Just a couple heads-up dear head-scratcher

Doors: Buy some .093" Percy's side windows ($260) and drill/bolt through them to the top part of the door frame. It's unnoticeable from the exterior of the car, asside from how thin the glass looks. If you need up-down capabilities, bolt-on a strip of 1-2" wide nylon to the bottom-center part of the window. Attach one side of a snap to the top of the door frame, and the other side to whichever part of the strap that will, when the window is all the way up, hold the window up in place. Granted, you'll have to pull-over to do it because of the lack of a window track to slide straight, but it works. Remove the entire doorbar, including what's held in by the hinge nuts (remove door to do this). Cut out the couple lbs or so of unneeded fiberglass in the center of the door, and now your doors weigh next to nothing...Now that they're so light, you can remove half of your door hinges (literally). Both joints for all 4 hinges are held together via big steel rivots, so this works well. Cut each hinge in half (picturing them mounted, cut horizontally), so you have only one joint per hinge, instead of two. Do this to all 4. Viola, there's another 5lbs. You can go as far as cutting out the electronics and plastic built into the door locking mechanism. All you need are the mechanics.

Do you need a tilt-able steering column? You can buy a 4130 roller bearing column kit for $140 from autoweldchassis.com. I think I kicked 20-25lbs here.

Do you need a dashboard? Negative. Mount your OEM cluster to where the column bracket is mounted, or make a small panel for whichever gauges and switches you're using, and mount it there. My T/A dash empty (no gauges or switches) weighed 16lbs.

If you have a cage, you can get rid of a lot of the interior body metal. There are 2-3 layers of it, and who knows how many lbs of that heavy panel glue. Don't go too wild with the cutter, and your body will remain plenty strong. You can remove 30lbs easy. If you keep your interior panels, you can go the creative route and cut around thier mounts so you can cover the mangled mess up. Hidden...

There are many more small details, which as you know, all add up.

 

The lightest my car scaled in at was 2620 and thats with full glass all around and an 8pt chrome moly setup.

I guess 2400 is believable... but your car must be SERIOUSLY hacked up.

The only frame/body work I removed are the front bumper support brackets and the rear bump stop brackets for tire fitting.

 

'Hacked-up' is one way to put it lol, but I assure you it is not in an unprofessional manar...It's simply maximum effort. Shots and details to come soon...

 

I think everyone is ready for some pics noseup.

 

You could get a car to 2400 w/o a driver pretty easily I'd imagine. NoseUp is right about the gauges. Rip the dash out and you can build a small cluster out of an aluminum sheet that mounts to the steering column. Add a fiberglass front-end, hatch, swap windows for lexan, tubular suspension, brakes, lightweight carpet, kirkey seat, chromoly cage, no center console, pinned-out ECU. It can be done. Can't wait to see pictures of your car, NoseUp.

 

The lightweight carpet works, but you can get some pretty durable materials from a fabric store, and save a lot more weight and money. Mine is pretty durable @ only 3-4lbs total + a few oz's of spray glue.

Swiss-cheese that race seat (w/o going over-board lol) and do without the precious butt-cushioning You can get a 9lb (with race cover) aluminum seat @ 16lb Kirkey Pro-Drag price from jerry bickel racing (it was $130 I believe-pull a net search). They use a .090" 5052 instead of .100. It's comfy for a drag seat. Mine finished-off @ 6.5lbs after some work.

For the extremist, go to Strange's websight, and pull-up thier aluminum McPhearson drag strut/brakes packages (or go to chassis engineering's sight for packages w/ a pre-made front clip made for these). The medium duty strut/brake assembly weighs in @ 64lbs ($1612 from a wholesaler), and the light-duty spindle-mount kit is a mear 50lbs ($1535). Weights are with everything for BOTH sides including the 4130 lower a-arm kits. You're a simple fabbed front frame-clip from saving another 100lbs over a full tubular McPhearson/a-arm combo with drag brakes. Throw in a 'glide and there's another 50+lbs (over 70lbs savings if you opt for lightweight everything). It's never-ending...

 

Lexan side widows will save *maybe * 5 #total. The whole windshield was like 18#.
I have the metal hacked out. Strange GT struts will save 50# over tubular arms/drag brakes.
Glass dash might save 10.

But hey. I'd like to see your finished product, maybe I'm just on the wrong scales.
At certain tracks, I'm sure I'm 2650 raceweight.

 

Not sure if you guys actually weighed your dashes.. I have..

That dash pad in a 97 firebird is only 11 lb.. yes, that entire dash pad that goes across the front of the car..

11lb.

Then, there is a support bracket that runs along the bottom of it that is 7lb that holds it together (which you could fab up a lighter solution).

 

Good point Magnus. I forgot about the top. The 16lb figure I gave for my dash empty (no switches or gauges) did not include the top/pad, the panel beneath the column (real dense-holds the hatch release button), or any of the bracketry behind it. Just the empty dash itself w/ glovebox.

Have you opted for a lighter rad/fan set? The OEM fans are 3x the weight of my cheap 16" (keeps me plenty cool). You don't lose much swaping the rad alone, but you do get better cooling on top of the 2-3lb difference. I went with Summit's 24x16" drag unit. Cools great. I forgot to weigh the difference, but I'd guess about 10lbs drop total.

 

hey noseup,
do you remember the CFM of that fan?

 

I swapped fans but left the radiator stock because its hard to keep the car cool with elec water pump and a single fan setup.

When I say dash.. I mean the DASH.. that top "plastic" piece is only like 4 lbs. I don't run with it in the car, its not part of the dash nor does it hold any gauges.

The dash being the part that holds your gauges, goes around your steering wheel, radio, has the vents in it. etc.. etc.. the DASH..

It's only 11 lbs.

The pannel beneath it that holds the hatch release is 4 lbs i believe.

These are all seperate components and are weighed up seperately.

To keep the factory dash in the car, all you need is the factory dash. You can then fab up your own light weight brackets if you like, or just use the factory 7lb peice that goes across the bottom.

 

It's the smaller Zirgo, rated @ 2700cfm ($75 from ebay). There's a 3300cfm unit for only a little more, but the amp draw seemed a bit much.

 

Magnus, if that bird of yours is track-only, you can nix another 20lbs from the nose by removing your headlight mechanics and affixing the eyelids themselves to the facia (via small brackets & epoxy) and front crossmember (via fabbed bracketry/machine screws). It can be done in an unnoticeable mannar with some tweaking. I've hit just under 160mph with no signs of flex/fatigue. The complete OEM headlight assemblies are 13lbs each. The eyelids weigh 1.5-2lbs each, and the bracketry can be made sturdy @ 1-1.5lbs a side.

 

I'll probably do something.

I have to set up the car for 170-180mph for the new setup.

 

I recall seeing fiberglass "eyelids" somewhere..... IF you're really looking to save every last pound...

or just convert to a 1 piece fiberglass front end...

 

VFN's OPFE is only available in an extended version. All the insets for lights and vents are molded closed as well. I had a hard enough time getting races with a pin-on hatch w/o spoiler.

 

Thats ****** classic

 

dam i thought i was getting light lol im around 3370 now w/ me in the car w/ slicks and skinnies

i am now wingless also, i didnt realize the t/a wing was 35 lbs
that will take off any downforce that you made at the track and now hopefully free up some mph. hopefully i see something when i hit the track in a month.

-brandon

 

3370? thats a bit heavy for taking the wing off. theres MUCh more stuff you can do to get lighter. Did you take the whole thing off or just leave the upper shell?

 

not sure what you mean but heres a pic i took about 2 weeks ago.


im going to take the air bag stuff out after i get saets and 5pt harnesses.

i still need to get k-member and a arms.

are you on AIM? heres mine W68Firebird97

-brandon

the car is about 3230 w/ out me in it