When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
So I'm more than happy with how my little 355 has ran. The best pass has been 11.68 at 111 mph with a 1.56 60 ft. And did that back to back. I scaled the car in the fall and it came in at 3415 with me in it. That was with about 8 gallons of fuel.
THE GOAL.... Try to click off an 11.50 . At this point I'm not doing much to the engine. What I'm gonna be trying is to shed appx 150 lbs from the car. Fiberglass bumper in the front , lighten up the core support , put in lexan quarter windows remove the regulators , remove the entire exhaust and just run extensions vs the exhaust and the cutouts.
Then there was a thought. I have a deep sump kenne bell oil pan. I usually run it at 7qts and that puts it around the 1qt low mark. So I know windage can eat up power so would it be worth the effort to run it at 6qts ?. I used to spin my old sbo to 6500 on just 6 qts of oil. This one I shift at 6700 but with my delayed reaction hits about 7 k.
Just trying for one last squeeze here before I dial it back to run a sportsman class.
Well first your going to need to find some more negative air. You could take some oil out, also theres this: LAT 15 weight break-in oil makes big HP, ice the intake depending on weather, radial tires if your not running them. The list goes on..........
I run radials. What I listed is what I'm gonna try . As far as weather goes union grove early spring at night it's perfect. If all else fails I will run midnight mayhem at Cordova . They run once a month until 2 AM. Late April 2 AM. Right along the mississippi river should be some good air.
I run radials. What I listed is what I'm gonna try . As far as weather goes union grove early spring at night it's perfect. If all else fails I will run midnight mayhem at Cordova . They run once a month until 2 AM. Late April 2 AM. Right along the mississippi river should be some good air.
I got that but you need to watch the baro, you need the high baro, heres an example:
Ok.....clearly stellar conditions at Union Grove, BUT lets take a look at a track with a crazy high baro, and this is why people who race at this next example track performance cannot be used as a yardstick because you will Much quicker/faster at this track also known as "DisneyLand"in my shop. Example 2: Atco NJ
I was thinking about this last night, 150 lbs is a lot, i know youve already taken some weight off, so that willmake it even harder.
what about the battery i know batts weigh 40+ pounds, if you could use one of those little jump boxes for the run VS a battery you might get 35 lbs right there!, that an a couple salads gets you 30% of the way to your goal .
also seeing vortecs post windspeed and direction has to factor in but thats a variable you really have no control over.
My full exhaust alone weighs 50 + lbs. I have removed alot of weight but the car still 80 percent all steel. I'm lightening up the core support alot the fiberglass bumper and aluminum brackets frees up 35 + lbs , the hopefully I can get another 20 lbs from changing the rear quarter glass to lexan. Hopefully I can take 20 lbs from the core support, . I'm also going to the modern plastic halogen head lamps for maybe a few lbs. In this situation I will just take the car to the track with no exhaust. I been towing it the last 2 years as I got a trailer again
Last edited by coppercutlass; Mar 21, 2021 at 06:56 AM.
My full exhaust alone weighs 50 + lbs. I have removed alot of weight but the car still 80 percent all steel. I'm lightening up the core support alot the fiberglass bumper and aluminum brackets frees up 35 + lbs , the hopefully I can get another 20 lbs from changing the rear quarter glass to lexan. Hopefully I can take 20 lbs from the core support, . I'm also going to the modern plastic halogen head lamps for maybe a few lbs. In this situation I will just take the car to the track with no exhaust. I been towing it the last 2 years as I got a trailer again
How did you get your car to 3415 with you in it? My 72 (BBO turbo 400) is 3730 without me and 1/2 tank of fuel. Of course I have done nothing to lighten it either.
So the verdict is in. 140 lbs removed plus my 10 is 150 . Add about 10 to 15 for the lexan and fiberglass stuff. Also I have kept my car light without much if any real interior. I got panels but no rear seat and just racing buckets , I run a fuel cell , and anything as far as bolts and brackets not needed where removed. When I re did all the body work I purposely bought the cheapest after market door skins to shed weight and I also removed the door crash bars which on these old cars don't do anything. I only weighed what was not gonna be on the car when racing. The exhaust has to go back on but comes off with 6 bolts and loosening the clamps. That's 55 lbs alone.
So I'm more than happy with how my little 355 has ran. The best pass has been 11.68 at 111 mph with a 1.56 60 ft. And did that back to back. I scaled the car in the fall and it came in at 3415 with me in it. That was with about 8 gallons of fuel.
THE GOAL.... Try to click off an 11.50 . At this point I'm not doing much to the engine. What I'm gonna be trying is to shed appx 150 lbs from the car. Fiberglass bumper in the front , lighten up the core support , put in lexan quarter windows remove the regulators , remove the entire exhaust and just run extensions vs the exhaust and the cutouts.
Then there was a thought. I have a deep sump kenne bell oil pan. I usually run it at 7qts and that puts it around the 1qt low mark. So I know windage can eat up power so would it be worth the effort to run it at 6qts ?. I used to spin my old sbo to 6500 on just 6 qts of oil. This one I shift at 6700 but with my delayed reaction hits about 7 k.
Just trying for one last squeeze here before I dial it back to run a sportsman class.
You could remove inner fenders,windshield wiper motor.
Been there and done that. I had glass fenders . I have a glass hood but for me the fenders are not worth it. They are light but due to still being a street car I'd rather have steel. With the car down 140-150 lbs is huge. Specially once I add the roll bars. ( 6 point ). I had people tell me 3415 was light even without a roll bar set up and my car is still 80 percent all steel. I'm happy going from here.
Last edited by coppercutlass; Mar 24, 2021 at 05:53 AM.
I have drum brakes which are lighter than the factory disc set up. But cheaper than anything light lol. I also have a sealed air tray to the ram air hood. To date there has been no change in MPH or ET with our without the sealed tray to the hood.
That's what I was hinting at. On my 69 Sport Wagon the drums were aluminum. Not sure if they were lighter. For the rear if you can get Grand National drums they are aluminum too.
I'm making my own fiberglass bumper as they are 10 weeks out and tracks open in 2 weeks here. And making my own poly carbonate 1/4 windows. Using the original bumper for a mold .
Ok, feel free to shoot these down or say you did them already.
Radio, speakers, glove box lid and liner, console, door panels, headliner, all courtesy lamps, back seat, passenger seat, all those seatbelts.
Reverse lights, front parking lights, inner high beams. Can it run on the alternator if you start it with the battery outside the car with a harness, then leave the battery in the pits?
If so, battery tray and hold down out with the battery at the strip. Obviously spare tire, jack equip. Any trim you can lose temporarily? Kick panels, sill plates, carpet. Package tray. Trunk insulation on divider. Passenger door inner door handle.
I was able to get my 69 down to 3170 with driver. Will likely be more like 3200 this year as I have added a few things. It is very difficult and expensive to get a car light while still looking nice. I really want to get my car to 3000 w/driver but the next steps to get there and still maintain the "theme" of the car are very pricey.
I was able to get my 69 down to 3170 with driver. Will likely be more like 3200 this year as I have added a few things. It is very difficult and expensive to get a car light while still looking nice. I really want to get my car to 3000 w/driver but the next steps to get there and still maintain the "theme" of the car are very pricey.
I can do all lexan and probably get the car down some more but honestly this is about as cut up as I really wanna do unless I buy the pro glass lexan. I still need to gut the dash internally and remove air box and stuff but I won't do that until I re wire the entire car . As far as going BBO. I'm an SBO guy. I would probably build a stroker before a BBO. They are plentiful , cheap and can live longer on the higher rpm in stock form than a BBO so from my stand point I just can't lol . Plus I think I'm in an area I'm comfortable with my driving has gotten better . I just need to cut some better lights and learn to dial in. As far as the shifting and all that goes inconsistently knock back to back runs damn near identical. but my crappy .06 lights and bad choices in dial in limited. I'm pretty much set on running an index class. Gonna hold the car back to 12.0. This is one last effort for an 11.5x which the car has already exceeded my e/t goal.
I'm making my own fiberglass bumper as they are 10 weeks out and tracks open in 2 weeks here. And making my own poly carbonate 1/4 windows. Using the original bumper for a mold .
Are you making a plug to then lay the bumper up or just laying it up over the bumper?
Just over the bumper. In theory the width difference won't be a whole lot. Plus most fiberglass bumper's fit like azz. I have done my fair share and they usually are all over the place.
I would not cut or remove anything you can't replace easily in case you want to return the car back to its more original street roots.
Are you running a factory transmission crossmember?
This car has been through hell and back. I cut up the core support to shreds lol. I got a cruiser which is why the cutlass will pretty much just be my track car. The olds powered pontiac is the summer daily.
The hole cutting was before we had nice strong light weight metals that where readily available. Chromoly changes are fairly light , you can get suspension components in the same material , lexan windows etc etc. Stuff that wasn't really common practice 50 years ago saves alot of work imo. My car is completely cut up and people told me 3415 was pretty good for still mostly being all steel but then again I'm a body man so I removed things I knew did nothing . I would like to be around 3300 when I add the 6 point in
.
