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From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.
Originally Posted by Dynra Rockets
When I installed the 81-82 exhaust manifold on the drivers side I used the cast iron 72-79 C3/truck cast iron lower alternator mount since the manifold had no provision for the alternator mount hole for the lower bracket like the 68-71 exhaust manifolds do. Today I replaced and installed the 80-82 aluminum mount saving another 2 lbs. It positions the alternator slightly lower and farther out so need to get a longer belt tomorrow.
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R
Less weight. Win. Move lower. Win. Off the front. Win.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
Mine last friday at the track weighed 3310 with a spare, soft top, hard top, full interior. 3/4 tank of gas,( 20 gallon tank so about 15 gallons), and my full stereo which is the head unit, amp, sub woofer and speakers in boxes.....It still performed pretty well
So I'm watching one of the (generic) car shows. They're testing a CAYMAN. Weight 3145 lbs. (6 cyl) As I said; the TT weighs 3050.
The C-3 is actually (in certain trims) is not THAT heavy....
79's are the weightiest....reminding all that that was the last year for the 'old' style frame with the .110" wall thickness.
Unk
Was it .110"? Elsewhere its .120", down to .100" in 80. Also, i have also read the frame was thinned out in 76 (one source), or 78 (different source). Does anyone know for SURE? Is there no factory data on this?
Also... it would seem the 79's (as i believed too) were not the heaviest. Seems the 77's were, then the weight slowly came off starting 78 (by shipping weights in 2 sources, and curb weights in 3 sources). Keep in mind the 7 gal bigger tank in 78 jacked the curb weights from then on. Whats 7 more gallons worth on the curb? 44lbs? The 79's got a bit lighter yet, and then the really light 80's, and the 81 lost even more. Knowing what they added/took away/changed in 78 (read: not much), then in 79, it makes me wonder if that 230-250lb weight loss in 1980 was in fact a total loss that started in 78. The math lines up perfectly...
Looking at a car from the same era - 1978 Lotus Esprit -
Lotus' claim of acceleration from 0–97 km/h (0–60 mph) in 6.8 seconds and a top speed of 222 km/h (138 mph) may have been optimistic, as actual road tests revealed a 0-60 mph acceleration time of 8 seconds and a top speed of about 214 km/h (133 mph).
...
S1 (1976) Series 1 Kerb weight 900 kg (1,984 lb) Engine: 1973 cc inline 4 Power: 160 bhp @ 6,200 rpm Torque: 140 lb/ft @ 4,900 rpm 0-60 mph: 7.3 secs By 1978
My favorite is the Ferrari F40. 2700 lbs, 477 Horsepower, with air conditioning and power windows. 3700 lbs for the C8 is ridiculous. Like I said, maybe the next Z06 will be lighter than the standard production car, unlike the C7 Z06.
My favorite is the Ferrari F40. 2700 lbs, 477 Horsepower, with air conditioning and power windows. 3700 lbs for the C8 is ridiculous. Like I said, maybe the next Z06 will be lighter than the standard production car, unlike the C7 Z06.
Lighter sure, but I dont see that they can even get close to the older one. Were it a 3400lb car like the C7, maybe, but near 2 tons? The new Boss took a what, 3600lb car and dropped maybe 200lbs from it, and they did a lot ov work to do that. And that was a MUCH simpler car. That Corvette is probably packed with stuff... and you can bet as they designed it, and all the mandates and 'required' stuff (like luxuries) began to put the weight on, that they did EVERYTHING they could to shave weight. There's just no way. They should have stuck with what worked... front engine/RWD, and just been content on keeping up with the exotics on this 'old' platform. That was half the fun...
My friend had a newish Ferarri, a pared down V8 entry level. Forget which one. He said it weighed 2500lbs. I didn't believe him and looked it up. He was right. Wow. 2500lbs and 400HP. Then i see a lot ov guys here (who would know more about Italian cars than i do) saying they are actually really heavy... Some near 4000lbs...
Last edited by Pale Roader; Oct 16, 2020 at 09:47 PM.
Great data point!
Plus radiator, fluids, 20 gallons gasoline, exhaust, etc. Iron head smallblock or aluminum?
Intake?
Measured my 72 frame in a couple spots just now due to curiosity.. All Clean, dissaasembled and powdercoated. (Powdercoating is supposed to be way less than .001 thick)
Main frame is .110 in several spots front and rear. I got .108 in one spot, on the rear kickup I guess I have a little thinning due to rust LOL. Whats that like 2% less?
Motor mount brackets .150-.160
Rear kickup upper support bracket .110
Rear Trailing arm area triangle lower corner frame support .130
Front lower a-arm brackets .125-.130
Body mount brackets .130
Honestly I was not surprised some of the brackets were thicker. I was just surprised at the rear kickup support bracket that was added in 68-69, I thought that one would be thicker.
Last edited by leigh1322; Oct 17, 2020 at 12:05 PM.
Interesting discussion. I have a mildly hotted up Vette and a MX5 (called a Miata in America). It weighs just a tad over a K, or yes about 2,100 Lbs. But not clear where you guys get your power numbers from. My factory stock 2Liter 4 makes 168 H.P. . It lacks the bottom end grunt of my Vette. But once moving..... I've owned a few vettes over the years. Don't think my former 07 could out run the MX5 on a tight curving road. Damn thing sticks to the road like it has some kind of glue on the tires. And. It makes more power than you seem to think and revs like crazy. Fun little car.
The only mx5s that are quicker than my old Vette on a racetrack are turboed full aero race cars on slicks. And I've not been beaten by any at my local tight little hillclimb track. Mx5s are a lot of fun, and feel much faster than they are when you're behind the wheel, but in outright terms they're really not that fast.
