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

[fullmetaljacket]

The small minutia stuff in comparison to actual pounds lost is rather hilarious with this here, but then again, everything about this thing is hilarious simply because every time someone rarely catches the little things, they're in tears.

It's great that we're all thinking in and out of the box when it comes to this most of fundamental performance upgrades, the downgrade of weight.

RMCHRGR installs a tubular QA1 equipped K-member in his A-body for probably a 18 Lb loss. DVW mills the bosses and motor mounts off his Mega block for probably a 1-2 Lbs lost. BADvert closes in on aluminum brake cylinders for probably an 1/8 Lb loss. Dodge 330 finds power grip heat shrink hose clamps in place of mechanical ones and I......... I find super featherweight push in valve cover breathers for oz's. LOL.
Yes, you read right.
I used these nameless stamped anodized aluminum breathers way back in the early 80's and have not seen a pair until just recently. Funny how I remember them being weightless after all these years. The weight of just one...... or lack of it comes in at a poultry 1.30 ounces compared to a Moroso USA made steel breather at 3.65 ounces. Spray paint the body cover race Hemi orange and kazaam, STOCK LOOKING.

So it's coming down to this fellas and gals, it's surgical and maniacal at this point.

 

[padam]

The small minutia stuff in light of actual pounds lost is rather hilarious with this here, but then again, everything about this thing is hilarious simply because every time someone rarely catches the little things, they're in tears.

It's great that we're all thinking in and out of the box when it comes to this most of fundamental performance upgrades, the downgrade of weight.

RMCHRGR installs a tube K-member in his A-body for probably a 18 Lb loss. DVW mills the bosses and motor mounts off his Mega block for probably 1-2 Lbs lost. BADvert closes in on aluminum brake cylinders for probably an 1/8 Lb loss. Dodge 330 finds power grip heat shrink clamps in place of mechanical ones and I......... I find super featherweight push in valve cover breathers for oz's. LOL.
Yes, you read right. I used these nameless stamped anodized aluminum breathers way back in the early 80's and have not seen a pair until just recently.
Their weight....... or lack of it comes in at a poultry 1.30 ounces compared to a steel pair of Moroso USA made breathers at 3.65 ounces. Paint the body cover Hemi orange and kazaam, STOCK LOOKING.

So it's coming down to this fellas and gals, it's surgical and maniacal at this point.

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What about the weight of the paint?

 

[fullmetaljacket]

What about the weight of the paint?

Add reducer and feather it. LOL.

 

[padam]

Add reducer and feather it. LOL.

I think that’s one of the reasons they stopped painting airplanes in WW2

 

[dvw]

I draw the line on paint and prep. It has to look good no matter what.
Doug

 

[fullmetaljacket]

All kidding aside, paint is heavy though, not counting all the body fillers, epoxy primer/sealers and multiple coats of color.
My doors have the least minimum of spot putty/ sealer and color because my painter (The Palm Reader) massaged the alloy with hammer and patience.

 

[Dodge 330]

A little weight reduction.

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

A little weight reduction.

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Times 20!

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Times 20!

You've got that right Itis. Theres a little just over 2.5 Lbs right there in rotational weight. Imagine if 330's car shaved off 400 Lbs while staying all steel.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Dodge 330. Look what popped up at a Bronx Street Racer reunion this past weekend packing Hemi power. He had a few of the tattle tale items on board to indicate some potential, but found out it was a mild civil Hemi breathing underneath. Fair enough.
Original paint and rubber floor mat. Car was super clean.

 

[Dodge 330]

You've got that right Itis. Theres a little just over 2.5 Lbs right there in rotational weight. Imagine if 330's car shaved off 400 Lbs while staying all steel.

We just did the fronts for now. I have a few plans over the winter but it will always be a streetcar so no extreme measures.

I did see titanium K-frame bolts on the Stock Appearing facebook page...

 

[Dodge 330]

Dodge 330. Look what popped up at a Bronx Street Racer reunion this past weekend packing Hemi power. He had a few of the tattle tale items on board to indicate some potential, but found out it was a mild civil Hemi breathing underneath. Fair enough.
Original paint and rubber floor mat. Car was super clean.

View attachment 1748526

Wow, that is clean. I don't need the stress of pretty paint right now. Single digit e.t.'s and ice cream cruises are where it's at!

The only thing non-stock that sticks out in my interior is the shifter and timing knob, but that's on velcro. Oh, and that pesky rollbar that is no longer enough.

 

[Mike Gaines]

Weight, Ballast, Pounds, Mass, Lard, Fat, Pork, any which way you cut it and name it, carrying the heavy stuff can and will hinder a cars performance and longevity, especially off the straight line type.
Depending on the year and model, there are so many places on a car to remove weight, but it is most important to remember that weight removal should be strategic to your needs and most importantly, intelligently done to keep the structural integrity of the car sound.
Every ounce counts, but you can count on this, you do it wrong or too much in the right places and you'll end up with a stale pretzel with no seasoning on top.
I have seen guys cut and hole saw cars in the wrong places such as rear quarters, roof lines, A,B and C posts, rocker panels, firewalls, fender aprons and even chassis rails and after one quarter mile pass later, there's nothing left but a car with two diagonal wheels dangling in the air while parked.
In essence, weight is not just about removing and replacing it with lighter parts, sometimes just placing it in other sections within the chassis can bring surprising results. Taking a 4000 lb car and just correctly repositioning its own amount of weight without any emphasis of losing weight can sometimes make that car run quicker as a result of better weight transfer and traction.
For those that are bummed about their own personal body mass, there is hope because there can be some advantages to that believe it or not. But again, done smart and proper is a must. (more on that later)

To keep this simple and pragmatic, There are three regions where weight (sprung or unsprung) can be managed.

Starting with the front of the car. This is (region #1) because this is the location of the first mass that the car deals with when accelerating and also where the source of power is nestled.
Mind you, the tires out back have to deal with the mass out front of them and somehow swing it back over themselves just to be able to plant, so what ever can be responsibly refigured out front will only help those two lonely busy bee tires outback.

The mid section from the A-pillar/firewall to the B-pillar which includes the doors is (region #2). A whole lot of energy is being funneled through this area via the transmission and driveshaft. It is also important because at the very tail end of this region just passed the door jams is the very nose tip where the center of gravity zone can be exploited. This sweet spot is where the nose attachments of four links, ladder bars, slapper bars, calvert bars and spring eyes make their case.

At the start of the rear quarters to the rear bumper is (region #3). This desert area is most important because this is where weight is either left alone or as I like to call it, spread out like a land fill. Note that some of the F.A.S.T Class cars running mid deep into the 9's on stock Polyglass tires have weight bars or lead shot boxes distributed at different points within this area.

Going back to region #1, the hood is the obvious first target.
Most cars should lose it (like the one pictured below LOL) It's the first thing we see since it sits high on the body and takes up a lot of real estate on the very front of the car. It is arguably the most changed body panel when it comes to weight removal. There are of course a few variations of ready made catalogued hoods out there made of fiberglass, carbon fiber, but hoods could be made weightless by utilizing exotic alloy materials or by chemically milling the original hood.

This thread should bring some rather obvious ideas and some really wild left field ones as well, so let's have some chat about trimming the fat.
The oldest teenager Gent that I know and looking on to the left is no other than "Top Boy" He's no joke when applying the trickiest tricks to 727's since when they were cast iron cases.. His magic resides within the trans case of this car.

I'll leave y'all with a bomb shell though: Sometimes a stock weight steel hood can make more power just as it is. I'll explain on my next role through.

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I have a fiberglass front bumper and reduced the weight of the bumper mounts by about 70%. Before and after pixs plus a pix of the metal removed. This was on my 66 Coronet, not my Duster.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

So here you have it. Lightweight breathers that weighed in at 1.30 ounces each and then went under the paint (spray paint can).
It ended up weighing the same. LOL

 

[fullmetaljacket]

A little weight reduction.

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Make sure to dab on a little anti-seize on those lug nut threads to keep 'em happy with their steel alloy hosts.

 

[Dodge 330]

Make sure to dab on a little anti-seize on those lug nut threads to keep 'em happy with their steel alloy hosts.

Yep, did that with the install last night.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Yep, did that with the install last night.

Your car is fly dude, and it flies. Love the Hot Rodder's paint scheme. All business and and no lipstick.

 

[Dodge 330]

Your car is fly dude, and it flies. Love the Hot Rodder's paint scheme. All business and and no lipstick.

A hammer isn’t pretty. It’s just a tool to apply the brute force!

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Your car is fly dude, and it flies. Love the Hot Rodder's paint scheme. All business and and no lipstick.

By the way, just the other day, a friend who is a Mopar guy by heart and now races 1000+HP Supra's, was peeking under the hood and scolded me for not getting a pair of sheet aluminum valve covers in light of all this weight stuff that's been allegedly done over the past few decades................................. I couldn't keep a straight face while looking at him.
His eyes said it all " You old dirty B@$+@rd.

 

[Dodge 330]

By the way, just the other day, a friend who is a Mopar guy by heart and now races 1000+HP Supra's, was peeking under the hood and scolded me for not getting a pair of sheet aluminum valve covers in light of all this weight stuff that's been allegedly done over the past few decades................................. I couldn't keep a straight face while looking at him.
His eyes said it all " You old dirty B@$+@rd.

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I have a friend that's an engineer that works for Boeing. My engine is painted in much the same manner as yours. He was showing a co-worker the pic of my engine being hoisted into the car and he happened to see the unpainted aluminum right around the exhaust ports of the Stealth heads. My buddy laughed and explained the whole deal.