The Elephant In The Room: unloading the load from a B-body.

[dvw]

For what it's worth. My last build the pistons came from Ross. Thru a communication error they ended up being heavier than the previous Diamond pistons. This along with the decission to go with thicker wrist pins (though it had no issue with the the thinner pins .150"- .170" wall) ended up being nearly 100 grams more of receprocating weight per cylinder. That's roughly 2 pounds. No other changes were made during the freshen up except going with custom Holley style 4150 carbs. Best run before freshen 9.0@150. Best run since freshen 8.96@150. Did the pistons slow it some? And the carbs pick it up more than indicated? Maybe.
Doug

 

[fullmetaljacket]

For what it's worth. My last build the pistons came from Ross. Thru a communication error they ended up being heavier than the previous Diamond pistons. This along with the decission to go with thicker wrist pins (though it had no issue with the the thinner pins .150"- .170" wall) ended up being nearly 100 grams more of receprocating weight per cylinder. That's roughly 2 pounds. No other changes were made during the freshen up except going with custom Holley style 4150 carbs. Best run before freshen 9.0@150. Best run since freshen 8.96@150. Did the pistons slow it some? And the carbs pick it up more than indicated? Maybe.
Doug

The Devil is in the details. Some kind of Wizardry was performed.

 

[RemCharger]

Real lightweights stand up for themselves.

View attachment 1839223

Granted the car IS light... but that's still a pretty tough dude

 

[fullmetaljacket]

I might have posted this years ago, but a recent conversation with RMCHRGR concerning gauge cluster panels, triggered my attention on how heavy some gauges can actually be. The numbers are not in front of me at the moment, but the difference in the weight of a regular steel cased 5" Monster tach and a Pro Comp Uni-lite Monster tach really revved me up. I'll have to look it up again, but roughly 1/2 Lb difference.
The tach, along with all the other necessary dials factored in, shaved off almost a whole pound total. That was good enough for the piper.
Other than the Ultra-Lites, I'm sure there are now other much lighter instruments available in the open market, but at least they are a good affordable starting point.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

A little deviation from the actual black art of weight reduction is this Brooklyn based street racer. I assisted in giving the owner a few pointers to get this thing under 3600 Lbs, (suggesting doors, Hood, front bumper, and actually installing the side Lexan glass) but it never quite achieved real feather-fitness like I would have liked because he was more concerned with the break throughs of the elephant huffing underneath. Can't blame him because the car even though still heavy, held its own (UP HIGH).

It ran like stink and ran on the street for nothing but $$$$$ Till this day, I can't really land on his numbers, but they were in the single digits while looking at Elvis in the next lane.

 

[Jeff Peterson]

A little deviation from the actual black art of weight reduction is this Brooklyn based street racer. I assisted in giving the owner a few pointers to get this thing under 3600 Lbs, (suggesting doors, Hood, front bumper, and actually installing the side Lexan glass) but it never quite achieved real feather-fitness like I would have liked because he was more concerned with the break throughs of the elephant huffing underneath. Can't blame him because the car even though still heavy, held its own (UP HIGH).

It ran like stink and ran on the street for nothing but $$$$$ Till this day, I can't really land on his numbers, but they were in the single digits while looking at Elvis in the next lane.

View attachment 1842518

I remember that being for sale on Ebay.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

I remember that being for sale on Ebay.

Yes, it was at a no sale I believe. He had too much invested in it to even come close to breaking even.
The transmission is super tricked.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

This here is one helluva super light package. 1962 Savoy.
I'm not sure what has been done to it to bring it down so far, other than what looks like a fiberglass hood, trunk lid, centerline wheels and perhaps a fiberglass front bumper, but I am sure to know soon. It looks to have a full interior by what this image shows.
This ex Brooklyn patriot has Been building it for the last two years.

Ready?........................ Full tank of gasoline, two batteries and a heavy (Truck) Dana 60........................... 3180 Lbs.

My other friend with his factory '62 Max Wedge Savoy is 3395 Lbs. All factory steel, interior and glass.

 

[dvw]

This here is one helluva super light package. 1962 Savoy.
I'm not sure what has been done to it to bring it down so far, other than what looks like a fiberglass hood, trunk lid, centerline wheels and perhaps a fiberglass front bumper, but I am sure to know soon. It looks to have a full interior by what this image shows.
This ex Brooklyn patriot has Been building it for the last two years.

Ready?........................ Full tank of gasoline, two batteries and a heavy (Truck) Dana 60........................... 3180 Lbs.

My other friend with his factory '62 Max Wedge Savoy is 3395 Lbs. All factory steel, interior and glass.

View attachment 1843799

Both those 62's are lighter than my sons. But probably no roll cage or subframe connectors. I think Scott's with out him is a little over 3200.
Doug

 

[fullmetaljacket]

My friend's '62 Maxie is as virgin as they come with the exception of the 15" steel wheels and tires in place of the 14's, 833 4 speed in place of the T85 3 speed.
Heavy cast iron MW swoop horn exhaust manifolds and all original NOS MW exhaust tubing and MW mufflers reside underneath.

I don't remember how much fuel it had in the tank when we weighed it on my 4 wheel digital scales, but it never had frame connectors nor a roll bar/cage to this day. It even has the original steel L shape tow tabs out front under the bumper.
Special K, its owner, always tells me that I started with the wrong car.

I wouldn't dare to persuade him to perform a few lightweight tricks since he would have my head on a platter and he wouldn't touch it with a 10ft feather. I don't blame him since its racing days are long gone and it is a genie Max wedge at that.

Now looking at that image above of the flat black spray painted '62, I wonder how accurate those truck type scales are or how far he went underneath the skin to get it that light.

 

[WS23U1]

Both those 62's are lighter than my sons. But probably no roll cage or subframe connectors. I think Scott's with out him is a little over 3200.
Doug

So what did you get the weight down to on your car?

 

[dvw]

So what did you get the weight down to on your car?

My 64 or my sons 62?
Doug

 

[WS23U1]

64

 

[dvw]

64

Aluminum parts; fuel cell & brackets, driveshaft, shocks, radiator, fan brackets (.030"), heads, seat brackets, wheels, front hubs, rotor hubs, calipers & mounts, motor mount (plate), trans shield, carb air pan (.030"), hood pins. Chrome moly tube; cage, steering column shaft, strut rods, center griile support. Carbon fiber; hood, scoop, bumper brackets. Lexan; 1/8" side and rear windows, 1/4" vent widows. Magnesium; seat frames (with foam and covers only, no springs), Parts removal; heater system, wiper sytem, stock wiring harnesses, window regulators, door inner structures, dash cluster, rear seat, leaf springs. Modified parts; K-frame (trimmed flanges, motor mounts, center), rear wheel tubs, cluster insert (1/8" aluminum), rear suspension (ladder bar and coil over). Heavy parts; iron Mega block (though it's been trimmed to 275lbs), truck Dana w/ aluminum girdle style cover, cast aluminum intake, cast aluminum valve covers, 2nd carb, stock steering wheel. Race stuff that makes it heavier; subframe connectors (2"x3"x1/8"), cage (also has 13 extra bars that aren't required for 8.50 cert), fire system (though it is all aluminum), tubes in the slicks. Except for the hood, the body, floor pan, frame rails are all factory steel including the bumpers. With the exception of the required safety gear and removal of the back seat, the interior and exterior appear to be an unaltered factory 64 Belvedere.
Doug

 

[rmchrgr]

(also has 13 extra bars that aren't required for 8.50 cert)

Just HAD to have that 13th bar.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Just HAD to have that 13th bar.

13th is his lucky number. It is also a reminder to take second looks first time! These cars are silently violent in all directions, so it pays to have peace of mind during that leap of faith through the Amen corner door.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Though A864 and A990 factory cars weren't delivered with drivers side rearview mirrors, some cats just simply ran without them. If any of these cars found their way onto the streets, a mirror had to be introduced.
Enter the Bob Mosher super stock cars of recent decades where he simply installed clamp on type mirrors onto either the steel doors or the rare aluminum doors to look correct.
Obviously, not wanting to drill into the aluminum doors, I opted for the same deal as referred by Mosher himself.

Here's a factory stock type mirror weighing in at 15.65 ounces (nearly a pound) and the Fit-Systems 1705 clamp on universal mirror weighting in at 10.30 ounces.

 

[Dodge 330]

Though A864 and A990 factory cars weren't delivered with drivers side rearview mirrors, some cats just simply ran without them. If any of these cars found their way onto the streets, a mirror had to be introduced.
Enter the Bob Mosher super stock cars of recent decades where he simply installed clamp on type mirrors onto either the steel doors or the rare aluminum doors to look correct.
Obviously, not wanting to drill into the aluminum doors, I opted for the same deal as referred by Mosher himself.

Here's a factory stock type mirror weighing in at 15.65 ounces (nearly a pound) and the Fit-Systems 1705 clamp on universal mirror weighting in at 10.30 ounces.

View attachment 1854591

View attachment 1854592

View attachment 1854594

That's a neat alternative. I drove mine for about a year without the mirror but it wasn't working for me in traffic! I gave in and put the dual post repop on it.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

That's a neat alternative. I drove mine for about a year without the mirror but it wasn't working for me in traffic! I gave in and put the dual post repop on it.

I feel your lane. Driving on these mean streets is a heart attack at every turn without those extra eyes of a mirror.
To think that on a regular production car, those door mirrors were only an option until 1966 -67 when they became standard equipment for safety reasons.

 

[rmchrgr]

When I had my '65 Belvedere post car I leaded the mirror post holes shut and planned on using one of those clip-on peep mirrors for street driving. It can be removed easily enough should the need arise.