body
[Re: David_in_St_Croi]
#955873
03/23/11 12:52 AM
03/23/11 12:52 AM
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 6,257 gulfport, ms, west mi
rowin4
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Ok , after seeing a picture of your car your freeking nuts to start cutting it up, look at the picture below, this is my car, this you can cut up with no problem and I have some but all the window still work, all original glass , all metal and bondo, only the hood is fiberglass. Build a motor.
it's ok to butt heads, just don't do it with a butthead
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Re: Shedding weight on an A-body
[Re: David_in_St_Croi]
#955878
03/23/11 11:14 AM
03/23/11 11:14 AM
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 3,415 Toronto
mshred
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Quote:
A couple of thoughts here. First, your car really does look very nice.
The rear windows your best bet is to just remove the inner door panel and take a look. Take out the window regulator and see what kind of track arrangement there is. Push the windows all the way up. Then just put a screw or something through the front and rear tracks or to some thing in the body. Probably best to use some kind of fastener with a piece of fuel hose over it so you do not chip the glass and cause a crack. Our 70 RR is a post with flip out windows so don't really have more insight than that. I think the seat belt trick was for the door windows. It would be pretty cool if you could make it work for the front doors. I do believe the seat belt trick is an all up or all down option though.
Removing undercoating wouldn't bother me at all. At this age in our cars' lives the original undercoating is more likely to be semi lifted and holding water in.
The heater box with the air conditioning condenser in our 70 RR is probably 50 pounds. Plus you have got rid of the heater hose weight and the entrained water. Our's got the flick right away. Working under the dash is much easier. I then mounted the MSD 6AL on the firewall inside the passenger compartment so it is out of the weather and cooler, could not have done that with the heater box in place. Pull it out, make an aluminium cover plate and try it for the year. It is not irreversible, as opposed to hacking out the door beams. The weight you are removing is also farther forward than the door beams. If you don't like it, put it back in.
As far as the 727 versus A833 question, don't forget the weight of all the fluid in the torque converter, the lines to the cooler, the fluid in the lines, the cooler itself, the shield for the tranny (although that is still lighter than a Lakewood at 52 pounds according to the American Airlines baggage scale, at least that is big block weight).
When I was building racing sailboats we always cut off the fastener ends. Adds up remarkably quickly, and something you can do with little cost.
When the carpet dies in our RR I will just be removing it and painting the floorboards with a heavy duty paint. We like the minimalist interior anyway, and with no carpets it is not a big deal when rainwater gets in.
Not sure about small blocks but the factory iron intake manifolds on big blocks are brutally heavy. Replacing it with an aluminium intake manifold is a big saving. Of course, that is not free or low cost. you might also have already done it, I forget if your first post list mentioned that.
Go to the gym if you are not in shape.
Actually, this was a story told to me by another naval architect once. This couple was trying to decide whether to spend $30000 in materials to knock another 30 pounds off the boat they were having designed and built. The wife finally said "Go on a diet, join the gym, save the money. You are always on the boat, and you have been wanting to lose 30 pounds".
Very informative post, thank you
I will look into your suggestions and see what I can implement with the car. When I say cutup the car, i think people assume im going to hack at it...but what I really mean is if there is anything I can remove without sacrificing streetability or ALOT of cash lol
and yes i am in shape, go to the gym religiously, although it seems almost impossible for me to lose weight (not that I want to though, then i'll look like a scronny beach model guy )
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Re: Shedding weight on an A-body
[Re: topside]
#955879
03/23/11 11:15 AM
03/23/11 11:15 AM
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 3,415 Toronto
mshred
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Quote:
I don't think there's a gain in removing the rear regulators; in fact, I wouldn't remove any weight aft of the B-pillars. In front, on a street car, you can replace items with lighter ones, and also their mounting brackets and fasteners. Delete every part that you don't need. There's a few pounds in the fender splash pans. There's probably a much lighter aluminum heater core for another application that could replace your OEM one. I agree with the others that (1) that's a pretty car, and (2) it'd be a shame to cut it up in a way that would damage it.
that would be interesting to know what heater core would interchange...
thank your for the compliment on the car
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Re: Shedding weight on an A-body
[Re: viperblue72]
#955880
03/23/11 11:17 AM
03/23/11 11:17 AM
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 3,415 Toronto
mshred
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Quote:
What front seats you running? I know my bench seat in my duster is HEAVY.
Im going to keep the hood on my car since I think running with no hood looks quite goofy, plus i dont want to have to go cleaning under there more than i already do
Im running front buckets out of a Geo metro. I got them because they were light and comfy, but im wishing I had gone with a poly seat now or a kirkey. My buddy has the poly ones in his fox, and even after long rides in the passenger seat, they dont bother me at all, and im sure are a good deal lighter
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Re: Shedding weight on an A-body
[Re: 3ddart]
#955881
03/23/11 11:19 AM
03/23/11 11:19 AM
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 3,415 Toronto
mshred
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Quote:
pick-up jim schild's "authenticity guide 1968 dart & barracuda hemi super stock" for info on makeing the rear qt windows stationary. mancini carries it. that is a real nice looking car so don't fudge it up! dave
thanks for the tip!
Once again, thanks all for the compliments on the car! I will not cut er up, not to worry. Ive never been a fan of hackjob cars (not sure anyone is really)
It seems like consensus is to be happy with what I have and just build more power in the future. That is plan, so I guess i'll keep it that way...now I just gotta figure out how to plant that money tree in the backyard (I'll let you guys know the secret if i ever figure it out lol)
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Re: Shedding weight on an A-body
[Re: mshred]
#955882
03/29/11 07:09 AM
03/29/11 07:09 AM
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,862 the frozen wastes...
Pale_Roader
Swears too much
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Swears too much
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,862
the frozen wastes...
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Quote:
and yes i am in shape, go to the gym religiously, although it seems almost impossible for me to lose weight (not that I want to though, then i'll look like a scronny beach model guy )
Hah! No kidding. Real men go to the gym to gain weight. I'm up 50lbs since the last time i raced my car, and i'm a HUGE weight-reduction junkie.... OUCH.
Thats a damn nice looking car, and i'll also suggest you dont hack it, but there is a lot you can just unbolt in these cars, a lot more than people think. I wont go into all the fun ways to diet a car, i wrote an article about that in the last weight reduction thread i saw. I'd link it, but i forget what the title was...
Also, if you are really obsessed with weight, and if you haven't built/installed the Dana 60 yet, consider a Ford 8.8". Those things weigh (from what i've been told) slightly less than an 8 3/4", are quite a bit stronger, WAY cheaper and easy to find and in a plethora ov sizes/shapes/configurations and are fairly easy to squeeze in there if you have any fabrication skills. That would solve your problem, save you 50lbs, and save you a lot ov money.
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