gutting a charger-what can i take out?

[speeddragon]

what all can i replace or pull out of my 84 SC to lighten it? i'm already eliminating the rear seats, from the rear seat step-up to the rear wall will be a sheet of aluminum, replacing the front seats w/ lightweight racing buckets, removing all the insulation, no spare or jack(except on long trips), pulling the wiring harness and making a new one w/ only necessary circuits, removing all a/c components, fiberglass hatch. can anybody think of anything else i could save weight with? i would like to get this car down to 1800-2000 lbs w/ a cage installed, if possible. how about the dash, if took it out and made one out of aluminum, could i save some weight there? i'm thinking about keep the heater core and assembly, because it will be street driven.

thanks for any suggestions.

[Outlaw_78ca]

Sounds like a good start here is a couple more ideas, replace the rear quarter windows and hatch window with lexan or speedglass (it is sold through Summit racing) to gut a couple more pounds, take the dash out and replace it with aluminum like you said (just reuse the stock cluster or go with racing guages) and since there doesnt seem to be any of the interior left might as well toss the door panels and replace them with aluminum as well also toss the window crank mechaninisms, ok why you might ask besides the 20 or so lbs tossed out? it will make the doors lighter and if you want to still be able to open and close your windows just take a strap of canvas or leather and put a snap (the female side of the snap) on one end and attach it to the window on the other then mount two snaps on the door (the male side of the snaps) one at the position the end of the strap would be when the window is closed and one at the position when it is open. (seen this done on an old B body wagon in a mopar mag and thought this idea was cool)

P.S.a good source to get a complete 14-18 circuit wiring kit is painless wiring you can find this at summit racing also.

[gerber1125]

there are many lighweight engine/tranny components you can buy to lighten the load a bit like flywheels, pulleys, internals, etc etc

[89daytonaTII]

you never mentioned removing the metal bumpers. i think you already mentioned cutting out the spare tire well. gut the doors and use some thin metal as a replacement. take a hole saw or to all over the inside of the car and remove that useless metal.

[glhs636]

click on my www. below and look through some of my pics
that should get you started for awhile
thedodgegarage.com has a full list of ideas to consider also
1800-2000 with driver street legal will be tough
Not sure how stringent the law is up there with inspections
I wouldn't go with an alum. flywheel in our turbo street/strip cars
But alum. underdrive pulley yes
Garden tractor battery
alum. radiator
light weight wheels
plastic headlight conv.

remove everything bolt down or welded in pretty much
replace anything steel with alum.

[speeddragon]

" replace the rear quarter windows and hatch window with lexan or speedglass "

i had thought about that, how hard is that to install?

"you never mentioned removing the metal bumpers."

they're aluminum actually. i thought about removing them too, but i think the front one supports the bumper cover, and i kinda wanted to keep the rear one incase some crackhead isn't paying attention and rear ends me. also to help w/ weight distribution, i'm more concerned about the handling on the road than traction at the strip.

"I wouldn't go with an alum. flywheel in our turbo street/strip cars"

why, loss of momentum?

i'm planning on some lightweight 17's, what's the plastic headlamp conversion and where can i get it?

inspections? what inspections? lol pretty much anything goes up here, as long as you got lights and nothing's falling off you car.

[Outlaw_78ca]

if you are able to remove/replace glass windows the lexan goes in the same way if i recall right the quarter windows are held in place in a rubber surround that slips over a lip on the metal body (there is a channel for the glass to slip into in the rubber part and there is also a channel on the rubber that the lip on the body slips into) (i will double check this on my 84 charger to be sure) i am not sure but the rear hatch window should be done the same way (once again i will double check on my 84) so all you do is get the lexan cut into a replica of the original glass and put it in place of it (just watch how you wash the windows from now on though lexan is very easy to scratch not sure about speedglass)

[89daytonaTII]

I was under the assumption this was going to be a race car. i was also going to suggest replacing the gas tank with a small under hood one. but not if you wanna drive it very far.

[speeddragon]

nope, it'll be a street legal car, but i may run a smaller fuel cell. basically i'm building a weekend warrior to go out and eat some rice with. i really want to kick a Supra's or NSX's ass w/ this thing.

[fiat22turbo]

You can buy composite body panels from:

http://www.hairyglass.com

http://www.showcars-bodyparts.com

They have front and I believe rear quarter panels along with the hood and door skins.

That will drop more than a few pounds and if done right, it should still streetable.

Good luck,