Posted By: wyldebill
D100 weight reduction - 09/16/19 03:34 AM
Looking at throwing together a little pickup to play around with. Rolled it up on the scales. Slant 6 with granny 4 speed. Short step side. It weighted in at 3550. Have an iron head 383 and 727 going in. What can I do to shed some weight? Yes I realize aluminum heads will drop some weight, but not in the cards atm. This thing looks pretty bare as it is. Gimme some ideas.
I used a bathroom scale and dropped 200 lbs off the the truck by wieghing each piece and come up with the differance in weight
swapped out/deleted on my 88 440 with iron heads
power sterring box/pump/brackets for a manaul box
power brake booster for manaul brake MC
cast manifolds for headers
cast WP & housing for alum pump/housing also alum street dominator intake/alum carb
swapped to a mini starter & alt 1 belt
removed a/c-heater box/carpet/duct work
removed saddle fuel tank/heat sheilds/spare tire rack/all of the e-brake system/stripped self adjusters out of brakes = 2 shoes/4 keepers/ 3 return springs/10g fuel cell
swapped the 9 1/4 for a 8 3/4
weld alum rims M/T sportsman pro 29x15x15 = very light
IIRC I am around 3,600 - 3,700 lbs with the truck but have switch to a M/T sportsman SR radial and it is 4x what the PROS weigh in at on the rim.
my gasser truck will get the same but wil delete the inside dash/door panels/glass/ regulators to gut the doors out super light. ditch the inner fenders/wiper system cab will be stripped bare and only have a small alum dash panel for switches/shaft steering & 1 drag seat.
I do plan to add a roll cage
Posted By: wyldebill
Re: D100 weight reduction - 09/16/19 04:06 PM
Just looking at the truck I cant see where the weight is? Is the I figure 500 for the cab, 400 for the bed. If the engine trans is 1000, that still leaves 1500 lbs. Am I correct in my estimation? What is the weight difference between step side and fleet side beds?
Posted By: Grizzly
Re: D100 weight reduction - 09/18/19 02:01 AM
360 instead of the big block (-120 pounds)
get rid of the bumpers, if you are really energetic you can cut the frame rails from the rear spring shackle to the bumper
fiberglass hoods are available
That's the practical stuff, how far do you want to go? 3500 pounds for a half-ton is pretty light as it is.
Posted By: earlymopar
Re: D100 weight reduction - 09/18/19 12:37 PM
Depending how far you want to go and to what measures you want to go to, one of the things I've looked at doing to my early 65 D100 is lightening the frame rails. The rails are really tall "U" channels that lie on their side and the steel used is heavy gage. It would be really easy to make circle templates (make several in different diameters) and then get under the truck with a plasma gun and the tracing templates and start removing steel. You would want to plan this out ahead of time so the areas you want to cut are laid out or marked on the frame as well as understanding what other pieces are in the area you need to be careful with. If you're working on a driveable truck, you would need a few fire retardant "welding" blankets to protect adjacent parts, wires, hoses, tires, etc. It's certainly do-able with care taken and not rushing the job and this can easily be done without impacting frame stiffness and safety.
- EM
Posted By: 68dodge
Re: D100 weight reduction - 09/19/19 12:17 AM
Got mine down to 3340#. Door windows and back window are lexan, fiberglass race seats, fiberglass hood, remove seat belts and brackets. Front end is 200# pounds heavier than the back.
Posted By: wyldebill
Re: D100 weight reduction - 09/19/19 04:59 AM
360 instead of the big block (-120 pounds)
get rid of the bumpers, if you are really energetic you can cut the frame rails from the rear spring shackle to the bumper
fiberglass hoods are available
That's the practical stuff, how far do you want to go? 3500 pounds for a half-ton is pretty light as it is.
I already have the built bb, so for the cost of building a small block I could buy a bunch of light weight parts.
Posted By: ruderunner
Re: D100 weight reduction - 09/20/19 11:31 AM
You can
Trim out hood bracing
Trim out fender bracing
Trim excess metal from core support
Leave out fender liners
Manual brake and steering
Heater box
Im guessing the granny slant drivetrain weighs about the same as your big block auto. My 83 318 auto longed was 3600
Trim out inner layer of cab roof
Swiss cheese inner rocker and cab mount
Buy lots of hole saws
Posted By: NoFrills
Re: D100 weight reduction - 09/26/19 11:55 AM
I made a aluminum radiator support for mine a few years back forget the weight difference but was significant
Posted By: redraptor
Re: D100 weight reduction - 09/28/19 11:02 AM
Dunno. That seems light compared to my LRE at 4100. What exactly are you trying to achieve?
Posted By: huimerind
Re: D100 weight reduction - 10/10/19 05:20 AM
I made a aluminum radiator support for mine a few years back forget the weight difference but was significant
Stock support is 52-53lbs.