68MustangCoupe

So. I'm bored so LETS TALK WEIGHT REDUCTION! For those who like to race their cars on the track, on the street, where ever!

I have a 68, and the heaviest I've found specs says is 3900Lbs. I'd assume Most years until the fox body was around this weight give or take so it's a good round about number to use.

I'm not gonna really invest in weight reduction stuff being as my car will just be a daily cruiser with good power to stomp some a few imports that need to be stomped BUT, I figure some people will, want to, and would benefit from a good conversation about it!

So, things that can be replaced by...FIBERGLASS! Fenders, hood, front and rear bumper and the trunk.
The Stock Radiators pretty heavy, ALUMINUM FTW. Aluminum: Drive Shaft, heads, RIMS Suspension parts, Lighter exhaust.
Being Bare minimum on the radio! *No subwoofer system* *Or no radio if you hate music *
Taking out the back seat, and putting in Light weight front seats, spare tire stuff, I've heard A/C...
If You wanna take the chance on not getting Caught *If you drive street* Lexan windows!

How much weight would that shed on an estimation level?
Would it really be worth it?
And what other Ideas does anyone have that would help the would be racer weight shedder that doesn't wanna ask the specific questions!

1slow67

That is way more than they actually are. A fastback with a 289 weighs around 3400lbs. I've read my 6cyl weighs about 2300( I doubt it) and a V8 coupe weighs about 2600lbs.

68MustangCoupe

Okay then we can change the round about average number for the Classics to 3400 and then subtract the difference from the estimation *Assuming someone wants to do the estimations *I failed math, so I'm not a good candidate**

andrewmp6

Fiberglass hood fenders trunk bumpers take out the back seat no jack or spare.You can go as far as taking the sound deading out but your ears won't like that.If it was my car fiberglass hood and trunk and spend the rest on power adders or stroker kit etc etc.

remicks

Yeah BA is alot closer in the weight department, 3900lbs is way too much, that is in the neighborhood of the new GT500. Even the new GT weighs about 3500lbs with all the heavy safety equipment, ancillaries and everything else it has compared to our classics. From what I have read a 67/68 coupe with the 289 can weight in the area of 2600-2800lbs depending on options and how full your tank is.

But fiberglass is the way to go; hood, fenders all that good stuff, there is even a whole front end fiberglass replacement as one unit. Rear seat delete, different seats. Replace the steel wheels with aluminum. I would recommend replacing the factory sound deadener with something like RAAMMat or similar not completely remove like andrew said.

4reboy

i still think 2600-2800lbs is a little on the low end for a V8... I'd MAYBE say that for a I6 depending on tranny. They still don't weigh much though, from what i remembered it was around 3000 something.

Another thing to consider is fastbacks weigh considerably more than coupes, but I'm not sure where the convertibles fit in. I believe a 69 coupe with an I6 was around 3200 lbs and a 69 sportsroof with a 351 is around 3600-3700 lbs.

I'll try to find some more info online

EDIT: musclecars.howstuffworks.com says the 69 428 cj has a curb weight of 3600 lbs, so a 351 mach is even less, and the I6 probably weighing in around 3400?. It also stated that in 1969 the curb weight increased by 140 lbs, so a 67/68 would probably be around 3200 or for the smallest engine/tranny, and that could put the 65/66's closer to 3000, maybe a little under. All these numbers are complete BS but seem like decent estimations...

remicks

That 3200 just seems heavy to me for my car. I would like to go weigh it but I there isn't really any truck scale out here.

andrewmp6

Alum parts like heads and intake will shave some off also.

THUMPIN455

Since I dont race the Fords I never cared how heavy they are, but 3900 is way heavy unless you are talking a 71 with a 429. The early Mustangs (and Falcons etc) are light, like around 3000lbs or less, and usually less. Ford has a way of making things bigger and heavier over time, so what starts out as a nimble easy to move car becomes a heavy underpowered pig in less than 7 years. Even the Fox Mustangs got heavier as they progressed, then the SN95 was heavier still with less power.

When I get it running I will run the Cougar across a scale and see how heavy it is with the Cleveland and whatnot. My guess is it will be around 2900 give or take a hundred.

urban_cowboy

I heard last night from Chad Knaus that new NASCAR Cup cars weight 3,300. NHRA Prostock cars have a weight of 2,350. Many of the tricked out strip muscle cars with fiberglass everything are 2,700-2,800. 3400-3500 sounds about right for a stock curb weight. If you did a bunch of weight saving, I would think you could be in the 3,000-2,900 range.