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

[fullmetaljacket]

The stocker look alikes seem to be hard to get nowadays unless I've looked in the wrong places. That is why I purchased two pairs. The adjustable types are still available. I would think that they are a tad heavier.

 

[Badvert65]

Did you make your own cone washers? If so, how did you 'cone' them?

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Did you make your own cone washers? If so, how did you 'cone' them?

Yes, I made my own coned washers. I obviously used the same thickness aluminum. The aluminum should not be pure or it will be too soft. They could be 3003 alloy but not sure since it was so long ago now.
I used a hole saw a little bigger than the circumference of the washer to cut out the overall shape of the washer and give it room to shape down or otherwise it would have ended up too small.
The washer ended being a little larger than the strut bushing itself once it was finished just like the stockers.
Drilling out the middle hole first where the strut slips through enabled it to stretch just a bit to form into its cone shape.

Using a few types of body hammers, it was shaped over a domed piece of solid steel that was laying around. Sometimes odd shaped steel pieces found on the streets come to good usage as makeshift anvil's. Locking titanium nut is either from MetTec or McMasters. It could be from MetTec, but could have been old stock that was found at Apollo Trick Titanium.

Attached is bad picture of the washer on the upper left only because the focus was on the Titanium K-member bolts. The struts themselves were painted to look like cast steel with a light coat of transparent black over that and they now look like old blackened steel. All that work only to hide it in the interest of stealth.

Note the $h!tty factory bead welds on the K-member.

 

[fourgearsavoy]

Starting line.
I have found;
Pedal not on stop=red light.

Switch for my 2-step is threaded on the stop. I think anybody with a stick car should have a stop. It just feels better on a positive firm stop.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Pre-season scale up roll call. How much is your tin lizzie carrying?

I'm not sure if I had mentioned this before, but on this end, 2990's at last calculations a few years back. Basically 3000 Lbs at the curb. Sit my 180 lbs in it and the needle raises to 3180 Lbs at the line.
It will go back on the scales this Spring after a few unearthed tricks to get an actual number and then go from there. Might finally get some street legal no/time slips this Summer..

Since 1990, this project in its full metal jacketed form, has been on a mission to reach or breach the alleged weight of 2800 Lbs for a fiberglassed '65 altered wheelbase AFX.
The hybrid plan from the start has been to use a little bit of each factory race program from 1963-1964-1965-1968-and finally 1969, when Detroit's own Silver Bullet was born. Along the way came some rather unorthodox additions or subtractions.

As some folks on here can attest, there's nothing mild about achieving the milestone of weighing 2800 Lbs. It's a hard goal, even for an A-body.
I think the only chance that a B-body has at getting there from the gieet is a stripped and ripped '62 Plymouth Savoy. They're light while wet in the rain.
Just to be clear, this thing hasn't reached that as of yet or ever will with parts being either hard to find or build or afford, so the slow cook look keeps simmering. Realistically, I hope to achieve just under 3000 Lbs with my ^ss in the seat.

Carry on.

 

[gooser]

so far i will be at 3300 with me in the car still have all window glass wipers and power steering still work to be done

 

[fourgearsavoy]

Last time at Norwalk's scale I was 3460 with full exhaust ready to run. I have since dropped about 110 off the car and about 40 off of my body. So I consider that a win until I add about 80 pounds of roll bar into the car.
Gus

 

[fullmetaljacket]

The roll bar, if tied in at the proper dynamic points, will act as if you took off some weight because it will even out the energy throughout the body. I'm sure you're going chrome moly. Either way, the car should work really nicely with some added stiffness, especially with a stick.

 

[dvw]

I’m making weight plates. 8 of them. 25.3 lbs apiece. Now we’ll be able to run 9.25 index without pulling timing back to 27 degrees. We are 3650lb capable. With no pass seat, weight bars, and enough fuel to make a pass strapped in with safety gear on just under 3300 lbs. So in good air 9.00 index.
Doug

 

[dvw]

I’m interested to see how and where you locate the plates. I’ve got 120 lbs of lead that mounts ahead of the rear tail light panel but thinking about the underside.

Note the two tabs off the cage above the rear shocks. They hold a lead filled 2x3 steel bar
Then the dumbell mounts use 3/4 threaded rod with home made knurled knobs. The new plates are offset drilled to slide on the rod. The bracket has 2 1/2" bolts threaded thru the 2x3 frame connector outrigger from the bottom.
Doug

 

[Tex013]

Man I see some of the weightloss and its really well thought out . As a street car Im close to easy pegged out weight loss . I guess I could step up a class to Super Sedan , then I can run without exhaust . But I prefer to run footbrake not box .

Tex

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Note the two tabs off the cage above the rear shocks. They hold a lead filled 2x3 steel bar
Then the dumbell mounts use 3/4 threaded rod with home made knurled knobs. The new plates are offset drilled to slide on the rod. The bracket has 2 1/2" bolts threaded thru the 2x3 frame connector outrigger from the bottom.
Doug

View attachment 1621998

View attachment 1621999

Wait a minute.............. or should I say: Wait a tenth of a second. I thought that this was a weight loss thread, not a weight gain! LOL.

 

[dvw]

I’d be afraid to put that much that far back. Not sure the wheelie bars are strong enough.
Doug

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Weight loss. Give Take Relocate.

View attachment 1624871

As required

View attachment 1624872

I bet that cavity between the rear floor and rear bumper is a real drag in the wind at top end. The back bumper here may be acting as a mini opened chute at all speeds. I've enclosed mine with a simple aluminum sheet with a slight 20% bend and trimming to fit in and clean up the airflow. It's held on to the bumper's bottom lip with small rivets, but then again, my bumper is steel.

 

[dvw]

Is there a problem with it Doug?

Mine would be on the bumper with what looks like 60lbs? that far back. We start a little over 300lbs nose heavy with the front shock rebound at times full tight. I wouldn’t trust mine without wheelie bars.
Doug

 

[fourgearsavoy]

Anybody use aluminum battery cable ? I stripped a hybrid floor harness from a Rav4 and it has an aluminum 12 volt main battery cable that is about 0 gauge cable.
Gus

 

[Badvert65]

I used aluminum battery cable, I think Moroso made it, in a 74 RoadRunner I used to have. I never had any problems, battery in trunk and all. I was told that copper clad aluminum cable did not carry current as well as straight copper. Because of that I ran both a positive and a negative cable from the trunk to the engine. That sort of negated the weight advantage. I don't think I ever weighed anything (this was back in the 80's).

 

[fullmetaljacket]

I used aluminum battery cable, I think Moroso made it, in a 74 RoadRunner I used to have. I never had any problems, battery in trunk and all. I was told that copper clad aluminum cable did not carry current as well as straight copper. Because of that I ran both a positive and a negative cable from the trunk to the engine. That sort of negated the weight advantage. I don't think I ever weighed anything (this was back in the 80's).

I have copper clad aluminum positive cable from the bulk head junction box at the firewall all the way back to the battery in the trunk. No service problems whatsoever for the last 5 or so years. I'm not in front of my numbers book, but it was about 7 Lbs lighter than the copper cable. The connection points have to be super solid tight and super solid sealed from moisture and air. Heat shrink tightly seared to everything.

 

[Cranky]

Yep.....FMJ knows what he's talkin bout!

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Yep.....FMJ knows what he's talkin bout!

Heard through the grape vine from another Mopar site that ThumperDart got his '70 Dart down to 2870 lbs WITH HIM IN THE SEAT.
You A-body guys have it easy. LOL.
I'm still lingering in the high 2900 Lbs WITHOUT MY SKINNY SELF IN THE SEAT. I guess I can't complain though being that I'm wearing an all metal jacket.