F(MJ) body vehicle Weight? Anybody look into NASA

[greymouser7]

Am interested in National Auto Sport Association Racing.

How hard is it to get an Aspen/Volare to 3050 pounds?

They have a graph of Horse Power & Torque to vehicle weight that begins with
< 310 FT/lbs & <260 HP at 3,250 pound vehicle (includes driver, measured immediately after race.) So 3050 pound car with me at 200 pounds.
max weight is 3455 lbs at 317 ft lbs of torque & 267 hp

Fiber glass hood, fenders, trunk lid... ?bumper?

lexan door glass, possibly windshield

aluminum radiator (yet stock battery)

bumper mounts?

gutted interior (pro car seats??)

chrome moly roll cage?

manual transmission & manual steering,, lowering the car???

light weight rims? how?




The engine power (must include certified dyno certificate) seems ridiculously easy to reach-not sure about how efficient compared to 4.6 ford mod motors or 5.7 LT gm engines.

600cfm carb (holley 4776), edelbrock performer aluminum intake, rev limiter allowed, stock looking alternator, no antifreeze, 1.6 roller rockers allowed, SFI harmonic balancer, ??GM H.E.I. distributor allowed ?? Davis Unified??, aftermarket oil pan, 10-1 iron compression -- 11 to one aluminum head compression max, any bearings gaskets or fasteners, any plugs or wires, no fuel coolers, fuel cell allowed but not necessary, almost any fuel pump, restrictors {to lower power to the max required allowed but must be listed on the dyno sheet}, no smog, ignition components must be OEM stock or equivalent, stock located OEM ish water pump...



I have a scatter shield, wheel width (74") (between both tires) and front to back length distance meets requirements for the stock-racecars, super coupe wheel flares allowed, along with stock spoiler and stock front airdam, no traction control, the other guys get to use T56 transmissions ??, un restricted brake pads, 16" or 17" rims {probably run mustang rims}18 pounds+, max tire size 275/40R17 allowed, any gear smaller than 4.11, rear discs allowed, Gm is allowed an upper control arm length of 19.25", min ride height is 4.5"...

 

[Dr Lebaron]

I see 2 problems before the weight issue.
I'm not sure about their rules in fine print but engine rules are built around GM/Ford, so the Mopar engine has to be transformed into GM/Ford rules.
That brings the Mopar engine down.

Also does it have to be stock front steering or can you go to rack and pinion?
That K frame is a big chunk of weight to lose.

If you need stock steering, aluminum A arm's from Frank's Racing saves weight and are strong.

 

[greymouser7]

There are multiple classes, including unlimited (extreme), & modified, but I wanted to kick the ant pile over & was considering the Camaro-Mustang challenge. It would irritate the ford chevy guys, & eventually they would protest me out (have heard countless dirt track racers say the same about running MOPARS), but to race several races would be tremendous fun.


Honestly I think stock F bodies are around 3600 pounds, which is a tremendous amount of weight to lose.

The focus of the rules is to run OEM as much as possible (360??), and then a balance of fairness between the makes.

The K member can be modified (lightened SOME), and you are on point about some front end weight. I doubt that I could run aluminum heads since they did not come stock (every other word is OEM).

Probably would not run a 360 either because A:
the maximum allowed performance level is so low,
B: the largest displacement engine is a 5.7 GM 350 with a .060 over bore which is 5.91 liters or 360ci,
so,
I think I can have a 360 crank ground to 318 main journal size, OR 15 years ago I bought a 273/318/340 main journal sized 3.51" stroke (yellow steel?? lesser alloy) forged crankshaft and use it in a bored out 318 block with some 302 (OEM stock) heads & 273 adjustable rockers...

My guess is the Horse Power is not the concern, so much as keeping the largest torque band within (track length, corners dictated) the necessary rpm band.

 

[Dr Lebaron]

• Fiberglass fenders. Some fiberglass companies used to sell fiberglass fenders for Aspens & Volares. They have been discontinued now, but if you can find these fenders used..

• Fiberglass bumpers. Some fiberglass companies also sold fiberglass bumpers for Aspens & Volares. They have also been discontinued, but if you can find these used.

• Bumper shocks. These items weigh a ton. You can cut the brackets off the shocks and weld them to the exhaust tubing with the same diameter. The shocks are supposed to be filled with hydraulic fluid, so it needs to be removed before you apply any heat to them or they could explode. You can also make up some mounts out of 16 gage steel. The downside of doing anything to the bumper shocks is that your frame could be heavily damaged if you have an accident. Weight savings: approximately 75 lbs for all four shocks.

• Bumper core. The inner structure of the bumpers has a lot of excess metal. Cut whatever you don't need, as they only really need to be a medium between the bumper "shock" and the bumper "skin" Member CudaZappa lost 50lbs out of his Chrysler 300 using this method. Weight savings: 50 lbs.

• Swap to aluminum bumpers. M-Body chrome bumpers weigh about 43 lbs without the bumper shocks. Bumpers from 78-83 Fairmonts or 74-77 Non-Z28 Camaros were made of aluminum to save weight and meet CAFE standards. They can be adapted to M-bodies. Fairmont bumpers are 73.62" wide and 74-77 Non-Z28 Camaro bumpers are 74.4" wide. For reference, M-body front bumpers are about 74.2" wide.

• Drop from a dual exhaust to a big single. single 3.5" flows as good or better than dual 2.5",but has 30% less volume of metal.

 

[Dr Lebaron]

• Denso alternators are lighter than stock factory alternators. Weight savings: 10lbs.

• Underhood insulating pad. Weight saving: less than 5 lbs.

• Use a mini-starter. You can use a mini starter for a 1989 Diplomat or any 90s Dodge ram truck. Weight saving: 5 to 10 lbs.

• Manual Steering box. Replace your power steering system with a manual steering box. Weight saving: 40 to 50 pounds.

• Transmission - Remove the factory dampener. This is a piece of solid iron that bolts to the tailshaft to reduce drivetrain harmonics. It is very heavy and you can do without it. Weight saving: 15 to 20 pounds.