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66 283

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I've had this car for 16 years and never scaled it - except for once three years ago with a different engine on a city weigh scale.

Today I was curious so I called someone over with scales and we four wheel scaled the car.

With driver (204lbs) it weighed 3932# with a full tank of fuel! Oh my god, that's after taking out one bucket (temporarily) and replacing it with an alum kirkey pro street seat, taking the trunk off (temporarily also) and putting a lightweight VFN deck on it. No inner fenders, no jesel rocker arms (add about 30lbs I'm guessing), but otherwise race weight.

Two optima batteries, 20gal alum cell, 2 15lb nitrous bottles, full interior, mild steel cage, and fab9 housing and a big duke 632 make for a very heavy car!

What a ridiculously heavy boat! There is no point trying to lighten this car up because it is what it is.

It would be more wise for me to get a little chevy II for racing and leave this a street car. Imagine what 151mph at 5000 feet and 3932lbs would do in 3000#! Well it would go 165mph at this altitude and much faster at sea level!
 
#2 ·
THANK YOU, ive asked several times how guys are getting there chevelles down to 3300 lbs when my little old Nova weighs that much with NO options and the heater system removed.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
I always said it was 3850 as that's what it weighed on a city scale prior to the 632 and removing some weight. (trunk, seat)

So, I think I'm going to put the stock bucket back in the driver's side all the time now - what's the point? It ain't gonna be a race car at this weight and I'm not going to hack it up - I think this car will get the cage removed and maybe a 468 and I will put the 632 in a "race car" that I can drive on the street from racingjunk.com...

7 second motor in a 12 second chassis = low 9's/high 8's.
 
#4 ·
My GTO with an aluminum headed BB came in at 3933 WITHOUT me. I have a lot of sound debtener in my car, so your weight seems right on the money.

Andrew
 
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#6 ·
Originally posted by Nickel333:
THANK YOU, ive asked several times how guys are getting there chevelles down to 3300 lbs when my little old Nova weighs that much with NO options and the heater system removed.
Click to expand...
Nickel, i dont know if we've discussed it before, but i can easily tel you how i got my 66 sedan down to 3050 (with driver, 1/4 tank, and full bottle)
 
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#7 ·
I have my 64 Malibu SS down to 2760 w/o me, thats with a alum headed SB T400, 10 pt Cage, F/Glass F/Clip, Deck Lid, both Bumpers and Lexan Windows. And a Backhalved El Camino Frame.
 
#8 ·
Ryan,

Did you record what the car weighs at each corner? I'd like to see how the weight is distributed in the car. I'm thinking a good portion of it might be the beefy internals of the aftermarket motor.

I'd also like to see you try another set of scales and see if there was any discrepancy. Thanks again for any info!!
 
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Discussion starter · #9 ·
I'm at work and I didn't bring the corner weights with me - will post them tonight. It was slightly heavier driver's front - it was over 1000lbs! :eek: Diagonals were only 50lbs different I recall and it was 50.8% front, 49.2% rear.

Bobolos, I am in the process of building a webpage - will post it when completed.

So I'm at a crossroads - car is fun and fast, don't want to cut it up cuz it's nice, so I'm thinking of getting someone's finished chassis car at 50 cents on the dollar and playing around.

I have a friend with a 68 camaro tube car with carbon fiber front end we might throw in my 632 for a little fun this year. It ran 8.20's at sea level on the motor with a 598. Should be good for mid/high 7's with mine on spray.

I'm not concerned about the accuracy of the scales - these were very high dollar scales of a local chassis builder and cascar racer.
 
#10 ·
Well I don't know about how others remove weight, but in my 68 chevelle that I run I weigh in at 3410,full fuel,2 nitrous bottles, and me(230) in the seat. This is a full steel car with fiberglass bumpers and hood only. It takes alot of work to get it down without the use of alot of fiberglass but it can be done. This is a ladder bar car with 30x9 slicks. Aluminum headed BBC,powerglide and 9inch rear. When scaling a car if either of the front weights are higher say from left to right,look for any preload in the rear suspension. I can add up to 100 lbs of weight just by adjusting the preload in the ladder bars and anti-roll bar. This car also has a mild steel cage also.
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
I will post my corner weights when I get home. I was under the impression that you want more driver's front as that side lifts first. I guess the bottom line is that the car goes straight when I leave on the brake and fogger. I have zero preload as with weight in the seat can turn both ladder bar bolts when loose.
 
#12 ·
66 283,

Glad you posted.. Sorry to hear your 'Velle is so heavy b/c they ARE NICE RIDES!!


Yes, please go a First Gen. Camaro if you want to.. Or would a '64 or '65 'Velle do you much better weight-wise??

And would you please e-mail me at home because I want to run another engine combination by you.

pdq67

Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
email away - but it doesn't mean I know anything!

HEY, does anyone know of a CLEAN 66 or 67 Nova in their area? I prefer rolling chassis, must have title for street driving, and prefer 10.5W car rather than big tire. Need something light that I can street drive to take some pressure off the drivetrain.

Tube chassis ok if done right and is not junk.

Please email me any links in your respective areas as I am actively looking.

My car is also for sale rolling - will put together a list of the details and post in the for sale section.
 
#15 ·
Hey OJ please do explain,i dont doubt you but ive had a 67 GTO and a 70 Chevelle around me for the last 10 years and i know damn well unless i did somthing drastic i couldnt get either one of them lighter than my Nova, having pushed all 3 of them around with no motor tells a tale of its own,......My guess is its gutted, theres no inner fenders and its all fiberglass. Am i right? Please do explain how you did this especially with you in it.
 
#17 ·
i have a 72 chevelle 2x3 backhalf 10.5w tire factory steel doors with power windows street version fiberglass front all working street equiptment aluminum bbc it weights as light as 3300 with 180lb driver but is raced at 3500lbs because the added weight works better on traction.it goes 7.85 at 175
 
Discussion starter · #18 ·
KOS,

Thanks for the reply - who makes your fiberglass front? VFN? US Body? Any comments on the quality?

I have a digital scale and I am going to start dismantling the car the weighing everything as it comes off so I know where to begin. Gotta understand that I paid no attention to saving weight as I built the car as it was intended for the street so now I am paying the piper.

I'm thinking that I will start with weighing the front fenders, rad support, front clip. I already have fiberglass VFN bumpers that I haven't painted yet - and I was thinking of making tubular rad support and tranny crossmembers also. I need a lighter cowl hood also - mine is 45lbs - bolt on glasstek that needed major R&R when we got it so it ended up heavy. Pin ons are around 10 lbs.

KOS, how much weight do you think the backhalf took off - sheetmetal, tubs etc? I've been told more than 200lbs. You ditched the backseat too? (mine is sentimental so it's staying functional - had this car for 16 years) Do you have aluminum block also? Do you also run a glide?

One other easy one is my passenger factory bucket - weighed in at 55lbs.

On top of that I have 2 optimas in steel half boxes (heavy), 2 15lb nitrous bottles full at 33lbs each, and 20 gal of fuel. Just taking out a battery, a nitrous bottle, and half a tank is 140lbs alone!

So, here's my initial estimates before weighing:

1)half a tank = 70lbs off
2)ditch a nitrous bottle and bracket = 35 lbs
3)ditch one battery when racing = ~35lbs
4)fiberglass bumpers vs chrome and brackets = ~40lbs?
5)tubular rad support - ~20lbs?
6)tubular tranny crossmember - ~10lbs?
7)the meat in the seat could lose 20lbs
8)pin on cowl vs 45lbs plus hinges and springs ~ 40lbs
9)take out pass seat and replace with another alum ~ 35lbs

SUBTOTAL: 305lbs -> 3627 with driver

Now, how much would I save going to a 1 piece front end? I'm guessing I would be close to your 3500 race weight if I do a few more small things. Now can I have a high 7? Ok, I'll settle for a low 8 with the air we have here.

I will not cut up the car, use lexan, or do any irreversible changes - am I missing anything?

This weekend I'll start stripping (the car) and weighing parts and will post here if anyone is at all interested.
 
#19 ·
Originally posted by Nickel333:
Hey OJ please do explain...
Click to expand...
you got mail
Image


And Ryan, you're headed in the right direction. Fiberglass is the way to go IMO, because you can always put youre steel back on later.

I had no ides your hood was that heavy. Pin ons are the way to go. My VFN pin-on 4" was 13 lbs, and my fenders were 7 lbs each if i remember correctly. You'll also get more than 40 lbs out of it by using both 'glass bumpers.

Please post your progress and weights while tearing it down. Good luck.
Image
 
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#20 ·
There are a lot of things that can be done to lose weight in these things without cutting the car to pieces.Pulling weight from the front I would think is high on the list. I used TRZ control arms-big weight diff. I lost close to 25lbs right there. I also use a plastic radiator out of a newer chevy pickup,cheap and light. I even run inner fenderwells,fiberglass.I did cut up a spare radiator support that I had. Holesawed and cut the bejesus out of it. Used the bare minimum bolts to hold front sheetmetal on.Look at all fasteners on the entire car-any extra threads sticking out, cut them off. remove any and all brackets,extra bolts,clips,etc-you would be surprised.I removed everything behind the dash and all wiring out of the car.I rewired the entire car with aviation MIL spec wire(lighter and smaller in dimesion).Kirkey seats up front,still retained the rear seat.Pull all the regulators out of the quarter windows and doors.Pin the glass in the up position. I also built a chromoly trans crossmember.I too had a bolt on hood- took a whiz wheel cutter to the inner structure-now it is dzused on.All of the hood latch and grill structure behind the grill came out and I put some aluminum brackets to hold the grill in. Aluminum bumper brackets.Wilwood disc brakes on all 4 corners. Milled out slots in the rotors.Gun drilled and star-cut the axle flanges. Man the list keeps getting longer.....
 
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