weight shaving, part II

[thatK30guy]

Here's what I'm building:

'80 C20 cab, doors, fenders, hood, radiator support, inner fenders.

'74 Jimmy chassis.

DRW D60 front.

DRW D70HD rear.

454/350/205.

52" front and 56" rear springs.

A-Bomb with 12K Warn winch in front.

A winch mount for the rear, much like the front, also with a large winch, possibly a 12K Warn also.

H1 wheels with Swampers anywhere from 39" up to 42", just undecided for now.


My big thing is shaving weight. I want to remove as much metal as possible anywhere and everywhere inside. I'm talking of removing all the door glass and internals, the metal on the inside of the doors and put a sheet of aluminum to cover the hole. No glass at all.
Windshield and back glass will be replaced for lighter glass, not plexi-glass but someone else said the name, can't remember it now.
Want to remove the dash metal, etc. On the fenders, want to remove the inside metal and possibly lose the inner fenders, too. The hood will see the same, losing the inner braces. I don't care if the sheetmetal is gonna flop in the wind, etc. Its gonna be strictly a play toy.

What would be some guestimates on the overall weight of a truck like this if I skinned all the unnecessary metal and glass?

The bed is undecided for now, so leave that out of the calculation.

I'd like to aim for 4000-4500 lbs.

 

[73redblaze]

wait your using a th350 on a bb454?? i didnt know you could do that.... cab you?

 

[Stomis]

Lexan for the glass?

Ditch the entire dash/support and make something out of aluminum.

Aluminum heads for the big block. Ditch the 1 tons for hi-9's

 

[thatK30guy]

wait your using a th350 on a bb454?? i didnt know you could do that.... cab you?

Sure! As long as the 350 is built right.

Watch Powerblock's Xtreme 4x4 tomorrow. They're building a GM truck strictly for mud and Ian was going thru a TH350 last weekend. They're putting a BBC that puts out over 800 hp and almost 900 ft. lbs. torque.

 

[thatK30guy]

Thats it, lexan! Thanks!

Plans do call to rip out the entire dash assembly, metal and all. Not sure what I'm putting back in. Maybe nothing but simple brackets for a tach, water temp and oil pressure gauges.

 

[thatK30guy]

Oh yeah, hell no on the hi-9's. I've already got the DRW D60 and still looking for the 70 now. Not changing that at all.

 

[colbystephens]

take a look at my build thread - you can cut the bottom 6 inches or so and do a real moderate boat-siding like i've done, while retaining the "regular" blazer look.

 

[buefchris]

Dimple dye anywhere as much as you can on your sheetmetal, great strength and weight loss.

 

[RGV72BLAZER]

seriously? cutting back on weight on a GM is like dangling cupcakes in front of a kid and telling him not to eat them Lose the winch to save some more weight as well...dimple die as mentioned already...and only use as much cage as you need

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

You'll be lucky to get it down to 4500 IMO.

To save weight and cost, you can use one winch on the front that is mounted to a receiver hitch and use another receiver hitch on the back so that you can move the winch front to back as you see fit.

The firewall is heavy, removing weight there will help a lot.

Skin all of the sheetmetal.

The doors, even with the glass removed, are very heavy. Have you considered tube doors?

Ditching all of the glass will help a lot.

 

[Drey]

Fill your tires with helium.



Id ditch the doors for tube doors, and skin your hood. Loose the hinges etc. Use pin and clip race style that should save some too.

 

[gmc4cw]

I only have half of what you are gonna run and my truck is 4300. no doors, no inner fenders, no inner skins on the fenders or hood. tapered front end. no glass. minimal cage. no winch. I do carry a fullsize 44" spare and have a 21 gallon fuel cell though. without the spare and a smaller cell a winch would be a weight tradeoff.

I also have a 350/700/241. thats significantly lighter then your drivetrain.


the one thing I noticed is that the body does help with frame flex. the more I cut off of sheetmetal the worse it got.

 

[twoslo4five0]

if you dont have a motor yet use a caddy 500 insted of a 454 same weight if not lighter than a sbc...plus it makes more torque

 

[deadlew]

Go disk on the rear, get 1/2 ton caliper brackets for the front (a little weight but it adds up), spool the Dana 60 (if your type of wheeling will make it liveable), spool the 70 (if you can find one), aluminum water pump, aluminum intake, headers. Cut about 12 inches off the rear of the frame and make a cross member/rear spring shackle mount.

PaulC

 

[thatK30guy]

if you dont have a motor yet use a caddy 500 insted of a 454 same weight if not lighter than a sbc...plus it makes more torque

Oh yeah, sure, give me one and I'll run it.

I've already got the 454, so you can't beat free. I'm not gonna try and find a Caddy motor and at the same time have to change the tranny, too.

 

[thatK30guy]

Go disk on the rear, get 1/2 ton caliper brackets for the front (a little weight but it adds up), spool the Dana 60 (if your type of wheeling will make it liveable), spool the 70 (if you can find one), aluminum water pump, aluminum intake, headers. Cut about 12 inches off the rear of the frame and make a cross member/rear spring shackle mount.

PaulC

Disc brakes are planned for the rear.

Haven't really thought about spools but now you mention it, I may lean towards them now.

Not cutting the frame. The plans for now call for the C20 cab. If I find a '73, '74 or '75 K5 tub in good shape later, I may swap that back onto the frame. I've still got my heart set on a full convertible.

 

[twoslo4five0]

Oh yeah, sure, give me one and I'll run it.

I've already got the 454, so you can't beat free. I'm not gonna try and find a Caddy motor and at the same time have to change the tranny, too.

iirc the trans bolts up...your trying to save weight every pound matters

 

[thatK30guy]

Caddy engines use the BOP bellhousing.

 

[smalltruckbigcid]

Its the bop pattern and if you need an engine and tranny combo Wes....I have several

 

[thatK30guy]

Hell no, don't need no more motors or trannys. I've got my 454 and planning for a TH350 for it.

Thanks anyways.