I was reading a post earlier concerning overall weight of corvettes. One member stated that big block cars weigh about 3800 lbs, but this is not accurate. There are many other aspects of the car that affect weight, besides the engine. One of my personal goals is to reduce the weight of my car and get it down to near 3000 pounds or less. I removed about 200 pounds already in the last year. From what I have read, a fully iron big block weighs 130 pounds more than an iron small block. However, changing a big block's heads to aluminum removes about 70 lbs. There are other ways to get the weight down within the engine also. You can take 14 pounds off with a starter change and another 14 off with an aluminum flywheel. I am not sure how much aluminum water pumps remove but it should be close to 7 lbs, I guess. Changing the rear spring to fiberglass removes about 30 pounds. I also removed the radio and speakers. There is enough noise emitting from the car, anyway. I don't need more. I removed the spare tire and replaced it with a cell phone, if I get a flat. I imagine that this takes off about 30 lbs. The rack and pinion steering system removes about 13 pounds from the car also. The titanium rotors and aluminum calipers that I will be buying in the future will knock off over 50 pounds. Using headers and removing the exhaust manifolds must be significant but I am not sure of the amount. I have an aluminum radiator. On the flip side, the 5 speed tremec transmission weighs about 20 pounds more than the M21, that I removed.
I have read that a 1969 ZL1 corvette weighs only 2900 pounds. A ZL1 block weighs about 100 pounds less than an iron one. Then again, in 1969, they did not have fiberglass rear springs and some of the other lightweight things we have now. It makes sense that it is possible to get our big block C3's down into that weight range. When my car is finished I will weigh it and let you know how far I was able to get it down.
To briefly answer Viper Tony's challenge and criticisms ("You ran..., etc."); I am not about to go driving 3.5 hours to meet some fool over some childish provocation. Racing a car down a drag strip is no great thrill to me. Proving someone wrong is not worth much to me, either. If I see someone on the road or it is convenient for whatever reason, I will race anyone. If I lose, who cares? However, it will take a hell of a car to beat mine. I don't take things like this so seriously.
I raced motocross for about 5 years and that sport takes a hell of a lot more nerve than drag racing does. I just don't find it so interesting that I would drive 3.5 hours to beat a Viper when I have beaten them in my home town and was conveniently back home in 10 minutes.

 

I saw in a circle track magazine titanium lug nuts. you can also get titanium valves and seats like me . i dont really under stand what you mean to drive 3 hours to beat a viper or beat one in my home town and drive 10 minutes home?you can also make swiss cheese like norval did. I whouldnt recomend street racing either.

 

Tony Sinclair, a Viper owner who uses this forum, challenged me to race him in the 1/4 mile. He lives in Fort Lauderdale while I live in Orlando. It is about 3.5 hours away. I was responding to that issue.
I don't know if you are joking about the lug nuts but that is actually an interesting point. When you add them all up, they weigh quite a bit. I suppose we can take off some weight there as well, if somebody makes lug nuts with a different metal. Aluminum would just crack. Titanium would be perfect.

 

Have you ever run your car to see what kind of times it runs 1/4 mile?

 

Before I modified it, it ran 11.92 but I was not driving it. My brother drove it. It has not been drag raced since that time. That was a few years ago. Since that time, I put lots of goodies in the engine as I listed in other posts. It sure as hell feels a lot faster now and the builder estimates that it currently has about 650hp. The car is in the shop at the present and should have the 5 speed transmission in it by later next week. I am not building a drag car. I am trying to make it a more balanced road race/ sports car with handling in mind as well.

 

My Vette weights 2850 lbs and there's still potential to remove another 250 - 300 lbs...

My car got following weight reductions:

1) no spare tire and carrier
2) lightweight race seat instead of heavy stock seats
3) composite rear spring
4) lightweight race wheels and tires (slicks and front skinnies)
5) heater removed
6) hood hardware removed, hood pins used
7) light weight headlights in grille (no heavy pop up lights)
8) wipers and wiper motor removed
9) sway bars removed
10) aluminum heads
11) aluminum radiator
12) no AC/no PS/no PB/no PW

Here are things that can reduce a lot more weight:

1) tubular a-arms (60+ lbs weight saving)
2) Aerospace brakes (calipers, rotors and spindles, reduces front end weight by 50 lbs)
3) tubular, chromoly crossmembers (150+ lbs saving)
4) lightweight rear rotors (25+ lbs saving)

Added weight:

3 inch chromoly driveshaft, 3.5 inch half shafts, 1480 series u-joints at half shafts (very heavy), 6-point chromoly rollbar, Tom's 12-bolt differential (heavier than stock)

 

i actually wasnt joking about the lug nuts. i saw how unsprung weight consous you were.

 

Witch cross member are you refuring to?i know about the tranny crossmember being chromoly but what other ones are there?

 

I'm talking about all 3 crossmembers.. They all can be cut/removed and replaced by chromoly tubular units..

(tranny x-menber, rear x-menber, diff x-member)

 

GrandSportC3, what size engine is in your car? Do you have the sources of some of those itemized mods (tubular a arms & cross members)?

 

my engine is a little 406 small block . The car should run in the mid 10's in winter on engine only and 9's on spray..


Those tubular a-arms and x-members are not commercially available.. They would have to be manufactored... Any race car builder should be able to build them.. However, that will be a little pricey..

I'm actually planning on having at least 2 of the crossmembers replaced by tubular ones..

 

Yes, but if they remove 150 pounds that is great!

 

You are looking at about $500+ to have the tranny and rear x-member replaced with a tubular ones..

 

yeah but hes willing to spen 4k on rotors to save 33 lbs.

 

good point!

 

My all iron 69 sb convertible weighs around 3000lbs without the top and sparetire.

You can buy a tubular A-arm and coilover kit from Jim Meyers racing for 1500$.

http://www.jimmeyerracing.com/

 

Too bad that they don't have the a-arms for regular springs

Coilover front suspension isn't suited for drag racing

 

why not? buy the shocks and install the same rate spring you have now, it'll collapse the shock a good bit (but no more than the stock shock is collapsed @ ride height from that soft spring setup) but if you buy the correct compressed & extended lenght shock it'll be fine, just like w/ your spring set that you have now a for instance 220# spring can carry 220# for every 1" compression, so let's say your front end corner weight is 700# then that will compress the spring roughly 3,2" and you can adjust the ride height w/ the shock collar.....if it works with the standard type stuff it'll work with the coil over also. You'll be surprised and delighted about the vast spring selection for a 2,5" ID spring (2,5" seat collar) setup....almost every spring rate is possible (most increase in steps of 25#)

 

I saw some fabricated nascar lower a arms at muscle motorsports up in moorseville. i wonder if these could be modified to fit our cars?

 

the nascar arms use screw in ball joints, they don't fit the stock cross shaft and the arm length is nowhere near what it has to be, you're better off building something from scratch then.