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

[gooser]

every ounce counts it all adds up

 

[rmchrgr]

You sound like a politician or tv huckster using 2 different terms to make the difference sounds bigger than it is. You lost 1 ounce on that bracket, correct?

I’m not knocking your efforts, it just struck me as late night infomercial speak.
Travis..

Might sound corny but trim an ounce from 16 places and you got a pound. And so on and so forth.

This is about critical thinking, not picking parts out of a catalog or even accepting things as they are. The idea is to look at every single part on the car (no matter how mundane or insignificant it might seem) and figure out how to make it lighter/better.

It’s a balancing act for sure. There’s often a lot of effort for minimal gain but when you keep at it eventually the work pays off.

It’s also about staying within your means and using whatever skills you might have to push towards the goals you set. Rome was not built in a day.

Making bigger power might negate the need for modifying some
of the smaller pieces but that can often be a more expensive and/or complicated path. More power can also change the nature of the beast to where it becomes something less manageable.

There’s more to this weight loss stuff than meets the eye.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU'RE TOO ANXIOUS TO POST AT 1:OO AM AFTER ROLLING IN FROM THE GARAGE.
LOL.
Even after that, I was out again at 7:00 am already. LOL.

I meant 13 grams.
It was almost non registering on a normal Hanson Lb scale, so I went to the Dymo grams/ounces mail scale.

Thank you for waking up my math, clarifying and defending the ounce counts. Trust me, I would change something for a single ounce any day and anyway because as GOOSER and RMCHRGR said, it's not the ounce on the short term that is the goal, but the eventual 16 ounces that will lead up to that pound. 1600 places to remove an ounce will eventually clinch that elusive 100 Lbs.
That's real numbers fellas and Gals. I call it Arithme-TRICKS

I know of some cars that have over 4,800 places to remove an ounce that wouldn't even be noticed.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

This is the vertical brace that attaches to the upper radiator cross panel and the lower core support brace that was just made. All of these other items are also made in aluminum. All fasteners are T-2024 aluminum.
The front valance panel to the left in epoxy gray is chemically milled. Kulasa The Dipper did an excellent job of dunking this and other things in the acid jacuzzi. Here is where the pounds start to add down right up front and center.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

A quote from the 2nd edition of We Were The Ramchargers book that just released a month or so ago.
"It wasn't rocket science. You get the car as light as you can, as much weight on the rear wheels as you can, so we did"

 

[fullmetaljacket]

This here may be taboo on the forum, but even the X brands knew better that there weren't any better platforms to start a street fight with than utilizing their lightest models. In that case, sedans such as this '57 Chevrolet post sedan were best choices for their "Black Widow" stock cars of that year.
Most everyone on the street loved the sexy coupe/hardtops, but the savvy racers knew better with the nerdy and yet deadly sedans.

In our neck of the woods, A bodies are prime candidates for performance and sedans of that grade are even better, but when it comes to B-bodies, there has to be more creativity in the mix to hide the tricks. Plymouth's in particular have a slight edge on the weight department.

 

[fourgearsavoy]

I remember reading an article about Landy's Dodges and he mentioned removing every other fin/louver on the cowl panel as a small weight reduction. I remember the story went there was a kid looking for something to do in the shop and Dick said "make the car lighter"

Gus

 

[fullmetaljacket]

I remember reading an article about Landy's Dodges and he mentioned removing every other fin/louver on the cowl panel as a small weight reduction. I remember the story went there was a kid looking for something to do in the shop and Dick said "make the car lighter"

Gus

Landy was rumored to look underneath and toss any rock left unturned to gain an edge. His '65 car was allegedly the lightest of the A/FX bunch. I read somewhere in his own words, that he trimmed of the bosses on the tail light bezels and plastic lenses. While at that, removed the headlight buckets and installed aluminum discs in their place.

 

[Phantomx]

I 100% get it, ounces add up. Like my grandma used to say “mind your pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves”

I was just pointing out the word trickery or spin like you’d hear from a politician or infomercial huckster. “our absorbent picked up a full quarter pound of liquid while the competition soaked up a minuscule 3 ounces!”
Travis..

 

[fullmetaljacket]

I 100% get it, ounces add up. Like my grandma used to say “mind your pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves”

I was just pointing out the word trickery or spin like you’d hear from a politician or infomercial huckster. “our absorbent picked up a full quarter pound of liquid while the competition soaked up a minuscule 3 ounces!”
Travis..

No worries PhantomX.
We take things lightly here. LOL.

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

Just came across this vid.many weight loss ideas here!

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Just came across this vid.many weight loss ideas here!

Yeah, the narrowing and dropping of that cars body mass was a big trick back then without anyones knowledge. I wish I had the tools, experience and materials to fabricate and weld together a titanium K-member duplicating a factory unit. That would be trick. To them, every inch was a cinch to grab traction and every ounce counts.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

These here two are real lightweights being that they are made in plastic. I'm gonna buy the A990 sedan. I've been waiting for a kit for years. Hope they make a 1:18 scale die-cast model.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Forgot to showcase this little hidden gem in the air stream.
The original lower splash/duct panel was steel of course and quite heavy for its own good right out front and under, so away it went in favor of this aluminum pup. It snugs up right up against the bumper's license plate opening and steers all that small air to the radiator and trans cooler above it. It weighs a hint over 1/2 of a pound now compared to the stock steel panel with all its fasteners and rubber flaps at 3-1/4 Lbs.

 

[gooser]

to bad they don't make that a990 in black

 

[fullmetaljacket]

to bad they don't make that a990 in black

There's always Testors model paints.
Perhaps someday they'll make a 1/18 model of my car with real aluminum and Titanium parts and such. LOL.

 

[Johnny Rocket]

These here two are real lightweights being that they are made in plastic. I'm gonna buy the A990 sedan. I've been waiting for a kit for years. Hope they make a 1:18 scale die-cast model.

View attachment 1724295

I have both of these kits cant wait to build them

 

[fullmetaljacket]

I have both of these kits cant wait to build them

What's the quality of the kits? Are the bodies correct in proportions? Open the kits and check the body molds. I ask because the box artwork makes them look a little out of whack. Maybe it's bad artwork.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Here's allegedly a real A990 lightweight I saw in Carlisle a few years back. It was mostly an unmolested specimen of the breed. Sounded healthy, but I wasn't sure that it was competition ready.
What I haven't seen in a long time is the reproduction A990 thin gauge radiator core and support that was reproduced by someone out there. Anyone care to add?

 

[Johnny Rocket]

What's the quality of the kits? Are the bodies correct in proportions? Open the kits and check the body molds. I ask because the box artwork makes them look a little out of whack. Maybe it's bad artwork.

from what i have read the moebius kits are really good quality