Guest lemon Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 hey, just wondering what you guys have removed, and have removed and replaced in the monte in order to cut weight of the car? like what is un needed what can be replaced with something else in its place that's lighter. just wondering where to start.... its a daily driver so nothing to radical Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cali Z28 Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Fiberglass hood is a good place to start Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam (Bones) Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 if it's a DD, just the hood, leave the rest for safety's sake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
502ci Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I agree with the hood...it's 80 lbs. and you could cut that in half with a decent fiberglass one...of course you could even get a pin on one that is probably under 10 lbs. You could lighten the motor up drastically with aluminum parts too. Butttttttt...if this is a daily driver what is the reason you are trying to lighten it...for better gas mileage? If you spent money on all the parts to lighten it for the mpg you would never regain the cost of the parts from the gas savings...it would probably take 30+ years to see a profit from that method. Your best bet would to have a well tuned motor with an overdrive tranny. Now if you are looking to lighten this daily driver for racing then that is a different story. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallaby Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 The easiest way to cut the weight of your car is to get out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7tonemonte Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 The easiest way to cut the weight of your car is to get out of it. I was gonna say removing my butt from the seat does it for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
502ci Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 There is actually a very simple method to make your car lighter that is free but can make it more of a pain than it's worth. If a gallon of gas weighs just over 6 lbs you could never fill your tank more than 1/3, saving 81 pounds roughly... Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc8oye Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 i actully do that when I go racing... I try not to get to the track with more then 1/2 tank... that's usally just enough for an afternoon of T&T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lemon Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 when i get the motor rebuilt, it will be taken to the track alot, mostly friday nights.... shaving weight for racing.. this will not be my daily driver much longer, but i still will drive it alot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc8oye Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 the rear seat can go.. 'glass hoood, fenders, door skins, trunk lid get rid of the glass windows for lexan (may not be street legal in your state) scrap your engine for an all-aluminum one.. or at least get rid of as much iron as you can.. exhaust, intake, heads... get rid of the carpet, sound insulation.. etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MADMAC Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 If you have a bench seat that thing weighs a ton, you can find some much lighter sportier seats from a modern car. Thats one of the things I did. In my case it's really hot where I live so I wanted to keep my heater just in case of a situation where I might overheat, so I removed all of the a/c components. You can get rid of your gas tank and put in a fuel cell, but mine didn't really weigh too much less than my original tank. Remove all of the factory exhaust hangers off the car if they are still under there. And of coure all of the things everybody else said. The more fiberglass you put on the car the more dangerous it's gonna be to drive on the street, for the simple fact that if someone hits you the car will shatter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lemon Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 rear seat can't go , i use them glass hood, fenders, bumper, trunk ect.... are planned not using lexan cause its not track only engine is getting some lighter parts ( forged 350 is the plan ) carpet stays what about the trunk floor?, can that be scrapped for a lighter material? drive shaft? when i replace my motor im doing the trans also, and if i could opt for a lighter one i will any other random spots that are ungodly heavy in these cars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
502ci Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 what about the trunk floor?, can that be scrapped for a lighter material? I think that would be pushing it...it can't weigh that much more than whatever substitute you might choose. Originally Posted By: lemon drive shaft? when i replace my motor im doing the trans also, and if i could opt for a lighter one i will Sure, I went to an aluminum one...on a rotating part like that in the drivetrain the lighter the better, not only is it lighter but it will free up some hp (takes less hp to rotate). Originally Posted By: lemon any other random spots that are ungodly heavy in these cars? The steel wheels...you could easily save alot of weight switching to some aluminum ones. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lemon Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 well how important is the trunk, is it like the roof where if removed it throws the whole car out of whack? say you cut a 50lb piece out of it, and rivet/fiber glass in a peice of carbon fiber board or light aluminum/diamond plate..... will it be just as good, replace 50 lb's with 5'lbs, you save 45 lbs????........just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lemon Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 no children are going into the vehicle... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MADMAC Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 What everybody is saying is that it hard to have one or the other as far as a race car or a fast street car. Fast street cars have back seats and trunks. That doesn't mean you can't kick @$$ out there at the track! If you are really trying to lose weight, then get the full fiberglass front end. But then it wouldn't really be a streetable car. Hey I'm all about fiberglass, I've done almost all the things to my car that was talked about in this post. But you get to a point where you have to be realistic with your Monte Carlo. These are heavy cars; anything is gonna help. But if you don't have a trailer... if this is your only car... if you've taken so much off the car it would be a risk to even want to drive around the neighborhood. If I can find a decent original 1st Gen one day, then my 72 will get a full cage no doubt! But until then I want to drive my car to the track and on the track. Like I said I've put fiberglass pieces on mine but I've kept all my origial parts and am already starting to cringe when I think of all the idiot drivers here in San Antonio... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc8oye Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 instead of cutting weight.. add MORE POWER! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc8oye Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 you could go to lightweight tubular control arms in the front, switching to lightweight aluminum brake calipers will save a few pounds.. and reducing 'unsprung' weight will make huge improvements in handling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lemon Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 so with fiber glass fenders fiber glass hood fiber glass bumper fiber glass trunk fiber glass doors aluminum drive shaft and replacing the engine for lighter parts no wheel wells up front lighter rims ....will it be noticeably lighter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam (Bones) Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 remove all AC components if equip with AC I still don't recommend it for a street car, just not worth the weight loss, my monte is capable of 10 sec times in the quarter mile, it weighs approx 3650 w/out me in it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lemon Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 well the motor in it should be cracking 550-600 horses....i want it to be quick as possible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
502ci Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 fiber glass fenders fiber glass hood fiber glass bumper fiber glass trunk fiber glass doors That's alot of fiberglass for a daily driver. Not that it can't be done but lining up all the panels will be tough...not to mention driving it daily hitting potholes and such could knock them out of align. Also you will have removed many crumple zones. A front end hit would go through the front bumper like it wasn't there, popping the hood off and the fenders outward...even with the long nose I think your stopping point would be the motor finally. The rear collision would be similiar with the bumper falling apart and if you have removed the trunk floor and replaced it with something else it won't act like GM intended and crumple in an accident. Not to deter your project but trying to make sure you are aware of what can happen...and as far as the doors I hope you are talking about just the skin and not replacing it with an all fiberglass one with no steel cross braces...side collision would be scary. Originally Posted By: lemon well the motor in it should be cracking 550-600 horses....i want it to be quick as possible With that much hp and a lighter monte would put you well into mandatory rollbar territory if you wanna race it at the track...now you are adding a bunch of weight back into it and making it less desirable to have as a daily driver crawling over the bars...although it would be a little safer if you got into a wreck on the street. There is one thing you could add to your car instead of spending all that time and effort making it lighter and that is..... nitrous . A modest 150 shot would far out way the lighting efforts, just a thought... Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lemon Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 well....maybe not the bumpers now that you think of it, ...but the fenders would just make life simplistic since they need to be replaced any way.. i was toying with the idea of nitrious any way regaurdless and the roll bar thing, i was thinking of one, but with the removable middle brace.... ??? they worth it? and yes just the skins on the doors im not trying to defend my point of view, just talking, if it seems like im coming off defensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve G Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 i had a 64 falcon and i did a huge weight reduction..... had a thin foam back seat upholstered to match the front seats, no insulation in the headliner or carpet, i shot lightening holes in all the door inner structure and many other places that i am sure comprimised the cars safty. Fiberglass door panels, bumpers, aluminum engine parts of course. The 1/4 glass was glued in place so i could remove all the window regulator parts, i also cut out all braces in the hood and trunk lid. I finally tipped the slales at less than 2300 lbs with a full tank of gas. The best part was it looked bone stock other than painted bumpers and wide rear tires, Copper with a white top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
502ci Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 and the roll bar thing, i was thinking of one, but with the removable middle brace.... ??? they worth it? When you say "middle brace" are you referring to the one that runs around shoulder height from one side to he other and is behind the front seat? If that is the one you ar talking about IHRA and NHRA rules say it must be welded in and not be removable. Of course you could make it or get it custom made that way but a tech might catch it and not let you run if your car ends up as fast you want it to be. The door bars can be swing out thus you can completletly remove them when you are not racing. The part where you say "they worth it" I'm not quite sure what you mean, the rollbar itself? If so heck yeah it will save your life. Originally Posted By: lemon im not trying to defend my point of view, just talking, if it seems like im coming off defensive. I'm not taking it that way... Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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