Ford uses pressurized tanks on the majority of the vehicles they've built in the last 20-25 years. Having worked with several in the late 90's, I'm not sure there's much weight savings with the ones I worked on compared to the Harrison tank on your 69. Takes a lot of plastic and glue to contain the same heated pressure than a thin aluminum tank can withstand. That being said, it may still be worth a look with a scale. They aren't hard to remove and there must be a ton of them in the scrap yards to choose from.
Weight reduction: Running out of ideas.
- Thread starter 69427
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69427
The Artist formerly known as Turbo84
I suspect you are correct on your points here.
69427
The Artist formerly known as Turbo84
Trying a lithium battery.
I ordered a lithium battery to try out. I was initially interested in Antigravity's 680CA 4# model, but the sales guy there wasn't confident that it would work satisfactorily in my car. He steered me to the 880CA model, that to my frustration was 25% heavier and similarly 25% more expensive. I bitched and grumbled for a few days, and then finally said screw it, and decided to give it a try. I'm waiting for it to arrive sometime within a week, and I'll let you know if it was money well spent, or completely wasted.
I'm presently using a 16# 360CA $35 garden tractor battery, which works quite well in my car. This new battery has pretty big shoes to fill.
I ordered a lithium battery to try out. I was initially interested in Antigravity's 680CA 4# model, but the sales guy there wasn't confident that it would work satisfactorily in my car. He steered me to the 880CA model, that to my frustration was 25% heavier and similarly 25% more expensive. I bitched and grumbled for a few days, and then finally said screw it, and decided to give it a try. I'm waiting for it to arrive sometime within a week, and I'll let you know if it was money well spent, or completely wasted.
I'm presently using a 16# 360CA $35 garden tractor battery, which works quite well in my car. This new battery has pretty big shoes to fill.
Here is another opportunity to remove weight with the headlights. There are brackets on each headlight door that limit the opening of the door. I think you will find that these do not really work anymore. There were rubber stops on the adjustment screws that are probably long gone. These weigh 1lb each! So removing those and the brace rods is ~3lbs of the nose of the car.
69427
The Artist formerly known as Turbo84
Another easy one (relatively speaking)...
The "headlight opening cover stop" I just looked at mine and it is 1/4" thick steel! Looks like a prime candidate for some aluminum with some speed holes
http://www.ecklerscorvette.com/corvette-headlight-opening-cover-stop-right-1970-1982.html
We're on the same wavelength. :thumbs: (I've since opened up the holes a bit more.)
Larry, you, vette427sbc, and I have the same thoughts on those overbuilt parts. :thumbs:
69427
The Artist formerly known as Turbo84
I managed to take a half pound off by swapping out the 3/4" heater hose between the water pump and the expansion tank, and replacing it with 3/8" hose (less material and water weight).
Took another quarter pound off by replacing the distributor shield steel brackets with aluminum substitutes.
Made the R&P steering attachment bracket out of aluminum, and drilled a few holes in the steel LCA crossmember, for about a 3# reduction in weight. The aluminum LCA replacement crossmember is about 80% finished, and should end up about 8# lighter than the present steel crossmember. I just ran out of time, and put the steel crossmember back in the car so I can get it ready for some track days this month.
I have an aluminum cold air box that seals up to the L88 hood, that I might be able to replace with thinner aluminum. I couldn't weld the very thin stuff very well when I made the box, but I'm curious if I can do the thin material with those aluminum "soldering" rods I see advertised. I need to pick up some of that stuff and practice on some thin pieces of aluminum sheet.
Took another quarter pound off by replacing the distributor shield steel brackets with aluminum substitutes.
Made the R&P steering attachment bracket out of aluminum, and drilled a few holes in the steel LCA crossmember, for about a 3# reduction in weight. The aluminum LCA replacement crossmember is about 80% finished, and should end up about 8# lighter than the present steel crossmember. I just ran out of time, and put the steel crossmember back in the car so I can get it ready for some track days this month.
I have an aluminum cold air box that seals up to the L88 hood, that I might be able to replace with thinner aluminum. I couldn't weld the very thin stuff very well when I made the box, but I'm curious if I can do the thin material with those aluminum "soldering" rods I see advertised. I need to pick up some of that stuff and practice on some thin pieces of aluminum sheet.
69427
The Artist formerly known as Turbo84
Lithium battery installed.
I got the lithium replacement battery installed yesterday in the passenger side storage box (where I've had the batteries for several years). The battery is a touch taller than my garden tractor battery, but 10# lighter (the website says this battery is 5.25#, but my two HF scales each say 5.75#. Oh well.). The battery cranks my engine quite well, seems happy with my lightweight Denso alternator (13.6v), and so far has been able to deal with some hot engine/minor flood cranking episodes while getting the newly installed distributor retimed. Hopefully this decent luck will continue.
I got the lithium replacement battery installed yesterday in the passenger side storage box (where I've had the batteries for several years). The battery is a touch taller than my garden tractor battery, but 10# lighter (the website says this battery is 5.25#, but my two HF scales each say 5.75#. Oh well.). The battery cranks my engine quite well, seems happy with my lightweight Denso alternator (13.6v), and so far has been able to deal with some hot engine/minor flood cranking episodes while getting the newly installed distributor retimed. Hopefully this decent luck will continue.
vette427sbc
Well-known member
What brand is the battery? I just bought an odyssey PC625 but with 6mm studs instead of the typical SAE terminals so I can ditch the heavy “lead” cable ends for some much lighter (duty) ring terminals
69427
The Artist formerly known as Turbo84
It's the Antigravity ATX-30 model. It has the "square" top terminals that uses vertical bolts to hold down the cable loops.
I've been running custom cables (aluminum wire and terminals on the latest) with loop ends to work on the previous garden tractor batteries.
69427
The Artist formerly known as Turbo84
Formed wire style distributor clamp
Had one of those odd wire-type distributor clamps in a pile of old parts. It was a couple ounces lighter than the ubiquitous stamped steel clamps, so I put it on the other day while I was retiming the distributor. Hopefully the reason these things are rarely seen is not because they don't clamp well.
Any horror stories about these?
Had one of those odd wire-type distributor clamps in a pile of old parts. It was a couple ounces lighter than the ubiquitous stamped steel clamps, so I put it on the other day while I was retiming the distributor. Hopefully the reason these things are rarely seen is not because they don't clamp well.
Any horror stories about these?
69427
The Artist formerly known as Turbo84
Junkyard amusements today.
Was wandering around one of the local U-Pull-it junkyards today, and found a couple items with some possible potential.
The first was an air filter housing that, shape-wise, looked like something from a 1974 Ford (Round lid and body, and a square intake snorkle), but it was all aluminum. Damn light. I don't know what it was off of, but it was sitting on the ground near the LF tire of a reasonably late model Silverado, which has no connection to an air filter of that configuration that I'm aware of. Regardless, I've been kicking around changing my carb air intake from the present cowl location, to one that picks up the air from in front of the radiator. I haven't had the chance to measure the pressure difference (at speed) between these two locations yet, but my gut feeling is the air is denser in front of the radiator than at the entrance of the L88 scoop.
The second item was rather interesting. While looking at some loose suspension and steering parts under a BMW 328 (IIRC), I noticed several clean shiney bolts laying on the ground. Appearance-wise, they looked like stainless steel 12mm bolts (by about 1 3/4" long). I picked one of them up, and immediately noticed that it didn't have the weight of a steel bolt. I'm not an expert in titanium, but my impression is that titanium is a grayer color than SS or aluminum, so I don't think they're titanium. There was some lettering stamped on the bolt head (which was like a male Torx design), and some of the lettering didn't make sense to me, but it looked like it did have AL on another area of the head. So, I'm guessing these are aluminum bolts. I have no idea what they were used for (please clue me in if anybody knows), but I might just get a few of these next trip and try to find an appropriate place to use them on my car.
Was wandering around one of the local U-Pull-it junkyards today, and found a couple items with some possible potential.
The first was an air filter housing that, shape-wise, looked like something from a 1974 Ford (Round lid and body, and a square intake snorkle), but it was all aluminum. Damn light. I don't know what it was off of, but it was sitting on the ground near the LF tire of a reasonably late model Silverado, which has no connection to an air filter of that configuration that I'm aware of. Regardless, I've been kicking around changing my carb air intake from the present cowl location, to one that picks up the air from in front of the radiator. I haven't had the chance to measure the pressure difference (at speed) between these two locations yet, but my gut feeling is the air is denser in front of the radiator than at the entrance of the L88 scoop.
The second item was rather interesting. While looking at some loose suspension and steering parts under a BMW 328 (IIRC), I noticed several clean shiney bolts laying on the ground. Appearance-wise, they looked like stainless steel 12mm bolts (by about 1 3/4" long). I picked one of them up, and immediately noticed that it didn't have the weight of a steel bolt. I'm not an expert in titanium, but my impression is that titanium is a grayer color than SS or aluminum, so I don't think they're titanium. There was some lettering stamped on the bolt head (which was like a male Torx design), and some of the lettering didn't make sense to me, but it looked like it did have AL on another area of the head. So, I'm guessing these are aluminum bolts. I have no idea what they were used for (please clue me in if anybody knows), but I might just get a few of these next trip and try to find an appropriate place to use them on my car.
You can buy aluminum bolts at Mcmaster Carr:
https://www.mcmaster.com/screws/material~aluminum/hex-head-screws/
And titanium:
https://www.mcmaster.com/screws/hex-head-screws/material~titanium/
Listed titanium as 130ksi tensile vs. 30ksi for aluminum
https://www.mcmaster.com/screws/material~aluminum/hex-head-screws/
And titanium:
https://www.mcmaster.com/screws/hex-head-screws/material~titanium/
Listed titanium as 130ksi tensile vs. 30ksi for aluminum
69427
The Artist formerly known as Turbo84
Yeah, I looked at the titanium bolts a while back. I knew they wouldn't be cheap, but I hoped I could justify it by using them in high up places (intake manifold and header bolts) and up front (water pump, and alternator/pwr-steering pump brackets). But after doing the $/# weight reductiuon calculations, I just couldn't make the economics work.
I might head back to the junkyard and see if I can find some other BMW cars that have those aluminum bolts, and figure out what they were using them for.
Somehow, I anticipate some difficulty/frustration when they try to figure out a price for those bolts, as I can't see that there's a lot of guys who purchase those things.
vette427sbc
Well-known member
The other thing to consider is that those bolts are all metric...
rtj
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2011
- Messages
- 3,142
Guys are using these kubota alternators. Might require a pulley swap.
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/mini-alternators/50766/page1/
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/mini-alternators/50766/page1/
69427
The Artist formerly known as Turbo84
69427
The Artist formerly known as Turbo84
Front bumper support.
Next project is an aluminum replacement for the front bumper support (that big piece behind the center grille). IIRC a fellow VM member here weighed his and it came out at about 6#. Not a lot of meat there to remove, but it's in front of the wheelbase, and I'll take the weight loss whenever/wherever I can find it.
Next project is an aluminum replacement for the front bumper support (that big piece behind the center grille). IIRC a fellow VM member here weighed his and it came out at about 6#. Not a lot of meat there to remove, but it's in front of the wheelbase, and I'll take the weight loss whenever/wherever I can find it.
If you are describing the big U shaped brace, I have mine out right now. I weighed it at 6lbs 6oz.
I am close to installing that part on my car. I've been looking at it trying to learn how it functions to support the nose of the car (and the corner braces). There is a steel rod that goes from the front of the U shaped brace to the bottom of the radiator support (except for 68 and some early 69's). This rod probably does the bulk of the support of the nose but it would be more effective it it was mounted higher on the radiator support. That way there would be very little cantilevered load on the U shaped brace.
I need to come up with something there to accommodate a front mounted air filter, if that is the route I go.
I am close to installing that part on my car. I've been looking at it trying to learn how it functions to support the nose of the car (and the corner braces). There is a steel rod that goes from the front of the U shaped brace to the bottom of the radiator support (except for 68 and some early 69's). This rod probably does the bulk of the support of the nose but it would be more effective it it was mounted higher on the radiator support. That way there would be very little cantilevered load on the U shaped brace.
I need to come up with something there to accommodate a front mounted air filter, if that is the route I go.
69427
The Artist formerly known as Turbo84
Can you go into some more depth with your thought there? I've never seen much engineering discussion about the support structure there, and I've been curious about that small rod.
I've looked at that rod placement, and the only function I can see is a slight (half cycle) dampening if the front end starts vibrating at high speed and aero buffeting. I agree that a higher placement of the rod anchor point would improve support of the front end, but I suspect that the hood, when open, would compete for some of the same spatial area.
