How light can you make a ChevyII?

[LS1NOVA]

I was thinking about a new project.

62-65 Chevy II
Fiberglass fenders, bumpers, trunk lid, hood
Aftermarket subframe
650hp LS3 all aluminum, plastic intake
Minimalistic everything else
Basically everything used would be the lightest parts available. Auto X terror, 9's in the 1/4 N/A, street worthy.

How light? 2600?

[rohrt]

Lots of money you could tie up in that. I have pondered over the same thing. fiberglass leafs in the back manual steering and breaks. Aftermarket seats. You would have to skirt the fine line between safety and comfort on many of the choices.

[Jim Nilsen]

Was talking to a guy at the Heidt's event that has a early 70's vette that is weighing in at 2750 lbs. that is as light as it gets and you might be able to squeak in that area if done right. 3000 lbs is a better goal. i always thought my Cormaro would come in around 2750 lbs but it ended up at 3150 lbs.

It seems to be the norm that an extra 250 lbs will show up out of nowhere. So if you can fill every empty pocket of frame and tubing with helium and keep it there you might do better and if not you can hook a valve to it and at least make squeaky voice sounds when describing your car.

[Kenova]

Give some thought to using an aftermarket front suspension (DSE has a nice one) then look for light weight front panels, doors, and deck lid. I'm sure someone is producing fiberglass or carbon fiber panels. You could also check with AMD. They just might have some panels in aluminum.
How light can you go? How deep are your pockets?

Ken

[SRD art]

Early Chevy IIs were pretty light to begin with, like under 3000 factory weight. Went to this site - http://www.automobile-catalog.com found a V8 car, a 65 with a 283. "official base curb weight 1338 kg / 2950 lbs ." Check out the site for more.

I had a 73 4 door that I lightened up. Stripped the interior except a bench seat, dash, and driver's door panel. 'Glass front bumper, hood, fenders, trunk lid. Stripped engine compartment, no heater box, etc. It was "street legal" and driven. With factory steel wheels I weighed it at the track and it was 2950 without me in it, so I shaved off roughly 400 lbs from factory specs. It was LOUD inside, and all the amenities like power brakes and steering made it not so fun to drive. Didn't bother with a radio because I wouldn't be able to hear it anyway. But, it was running 11's as a daily driver back in '92 when an 11 sec street car was somewhat rare.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/4drlaunch1-1.jpg

I understand LS blocks shave off weight over a standard small block, get an all aluminum LS and shave even more. You can prolly run a n/a LS on the bottle and be in the 9s. Turbos will add some weight but 9s should be easy. Use a bullet proof 10 bolt and save weight over a 9" or 12 bolt. Powerglides are lighter than a TH400. Who needs a spare tire? :) A roll cage for 9's prolly weighs around 100 lbs. Frame connectors prolly 20? But those weight increases will be compensated for in stiffness which equals better hook out of the hole.

With my car I think the 100lbs = 1/10th rule was fairly accurate. If you shave 100 lbs by stripping the interior you really have to ask yourself if the major sacrifice in comfort was really worth 1/10 of a second??? Looking back I would've been happy with a comfortable ride and low low 12s. I could've always added a 125 shot of the juice and knock a full second off. Prolly shouldda done that instead.

[Jim Nilsen]

Chevy II's and Nova's have always been basic stripped down car to start with right from the factory. it was all about cheaper and less was cheaper. If I had a dollar for every 68-75 Nova that dogtracked down the road after a couple of years or it's first huge pot hole I would have a lot of money my pocket.

I think you can get down to 2750 if you keep away from a cage but you really need the cage to help get the car more rigid. With your experience it will be interesting how low you can go these days with the new stuff.

[klean63]

This thread may help you https://www.pro-touring.com/showthread.php?20842-C4-front-susp-into-the-Nova

[moreHP]

I had a 64 that was tubbed with about 15" wide rear tires if I remember right, all iron small block(alum. intake), turbo 400 trans, no interior other than 2 jaz racing seats but it did have a full NHRA legal 10 point cage, all steel body parts, Fuel cell, light wheels in the front and that car weighed in at 2980LBS with a full load of fuel. Aluminum parts on the engine, radiator, etc. and less of a cage, glass body parts and I bet you could get down to 2700LBS or so in street trim.

[JMitch19]

My buddy has a 66 with an LS1, T56, and a c4 front sub. The floor is covered with dynamat and no attempts were made to save weight. The car weights just a touch over 2900.

[jeff s]

We have a 67 chevy II with a Schwartz Bolt in Full chassis, 675 hp LS7, All metal body parts, full interior with amp, subwoofer and stereo, AC, dynamatted, battery in trunk. Weighs 3000# and has 50/50 weight distribution.
http://www.schwartzperformance.com/projects.aspx?projectid=30

[parsonsj]

My 67 Chevy II (II Much) with 'glass hood and bumpers, LS2, TKO 600 (40 lbs lighter than a T56), aluminum center section, Kinesis wheels, aluminum fuel tank, aluminum radiator core support, aluminum front inner fenders, etc. weighed 3310 lbs. 3500 with me in it.

Why so much? Not sure, but it had a full frame, 16g steel firewall, fully custom floor, full interior, stereo (with sub-woofer), A/C, 12 pt. roll cage, 4 pt harness for 4 seats, and more. The car was so stiff that on an uneven floor, only 3 jackstands supported the car. The 4th wouldn't touch by about 1/8" or so.

As someone mentioned above, one of the reasons factory Chevy IIs are so light is that they are flimsy, with lots of flex. Fixing that issue and running big power takes some steel, and the car weighs more.

jp

[DLinson]

Whoohoo! I'm winning with the heaviest Chevy II so far, 3550 lbs, without me. Okay not something to be excited about. It does have a 51/49 weight distribution. I went overboard with the fancy stuff, AC, big stereo, full frame, full cage, lots of custom sheetmetal work, BBC, etc. I made the mistake of going to Goodguys shows in the early stage of the build and saw too many cool cars. You sure can tell the car is overweight as well the way it handles and responds. My '99 Mustang with Eibach springs feels more nimble and responsive than the Nova. The Nova does have twice as much HP so it is still more fun to drive.

I picked up a 68 Cougar to work on next. It will be a build with my son. We'll see how that one turns out.

Dennis

[Derek69SS]

How much auto-X? If a lot, I'd pull up the SCCA rulebook...

C-Prepared has minimum weight limits based on engine displacement... 2700lbs for V8 up to 5.1L, 3000lbs for V8 over 5.1L. Also, aftermarket subframe is something like 10% weight penalty. (been a while since I read the rules)

[Nicks67GTO]

I think my buddies 63' Chevy II was at 2850 ish

He had a fiberglass hood, aftermarket fatman front end, removed heater and blowers etc, added roll cage, 427 Dart small block, 15" weld wheels, 9" rear, TKO600, 16 gallon fuel cell, full interior other than the headliner and back seat.

[Bryce]

For comparison:

I have a 65 falcon similar platform and size as the chevy II. My falcon weighs 2690. fiberglass front end. lighter suspension on all four corners. lots of aluminum.