Gold Dragon

Curious if anyone has looked into what these cars weigh. Like to know what the body of my C-3 weighs? Also frame, body and engine full of fluids.

ed427vette

All this info can be found if you google it.
The exact weights depend on what year you have, engine, coupe or convertible and other options. So it all depends. The total weight will be near 3300 lbs.

EIGHTY

Depends on the year. 1980 weighs 3,336 lbs. according to this document...

https://gmheritagecenter.com/docs/gm...t-Corvette.pdf

You can change the year from 1980 in the link to your specific year to get the document that you need. Then scroll through to the weight section. For 1980 that info is on pages 10 and 46.

tigertank

my 1982 stock full of gas on a certified CAT scale 3199

tigertank

my 1982 stock full of gas and me not in it on a cert CAT scale 3199

PRNDL

68 bigblock convertible, me in it (185 lbs), 1/2 tank of gas.

Gold Dragon

Thank you for the replies. So safe to assume a big block car weighs in about 3600. Have to admit I am very surprised by this. Thought a fiberglass car would be lighter. We weighed our Chevelle on a similar CAT scale and it weighed in at 3700. A steel bodied car mind you. WOW. Not what I expected. Going to be pulling the body off of the C-3 within days and very interested in what the body alone will weigh. Have googled and checked the forum but all we can find is opinion, no fact. Like to know the weight of the body separately. No interior. Only glass and wiring. Also if anyone knows the weight of the frame without the engine.?

oldgto

You still don`t say what year your car is..... but I`m guessing the body to be close to 800 pounds just by itself.

bmans vette

You are not the first to be surprised to learn that fiberglass is heavier than steel.
My 67 Camaro used to beat any stock vette that showed up if for no other reason that my car was about 400 pounds lighter. Changing the rear to 4.11 gears and upping the hp to 425 helped.
I had one guy I had to beat twice to prove to him that his fancy vette was slower than my metal Camaro. That was 1971 btw....lol

Gold Dragon

oldgto, Thank you for weighing in.The car is a 1969 coupe.

Jebbysan

My aluminum headed 406 72' coupe comes in at 3150 with a half tank of gas...full VB&P suspension and 17/18 Americans on it......with a Muncie.
Sans A/C compressor of course

Jebby

gbvette62

The curb weight on a standard equipment, base engine, 69 coupe was about 3,300 lbs. Figure about 150 more for a convertible. A big block convertible with both tops, air, PS, PB and an automatic was probably close to 3,700 lbs.

By 1977 the curb weight had grown to about 3,600 lbs. The increase was a result of Chevrolet adding more standard equipment, and the Government mandating more emission and safety equipment. In the late 70's, the Corvette went on a diet in an effort to increase performance and fuel mileage. As a result, the curb weight of an 81 was back down to around 3,300 lbs, even with air, PS, PB, power windows and stereo all standard. This was accomplished through the use of lighter seats, glass, and an aluminum rear end, as well as other weight reducing measures.

By comparison, a 69 small block Camaro coupe has a curb weight of around 3,450, about the same as a base equipment 69 Corvette convertible.

Though it is possible for fiberglass to weight less than sheet metal, the fiberglass (and the SMC that replaced it in 74) is quite thick and dense, making it fairly heavy. Chevrolet never used fiberglass to save weight on the Corvette, it was a cost savings, and an experiment. The Corvette was intended to be a low volume car. It was much more cost effective to mold the body panels out out of fiberglass, instead of creating the dies and stampings needed to produce sheet metal panels. Also, fiberglass was relatively new, and it gave GM the opportunity to determine the viability of fiberglass components, for production use.

LT1M21Vette

Is it possible to swap this aluminum rear end in an early C3?

terrys6t8roadster

The Aluminum batwing design has different mounting than our steel diff mount. I've also heard they aren't as strong, lower hp rating. But then I know of a 80 with a 383 in it for years with no problem. T

oldgto

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...dy-weight.html

This old thread asks about a 77.... but there shouldn`t be a huge difference. Also of note is if you`re asking about a stripped body, or with glass, interior, etc., which of course will add weight.

Gold Dragon

Good info in the thread. Have to say I am inclined to believe the 1200 lb body weight. But I think that is fully loaded. I have removed the doors and totally stripped every part I could to lighten the load. Closer to the 800lb mark now. Found a video on u-tube, a guy named Mark @ America's Finest Corvettes. He claims the C-3 frame stripped weighs in at 300lbs . I am guessing about 600-800 more in suspension and drivetrain. That would leave the big block weighing about 1200 for the total 3600lbs. Anyone who is into power to weight ratio should find this interesting. As soon as I start lifting the body I will post the pictures.

steersdad

I've pushed my share of Vettes around the garage, up the driveway, sideways on skates....I'll swear they weigh about 9,000 pounds

76Rat

I think by 1976 they started filling them with lead.
My slug weighed 3875 lbs when I put it on the dyno. I assumed that it was that heavy with myself and my son in the car. I was corrected by the dyno operator that it was without us in it.
Don't get me wrong, it does have a lot of extra stuff on it that increased the weight but it also has a lot of aluminum on it replacing the steel components.
So in the end it weighs almost 4075 lbs with me in it. That's heavy!

bmans vette

Nice avatar.

I'll bet that monster of an engine has something to do with the weight....

Btw...looks like Jersey plates....I grew up in East Brunswick!

gbvette62

As I said in my earlier post, by the mid 70's, the curb weight had grown to about 3,600 lbs, because of options that had become standard and the Federally mandated emission and safety equipment.

Your 76 has the door guard beams that earlier cars didn't, and much heavier bumpers because of the impact bars and bumper shocks. Just these pieces probably added a couple hundred pounds. The catalytic converter also increased the weight, as well as assorted other emission equipment. Your 76 also has a metal floor, were as 75 and earlier Corvettes had fiberglass ones.

When you add the typical options to your 76's 3,600 lb curb weight (power steering, power windows, a radio, air conditioning, etc), it's easy to see how it could balloon to 3,875!