CustomCarShop

I own a 1988 Camaro IROC-Z, and I am looking to reduce as much weight as possible for when I bring it out next year when its done. I already know where to get a fibreglass hood from, but does anyone make fibreglass doors, and fibreglass hatch, with plexiglass window, Also, T-Tops that arent glass? I also want to replace the side windows & possibly the windshield in plexiglass as well.

Has anyone ever done this before?

So far for weight issues, I have removed all the carpet & insulation stuff, I got this new lightweight insulation sound proofer stuff, for under the carpet, instead of carpet, im using vinyl floor. Removed A/C, Entire heating system, removed all unnecessary stuff behind dash, hatercore, etc, no stereo, took out the power windows, moved battery to back.

The car is going to be street driven. But I cant think of anything else to reduce wight. If anyone knows where I can purchase these items, please respond, thanks...

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

vinyl flooring? that must look like *****.

CamaroRS385hp

yeah i wanna see a pic of your floor

CustomCarShop

No, it actually looks awesome and is really easy to clean up. I also own a '99 Crown Victoria X-Police car, and it has Vinyl Floor in it. It look awseome. And id say the entire piece in my cop car weighs no more then 1LB. Its a really thin clean material.

anubiscougar

i'd love to have lexan windows as well.. and i'd love to have a fiberglass hood, i'm getting the ramair hood in about two weeks..

find anything, post it, plz.

1986redbird

Jeg's and summit both sell complete or individual lexan pieces for our cars, the complete kit is about $1000.00 or so but if you want weight reduction that's the deal, I wouldn't worry about the fiberglass for the hatch, the little bit of metal is not very heavy once you get the glass off of it. I haven't seen any doors yet but I have heard of them, from what I remember they are not that much lighter than steel because of the metal reinforcements in them (for street use). I also don't think the fiber glass would be lighter for fenders either, if you've ever had a fender off the car it's pretty light as it is. I think the biggest area for weight reduction is the glass, and if it has to be street legal I don't think they will let you run any lexan replacements anyway.

just face it, our cars are built heavy and there's not many ways to undo it and keep it street legal.

deadbird

This post my be of much interest to you (VFN fiberglass especially..) https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...lass+gfx+kits. Keep in mind, you're going to need a deep wallet for some of this stuff....

Air_Adam

Get an '82/83 factory glass hood at a wrecker... they are cheap and VERY light.

I think lexan T-Tops were available on some cars too, dunno which though.

87WS6

iTrader: (1)

For a street driven car this sounds a bit crazy to me. Getting rid of your carpet and radio to reduce weight is kinda out there. I know all the stuff adds up. But seriously why comprimise comfort and style for weight.

If you want to do something about the speed of the car MAKE IT MORE POWERFULL.

Seriously an engine swap would net better results than all this carpet and glass removal stuff.

And our cars are not that heavy. I know there are lighter cars. But face it all the stuff that is lighter and smaller has less torque and power in alot of cases. If not then a few bolt ons and some engine work more than makes up for that. Shaving 500LBS. off of a car will not get you better results than adding 100HP.

The only reason to do that kind of drastic weight reduction is if you are making a drag car that will not be driven on the street.

One of the appealing things about F-bodies is you can add power and end up in the low 12's or wharever and drive home in air conditioned carpetted comfort. Removing your interior just sounds like a waste of time.

Theres my $0.02. Sounds like I am talking to one of these Honda freaks that adds stickers to their car and removes the door panels to improve 1/4 mile times. It's your car and if it makes you happy to have it that way then go for it.

but spending a 1000 bucks on plexi-glass will not make you as fast as a 1000 worth of N20 or heads.

90firebird

if you live anywhere near southern california, i'd send you out to this junkyard where a camaro has one of those light hoods on it. its also got some spring loaded mechanism that lifts these butterflies on it. pretty cool

FLYNLOW92rs

iTrader: (53)

Lexan windows in a daily driven car, is extreme

You may want to look into some other options to save weight

Remove Spare
Aluminum Driveshaft
Remove Backseats
Remove seat belts for the back seat
4th Gen Gas tank
Plastic headlights
Lighter Rims


The day i spend $1,000 on some plexiglass.....

Hell swapping over to an LS1 engine will save you 150 lbs off the front of the car......and net you a stock HP rating of 325

CustomCarShop

You all have very good points. And I am adding alot of power to this car. and yeh I can easily get it into the low 12's high 11's. But if I do all the plexi glass & fibreglass stuff & whatever else I remvoed, I could be looking into Low 11's High 10's. The car is also only going to be driven in the summer, on weekendsd & ocasional weeknights. Thats why the no radio / carpet ac doesnt matter to me.

Not only for the matter, that I work at a car perofmance shop & get like 50% off, so the price of the stuff isnt that bad. Mind y9ou, im up in canada, so im still paying a fair bit.

As far as the vinyl floor goes, the carpet in my car, is really nasty and dirty & spent $200 to get it professionally shampooed, nad its still ****. Vinyl is easy to clean, and it looks awesome.. The vinyl in my police car isnt some hack job. Its an actual moled piece. Plus the vinyl floor piece is ponly $13 for our cars, compared to the price of aftermarket carpet.

And, why arent the lexan windows legal? Or what about this speedglass stuff? Whats the difference.

IROC57TPI

What he said -----> 87WS6

87WS6

iTrader: (1)

It just seemed a bit excesive to me. I was just asking what the reason was. Whatever you want to do to your car is fine by me. I don't have to drive it.

I apologize if it sounded like I was flaming anyone. That was not my intention.

CustomCarShop

None taken dude, everythings cool. Ill try & post pics along the way. Im probabbly not getting the doors anymore, but are the lexan windows illegal?

anubiscougar

ok... lexan windows.... i'd understand them being illegal if they didn't roll down... which, i don't believe the lexan typed windows do... the only ones i've seen, are bolt on.... so.. that would explain that, unless you could get ones that are just like youre regular ones...

my reasoning for believeing this is due to the fact of amored vehicles.... their glass is impenatrable moreso than lexan is. you can atleast shoot thru qtr inch lexan(inch thick, nm, lolol), but bullet proof glass on cars is more durable, cept it doesn't bend, :-P BUT ANYWAYS... you can't really break it, so... i duno why lexan would be illegal...

though.. it most likely is... cuz the govt is a poopie head. :-/. (ya.. i'm one of those kinda ppl. hehe)

Metal

I've never heard of lexan windows being illegal, well from where i'm from that is. I know a guy with a blazer with lexan windows all around, drives it around town aswell. They're tinted dark so i don't believe any authorities really notice them. The only thing is the lexan that was put in the back took weight off the rear, so he lost a bit of traction.

anubiscougar

lollololololoololololol :sillylol::sillylol::sillylol::sillylol::sillylol:

it's late and i'm hungry, plz excuse my post. :-) hehe.

CrazyHawaiian

There are some things you can get away with on the street, and some thing you cant. I'm building one of my cars for track use only, but I'm also keeping it somewhat street legal so I can take it out from time to time (I have hookups!). The idea is to mke it look stock on the exterior so nobody notices. I am building the car for roadracing, more specifically drifting, and weight balance is very important. I take it very seriously. I have not started any weight reduction on my car yet, currently it is completely gutted and I'm ready to get started. While I'm doing different weight related mods, I will be weighing the car on a cornerweight scale to ensure I have neutral cornerweighting and balance. Of course before I start, the car needs to be almost completed (engine,driveline, etc). Here's a list of what I'm considering doing (and still keeping an almost stock appearance):

Gutting the Interior
Aluminum Dash
Aluminum Console
Lightweight Race Seats
Gutting the doors (only shell and latches)
Bolt on Lexan Windows (only the sides, not the windshield)
Lexan T-Tops
Rear Lexan Hatch
Aluminum heads
Tubular Suspension Parts
Leightweight racing struts/shocks
Battery relocation
Gutting the hood (only shell)
Gutting the front bumper (only the shell, dirt racing supports)
4th gen Gastank (also accounting the weight of fuel)

anubiscougar

um... ok, what is this about 4th gen gas tank? how much, and how much less does it weigh or hold, or... space taking... wahtever... and where can i get one? i have a list of things to do to my car, and honestly, i want new stuff in it... the list is for about 1.5 to 2 years work...since i'm a student.

SC82TA

I think its because the 4th gen gas tank is made of plastic.

CrazyHawaiian

Yes it is 11 pounds lighter, but I'm not sure about rewiring the fuel pump or the sending unit.

anubiscougar

ah... well, my gas guage is off too... would changing the tank fix it? i have a leak at one of the entree's/exits.. so, i need to get it fixed anyways... and how much is a 4th gen gonna cost?

LaxStreetRacer

I too believe our cars are a bit on the chunky side....I have looked into everything you are asking for and its all out there. I unfortunately cant remeber the place that sells it all but they were in Florida somewher and I found them by just searching with like yahoo or something. I feel the lexan windows are a good idea...at least for the hatch but i dont know about it if you cant roll the side windows down I just couldnt deal with that...because I deleted my a/c to save weight. Also with all the fiberglass parts you are talking about, when i called the guy that makes them he said I would be verry foolish to use them on the street. They make a one piece front end and fiberglass doors. The doors are about 50lbs. a piece lighter...but...1. you cant roll the widows down, 2. the guy said if i got hit in the door they would drive right thru because they ARE NOT internally reinforced. Same goes for the 1 piece front end if you get hit it explodes. My .02 cents worth, if you seriously want to save weight then get a pin on glass hood...they weigh like 7lbs., and maybe those lexan windows.... good luck with your project and keep us posted if you find any other good weight savings.

LaxStreetRacer

I couldn't find the original site i was talking about but these places have a lot of glass stuff for our rides.

http://www.wsracingfiberglass.com/products.htm
http://www.showcars-bodyparts.com/8292cam.html

hope this helps...also whoever said the glass fenders aren't worth it is absolutely correct..there is almost no weight savings there.

FenixBloodstone

I would like to know of a place where I could get the whole rear window hatch, I would like to have this replaced with something that is not transparent. Aluminum or something. It don't have to weight less it just has to be non flexable, I am not looking to lighten the rear end at all just want something that is going to with stand 2 - 15" Woofers pounding upwards at it. (like my Rock loud) I have done some installs in other cars and trucks and have seen what 1000 watts can do to a window. I would not want to have to clean out the glass out of sound equipment. I would also like to be sharpe looking.... the thing is it has to be solid and not flex to much... and I don't want to start any probs here but don't you want rear end weight? and make the front more lite?

Fenix

Street Lethal

iTrader: (16)

There was a company awhile back that offered the 'Kelvar' hatch (fiberglass with 'plexi' window).... I believe the project car 'Snake Skinner' (89 Corvette LT5) from Motor Trend had one, and they claimed that it was the main reason the car went from 0-60 in 3.7 seconds....

The F-Body's always trailed behind the Corvette.... as far as new upgrades (of course), but I remember them mentioning the same hatch for the F-Body's soon to follow (and this article was back in the early to mid 90's!

Maybe the company still exists???

Just a thought!

CrazyHawaiian

If you plan to drive the car on the street the cops would be all over a non transparent hatch. Guarantee thats against the law. But you are right, the glass restricts how wild you can go with your sounds. Maybe you should ditch the 2 15's and go with a single 13w7. Just an idea.

As for weight reduction, yes there is a lexan rear hatch. Its around $500 and labeled as a firebird hatch (but will also fit a Camaro). Forget the name of the company that sells it.

Air_Adam

Hell, just a swap from cast iron to aluminum heads will shave off 50 pounds or more.. iron to aluminum intake will shave prolly 15 lbs... both will kick up the power too.

Just a set of aluminum heads, aluminum (carb) intake, '82/83 glass hood will probably shave 200lbs off it.

FenixBloodstone

In Michigan as long as the side windows are not tinted there is not a problem... there will be no other tint anywhere on the car. got into too much trouble with side windows tinted on my last camaro... up to a $150.00 if you don't remove it.

I wish you knew the name of the product, or the company that makes it... I have been looking online and no luck. I am sure that it is prob easy to find just maybe need to step back and look in a week or so.... sometimes when you are not looking for something it tends to show up with out even trying... but if anyone does know the name of the product or company that makes it please forward it to me... fjvictimix@aol.com

83crossfireZ28

heres what you want
http://www.eharwood.com/products/db....records=Search

hoods, doors, whole front clips, decklid, etc...

FenixBloodstone

THANKS... I was looking and looking. But I knew that someone else would know... Thanks again....

Irhal

for the records... fiberglass fenders won't be lighter than sheetmetals ones... the hood won't be much lighter as well, the 3rd gens use very thin sheet metals... as for fiberglass doors... I have a 4th and a 3rd gens and the doors weight about the same... as a matter of fact, botch cars weight rather the same weight and the 4th gen has more fiberglass on it than it has sheetmetal... you want to reduce weight? get a notch back instead oa a hatch back... aluminium heads and driveshaft and stuff... don't try to modify the body cause it'S what weight the less on that car... keep in mind that we drive muscle cars, too, not some exotic italian car...

acidboy

While you're at it, you should hit the gym. May as well reduce weight as much as you can.

Just kidding ya man.

I however do have to agree that I think this sounds a bit excessive. I would say that the radio and the windows are not going to slow you down that much, especially if you are adding to the engine.

On another note, how safe would fiberglass doors be? I would think that in a T-Bone accident, the bastard would shatter into a thousand pieces. Not something I'd like to be in

Irhal

a door is reinforced with steel bars... that is what protect a person against impacts.. not the sheetmetal or the fiberglass

acidboy

But if you still have big steel bars in the doors, isn't it rather pointless to bother with the fiberglass? As you had already posted, thirdgens use a very thin sheetmetal.

Irhal

exactly... which is why I suggested to concetrate elsewhere than trying to convert your sheetmetal body to a fiberglass one... the only major weight reduction you can do (safely) on the body is to get rid of the hatch

FenixBloodstone

I know that I am not looking to lose weight really maybe on the engine... but body no... the rear hatch I like to lose because of I know that I will break it over a ton of low end bass... I have seen it happen... and it is something that I do not want to happen to me....... so weight is not the issue for me it is stregnth of the piece......

Fenix

CrazyHawaiian

Well usually when people justify spending the $$ to covert body parts to fiberglass, they have already done the usual weight reduction mods like aluminum heads, etc. The weight differences part by part are not huge, but added together they can make a difference. And usually when they can justify the safety hazards of a fiberglass body, they have a rollcage and are using the car for track racing applications. Thirdgens do use thin sheetmetal but alot of the parts have metal supports making them heavy. For example, the stock hood is heavy because of all the metal supports underneath to strengthen the hood. I took my stock hood and gutted it with a saw. Then I converted it to bolt on only (4 bolts). The hood is definately alot weaker, but it also ALOT lighter. And the mods were free. Considering this is for race application only (not a street car), the mod was definately worth the time. That mod alone wont make a big difference as far as the performance of the car, but like I said above, when combined with the rest of the weight reduction mods it will make a difference. Did you know the stock doors weigh almost 100 pounds each? I plan to drop 60 pounds a door by gutting the door (only outer sheetmetal left and latches) and going with bolt on lexan windows. (Remember again, this is a race car with a rollcage). Just with those three relatively cheap mods (all free except for the lexan windows) I will drop about 150 pounds from the car. Combined with the rest of my weight reduction plans I think I will drop over 350 pounds off the car. My goal is a sub 3000 pound car with no driver and a full tank of gas.

Weight reduction for a street car is a whole different story.

Irhal

I completely agree with you CrazyHawaiian, the problem is: the guy wants to drive it daily... and is it worth to shed 100 pounds from the doors in a daily driver to add a 100 more in a rollcage? hardly... but yes, for a race car I can see the use of fiberglass on the body... I just think it is pointless to switch sheetmetal with fiberglass on a daily driver cause you won't shave weight (if you want to keep the car safe)

FenixBloodstone

I could not see compromising safety for weight on a street driven car! To me this is not a good idea. Let’s think about this for a second. What would be the purpose in this? Well, that is an easy answer to make it lighter, in turn would make it easier to deliver more of the engines power to the street, and accelerate faster. First off I think in most places driving like that is illegal! I do not condone street racing at all! As with most of us here would probable agree? First off it is illegal, dangerous, and if you get caught lets just say expensive. The argument I here a lot. Well, if I wreck it is all on me the only person that will get hurt is me! It will only be money out of my pocket if I damage my car. Wrong! I beg to differ I had a friend of mine that was a rescue worker hurt very badly trying to get someone out of a car that was street dragging, plus someone that was watching was hurt, and they were just watching. Plus anytime emergency personal are sent out it is costing tax payers money. Now I won’t go and say I never drive fast. But let’s say that I have never gotten into an accident, or have gotten a ticket for speeding. Everyone I know takes their cars to the track, and races them there. There also is an events here in Michigan and some that I know of in California. That you get to drag against the highway patrol and local police. Legal street races here a few times a year. With “street legal cars”

I myself will be using some fiberglass on my car but never in any places where it will compromise safety. I would never gut out supports on a “street driven car.”

We have a problem here; Salt! Salt melts Ice and Snow fast and cheap. They use tons of it on the roads. Besides the fact that it tears up the street, but the Sheet metal too. Seen some cars that are only a few years old that look like Swiss cheese. Owners are not taking care of their cars. There is a fast and simple solution for this. Wash the car often in the winter, but don’t use very hot water or high pressure either. This will add life to the car, but rust will still take its toll in time.
This was a factor in getting some fiberglass “skins” on a car and not the whole car in Fiberglass. A great undercoating too. I find it amusing that so many people turn their noses at older cars because they are not “New” when it is the newer cars that look like hell in a few short years. I think that most of us that own an older car take better care of them than someone that spends like 40K for a new one.

So to me the only upside to having fiberglass skins on the car is rust. None of the supports or bracing will be removed but maybe coated in a rust prevention paint or Rubber coating. In fact my car will weigh about the sames as it did before all of the mods to the engine to make it more lite.