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

[fullmetaljacket]

I'm going to get **** on for this one. How to lighten, and unlighten a hood lolView attachment 1517482View attachment 1517483

First off. Is that an E-body or A? Is that a steel factory hood or glass with a scoop up top?

 

[RemCharger]

First off. Is that an E-body or A? Is that a steel factory hood or glass with a scoop up top?

It's a bona-fide B!
67 Charger steel hood, cut bracing , chemically milled.
Fiberglass 6 pack scoop. Flanges built internally.
The scoop actually strengthens the hood quite well.
The bolts are many, too fat, and too long.
I've wondered what the ends of the bolts would weigh

 

[fullmetaljacket]

It's a bona-fide B!
67 Charger steel hood, cut bracing , chemically milled.
Fiberglass 6 pack scoop. Flanges built internally.
The scoop actually strengthens the hood quite well.
The bolts are many, too fat, and too long.
I've wondered what the ends of the bolts would weigh

You'd be surprised how much those bolt ends would weigh as long as they are. Are they studs or bolts?
With as many bolts that you have there and if you intend on keeping them instead of aluminum, cutting off the ends a few threads from the nut would net 1/4 pound to perhaps a 1/2 pound or so all together.
Wider/bigger washers would cut the stress on the hood skin by distributing the pressure of the pull more evenly.
My project has 2024 aluminum bolts, washers and nuts with a little anti stripping coat smeared on for good measure.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

You'd be surprised how much those bolt ends would weigh as long as they are. Are they studs or bolts?
With as many bolts that you have there and if you intend on keeping them instead of aluminum, cutting off the ends a few threads from the nut would net 1/4 pound to perhaps a 1/2 pound or so all together.
Wider/bigger washers would cut the stress on the hood skin by distributing the pressure of the pull more evenly.
My project has 2024 aluminum bolts, washers and nuts with a little anti stripping coat smeared on for good measure.

Just as a note, most tricks work on most cars no matter their body files, so no biases here against other styles.

 

[33 IMP]

Well, you sure ain't gonna have that scoop blow off, lol!

 

[RemCharger]

Well, you sure ain't gonna have that scoop blow off, lol!

The threat of under engineering, spurred on over engineering!!

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Just as a note, most tricks work on most cars no matter their body files, so no biases here against other styles.

Remcharger.
By the way, I still have my old '65 steel hood that had its under bracing removed while leaving the edges along the perimeters for some support. Once the center hole for the carb was cut out, the hood became flimsy just like yours and it WASN'T chemically milled either. The fiberglass Hemi hood scoop which came from Kramer, helped strengthened and straighten the hood entirely. It weighed much lighter than the stock untouched hood, but currently, the aluminum hood and hood scoop shut that all down.

 

[dvw]

I cheat. The hood and scopp are carbon fiber. Not that zoomy mega bucks stuff. Just good old home made. scoop and hood come in just under 20lbs.
Doug

 

[POMONAMISSEL]

well we made a glass hood years ago for my 63 m at first it has jet scoops cut and air directed to the under pan with short stacks welded and molded around . but not enough air got drawn in the hood would pull down into the under pan . so i solved that with an old fashion treatment m i cut two big holes in it and stuck the air cleaners in the wind

 

[fullmetaljacket]

I cheat. The hood and scopp are carbon fiber. Not that zoomy mega bucks stuff. Just good old home made. scoop and hood come in just under 20lbs.
Doug

View attachment 1517567

View attachment 1517568

I saw with my very own eyes DVW lift his whole hood assembly with extreme prejudice against the laws of physics like Jack LaLanne. Had me lightheaded seeing that.

 

[Mopar John]

Lot of good things going on here!
The next thing on my weight loss list is the driveshaft.
I went from a steel 7290 joint shaft to a 3" aluminum tube with 1350 joints.
In the process I lost 5 pounds of rotating weight!
MJ

 

[Mopar John]

The next item after that was the hood that you are discussing.
Many years ago I stripped out a metal hood from a burnt GTX.
All I used was the outer skin.
I shopped around and found a lighter weight fiberglass hood weighing in at 10 pounds.
This was a weight loss of another 10 pounds over the old steel skin!
The pictures show the old steel painted green hood and the lighter fiberglass painted black.
MJ

 

[fullmetaljacket]

The next item after that was the hood that you are discussing.
Many years ago I stripped out a metal hood from a burnt GTX.
All I used was the outer skin.
I shopped around and found a lighter weight fiberglass hood weighing in at 10 pounds.
This was a weight loss of another 10 pounds over the old steel skin!
MJ

I will say that surgically stripping and cutting out the inner skeletal structure to just before the edges without penetrating the outer skin was a task in itself, but it felt good to have a light steel hood at the time. It was the cheapest way it lost weight in that area.

 

[RemCharger]

You'd be surprised how much those bolt ends would weigh as long as they are. Are they studs or bolts?
With as many bolts that you have there and if you intend on keeping them instead of aluminum, cutting off the ends a few threads from the nut would net 1/4 pound to perhaps a 1/2 pound or so all together.
Wider/bigger washers would cut the stress on the hood skin by distributing the pressure of the pull more evenly.
My project has 2024 aluminum bolts, washers and nuts with a little anti stripping coat smeared on for good measure.

They were some kind of flat headed stud, like a carrige bolt but not domed.i ground the squares off the under head.

Here's a pic of the k frame I did almost 20yes ago. Went from about 38 to 22 iirc

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Being that this thread may get long enough that some things and theories will get lost in the process of an expanding conversation, I'm going to bring a reminder of the under dash area. The aluminum steering column jacket here follows the 2% playbook menu where they were allegedly made and installed on the first four cars. Whether this was true or just a wishful thinking factory memo remains to be disputed or confirmed.
This aluminum tube had a slightly thicker OD, but the ID was exact to the factory steel tube ID, so the theory of making a replica of a factory unit was starting to look promising.
The entire aluminum tubes OD and step down was turned on a lathe after being measured to exact dimensions of the steel jacket. Cut outs and threaded holes were meticulously introduced thereafter. It was luck that a local fabricator of special parts for foreign performance cars took an interest in the madness and volunteered his lathe to see if they could help make this. He turned it in less than a few days and from there the chase was on to fabricate this unicorn part to accept the factory internals. More on this later.
In the end it shaved 2-1/2 Lbs off from the original 5-1/2 lbs.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

They were some kind of flat headed stud, like a carrige bolt but not domed.i ground the squares off the under head.

Here's a pic of the k frame I did almost 20yes ago. Went from about 38 to 22 iircView attachment 1518162

I wish I would had known more about this trimming trick when I had the chance back about 15 years ago. The K is still stock with the exception of the motor mount bosses cut off. I see that you trimmed the cross bridge to clear the oil pan I assume. That in itself probably takes off a good chunk of weight more than trimming off the pinch welded edges.

IIRC, DVW on here logged in the weight loss from the same procedure. My deep pan clears the stock K, so there was no need to notch, cut or box the bridge, though I do wish I had trimmed the edge lips.

 

[Badvert65]

I got lucky with the steering column for my 65 Belvedere I. The original column was column shift for a cable shift transmission. That thing was heavy at 26.5 pounds. I found a column for a 64 Dodge (push button shifter) and was able to use parts from it to make my own light weight column. Basically, the top of the column, with the turn signal switch, unbolted from a steel tube. This was on both cars. I picked up an aluminum tube and modified it to fit onto the 64 top piece. I also used chrome moly tubing for parts of the steering shaft. I had a variety of steering box couplers to choose from and picked the lightest one. I have no idea what car it may have come from originally. The firewall plate for the column is now one piece aluminum instead of the two piece steel plate. The large Grant wheel topping it off was half the weight of the factory wheel. Overall, the 'new' column weighs in at 10.6 pounds complete. Painted up, it looks just like a factory steel column and without the 'fat'. Not bad for a just under 16 pound weight saving.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

I got lucky with the steering column for my 65 Belvedere I. The original column was column shift for a cable shift transmission. That thing was heavy at 26.5 pounds. I found a column for a 64 Dodge (push button shifter) and was able to use parts from it to make my own light weight column. Basically, the top of the column, with the turn signal switch, unbolted from a steel tube. This was on both cars. I picked up an aluminum tube and modified it to fit onto the 64 top piece. I also used chrome moly tubing for parts of the steering shaft. I had a variety of steering box couplers to choose from and picked the lightest one. I have no idea what car it may have come from originally. The firewall plate for the column is now one piece aluminum instead of the two piece steel plate. The large Grant wheel topping it off was half the weight of the factory wheel. Overall, the 'new' column weighs in at 10.6 pounds complete. Painted up, it looks just like a factory steel column and without the 'fat'. Not bad for a just under 16 pound weight saving.

View attachment 1518261

Badvert, that column looks the part and is super fly. Beautiful work.
Yes, I believe the column shift assemblies with their rooster tails are heavier than the "type a gear" mechanisms.
Both shaft ends up top and below were cut and welded onto a moly tube with the bottom portion (attached below) as a swivel-joint. In keeping with the original column shifter, surprisingly, I somehow ended up with a chrome shift lever from the few columns I came across over the years which were supposedly part of the A-990 shifter assembly.

The original shaft weighed 6 Lbs and after the surgery it now weighs 2-3/4 Lbs saving right there 3-1/4 Lbs.

The bulkhead/firewall column plate is also aluminum saving another 1/2 pound or so. All painted black of course.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Here's the top end with the correct A-990 reverse valve body shifter and shifter lever.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Here's the whole unit ready to go into action. Soon enough there will be a look into "Reinventing The Wheel?
Stay tuned.