MEANMCHN
09-06-2014, 02:07 PM
After being happy with how the car has been running I've started replacing/removing things to lose weight in the car and also keep it live able.
In the interior I've removed the cd/tape head unit (which died any way), the Mach 460 sound system, power seats etc. All of that totaled about 70lbs, the power leather seats were by far the heaviest replacement item. After looking at some of the race cars I noticed none of them use a liquid based battery, instead opting for the glass mat battery from Braille. It was a bit of an experiment as Braille has a 6.6lb, 12, 13, 22, 26, etc., weight battery. Keeping in mind I don't have a stereo (the exhaust is so loud that listening to that shitty old Mach 460 try to overpower it was useless), I opted for the 6.6lb Braille lightweight race duty AGM battery. Turns out it works perfect, car starts great, power windows work great when the car is just in the on position as well. A friend who rallies his Subaru had a standard battery leak and it makes a fucking mess so the dry cell seemed like a perfect solution. I also don't want to go so far as to remove any of the interior panels though, especially the rear seat as at first glance the inside of the car looks fairly stock (minus the harnesses, race seats, etc).
The next piece I had reworked was the intercooler piping, originally mild steel with shitty welds I had it made out of aluminum, as well as a custom intake pipe for the supercharger while they were at it. The new intercooler piping has 4 couplings on it instead of about 10 prior as Matt welded all of it instead of relying on couplings. It also seems that the old piping had some pinholes in it at the welds so I'm now making 12psi of boost instead of 10psi. Weighed out the new intercooler piping being thinner aluminum and a huge lack of couplers saved about 11lbs, tweaked the exhaust for a 24lb weight loss and went from a 52lb battery to a 6.6lb version. So in 3 days the car has lost about another 80lbs, Jenny Craig would be proud.
Here are some pics.
New IC Piping:
1751
*The scoop comes off on the track and is just for looks, gotta look reasonable.
New Braille battery at old Motorcraft version:
1752
Braille battery in battery box:
1753
*The battery doesn't have to be vented but I left the pipe in there anyhow. I clamped it down with the old battery's clamp but the Braille is so light that the gauge of the cables make it almost impossible to move it laterally by hand.
In the interior I've removed the cd/tape head unit (which died any way), the Mach 460 sound system, power seats etc. All of that totaled about 70lbs, the power leather seats were by far the heaviest replacement item. After looking at some of the race cars I noticed none of them use a liquid based battery, instead opting for the glass mat battery from Braille. It was a bit of an experiment as Braille has a 6.6lb, 12, 13, 22, 26, etc., weight battery. Keeping in mind I don't have a stereo (the exhaust is so loud that listening to that shitty old Mach 460 try to overpower it was useless), I opted for the 6.6lb Braille lightweight race duty AGM battery. Turns out it works perfect, car starts great, power windows work great when the car is just in the on position as well. A friend who rallies his Subaru had a standard battery leak and it makes a fucking mess so the dry cell seemed like a perfect solution. I also don't want to go so far as to remove any of the interior panels though, especially the rear seat as at first glance the inside of the car looks fairly stock (minus the harnesses, race seats, etc).
The next piece I had reworked was the intercooler piping, originally mild steel with shitty welds I had it made out of aluminum, as well as a custom intake pipe for the supercharger while they were at it. The new intercooler piping has 4 couplings on it instead of about 10 prior as Matt welded all of it instead of relying on couplings. It also seems that the old piping had some pinholes in it at the welds so I'm now making 12psi of boost instead of 10psi. Weighed out the new intercooler piping being thinner aluminum and a huge lack of couplers saved about 11lbs, tweaked the exhaust for a 24lb weight loss and went from a 52lb battery to a 6.6lb version. So in 3 days the car has lost about another 80lbs, Jenny Craig would be proud.
Here are some pics.
New IC Piping:
1751
*The scoop comes off on the track and is just for looks, gotta look reasonable.
New Braille battery at old Motorcraft version:
1752
Braille battery in battery box:
1753
*The battery doesn't have to be vented but I left the pipe in there anyhow. I clamped it down with the old battery's clamp but the Braille is so light that the gauge of the cables make it almost impossible to move it laterally by hand.