[rohrt]

I'm wondering how many are under 3k lbs with of course a HT car?

I have always thought about how light I could make my Hard top 68 without sacrificing too many creature comforts. Not thinking race car at all.

I would still want an all steel body. I wonder if I could shave off 500 lbs and not hate it?

Random thoughts
RideTech fiberglass rear springs
Manual disc brakes
Manual steering??? Don't know if I could do that.
manual transmission
Aluminum top end (Or dare I say all alum LS)
Aluminum Wheels

Would like to hear how much others have weighed in at.

[4dblnkldude]

#3600 with me in it and 1/2 tank of gas. PS and PB. Two radios, E heads, still have front sway bar, ford 9 with posi and cal tracs. That was with heavy 18" torq thrust wheels I have lightened it with Weld RTS-71 rims. Dont know what I shaved off there.

[JLMounce]

3400 wet without me in it the last time it was scaled. Aluminum top end, no AC, th400, moser 12 bolt.

Can you get these car below 3k? Yes. Will it be fun to live with on the street? Unlikely.

That said, there are some things you can do to lighten them up without affecting how they feel to drive around.

Stock style discs with Wilwood aluminum calipers
Fiberglass or carbon front inner wheel houses
Fiberglass/carbon fiber hood
Aluminum top end or a complete aluminum engine
Manual trans
Aluminum driveshaft
Fiberglass/carbon fiber trunk lid
Lighter suspension components
Light weight battery
Forged aluminum wheels. 17” cast aluminum wheels aren’t all that much lighter than 15” steel wheels.

Beyond this you start to make sacrifices for driver comfort.

Sound treatment, carpet, headliner
Rear seat delete
Basic door cards
Stereo delete
HVAC delete
Front inner wheel houses removed

On my car as an example, doing the top list would likely achieve a wet weight somewhere around 3200-3250 lbs. that’s actually pretty respectable, but it’s probably about 4K in parts on top of what I already have. I’m not chasing 10ths, so it’s not something I’m worried about.

[rohrt]

Thanks for the replies.

I found this interesting
https://firstgenfirebird.org/firebir...ma_page12.html

[76TA462]

Man I feel overweight LOL. My TA came in at 3760 a few years ago. That was with aluminum heads and intake, but with a full size spare wheel and tire. I might have shaved a few pounds since with the swap out of TH400 to 2004R, but I added AC. All the other mods couldn't have made enough difference for the greater weight than the others mentioned. Clean car, clean metal. Generally OEM inside and out. Guess I'll have to toss the spare and rear seats.

[b-man]

My brother has a ‘69 hardtop which overall is probably 50 pounds heavier than a similarly equipped ‘68. It is a heavily optioned 350 2-barrel TH400 car with A/C, P/S, P/disc brakes, power driver seat.

We weighed it at our local 1/4 mile track and it was 3700+ so definitely not a lightweight.

Another friend we raced with had a ‘68 hardtop that weighed 2950 but it was a gutted low-10s race car. It was equipped with an all iron 400/TH400. Built with aluminum mini-tubs, Weld Draglites, Ford 9” rear/ladder bars/leaf springs/subframe connectors, no front inner fenders, stock drum brakes/front suspension and probably a 10-point cage. It may or may not have had a fiberglass hood.

Getting under 3000 pounds and keeping any kind of creature comforts is not gonna happen I’m sorry to say. You might be able drop a couple hundred pounds but that’s about it.

If you have not yet put aluminum heads and an aluminum radiator that’s the most practical way to drop weight along with a lightweight battery. This way you’ll be adding horsepower and dropping weight from the front of an already front-heavy car, win win.

Don’t ruin your nice quiet and mostly rattle-free street car trying to dump 500 pounds. Add horsepower instead to make up for that comfortable weight of insulation and upholstery.

[76TA462]

Oops on the generation. :>)

[JLMounce]

Originally Posted by 76TA462

Oops on the generation. :>)

I was going to say, that appeared more like a 2nd gen weight.

There are a handful of carbon parts that can really help the weight on these cars without that sacrifice to driver comfort. That gets really spendy though.

Anvil makes inner fenders, doors, hoods, trunk lids and filler plates. There are a number of custom places that can do roof skins etc.

This Mustang live in my area. It's a Classic Recreations vehicle and aside from the chassis is in fact 100% carbon fiber. The owner claims it weighs right at about 2800 lbs wet and is powered by a 750hp TVS blown coyote.

[rohrt]

I guess the link I provided above that showed a curb weight is pretty accurate then.
FIREBIRD 400
Hardtop Coupe 3401
Convertible 3686



Accessories & Equipment Differential Weights Remarks
Automatic Trans. - 10 With OHC L-6 Engines
Automatic Trans. - 4 With 350 V-8 Engines
Automatic Trans. + 32 With 400 V-8 Engines
400 HO Engine Opt. + 0 Increase over Firebird 400
400 Ram Air Eng. Opt. (a) + 0 Increase over Firebird 400
Power Steering + 29
Power Brakes + 10
Air Conditioning +117 With OHC L-6 Engines
Air Conditioning +123 With 300 & 400 V-8 Engines
Radio & Man. Antenna + 9

[4dblnkldude]

Originally Posted by 76TA462

Oops on the generation. :>)

My 81 TA weighed 3620 full everything with t tops. I weighed the 69 years ago in the 90's. PS but no brakes, 10 bolt all iron block/heads, interior was 3460#. This was probably 95ish.